Regalismo e inmunidad eclesiástica en la España del siglo XVIII: la resistencia del clero valenciano a la imposición del estanco del tabaco

Abstract

The charters abolition decree of the Kingdoms of Valencia and Aragon kept the traditional regulation on the jurisdiction and ecclesiastic immunity, and this exception was ratified in the Royal Order the 7th of September in 1707. As the members of this class thought that it was implying a reinforcement of their privileges, they presented an intense resistance to the imposition of the tobacco monopoly, which the monarchy considered as a «well-known royalty» inherent in its sovereignty. Initially, the opposition was assumed by the ecclesiastic hierarchy and it generated jurisdictional conflicts so serious that Philip V proceeded to the emission of dispositions in favour of his royal prerogative, which limited seriously the privileges of the Valencian Church. But, as the clergy members believed that these dispositions were damaging their rights, they considered themselves legitimized to acquire the product by means of activities that the fiscal administration considered fraudulent. The riot induced by the clergy in Ayora's locality in 1730 constitutes the most evident manifestation of the mentioned mentality existence, which was kept during the rest of the century.