THE CRISIS OF 1803-1805 IN THE TWO CASTILES: FOODSTUFF, MORTALITY AND INSTITUTIONAL COLLAPSE*

Enrique Llopis and Felipa Sánchez

Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, 2016, vol. 34, issue 2, 295-322

Abstract: The essential aims of this article are: (1) to measure the magnitude of the crisis of 1803-1805 in the two Castiles; (2) to analyse the causes and consequences of this crisis. Among the main conclusions of this essay we would like to underline: (a) the 1803-1805 crisis led to a fall in the population of Castile of about 15 per cent; (b) the severe rise in the price of grains in those years was due to the bad harvests and the sparse working capacity of the municipal grain stores, but more than anything else it was the collapse of the market for this produce as a result of the prohibition of removing grain; (c) government measures to deal with the crisis were numerous and relatively bold, but not very effective; (d) the strong mobilisation of the people disrupted the working of some of the basic institutions of the Ancien Régime. Los objetivos esenciales de este artículo son: 1) medir la magnitud de la crisis de 1803-1805 en las dos Castillas; 2) analizar las causas y consecuencias de dicho desastre productivo y demográfico. Entre las principales conclusiones de este ensayo, quisiéramos subrayar: a) la crisis de 1803-1805 provocó una merma en la población castellana de cerca de un 15%; b) el brutal encarecimiento de los granos en dichos años obedeció a las malas cosechas y a la escasa capacidad operativa de los pósitos, pero sobre todo al colapso del mercado de dichos productos fruto de la prohibición de la saca de cereales; c) las medidas gubernamentales frente a la crisis fueron numerosas y relativamente atrevidas, pero muy poco eficaces; d) la fuerte movilización popular desestabilizó el funcionamiento de algunas instituciones básicas del Antiguo Régimen.

Date: 2016
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