Over the 13th and 14th centuries, these merchants accrued so much wealth and political sway that they were able to place a significant check on the power of the Aragonese crown. By the 15th century the Aragonese monarch ""was not considered legitimate until he had sworn to respect the basic law of the land in the presence of the "Corts""" (Balcells 9). This balance of power is a classic example of "pactisme", or contractualism, which seems to be a defining feature of the Catalan political culture.