Revista de Historia

Mosconi, Gianfranco, Democrazia e buon governo. Cinque tesi democratiche nella Grecia del V secolo A.C. Milan: Edizioni Universitarie di Lettere Economia Diritto, 2021, 232 pp. ISBN 9788879169851.

Felipe Montanares Piña — 2025-04-25

On governance in viceregal Peru (16th-18th centuries): dynamics, agents, officials, regulations and power networks on regional and local scales in southern Andean space

Germán Morong Reyes — 2025-04-25

Rotate within the office. Three corregidores de indios in search of their political careers in Charcas, viceroyalty of Perú, 1575-1640

Ariel J. Morrone — 2025-04-25

ABSTRACT

In this article, we analyze the trajectories of three corregidores de indios who performed their duties in various corregimientos under the jurisdiction of the Audiencia of Charcas. We focus on their origins and social backgrounds, their mechanisms for integrating into local elites, their political careers, their governance practices, the characteristics of their authority, and their connections with other local and higher authorities. The prolonged tenure of these three corregidores in their respective positions is a peculiarity that demands careful survey, based on a cross-examination of notarial and judicial documentation. The social relationships, political networks, and business dealings organized by these intermediary agents of colonial power territorialized Hispanic domination on a local scale.

“Esta tierra tan enconada”: reports from the Gobernación del Tucumán, Juríes, and Diaguitas from San Salvador de Jujuy. The exercise of jurisdiction in a context of rebellions (Mid-17th Century)

2025-04-25

ABSTRACT

The early history of the Gobernación del Tucumán, Juríes, and Diaguitas, located in the southern part of the Vice-royalty of Peru, was marked by 130 years of indigenous resistance. This long conflict inevitably influenced all contemporary representations and perceptions of the region and its cities. This study proposes to examine the behavior of the city of San Salvador de Jujuy within this context, following the principles of the Ancient Regime. Our focus is on examining the rise of indigenous groups, geographical features and local population, the meaning of Gobernación, and the city's relationship with the Spanish Crown, all within the framework of ongoing uprisings. We posit that interpreting both the city and the associated indigenous groups as a corporative entity, will provide a deeper understanding of the region's unique dynamics and the broader colonial project. Although this topic has extensive implications, our study will be confined to analyzing documents issued by the jurisdiction of San Salvador de Jujuy, sourced from the Historical Archive of the Province of Jujuy. This will be complemented by additional broader documents.

The expensive price of a hard experience. The Atlantic backside of the Peruvian viceroyalty as seen by some men of its government between 1745 and 1776

Darío G. Barriera — 2025-04-25

Based on both printed and unpublished government documents, this article contributes to studies on the political history of colonial America, particularly those informed by the “communicational turn.” It analyzes exchanges between viceroys, ministers, and other territorial authorities to highlight differing perceptions of the vulnerability of the Atlantic coast of the Peruvian viceroyalty and the various considerations these generated regarding its defense as a matter of governance.

Commissioners of the Lima Inquisition and the Territorialization of Royal Power

Macarena Cordero Fernández — 2025-04-25

In 1570, the Holy Office of the Inquisition was established in the New World. Given the vast jurisdictional territories of each tribunal, it was decided that each episcopal see and seaport would appoint commissioners and other officials to form local commissariats. The role of these commissioners, delegated by the inquisitors to local areas, was not limited to religious control; they also contributed to the territorialization of royal power. This article argues that the Holy Office functioned as a governing institution within the intricate network of authorities of the Spanish Monarchy. Through the actions of its commissioners -in this case, in the district of Lima- it played a central role in the territorialization of royal power.

Each death of a bishop. The government of the diocese of Buenos Aires in times of vacancy (Viceroyalty of Peru, 1700-1776)

Miriam Moriconi — 2025-04-25

This article explores the governance of the Diocese of Buenos Aires, focusing exclusively on the interregnums of episcopal authority during the early Bourbon period. Drawing on legal, judicial, and notarial documentation from both civil and ecclesiastical sources, it reconstructs the chronology of these interregnums, examines the causes of the vacancies, and analyzes the delays in episcopal appointments and successions. Through a microanalytical approach, the article studies the conditions under which the cathedral chapter governed the southernmost diocese of the Spanish Monarchy in its Andean viceroyalty during periods of sede vacante.

