Kenyeres István (szerk.): Urbs. Magyar Várostörténeti Évkönyv XV. - Urbs 15. (Budapest, 2021)
Abstracts
418 Abstracts Lower Hungary and Szatmár), but the presence of the nobility in the towns was noticeable here as well, especially in Abrudbánya. At the beginning of the 17th century the noble families, which had come from outside and gained hegemony, after ensuring their leading role, tried to reorganize the local economic life in their own image. They benefited a lot from the broad “system of privileges”, having acquired by the towns earlier. Typically, they wanted to gain economic benefits with the help of the urban privileges, without sharing in the public burden. The respective leaders of the town tried to resist, enjoying support from the central power as well, but they could not achieve a significant victory, because the ore given to the administration of the Principality by the mine-owners was very valuable, so the commissions of the Principality fried to find a compromise solution. János Nagy Loyal Subjects or Local Lobbyists? The Representatives of the Town of Buda at the 1728-29 National Assembly The study seeks to answer several questions based on the records of the 1728-29 Diet. What kind of complaints were put forward by the delegates of the town, how many of their demands were met, what kind of methods were used to assert their interests and who were the frequently alternating representatives of the town? Although the free royal towns as “royal assets” tried to please the government and its officials, at the beginning, due to their unfavourable financial situation and their involvement in the proposed reforms, some of them (including the delegates of Buda) refused the tax reform of the government. However, later they obediently voted for the tax increase. They were most active in lobbying at the deputations of the Diet, which assigned the tax units, or in persuading certain high officials privately. Their united action as a “fourth estate” provoked resentment from the representatives of the counties, who became more and more assertive. In contrast, the representatives of the towns intentionally remained modest, acted as loyal subjects of the Crown. Voting faithfully for the tax increase, in line with the logic of the royal court, the towns acquired symbolical capital and they tried to use it for resolving their grievances against the government. However, they could not substantially get involved in the clashes between the government and the main actors of the feudal political life, the aristocrats, and the representatives of the counties. Nonetheless, by promising to resolve the grievances of the towns, the Court probably intentionally tried to influence the politics of the towns’ representatives. However, due to their financial and political weaknesses, they were unable to enforce the fulfilment of these promises. We can finally conclude that the delegates of Buda did not play a central role at this Diet, unlike the town delegates of Sopron.
