Don Francisco de Quevedo | Page 6

will. While the Catalans in 1639 were bravely resisting the
entrance of French troops into Roussillon, Santa Coloma, the viceroy of
Olivares, made even more severe his policy of sternness and repression.
The Catalans were to be driven against the French and to be made to
understand by the application of brute force that the welfare of their
particular province was of small importance beside the prosperity of the
kingdom in general. The Spanish soldiers quartered upon them behaved
with such lawlessness that in May of 1640 the population of Barcelona
broke into open rebellion. Santa Coloma was cut down in his attempt to
escape the consequences of his lack of diplomacy and tact. From
Barcelona the revolt soon spread through the entire province. It has
been said that the gentle measures of repression inaugurated by the new
viceroy, the Duke of Cardona, particularly displeased Olivares, who
saw at last what he believed to be his opportunity utterly to crush
Catalan liberty. The answer of the Catalans was to throw themselves
into the hands of the French and Richelieu, by seeking foreign aid
against Castile.
In September 1640 an army under the Marqués de los Vélez was sent
north to straighten out the tangled affairs of Catalonia. At first he was
successful, but in January 1641 he was beaten back from Barcelona
itself after a bloody defeat at the hands of the local soldiery.
To make sure of French aid the rebels offered their allegiance to Louis
XIII of France, and the revolt was kept alive with French money and
soldiers, while Philip's armies were invariably defeated.

To complete our picture of the political situation we must turn for a
moment to Portugal. There reluctant allegiance to the Spanish crown
had already been severely strained during the previous reign by the
high-handed procedure of Lerma, the favorite of Philip III. Portuguese
administrative offices had been filled in Madrid, and the country was
inconsiderately taxed to maintain Castilian sovereignty. Under Philip
IV the regent of the kingdom was Doña Margarita, Duchess of Mantua
and granddaughter of Philip II.[8] While she was ostensibly in control
of the difficult Portuguese situation, the real ruler was Don Miguel
Vasconcellos, a Portuguese of scant ability and bloodthirsty instincts;
he was kept in command by Olivares dictating from Madrid. The
announcement of Vasconcellos to the nation that it was the intention of
Olivares to remove the last vestige of constitutional rule in Portugal by
the suppression of the Portuguese Cortes drove the patriots to rally
about the Duke of Braganza. A well-planned conspiracy was set on foot
to place Braganza on the throne of Portugal and thus to rid the country
forever of the hated Castilian sovereignty.
[Footnote 8: Philip II had married his daughter, the infanta Catalina, to
Charles Emmanuel of Savoy.]
After the failure of all his attempts to bring Braganza to Madrid,
Olivares tried desperately to win his favor by apparently putting the
fate of Portugal entirely in his hands. It was a fatal course. Olivares sent
him large sums of money to raise troops to keep the Portuguese
situation in control and help in the repression of the Catalans; then he
put Braganza at the head of them.
In November of 1640 Braganza proclaimed himself king. The regent
Margaret was imprisoned. Vasconcellos was killed by the mob.
The news was received in Madrid with the deepest dismay. Pellicer[9]
wrote: "These announcements should be written with blood, and
deserve to be wept over rather than written, for they contain nothing
less than the rebellion of Portugal and the coronation of Don Juan,
whom they call Juan IV, the Duke of Braganza." It is commonly stated
that Olivares announced the news of the rebellion to Philip by
congratulating him upon the opportunity thus offered to seize the

property of Braganza.
[Footnote 9: Avisos de 11 de Diciembre de 1640.]
To add to the troubles in Portugal and Catalonia just described, a plot
by the Duke of Medina Sidonia to make himself independent sovereign
of Andalusia was discovered only just in time to prevent a serious
rising.
The advisability of Philip's putting himself in person at the head of the
troops in the north had long been the subject of earnest and bitter
discussion between Olivares and his enemies. The latter had urged
upon Philip the necessity of seeing with his own eyes the pass to which
matters had been brought by the ineptitude and recklessness of his
minister. This could best be accomplished by a visit of inspection to the
revolted provinces. Moreover, with Philip and Olivares away from the
capital the queen and those of the nobility who were working for the
downfall of Olivares could proceed with a freer hand.
When once the royal party had left, Doña Isabel set about her task with