The Jesuit missions through the sources on the financing of the Royal Army of the Border of Chile (17th century)

Mario Prades Vilar — 2025-04-25

This paper examines how sources on the financing of the Royal Army of Chile in the 17^th century provide information regarding the Jesuit missions established in the forts and “presidios” of the mapuche frontier, Buena Esperanza, and Chiloé. These missions received an annual salary–known as the "synod"–charged to the army’s budget–the "real situado"–which was financed by the Royal Treasury of Lima. In this way, the Crown assumed responsibility for the evangelization of the Reche-Mapuche communities in the Biobío borderline, as well as that of the soldiers themselves. Considering this, the first objective of this study is to identify information about the missions found in the real situados written by the officials of the Royal Treasury of Lima and in the “account letters” prepared by officials from the Treasury of Concepción or inspectors sent from Lima. Secondly, other non-accounting sources related to the distribution of the synod are analyzed. These include provisions on how the situado was to be allocated and its amount; memorials, and reports on the fairness of the distribution; and letters from other religious orders opposing payments to the Jesuits. This examination sheds light on economic and moral judgments concerning the payments received by the missionaries: their fairness, adequacy, or moral value. This dual analysis reveals key aspects of missionary culture on the Chilean frontier, including forms of negotiation and economic subordination of soldiers, tensions with different religious orders, the importance of economic control over missions, and the moral economy of the missionaries themselves, which intertwined economic survival with spiritual salvation. These aspects complement, from an economic perspective, the broader understanding of the confessional nature of Jesuit military missions.

Doctor Luis Merlo de la Fuente and his memorials about the war of Chile, 1611-1636

Hugo Contreras Cruces — 2025-04-25

This article focuses on the role of Doctor Luis Merlo de la Fuente as an arbitrista–a political advisor and proposer of solutions–who served as senior judge of the Royal Audiencia of Santiago de Chile and acted as interim governor of the kingdom for six months between 1610 and 1611. After returning to Lima to serve on the Audiencia of that city, between 1617 and 1636 he wrote at least five memorials addressed to the Crown, offering advice on how to conduct and win the Arauco War. Rather than analyzing the content of his proposals, this study examines his activities as a producer and mobilizer of information, as well as his efforts to build and sustain personal and political networks aimed at influencing colonial and imperial policies on Chile–an effort in which he ultimately failed, but which reveals the mechanisms of informal political advocacy within the Spanish Empire.

Authorship and Sources in Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's Nueva Corónica y Buen Gobierno

Soledad González Díaz — 2025-04-25

In this article, I argue that the unconventional narrative so characteristic of Guaman Poma is largely due to the way he read, apprehended, and interpreted the bibliographic universe available to him. It is a synthesis forged from a basic and incomplete literacy, shaped within a colonial and rural horizon, which developed in Guaman Poma silences and narrative displacements not present in the canon of others chroniclers. This article has three main objectives. The first is to identify, based on previous studies and new evidence, the manuscripts and prints underlying the narrative of the Nueva Corónica. The second is to delve into Guaman Poma's reading code and authorial intention. Finally, the third objective is to compare Guaman Poma's reading code with other individuals who, like him, came from ethnic or rural groups unfamiliar with reading and writing.

Signs of land possession and titling rights. Middle Cachapoal river valley, Chile, 1820-1860

Víctor Brangier — 2025-04-25

The article problematizes the existence and role of signs of possession in disputes over land rights and in sales agreements between small and medium peasants in a valley in central Chile. The study focuses on the period from 1820 to 1860, when land values increased and ideas and institutions related to land titling advanced. Land lawsuits, land sale deeds and the Agricultural Cadastres of the period were investigated. The documentation was analyzed from the theoretical and methodological framework of agrarian ius-historiography, focusing on the practices of access to simultaneous rights under the notion of dismembered domain. It is proposed that these factors led the actors to reformulate old land rights sharing agreements before the judicial instances of the territory. Litigants and judges interpreted a variety of actions as signs of possession that granted rights. At the same time, the emergence of a greater sensitivity to titling caused these signs to lose ground to evidence based on purchase titles.

