Under the Habsburgs, Catalonia maintained the system of government that had emerged during Medieval times. The Cort, the only institution that could draw up constitutions and approve taxes, was convened less often, and the Generalitat and municipal councils widened their functions and increased their income. The absence of the monarchs gave rise to a new post, the lieutenant or viceroy. The authoritarianism of the kings and their officials, and the pressure for change amongst constitutionalists in Catalonia, led to a legal debate which in 1640 became an armed confrontation. Conflicts between institutions became endemic.