Maulets (history) facts for kids

The Maulets were a group of people from Valencia who supported Archduke Charles. He wanted to become the King of Spain, calling himself Charles III, during a big fight called the War of the Spanish Succession. The Maulets were against another group called the Botiflers. The Botiflers supported Philip, Duke of Anjou, who eventually won the war and became King Philip V.

Today, "Maulets" is also the name of a youth group that wants Catalonia to be independent from Spain.

Why the Maulets Fought

After a group of people called the Moors were asked to leave Spain in 1492, the King gave their lands to the nobles. This meant the nobles could charge high taxes and fees to the new Christian families who moved in to farm the land. For many poor families, these costs were very high. They probably accepted these tough rules because they needed land to live. For about 50 years, there weren't many protests.

By the late 1600s, some of these farming families started doing well. They grew and sold crops like wine, brandy, and silk. They began to question why they had to pay so much to the nobles, which cut into their profits. They tried to stop this system in different ways, from going to court to starting armed fights. But the courts were controlled by the nobles, so that didn't work. An armed revolt, known as the Segona Germania (Second Brotherhood), was stopped by the nobles' armies in 1693.

The farmers in this revolt wanted similar things to what the Maulets would ask for later. They didn't think the nobles had the right to charge so much for the old Moorish lands. They used old laws from James I of Aragon to say that the nobles were treating them unfairly, "like Moors," even though the laws said Christians shouldn't pay such high taxes. The nobles, however, said that King Philip III had given them these lands when he asked the Moriscos to leave. So, they believed they had every right to set the rules.

After their military defeat, the farmers were still unhappy. New problems were ready to start in 1700 when Charles II of Spain died without any children or a clear person to take his place. This led to the War of the Spanish Succession.

When Philip V of Spain became King of the Kingdom of Valencia, many people there, as well as in Catalonia and Majorca, already supported Archduke Charles of Austria. They had different reasons. Some were loyal to the old royal family, the House of Austria. Some merchants and business owners didn't like the French. Others worried that Philip V would try to make Spain more centralized, like France.

Merchants and exporters of wine, brandy, and silk were very important. They got in touch with a key person for their cause: General Joan Baptista Basset.

General Basset was from Valencia, probably born in Alboraia. He was from a family of craftspeople. He understood the local people and their needs. He had fought in wars in Italy and Hungary under Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt. This German noble had been a leader in Catalonia before.

The War of the Spanish Succession was two things at once. It was a fight within Spain, but it was also a big European war for power. England and the Netherlands, who were big trading partners for Valencia, sided against Philip V. Because of this, Valencia's exports to these countries stopped. This was a disaster for merchants and farmers. Selling products to France, which made similar goods, didn't make up for the losses.

The Maulets' Big Win

Since 1704, Francesc Davila, who might have been a leader from the earlier revolt, traveled around Valencia. He told farmers that Archduke Charles would get rid of the nobles' high taxes. When Joan Baptista Basset landed in Altea in August 1705, a new revolt began and quickly spread everywhere.

Basset rode to Valencia, passing through Dénia, Gandia, and Alzira, without much trouble. When nobles or forts supporting Philip V tried to fight back, armed villagers made them run away. Many nobles and "botiflers" (Philip V's supporters) fled with the viceroy, Duke Gandia. They didn't trust the capital city to resist, and they were right.

The city of Valencia opened its gates to the Maulet army without a fight. In fact, the people welcomed them with excitement. At the same time, news came from Catalonia. There, a rebellion had kicked out Philip V's soldiers, and Charles III himself had arrived in Barcelona to a big welcome. This news helped the uprising spread through the rest of Valencia, especially in the north. Places like Vinaròs, Benicarló, Vila-real, and Castelló became very strong Maulet areas.

Once Basset was in Valencia, acting almost like a viceroy, and with most of the country controlled by the Maulets (meaning, by the armed villagers), the first thing he did was get rid of all taxes paid to the nobles.

Basset went even further. Even though he might not have had the full legal right, he stopped paying any taxes to the King's tax collectors. He also ended the right of doors, a disliked tax on goods coming into Valencia from the colonies.

He also allowed, and even encouraged, the arrest and removal of French citizens, especially merchants. The people saw them as enemies, and local merchants saw them as rivals.

Of course, trade with England and the Netherlands, who were allies of Charles III, started again. Harbors were reopened to Dutch and English ships. At the same time, Basset and the Maulets arrested and removed the most well-known "botiflers" and took their belongings.