Quantitative and discursive approaches to juvenile criminality in Chile (1874-1928)

Solène Bergot — 2025-04-25

This article analyzes the discourses of experts on juvenile criminality and compares them with statistics produced between 1874 and 1928, a period during which juvenile crime gradually became more visible as a social problem in Chile. Our hypothesis is that at the beginning of the 20th century, there was a gradual shift in the discourses on juvenile delinquency, moving from a purely repressive approach to one that includes reeducation. However, this transition was not entirely successful. To account for both aspects, we examine a wide range of sources, from general and prison statistics that allow us to construct the first quantitative overview of the phenomenon, to specialist texts (conferences, theses, articles) produced by medical, legal, and criminological professionals.

High School students facing the topic of Colonial Chile: micro and macro curricular tensions that hinder the development of historical thinking

Rosendo Martínez — 2025-04-25

Initial results of a research focused on understanding the tensions in the development of historical thinking among high school students are presented, specifically in relation to the conflict between the Spanish and the Mapuche in Colonial Chile. The sample included 231 students from educational institutions with various administrative dependencies, and the methodology used encompassed the application of an ad hoc questionnaire and content analysis to examine the collected information. Among the identified tensions, macro curricular aspects are highlighted, such as the fragmentation of the educational system into various administrative dependencies and its effects on the handling of first and second order concepts, or the consequences of the linear organization of the History curriculum on the deep understanding of historical processes. In the micro curricular aspect, there is a lack of familiarity of students with the work of historians, absence of strategies for working with historical sources, deficiencies in the appropriation of key concepts, and the persistence of a history centered on specific events. Furthermore, difficulties in the students' ability to temporally locate facts, concepts, and historical processes studied are evident.

Physician, humanist, and universal writer: biographical notes on Martin Kuku?in (1860-1928)

Juan Carlos Muñoz — 2025-04-25

A historical-biographical study is presented on the Slovak physician and writer Martin Kuku?in (1860-1928), literary pseudonym of Matej (Mateo) Bencúr, considered one of the most relevant authors of literary Realism in his country. A considerable part of his written work is directly related to Chilean and Argentine Patagonia. This research proposing a brief biographical and intellectual reconstruction focused on his permanence and relationship with the city of Punta Arenas and Patagonia between 1908 and 1922, while investigating the relevance of this experience in his career as a writer, physician, and pro-Slavic activist. For this purpose, we turn to documentary and literary sources.

Bilateral relations o an announced arrest: British - Chilean diplomatic efforts in the previous stage of the Pinochet case

Constanza Gajardo Pavez — 2025-04-25

The article seeks to uncover the complexity and political implications of Augusto Pinochet's visits to the British capital during the 1990s, highlighting media attention, diplomatic tensions, and the impact on British domestic politics. It argues, through official sources from the Foreign Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the Aylwin and Frei administrations, along with the British diplomatic apparatus, were aware of the public interest and international actions against Pinochet. However, since these were private visits, Pinochet did not require official permits to travel. His decision to visit London unilaterally, relying on his diplomatic immunity, the security of transitional agreements, and the continuity of Chilean-British relations, stood in contrast to the post-Cold War international tensions.

The “Class” War. Political conflagrations, Cultural Battles and Social Struggles During Popular Unity (1970-1973)

Alfredo Joignant — 2025-04-25

Between 1970 and 1973, Chile experienced exceptional political conflagrations and cultural battles. This period of high effervescence marked the presidential campaign that led to the victory of Salvador Allende in 1970 and the government of Popular Unity, and concluded with the coup d’etat of September 11, 1973. This period is approached based on systematic analysis from the press and a diary of life, scrutinizing the representations of the people that are formed and deformed, the feelings of optimism, hopelessness and fear in the face of the struggles that confront different groups and classes. In this journey through turbulent times, it is shown how order is challenged, and how different groups are represented.

The Chilean economy and the international crisis of 1907: economic and financial ups and downs in the periphery

Andrés Aguirre Briones — 2025-04-25

This research investigates the Chilean economy and the international economic crisis of 1907. This event, scarcely treated by historiography, will have significant repercussions in the country. The impact of the crisis on foreign trade and exported production, its incidence on the foreign exchange market, fiscal revenues, and the end of a period of high business creation are determined. Along with presenting the role of banking and high foreign trade in the transmission of this situation to the country, as well as the actions of the Chilean state in the face of the crisis, its impact on the banking system is examined in depth, with the bankruptcy of Banco Mobiliario as a distinctive event.