Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/134

cxvi from this quarter of their dominions, than from every other Navagiero, the Venetian ambassador to Spain, early in the sixteenth century, although a republican himself, was so struck with what he deemed the insubordination of the Barcelonians, that he asserts, "The inhabitants have so many privileges, that the king scarcely retains any authority over them; their liberty," he adds, "should rather go by the name of license." One example among many, may be given, of the tenacity with which they adhered to their most inconsiderable immunities.

Ferdinand the First, in 1416, being desirous, in consequence of the exhausted state of the finances on his coming to the throne, to evade the payment of a certain tax or subsidy customarily paid by the kings of Aragon to the city of Barcelona, sent for the president of the council, John Fiveller, to re- quire the consent of that body to this measure. The magistrate, having previously advised with his colleagues, determined to encounter any hazard, says Zurita, rather than compromise the rights of the city. He reminded the king of his coronation oath, expressed his regret that he was willing so soon to deviate from the good usages of his prede-