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The Esquilache Riots (Motín de Esquilache) occurred in March 1766 during the rule of Charles III of Spain. Caused mostly by the growing discontent in Madrid about the rising costs of bread and other staples, they were sparked off by a series of measures regarding Spaniards' apparel that had been enacted by Leopoldo de Gregorio, Marquis of Esquilache, a Neapolitan minister whom Charles favored. Image File history File links Motin_esquilache. ...
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March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ...
1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
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Plaza de Cibeles (Cibeles square) and the Palacio de Comunicaciones (Communications Palace) Coat of arms Madrid, the capital of Spain, is located in the center of the country at 40°25′N 3°45′W. Population of Madrid city was 3,093,000 (Madrilenes, madrileños) as of 2003 estimates. ...
Leopoldo de Gregorio, Marquis of Esquilache, Spanish statesman and reformer of King Charles III Leopoldo de Gregorio, Marquis of Esquilache (1741-1785), originally Squilacce, Italian-born minister of Charles III of Spain. ...
The following is a list of monarchs of Naples and Sicily: See also: List of Counts of Apulia and Calabria Hauteville Counts of Sicily, 1071-1130 Roger I 1071-1101 Simon 1101-1105 Roger II 1105-1130 Hauteville Kings of Sicily, 1130-1198 Roger II 1130-1154 William I 1154...
Background
Esquilache's plan was to substitute the long capes and broad-brimmed hats (chambergos) worn by madrileños with French-style short capes and three-cornered hats, in an attempt to "Europeanize" and modernize Spain. The long capes were thought to facilitate the concealment of weapons, while the large hats were thought to conceal a person's face, a safeguard for criminals.
Intended as public security measures, they did not immediately catch the attention of the populace, as more pressing issues fanned the flames of popular discontent, namely the rising prices in bread, oil, coal, and cured meat, caused in part by Esquilache's liberalization of the grain trade. Moreover, these measures at first were only applied to the royal household and staff (January 21, 1766). French bread has a somewhat rigid crust. ...
Oil is a generic term for organic liquids that are not miscible with water. ...
Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by deep mining, coal mining (open-pit mining or strip mining). ...
January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
Under pain of arrest, these royal functionaries adopted the measures en masse. Having applied these initial measures, Esquilache proceeded to apply them towards the general population. The writer and government official Pedro Rodríguez de Campomanes and the body known as the Consejo de Castilla warned him that the confiscation of hats and cloaks would cause ominous rumbling amongst the populace.
Esquilache nevertheless went ahead with these measures, and on March 10, placards appeared in Madrid prohibiting the wearing of these garments. Popular reaction was immediate: the placards were torn off the walls. Soldiers were mobilized and local authorities were attacked by the populace.
The Riots Begin On Palm Sunday, around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, two townsmen, dressed in the forbidden long capes and chambergos, provocatively crossed the little square of Antón Martín. Several soldiers on guard duty stopped them to inquire about their garments. Insults were exchanged and the soldiers tried to detain them. One of the townsmen unsheathed a sword and whistled. A band of townspeople appeared and the soldiers fled. The rioters quickly took over Inválidos de la Plaza where rifles and sabers were stored. 2,000 rioters marched on the Calle Atocha to the Plaza Mayor, yelling insults against Esquilache. They ran into the Duke of Medinaceli, whom they surrounded, and they forced him to approach the king with a series of petitions. Palm Sunday is a moveable feast in the church calendar observed by Catholic, Orthodox, and some Protestant Christians. ...
The duke approached the king, who remained calm, unaware of the seriousness of the situation. The rioters meanwhile had destroyed the 5,000 lampposts that had been erected throughout the city by order of the king. There was a strong xenophobic strain manifested in these riots. The rioters' petition had included the demand that the hated Guardia Valona (Walloon Guard) be disbanded. A servant attached to Esquilache's household was also knifed when the rioters made their way to the minister's mansion, which they sacked. They also stoned the mansion of the Grimaldi and approached the mansion of the Sabatini. That night, a portrait of Esquilache was burned in the Plaza Mayor. The king still had done nothing. A roadway light in front of a red sky at night A street light or street lamp, also known as a light standard or lamp standard, is a raised light on the edge of a road, turned on or lit at a certain time every night. ...
Xenophobia denotes a phobic attitude toward strangers or of the unknown and comes from the Greek words ξÎνος (xenos), meaning foreigner, stranger, and φόβος (phobos), meaning fear. ...
The term Walloons (Wallons in French, Walons in Walloon) refers, in daily speech, to French-speaking Belgians from Wallonia. ...
