Resumen de Barcelona, 1640: popular violence and the use of urban spaces during the revolt of Corpus Christi Day
This essay examines the popular violence perpetrated in Barcelona against the royal ministers of Philip IV and their homes on 7 June 1640, Feast of Corpus Christi. It is shown that this popular revolt was not an expression of uncontrolled rage, but an uprising which developed in very clear stages and had specific goals. Through a series of ritualised acts of violence and the celebration of a popular procession through the streets of Barcelona, the crowd intended to punish the royal ministers and to repair the social body. The acts of violence were tools of symbolical communication that allowed the mob to express a clear political message against the viceregal power.
