Overseas Conquest and Religious War to 1648289tributed grain and oil to the poor. Commerce and in-
dustry were virtually destroyed. Declining production
increased the country’s dependence on imports, which
lowered the value of Spanish money and worsened an
inflation that had been fueled for years by silver from
the Indies. When Philip II died in 1598, the population
of Castile had been shrinking for nearly a decade.
Economic decline provoked a chain reaction that
raised the costs of war by increasing the interest on
government loans, while unfavorable exchange rates
raised the cost of goods and services that Spain had to
purchase in Germany or the Netherlands. Troops were
often poorly supplied or left without pay for as much as
three years at a time. This caused mutinies, which pro-
longed the wars and raised costs even higher. Similar
problems arose in other countries, but they were far
more serious in Spain because the military effort lasted
for more than a century and a half. From the wars of
Granada to the Peace of Westphalia, little opportunity
existed for recovery.DOCUMENT 15.5
Soldiers Loot a German Farm
The novel Simplicissimusby Hans von Grimmelshausen
(c.1622–74) was based in part on the author’s own experiences in the
Thirty Years’ War. In these passages from the beginning of the book,
the title character Simplicissimus, who is not as simple as he appears,
describes the sack of his parent’s farm. Like the hero, people took to the
roads or joined the armies to avoid such horrors.
The first thing these troopers did in the blackened room
of my Dad was to stable their mounts. Thereafter, each
fell to his appointed task, fraught in every case with ruin
and destruction. For although some began to slaughter,
cook, and roast, as if for a merry banquet, others stormed
through the house from top to bottom, ransacking even
the privy, as though they thought the Golden Fleece
might be hidden there. Some packed great bundles of
cloth, apparel, and household goods, as if to set up a stall
for a jumble sale, but what they had no use for they
smashed and destroyed. Some thrust their swords into the
hay and straw as if they had not enough sheep and pigs to
slaughter. Others emptied the feather-beds and pillows of
their down, filling them instead with meat and other
provender, as if that would make them more comfortable
to sleep on. Others again smashed stoves and windows as
if to herald an everlasting summer. They flattened copper
and pewter utensils and packed up the bent and useless
pieces; chests, tables, chairs, and benches they burnt,
though in the yard they could have found many cords of
firewood. Finally, they broke every dish and saucepan, ei-
ther because they preferred their food roasted or because
they intended to have no more than a single meal there.
And now they began to unscrew the flints from their
pistols and to jam the peasant’s thumbs into them, and to
torture the poor lads as if they had been witches. Indeed,
one of the captives had already been pushed into the
bread oven and a fire lit under him, although he had con-
fessed nothing. They put a sling around the head of an-
other, twisting it tight with a piece of wood until the
blood spurted from his mouth, nose, and ears. In short,
each had his own device for torturing peasants, and each
peasant received his individual torture.... Of the cap-
tured women, girls, and maidservants I have nothing in
particular to tell, for the warriors would not let me see
what they did with them. But this I do know: that from
time to time one could hear pitiful screams coming from
different parts of the house, and I don’t suppose my Mum
and Ursula fared any better than the others.
Grimmelshausen, H. J. C. von. Adventures of a Simpleton,pp. 8–9,
trans. W. Wallich. New York: Ungar, 1963.These figures (in millions of ducats) provide an idea of
the financial burdens imposed on the Castilian economy
by war. During most of this period, nonmilitary costs
rarely rose above 10 percent of the annual budget.
Year Revenue Debt Interest on debt
1515 1.5 12 0.8
1560 5.3 35 2.0
1575 6.0 50 3.8
1598 9.7 85 4.6
1623 15.0 112 5.6
1667 36.0 130 9.1
Source: C. Wilson and G. Parker, eds., An Introduction to the Sources of
European Economic History(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1977),
p. 49.TABLE 15.2Crown Income and Debt in Castile