Josephine reorganisation of magistrates in Galicia as a factor in the formation of a new urban clerical elite

Abstract

The article discusses the implementation and effects of the reform of the urban system in Galicia at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, including in particular the problem of the creation of regulated magistracies and the formation of a new urban clerical elite. The reforms initiated during the reign of Emperor Joseph II led to the abolition of the former municipal self-government, transforming the regulated magistrates into the lowest organ of state and judicial administration. By 1820, municipal executives organised under the new rules had been established in only 63 of Galicia's nearly 300 cities. In the long term, this led, on the one hand, to a radical reduction in the influence of the bourgeoisie on city management and, on the other hand, to the formation of new elites, which to a large extent no longer came from local backgrounds, as in the case of the old municipal government, but which were formed by the incoming population members.