The Xunta, Xunta General, Xuntas, or Cortes of the Kingdom of Galicia was the

representative assembly A representative assembly is a political institution in which a number of persons representing the population or privileged orders within the population of a state come together to debate, negotiate with the executive (originally the king or other r ...

of the

Kingdom of Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia ( gl, Reino de Galicia, or ''Galiza''; es, Reino de Galicia; pt, Reino da Galiza; la, Galliciense Regnum) was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire north ...

from the 1528 —when it originated as a general assembly of all the powers of the Kingdom aimed at the constitution of '' hermandades'' (brotherhood)— and until 1834, when the Kingdom and its General Assembly were officially disbanded by a Royal decree. It declared itself the supreme authority of the Kingdom from June 18, 1808, during the

Peninsular war The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

and due to the abdication of the King, and until Galicia was conquered by the

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

ic troops in 1809.

History

Initially the ''Xuntas Generales del Reino de Galicia'' was an assembly where representatives of the three states of the Kingdom (noblemen, churchmen, and the commoners) met. But soon it followed the evolution prompted by the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

in other representative institutions, such as the

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of N ...

of Castile, so becoming monopolized by the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

and lesser nobility ('' fidalgos''), who controlled most of the local councils of the cities and towns of the Kingdom, and at the expenses of Church and nobility. From 1599 the composition of the assembly became fixed and reduced to just seven deputies, each one representing one of the Kingdom provinces, and appointed by the council of the province's capital —

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

Betanzos Betanzos () is a municipality in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain in the province of A Coruña. It belongs to the comarca of Betanzos. In Roman times Betanzos was called Flauvium Brigantium or ''Brigantium''. During the ...

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

Mondoñedo Mondoñedo () is a small town and municipality in the Galician province of Lugo, Spain. , the town has a population of 4,508. Mondoñedo occupies a sheltered valley among the northern outliers of the Cantabrian Mountains. Despite being the core ...

Ourense Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...

, and Tui— from among its members. Other towns, namely

Viveiro Viveiro () is a town and municipality in the province of Lugo, in the northwestern Galician autonomous community of Spain. It borders on the Cantabric Sea, to the west of Xove and to the east of O Vicedo. It has a residential population of ove ...

and

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

, tried during the 17th and 18th century to regain a direct representative in the assembly, to no effect. The ''Xunta'', whilst having little direct intervention in law making, and not much control over the Royal administration, could nevertheless raise armies, ships and taxes, conceding or denying the King's petitions on behalf of all the local powers of the Kingdom; the assembly could also petition the King himself, this being the usual mean it used for modifying or approving laws, or for promoting the interests of the Kingdom. The ''Xunta'' was also recognized as the voice and representative of the Kingdom, and the depositary of its will, traditions and rights (''foros''). Notwithstanding, the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

never consented on the petition of the assembly to meet at will, and from 1637 he decreed that the meetings of the assembly can only take place when in presence of one representative of the monarch, with voice, usually the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...

of the Kingdom, so trying to maintain a tighter grip on the institution and its agreements. From the 18th century, with the advent of the absolutists

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

monarchs, the ''Xunta'' was gradually deprived of its powers.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Citation, last=Fernández-Villamil Alegre, first=Enrique, year=1962, title=Juntas del Reino de Galicia: historia de su nacimiento, actuaciones y extinción, publisher=Instituto de Estudios Políticos, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5646AQAAIAAJ

Junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...