(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-10-18) Gálvez Peña, Carlos M.
Published in Lima in 1644, fray Alonso de Almeida´s Pretendiente de la tierra is a complex treatise that explores both the nature of power and the mission of Christian government embodied by the Spanish Empire of the seventeenth century. It is an original appropriation of both Castiglione´s The Courtier (1528) and Botero´s Reason of State (1589). An interesting case of cultural appropriation, Almeida´s work is, however, notably original, since it is designed to be a manual for honorees of the Peruvian viceroyalty to navigate the court at Madrid. The book not only covers formalities and protocol, but, above all, delves into their meaning in the wider context of an ailing Hispanic Monarchy and the relaunch of government based on anti-Machiavellianism. Almeida’s notion of Christian government includes both the individual and the State.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-10-18) Villarreal Brasca, Amorina
This paper analyses the career of the Marquis of Montesclaros in relation to the importance of experience as a fundamental requirement for carrying out the great offices of royal service and a principle of the political culture of the Spanish Monarchy. It presents the reasons given to justify his lack of experience at the beginning of his career, in the assistance of Seville, as well as his reflections after managing the two viceroyalties of the Indies and other important posts in the high administration. To this end, the article examines in depth a series of writings by the Marquis of Montesclaros that reveal the value placed on experience according to his stage of life and, especially, the flexibility that could be applied to the same principle according to the political times of the king’s court.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-10-18) Amadori, Arrigo
This article analyzes correspondence sent by the field master Pedro Esteban Dávila to various levels of court administration, from his appointment as governor of Buenos Aires until his arrival in the Río de la Plata. These writings, sent between 1629 and 1631 from Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro, reveal some little-known aspects, at least for this region, of the efforts of a royal servant who, even before leaving the peninsula, played an essential role in the configuration of defensive devices for an enclave of geopolitical relevance at a critical juncture. Furthermore, this repertoire of letters provides an experiential perspective on the functioning of a composite monarchy during the period of the Union of Crowns.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-10-18) Rivero Rodríguez, Manuel
It has been traditionally argued that the viceroyalty was an institution of Aragonese origin, which evolved over time. This paper presents a different thesis. The vice-royalty was a creation of the administrative and political reforms that took place under Charles V. Based on the ideas and projects of the Great Chancellor Gattinara to deal with the complex governance of a universal Empire, the viceroyalty was configured as a suitable management resource. The viceroyalty, although known and applied in earlier times, took shape at the Cortes of Monzón in 1528 and at the meeting in Genoa in 1529, emerging as the way to govern from a distance and manage the absence of the king. The viceroyalty therefore took on a different dimension from 1529 onwards, or, if you like, it was invented.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-10-18) Suárez, Margarita
This article analyzes how distribution of power between peninsular institutions and the viceroys coexisted with the legal and informal channels that were established to accommodate the aspirations of various viceregal groups. Although the power of the viceroys and the elites had increased since the end of the 16th century, under the protection of buoyant mining production, the polysynodial system did not allow Peruvian elites to rise within it. This resulted in a system circumvented through tricks, advice, and even by evading laws and corrupting patronage, which would end up vitiating the system of gifts that had previously worked successfully and allowed the union of the Hispanic empire in the beginnings of modern Europe.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-10-18) Rosenmüller, Christoph
In this article, I argue that the entourages of the viceroys traveling to New Spain declined notably during the eighteenth century, but with marked exceptions. While the aristocrats of the early century brought sizable retinues, a modest group of twenty criados (retainers) accompanied the Marquis of Casafuerte (1722-1734). Then Juan Francisco de Güemes y Horcasitas reinforced this transformation in 1746, when arriving from another posting in Spanish America with his wife, eight children, and perhaps a handful of criados. Some viceroys married to wives of significant social importance broke with the trend towards modesty, however these vicereines were entitled to their own criadas (female retainers) and criados to serve them, contributing to larger entourages. For that reason, the Marquis and Marquise of las Amarillas traveled with their son and sixty-six criados and criadas during the mid-century, while thirty-three criados and criadas came with the Marquis of Branciforte and María Antonia de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria in the year 1794. An important countercurrent jostled with the steady decline of viceregal patronage during the century.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-10-18) Ciaramitaro, Fernando
In recent years, the court has been a relevant topic in historiography. When we refer to the court as a space that is political, artistic, financial, etc., we should not only think of the court par excellence, that of the king, but also of the other distinct spheres made up of nobles, ecclesiastics and illustrious members of the common folk, who formed centers of scholarly discussion and power and exercised a political, religious, cultural and economic role in the territory. In the Indies, different courts were juxtaposed with each other, but researchers have tended to focus on viceregal courts. In these courts, the highest monarchical office was executed: the viceroy acted as the link between the monarch and his American vassals, and as an impressive focal point for groups that composed the sociopolitical framework of the viceroyalties. The court was the most prestigious center in which guidelines, ideologies, and symbols were developed, all of which were elements that comprised the essence or core of power. The objective of this study is therefore to analyze the main plans that, from the court of the monarch in Spain and the Indies, were drawn for the Americas: theoretical designs that did not become fact. They are, nonetheless, valuable for understanding the changes in political thought and law, throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-10-18) Andújar Castillo, Francisco
This article studies the business agents who proved an essential link between the various territories of the Hispanic monarchy and the Court of Madrid. They acted as mediators between those who resided in America and sought to obtain positions and honors that the monarch dispensed. However, from 1674 onwards, when positions of political government, as well as those of justice from 1683 onwards, began to be granted in return for money, these business agents or “brokers” also began to serve as financiers. In particular, the case of the principle agent from the last third of the 17th century, Diego de Villatoro, Marquis of Castillo and attorney of the Consulate of Lima before the Council of the Indies, is studied.
