Esquilache riots

The Esquilache Riots (Motín de Esquilache) occurred in March 1766 during the rule of Charles III of Spain. Caused mostly by the growing discontent in Madrid about the rising costs of bread and other staples, they were sparked off by a series of measures regarding Spaniards' apparel that had been enacted by Leopoldo de Gregorio, Marqués de Esquilache, a Neapolitan minister whom Charles favored.

Esquilache's plan was to terminate the wearing of long capes and broad-brimmed hats (chambergos) by male madrileños, replacing these traditional garments with French-style short capes and three-cornered hats. This reform was intended to modernize the appearance of conservative Spanish society and improve public safety, since the long capes were supposedly thought to facilitate the concealment of weapons, while the large hats were thought to conceal a person's face, a safeguard for criminals.

The new policies did not immediately catch the attention of the populace, as more pressing issues fanned the flames of popular discontent, namely the rising prices in bread, oil, coal, and cured meat, caused in part by Esquilache's liberalization of the grain trade. Moreover, these measures at first were only applied to the royal household and staff (January 21, 1766).

Under pain of arrest, these royal functionaries adopted the measures en masse. Having applied these initial measures, Esquilache proceeded to impose them on the general population. The writer and government official Pedro Rodríguez de Campomanes and the body known as the Council of Castile warned him that the confiscation of hats and cloaks would cause resentment amongst the people.

Esquilache nevertheless went ahead with these measures, and on March 10, 1766 placards appeared in Madrid prohibiting the wearing of these garments. Popular reaction was immediate: the placards were torn off the walls. Soldiers were mobilized and local authorities were attacked by the populace. Rioters shouted "Long Live Spain! Death to Esquilache!"

On Palm Sunday, around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, two townsmen, dressed in the forbidden long capes and chambergos, provocatively crossed the little square of Antón Martín. Several soldiers on guard duty stopped them to inquire about their garments. Insults were exchanged and the soldiers tried to detain them. One of the townsmen unsheathed a sword and whistled. A band of townspeople appeared and the soldiers fled. The rioters quickly took over Plaza de los Inválidos where muskets and sabers were stored. 2,000 rioters marched on the Calle Atocha to the Plaza Mayor, yelling insults against Esquilache. They ran into Luis Antonio Fernández de Córdoba y Spínola, the 11th Duke of Medinaceli, whom they surrounded, and they forced him to approach the king with a series of petitions.

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Wikipedia