ABSTRACT
We can follow this pattern, for example, by looking at what happened in the Spanish town of A vila in the early sixteenth century.11 Political power in sixteenth-ccntury Avila was strongly concentrated in the hands of noble families who monopolized membership on the city council. The city also had a growing number of prominent non-noble families whose wealth came from trade, moneylending and tax-farming. Wealthy as they were, these perso/IaS ricas were completely excluded from political power. Suddcnly in 1520 traditional political relations wcre tcmporarily transformed, as cities all over Castile were caught up in the revolt of the connmer05, a massive rebellion against the fiscal policies of the new sovereign, the king and emperor Charles V. In A vila as in many other cities, thc original impetus for political opposition lay with members of the municipal elite who feIt that the crown's fiscal demands violatcd customary urban privileges. Their position was supported by representatives of the wealthy but politically excluded merchants and
The Fronde erupted in 1648 when thc Parlcmcnt of Paris launchcd its attack on the unpopular policies of thc royal govcrnmcnt hcaded by Cardinal Jules Mazarin. Thc Parlemcnt of Bordeaux quickly followed suit, stirring up popular support for its opposition to thc crown. By 1650 Cardinal Mazarin and thc Parlcment of Bordeaux had apparently patched up thcir difficultics, but tensions persisted between parlementaires who wcrc now loyal to the crown and supporters of the great princes who had taken over leadership of the struggle against Mazarin. All this political activity stimulated a level of popular excitement that soon acquircd a momcntum of its own. Ordinary inhabitants of thc city gathcrcd daily at an open area surrounded by elms - the ormiere - to dcbate and discuss the latest developments. Thcse informal meetings gradually assumed the character of a popular assembly - the Ormee - whosc mcmbers
'Virgin of the Carmine'.
