Council of Hundred

The Council of Cent (in Catalan Consell de Cent) was the municipal institution of the city of Barcelona between the 13th and 18th centuries. It receives this name because it was made up of an assembly of one hundred citizens: the so-called "jurors", who advised and supervised the municipal magistrates, and the councilors of Barcelona. The initial number of members was set at one hundred, although the number of jurors in the assembly increased over time.

History

The Aragonese city of Jaca had a Council of One Hundred since 1238 and twelve years later, King James I, the Conqueror, learned of its functioning and gave it his royal approval. In 1249, the king created the fundamental structure of the municipal government of Barcelona: initially it would be made up of four «paers», each of whom would appoint a counselor to help them, but nine years later they decided to reduce the number of paers to one and this would elect eight councilors. In an assembly, formed by 200 probi homines (prominent men) who were part of lo mà major (the elder hand). Every January 6, the The leaders chose new councilors, who then proceeded to renew the leaders.

After various modifications, in 1265 the municipal organization was definitively structured: municipal authority fell to four councilors, elected by a council of one hundred jurors. The number and election process subsequently changed on several occasions. This co-optatory system It led to the appearance of a citizen oligarchy, the urban patriarchy, which was perpetuated in the positions of councilors and the Council of One Hundred, presenting notable and particular affinities with the Italian cities.

The Council of Hundred was strengthened during the Modern Age by Ferdinand II of Aragon, by replacing the co-optatory system with the insaculatory one: after the Catalan civil war (1462-1472), the royal reform established this system, through which Municipal magistrates were chosen by lot. In the reform of 1510, the number of representatives of all estates was equalized and, after three centuries, the reincorporation of the nobles into the municipal government was allowed. During the War of the Reapers (1640-1652), the Council of One Hundred continued to open itself to all social classes, incorporating the sixth councilor, the representative of the artisans, whose first draw was Andrés Saurina.

Finally, the institution of municipal self-government of the Catalan capital was abolished after the entry of the French arms of Marshal the Duke of Berwick into Barcelona on September 15, 1714.

Political meaning

• In 1464 the Council of Hundred proclaimed Peter, the Accountant, king of Aragon.
• The Council of Hundred refused to accept the concession, made by King Martin I, the human, of a General Study of Medicine in Barcelona. Forty-nine years later, in 1450, it was the prerogatives of this study that gave rise to the University of Barcelona.

Urban gazetteer

It is also the name of a street in the cities of Barcelona (Calle del Consejo de Ciento), Zaragoza and Besalú.

Consejo de Ciento documentary collection

The documentary collection of the Council of Hundred that guards the Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona (AHCB) is integrated into the so-called "City Council and Modern Town Hall" (Consell de la Ciutat i Ajuntament Modern) (CCAM). It includes the municipal documentation itself and is organized following the functional structure reflected in the classification table prepared by the AHCB.

The fund brings together the documentation generated by both the Consejo de Cent with the documentation of the old local government institution until it was suppressed in 1714, and by the Modern City Council, with the government documentation from the Bourbon period of the 18th centuries. XIX.

This fund allows us to know, analyze and study all those aspects and matters in which, directly or indirectly, the municipal authority has intervened by virtue of its powers and powers in the administration, management and government of its territory and its inhabitants.. The summary list of municipal powers exercised over six centuries serves to guide the subjects on which information can be found in this collection. Of the set of documentary series that the collection brings together, the following stand out for their relevance:

• Pergaminos: It includes royal privileges, chapters of Cortes, documentation of the city's baronies, censuses and private documents related to the municipality, of the IX-XVIII centuries.

• Manuscripts: Documents that had belonged to the Council of Hundred, mostly of a legal nature. Books of privileges (Llibre Verd, Llibre Vermell and Usatges of Ramón Ferrer) stand out. Commentaria super Usaticis Barchinone of Jaume Marquilles, Dels dits i fets memorable of Valeri Màxim, translated to Catalan by Fray Antoni Canals, and the Rúbriques de Bruniquer.

• Book of the Council, Registration of Deliberationsand Agreements, collect the records of meetings of the municipal government bodies. The processes of the Catalan Courts. Consolat de Mar, entitat dependent of the Consell de Cent i amb jurisdicció en matèria maritime i mercantil, amb documentació dels segles XIV-XVII. Bans i altres printed. Disposicions de les diverses autoritats amb jurisdicció a la ciutat de Barcelona, dels segles XV-XX.

• There are also other documentary series related to Policy Competition, Correspondence, Legal Affairs, Finance, Personal, Protocolary Acts, Urbanism and Works, Abbestos, Defense, Charity, Teaching, Culture and Church.