On March 24, the situation worsened. The rioters, much strengthened in numbers and in confidence, marched towards where the king was residing, in the Arco de la Armería de Palacio, which was defended by Spanish and the hated Walloon troops (in Spanish, valones). The term Walloons (Wallons in French, Walons in Walloon) refers, in daily speech, to French-speaking Belgians from Wallonia. ...
The Walloon troops fired and killed a woman, increasing the number of rioters. A priest who made himself the rioters' representative managed to make his way to Charles and present him with the petitions. The priest's tone was ominous, and he promised to reduce the king's palace to rubble within two hours if the demands were not met. The rioters' demands included:
1. That the minister Esquilache and all of his family leave Spain.
2. That there only be Spanish ministers in the government.
3. That the Walloon Guard be disbanded.
4. That the price of basic goods be lowered.
5. That the Juntas de Abastos be suppressed.
6. That the troops withdraw to their respective headquarters.
7. That the use of the long cape and broad-brimmed hat be permitted.
8. That His Majesty show himself and speak from his own mouth his desire to fulfill and satisfy these demands.
The king was inclined to accept the demands, despite being dissuaded from doing so by several of his ministers. Those ministers who believed he should accept the rioters' demands emphasized the fact that the Esquilache Riots were not a challenge against royal authority, but that they could develop into such should the demands be ignored. Charles appeared on the palace balcony. The rioters once again presented their demands. Charles calmly acceded to their demands. He and his Walloon Guard retired to the palace.
This act temporarily calmed the populace. However, fearing for his own safety, Charles then committed the mistake of fleeing to Aranjuez with the rest of his family and his ministers, including Esquilache. Aranjuez is a town in the southern part of Autonomous Community of Madrid in central Spain and is the southernmost, and 48 km south of the city of Madrid. ...
A military junta took measures to restore order. The city remained calm. However, upon hearing that Charles had left secretly for Aranjuez, anger that the king had simply accepted the demands in order to make his subsequent escape. There were also fears that a large army would approach Madrid and crush the revolt.
In reaction to these fears, some 30,000 people, including men, women, and children, surrounded the house of the bishop of Cartagena, Diego de Rojas, president of the Consejo de Castilla. Bishop instructed to inform the king of the mood and draw up a series of demands. An emissary was sent to Aranjuez and the bishop remained trapped. Meanwhile, the townspeople had begun to sack military sites and stores, releasing prisoners. The king replied with a letter that stated that he sincerely promised to comply with the demands of his people, and asked for calm and order. For other places of the same name, see Cartagena. ...
This calmed the populace once again. Esquilache was also dismissed, a move that both Charles and Esquilache lamented. Esquilache felt that his measures had deserved a statue, and would comment that he had cleaned and paved the city streets and had created boulevards and had nevertheless been dismissed. He was given the ambassadorship to Venice, where he subsequently died. A typical boulevard in Valencia, California. ...
Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice, 45°26′ N 12°19′ E, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ...
Aftermath Still fearing for his own safety, Charles remained at Aranjuez, leaving the government in the hands of his minister Pedro Pablo Aranda. Doing so damaged his reputation. The king remained at Aranjuez as Aranda and troops were sent there to protect him. Aranda's arrival calmed Charles down but the king remained in the city until mid-April. Pedro Pablo Aranda (1719-1798), an eminent Aragonese statesman who led the government when Charles III fled to Aranjuez during the Esquilache riots in 1766. ...
In Madrid, Aranda meanwhile had convinced the populace to adopt the French-style short capes and three-cornered hats, first meeting with the members of Madrid's 5 major guilds (Gremios Mayores) and 53 minor guilds (Gremios Menores). Aranda managed to convince these members that the chambergo and the long cape was nothing but the apparel of el verdugo –the hated hangman or executioner- and that no respectable person would wear such a thing. The populace thus gradually and peacefully adopted more modern apparel. A guild is an association of people of the same trade or pursuits, formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards of morality or conduct. ...
Hanging is a form of execution or a method for suicide. ...
Despite the near-insurrection of the populace, Charles would continue his program of reforms. The painter Francisco de Goya, an eyewitness to these events, would paint his Motín de Esquilache around 1766-7. This article is about Francisco Goya, a Spanish painter. ...
See also History of Spain Series Prehistoric Spain Roman Spain Medieval Spain Age of Reconquest Age of Expansion Age of Enlightenment Reaction and Revolution First Spanish Republic The Restoration Second Spanish Republic Spanish Civil War The Dictatorship Modern Spain Topics Economic History Military History Social History The Age of Enlightenment came to...
A hoody (sometimes also spelled hoodie) is a sweatshirt with a hood. ...
The Right Honourable Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. ...
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