Studia Historica: Historia Moderna

López de Gómara and the Mediterranean Misfortune of Hernán Cortés. Classical Sources and Narrative Transcendence of the Account of the Battle of Algiers in 1541

Javier Molina Villeta — 2025-01-29

The aim of this article is to study from a historiographical and rhetorical perspective the participation of Cortés in the battle of Algiers in 1541 according to the narrative of Francisco López de Gómara. The story of the Soriano will give us clues to understand the relationship of the conqueror with the emperor and with the Castilian aristocracy. Our hypothesis suggests that, without intending to, Gómara inspired the anti-Spanish authors who elaborated the embryonic story of what would later be called the Black Legend. As we will demonstrate in this work, the first anti-Spanish version of his story was encouraged by the Milanese Girolamo Benzoni. We propose to analyze the works that were inspired by the Soria native to build the image of the conqueror.

The Art Of Official History In The Sixteenth Century: the Diálogos cuál debe ser el cronista del príncipe, by Pedro de Navarra

Cesc Esteve Mestre — 2025-01-29

The aim of this paper is to explore Diálogos cuál debe ser el cronista del príncipe by Pedro de Navarra, first published around 1565, in order to examine its underlying ideas and objectives, its place within the 16th-century tradition of the artes historicae, and its particular relevance to the early modern discourse that focused on the forms, challenges, and functions of official history. This analysis approaches the work from several angles: the humanist perspective on the nature of history and its role in educating the prince; the positioning of the chronicler as a servant of both the monarchy and the state; and the use of dialogue as a rhetorical tool to legitimize the author as both a historian and a political advisor. These interpretive approaches are complementary and coherent, but not entirely so, and in this way, they help uncover the internal tensions in Pedro de Navarra’s historical discourse.

Military, Patronage and Noble Promotion: The Placement Strategies of the Catalan Clientele of Luis de Requesens at the End of the 16th Century

Víctor J. Jurado Riba — 2025-01-29

Noble clienteles and the relationships between nobles of various ranks have been well studied in recent years. This investigation proposes to show an unusual case in the case of the Catalan estate: the clientele of Luis de Requesens, his military participation and, especially, what happened to those individuals when the protector died. It is usual to study the functioning of well-marked descendant power structures, but in these pages will emphasise what happened once this clientele was decapitated. Who took command of that structure, relations with the Court and the use of past service to promote future careers will be aspects analyzed in these pages, as well as the monitoring of common strategies in these noblemen.

Composition and Evolution of the Genoese Galley Squadrons in the Service of the Spanish Monarchy (1528-1650)

Benoît Maréchaux — 2025-01-29

This article traces the composition and evolution of the galley squadrons that Genoese contractors managed on behalf of the Spanish Monarchy from the Italians Wars to the Treaty of Westphalia. While scholars are increasingly investigating the transnational business of war as a way of overcoming the limitations of the fiscal-military state model, it is barely known what the Genoese galley squadrons consisted of, albeit being, one of the most emblematic institutions of the privatisation of warfare in Early Modern Europe. With the aim of offering a first overview of the issue, this article establishes who the main contractors were and reconstructs the evolution of the naval forces provided in the Mediterranean. Thus, it intends to shed light on the development, consolidation, and crisis of a public-private partnership which, far from being temporary or marginal, constituted a key method for mobilizing permanent naval forces for almost two centuries.

The Sale of the Bilbao Provostship During the War of the Spanish Succession: Resource Mobilization for the Treasury of Philip V Amidst the Construction of a New Regime (1704-1705)

Rafael Guerrero Elecalde — 2025-01-29

This work investigates the sale of the Bilbao provostship during the War of the Spanish Succession. This office, of medieval origin, was held hereditarily from 1605 by the Idiaquez family, until Philip V decided to reincorporate it into the royal patrimony and its subsequent sale to finance the war. From a micro-analytical approach, and based on the analysis of this process, we look at the important changes that took place from the very arrival of the first king of the Bourbon dynasty: the action of the new rulers of the Monarchy, the implementation of political reforms and the development of a programme of venal operations. All this led to the renewal of the ruling elites, with the fall of the traditional powerful families, such as the Dukes of Ciudad Real. The main documents analysed are those held in the National Historical Archive in Madrid, and the Foral Historical Archive of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia in Bilbao.

The Royal Factories of Arms in Gipuzkoa Between Direct Management and the Asiento System (1700-1735)

Aitor Díaz Paredes — 2025-01-29

This article explores the period between 1700 and 1735 in the Royal Armories of Gipuzkoa, examining the transition from direct management to the subcontracting system in the production of firearms, bladed weapons, and implements for soldiers. The research focuses on the dynamics of management, financing, and outcomes of this transition process in the administration of the Royal Armories. It analyzes the financial, productive, and operational challenges faced by the armories, as well as the implications of the interaction between direct administration and agreements with private contractors.

