The Iberian Revolts

In 1639 Olivares opened a campaign against southern France from Catalonia. If the Catalans had to defend their country, Olivares argued, they would have to support the army. This logic was lost on the Catalans. The peasants, urged on by their clergy, refused to support the troops. Soon there were clashes with the population, then riots and open rebellion. On June 7 the mob murdered the viceroy in Barcelona. In the autumn of 1640 Olivares scraped together the last available troops and sent them against the Catalan rebels. The rebel leader, Pau Claris, countered by transferring Catalan allegiance to the king of France, 'as in the time of Charlemagne' (Jan. 1641). French troops now entered Catalonia. Only when the renewed French civil wars (the Fronde) induced the French to withdraw their army was the Castilians able to re-conquer Catalonia (1652).