The initial absence and foreign interests of Charles V in the period after he declared himself king and travelled to Spain (for the first time) led to a definite sense of caution among his new subjects. Subtle hints were made as to how Charles should behave: the king was reminded that he had, not just rights, but duties towards his subjects. However, Charles' own actions between 1517 - 19 not only vindicated Spanish fears, they increased them. The king was physically underwhelming, being young, unattractive and inexperienced, lacking the presence or bearing which might have endeared him to some sections of society.
Appointments by Trickery
More problematically, Charles began appointing Burgundians to important positions in both the church and government, including a seventeen-year-old - Guillaume Jacques de Croy - as Archbishop in Toledo, the richest see in Spain. Some historians, such as Henry Kamen, are deeply critical of this, claiming that Charles and his advisors "received and distributed honours as though they were in a conquered country." (Kamen, Spain 1469 - 1714, Longman, p. 74.) This, in itself, would upset many Spaniards, especially the grandees who would normally expect such appointments, but there was a greater complication: Charles had promised the Castilian Cortes that he wouldn't appoint foreigners.Technically, Charles hadn't broken this promise, because he issued all of the appointees with letters of naturalization, making them officially Spanish. These documents may have changed the Burgundian's legal status, but it altered nothing in the minds of the Spanish: the appointments themselves caused great resentment, but Charles's trickery caused outrage. These upsets were exacerbated by the death of Cisneros soon after the king's arrival: he may not have been universally popular, but the Cardinal had been a Spaniard in the upper echelons of power and, unlike Charles and much of his entourage, he knew Spain well.
Raising Funds
Finance and absenteeism also caused major discontent. The Castilian Cortes of 1517 agreed to a particularly large payment of their subsidy to the crown, the servicio: 600,000 ducats were to be paid over three years. Reaction was swift, as many Cortes deputies were severely criticised by the towns they had represented. Charles, having obtained recognition of his status in Castile, had to do the same in the three Aragonese provinces; accordingly, he traveled first to Aragon, and then to Catalonia. Although the Cortes' of both regions accepted him as king, the complicated nature of local tradition, and the broader nature of the assemblies - which included the grandees - cost Charles time. The process took nine months in Aragon, and a year in Catalonia; however, both regions agreed to proportionally large servicios; 200,000 and 100,000 ducats respectively.Before leaving Catalonia for Valencia, the royal court received news from central Europe: the Emperor Maximilian had died. Charles now inherited both his grandfather's Habsburg lands and a claim to succeed him as Holy Roman Emperor (he was voted into the title on June 27th, 1519). It was thus vital for Charles to visit Germany, and for this he needed funds. Moving swiftly back to Castile, Charles recalled its Cortes and asked for a second servicio, an act that broke tradition: the first three-year subsidy of 600,000 was still being paid.
Castile Reacts
While Charles had done little to offend the people of Aragon and Catalonia, Castile was another matter; the king had seemingly spent as little time in the kingdom as possible, simply acquiring a servicio and moving on. Now Charles returned briefly, demanding even more money to finance a distinctly non-Spanish adventure. There were strong and angry reactions: Toledo boycotted the entire Cortes, while Salamanca sent representatives solely to give Charles some curt advice on how a Spanish king was supposed to rule. However, Charles exerted great pressure and the Cortes eventually agreed; he was supported by the wool trading towns of the north, who had interests in the Netherlands - the king's homeland - and they swayed enough of the others to gain a slim majority. Charles sailed for Germany soon after, on May 20th, 1920; however, rebellion meant the money was never raised.The actions of Charles during 1516 - 20 upset and alienated a good deal of Spain's ruling society, especially Castile's servicio paying towns, by proving their worst fears to be true. Charles was late arriving and swift to depart, appearing to be the absent monarch they had first envisaged. He favoured Bungurdians over local men and women, giving them key positions, and he imposed a large financial drain for projects outside the Spanish sphere of influence. Equally, Charles exacerbated existing internal conflicts through both his weak leadership and general absence, while doing nothing to quell such rivalries. In a country where the greatest power struggle was between the grandees and the towns, Charles allied with neither and angered both. Riots had occurred before the king's departure, and these soon turned into rebellions, including those of the Comuneros and Germania.