Friends Turn Against Friends

Basset, now in charge of Valencia, had to prepare for attacks from Philip V's forces. He quickly realized that his army of farmers, the Maulets, was not strong enough to fight professional armies.

Basset asked Charles III for military help. Help arrived in the form of Earl of Peterborough and his English soldiers. Their arrival saved the situation from enemy attacks. However, it also created another power group led by count Cardona. This group had its own military force, separate from the Maulets. They didn't want to allow what they called "common people's excesses."

It seems that Count Cardona and the English general had orders, probably from Charles III, to stop Basset and the Maulets' "excesses." They hoped this would win back the support of the nobles, many of whom were on the side of the Bourbons.

Indeed, Charles III, who owned royal lands and was a main lord, saw his income drop because the Maulets refused to pay. This money was very important to keep his expensive army going, which he needed to win the war. So, it was necessary to stop the Maulets and their leader, General Basset. But they had to do it carefully.

Cardona and Peterborough began to target some of Basset's helpers. They accused them of illegally taking goods from the French and the Botiflers for themselves. They arrested these helpers and waited for a trial. Meanwhile, Basset was encouraged to leave Valencia and join the fighting, first in Alzira and then in Xàtiva. They were waiting for a chance to arrest him. But they were afraid of how popular he was with the people and worried the Maulets would rebel if he was arrested.

The chance came when Charles III defeated the Bourbons in Castile and entered Madrid on June 27, 1706. Amidst the celebrations, Peterborough secretly sent troops to Xàtiva. Their order was to arrest Basset and put him in an English-controlled fort. When the news came out, the people did rebel.

In Valencia, people shouted, "Long live Basset, before Charles III!" This showed who the Valencian Maulets truly supported. Peterborough even had to turn cannons meant to defend Valencia from the Bourbons around to aim at the protesting people to make them leave. For days, there were protests, letters sent to Charles in Barcelona, and public statements supporting Basset and his changes. A victory for the Bourbons would mean the return of the Botiflers and the old ways. So, the Maulets gave up and stopped their protests. They believed that Charles, when he came to Valencia soon, would fix the unfairness and free Basset.

The Maulets' Defeat

Meanwhile, the Maulets kept refusing to pay the door rights or any other taxes. Charles III asked the authorities in Valencia to demand payment, but it didn't work very well.

But time was running out. Charles had already been forced to leave Madrid. He suffered a big defeat by the Duke of Berwick in the Battle of Almansa. Charles went back towards Barcelona. With him went the viceroy, the whole government, and the remaining soldiers.

The people and the Maulets were left alone to face the Bourbon army. King Philip never hid his plan to get rid of the Furs (the Valencian laws) "by the right of conquest." The Kingdom of Valencia stopped being a legal structure. It was only a name, without its old meaning.

The Maulets resisted, especially in Xàtiva. This town had to be taken by the Bourbons after a fierce battle. Afterwards, it was destroyed and burned as punishment. In Valencia, the Maulets tried to stop the Bourbon army from entering, but Berwick and Asfeld managed to get in.

In 1710, when the war seemed to turn back in favor of Charles III, Valencia rose up again against the Bourbons. The Maulets appeared on the streets again. They waited for a fleet from Charles III's side to land troops at the harbor, but it never came. A few remaining Valencian Maulets went to Catalonia, which was still controlled by Charles III.

The Last Fight in Barcelona

Thousands of Valencian people who had fled their homes gathered in Barcelona and other cities in Catalonia. But international events made it clear that continuing the fight was pointless. Charles III himself had signed a peace treaty with Philip V of Spain and went back to Austria. England and the Netherlands had accepted Philip V as king of Spain and had taken their soldiers away from Barcelona by sea. The Catalans and the Valencian Maulets kept fighting for their cause, even without international allies.

When the Bourbon armies, led by Berwick, started to attack Barcelona, two groups of Valencian soldiers were formed. They were called the Mare de Déu dels Desamparats and the Sant Vicent Ferrer. They fought alongside their friends in Catalonia.

On September 11, 1714, Barcelona fell to the Bourbons after a determined fight. Many Maulets were among those who died. Many others, including General Basset, who had led the artillery (cannons) for the resistance, were arrested and put in prison. Others managed to escape from the Bourbon troops by going to Majorca, or were later freed. They ended up living in Vienna, at the court of "their" Charles III, who was now the emperor of Austria.

Sources

• The War of Spanish Succession in Dénia (Valencia) (Spanish)
• Original Spanish version on Foro Libre

See also

In Spanish: Maulets (historia) para niños