PARES | Spanish Archives

Identification

Type:

Corporate Body

Preferred form:

Consejo de Hacienda (España)Other forms

Fechas de Existencia:

from 1523 to 1834-03-24

History:

The royal finance administration in the Crown of Castile was borne by the Head Accounting Office of Finance since the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, the shortcomings in the functioning of the Treasury, sharpened by the innovations introduced with the enthronement of Charles V, triggered the creation of a new organism. Such organism would be in charge of finding new resources and collection systems, and controlling the accounting and treasury. Although the actual establishment of the Council of Finance dates back to 1523, it will be subject to unstableness and regulated by multiple dispositions until the ordinances of El Prado fixed its plant and competences in 1593. The Council’s composition will change substantially during this period, and it will be staffed by the President and several Counsellors, namely the Secretary, the General-Treasurer, the Scribe of Finance and two Accounting Officers of Finance.

The 17th century commences in 1602 with the ordinances of Lerma, which fuse the Council of Finance and the Head Accounting Office of Finance into a single organism called Council of Finance and Head Accounting Office in an attempt to hamper the existing conflict between the two bodies. The Tribunal de Oidores and Head Accounting Office of Finance shall be added to the newly-created organism, whose performance would be subject to regulations by means of multiple dispositions (1621, 1635, 1651, 1647, 1691). Therefore, the most noteworthy innovation of this period will be the restructuring of the Council into the Government Chamber and the Justice Chamber, and the establishment of the Comisión de Millones as an independent chamber (1658).

At the beginning of the 18th century, more specifically in 1713, the Council of Finance constituted a complex organism staffed by more than 60 members and articulated by means of the following branches: Government Chamber, Justice Chamber, Millions Chamber, Criminal Chamber and Head Accounting Office. This complexity together with the inefficacy of the Council’s performance will lead to the progressive loss of its governmental powers in benefit of the newly-established financial institutions (chiefly the Superintendence of Finance and the Secretariat of Finance), hence why the Council will be relegated to the judicial function on appeal.

Renamed as the Supreme Council of Finance in 1803, its abolition in 1834 will stem from the large-scale central administration reform triggered by the death of Ferdinand VII and the ultimate establishment of liberalism. Following the principle of separation of powers and the institutional simplification, its administrative competences will be taken over by the Secretariat of Finance and the judicial powers by the newly-created Supreme Court of Finance.

Context:

The documentary materials of the Council of Finance (in Spanish "Consejo de Hacienda") are mainly split between the General Archive of Simancas (in Spanish "Archivo General de Simancas") in Valladolid and the National Historic Archive (in Spanish "Archivo Histórico Nacional") in Madrid.

Functions

Mandates/Legal Sources

Description:

Las competencias fundamentales de la institución son:

-Diseñar, dirigir y planificar las grandes líneas de la política hacendística, controlando siempre el ingreso (sistemas de percepción de rentas) y el gasto (procedimientos y orden del gasto, negociación de la deuda).

- Política monetaria.

- Provisión de los oficios relacionados con la hacienda.

- Función judicial, ejercida a través del Tribunal de Oidores.

- A partir de 1658, administración de los Servicios de Millones.