(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) 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.
(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.