Rules and Practices: Builders’ Examinations in Early Modern Lisbon (17th-18th Centuries)

Sandra M.G. Pinto — 2025-01-29

This article explores the taking of examinations in Lisbon by those involved in the building trade in the early modern period. It contrasts rules with examination practices based on information gathered from regulatory documents and over two thousand records of craftsmanship examinations conducted between the mid-seventeenth and mid-eighteenth centuries. While the former documents are well known in Portuguese historiography concerning craft guilds, the latter were taken from two handwritten books which have not previously been researched. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of this data set shows that examination practices complied with the main rules and formalities, although there were exceptions resulting from historical circumstances. This analysis also reveals various aspects of the examination which are not possible to discover using only regulations, as well as offering an unprecedented insight into the characteristics and patterns of the masons and carpenters of Lisbon in the early modern period.

Madness in Torres Villarroel: frenzy in the Sueños Morales

Julen Ibarburu Antón — 2025-01-29

Diego de Torres Villarroel was one of the great intellectual references of the 18th century. However, his academic career, the quality of his writings and the large number of texts published were often tarnished by controversies with his contemporaries. In any case, although the subjects he dealt with were countless, throughout his work there is a manifest interest in madness, which he expressed in works such as the Sueños Morales. In these volumes Torres presented a number of insane patients in their final moments, evicted from the hospital. Throughout this essay I study one of them: the frenzied and the way in which the Salamanca-born author understood and represented madness. The course of the disease, the diversity of treatments used on him or the social background of insanity are some of the fundamental points.

Álvarez-Ossorio Alvariño, Antonio, Quirós Rosado, Roberto y Bravo Lozano, Cristina (eds.) (2024). Las noblezas de la monarquía de España (1556-1725)

Esther Pérez - Piqueras Gómez — 2025-01-29

Bermejo Mangas, Daniel (2022). La caída de una clase política. Los reformistas vascos en la crisis del Antiguo Régimen (1764-1814)

Francisco Andújar Castillo — 2025-01-29

Cano Arjona, José Antonio (2023). Las milicias locales del reino de Jaén en el siglo XVI (1500-1587)

Antonio José Rodríguez Hernández — 2025-01-29

Glesener, Thomas (2023). El imperio de los exiliados. Los flamencos y la militarización del gobierno de España en el siglo XVIII

Pablo Ortega-del-Cerro — 2025-01-29

Imízcoz Beunza, José María y Llorente Arribas, Elena (coord.) (2023). Entre el Imperio y la comunidad. Recursos globales, patronazgo y hegemonías locales en la primera globalización (Provincias vascas y Reino de Navarra, siglos XV-XVIII)

Juan José Iglesias Rodríguez — 2025-01-29

Jiménez Estrella, Antonio, Lozano Navarro, Julián J., Sánchez-Montes González, Francisco (eds.) (2024). La construcción de la memoria. El pasado y sus relatos en la Monarquía Hispánica

José Javier Ruiz Ibáñez — 2025-01-29

Jurado Riba, Víctor J. (2023). Gremis en armes a la Barcelona moderna (1640-1714). El Consell de Cent, la Coronela i el gremi de revenedors en la defensa de la ciutat

David Ferré Gispets — 2025-01-29

Lanza García, Ramón (ed.) (2023). Los dineros de la Corona. Finanzas y cambio fiscal en la Monarquía Hispánica (Siglos XVI-XVII)

Alberto Marcos Martín — 2025-01-29

Lorenzo Pinar, Francisco Javier (2023). Demencia, tutela y conflictividad familiar en Castilla en los siglos XVII y XVIII: Don Enrique Félix Pamo Contreras Moreta (1672-1736)

Pablo Ajenjo López — 2025-01-29

Martínez Borrallo, Antonio (2022), Comerciantes vascos y navarros en Madrid. Una élite mercantil ilustrada al servicio de la Monarquía española (1700-1830)

Guillermo Pérez Sarrión — 2025-01-29

Martínez Hernández, Santiago (2023). Letras para un autorretrato. Los diarios de Francesco II Moncada, príncipe de Paternò y Duque de Montalto (1587-1588)

James Amelang — 2025-01-29

Moreno Díaz del Campo, Francisco J. (2023). La vida al por menor. Cultura material de moriscos y cristianos viejos en la Castilla del siglo XVI

Clara Almagro Vidal — 2025-01-29

Nieto Sánchez, José Antolín, Muñoz Navarro, Daniel y Franch Benavent, Ricardo (eds.) (2023). Ciudades en movimiento: Negocios, trabajo y conflictividad en la sociedad española (siglos XVI-XVIII)

David A. Abián Cubillo — 2025-01-29

Planas, Natividad (2023). Koukou, le royaume enfoui. Enquête sur les relations entre Europe et Islam (XVIe-XVIIe siècles)

Bernard Vincent — 2025-01-29

Ramis Barceló, Rafael y Ramis Serra, Pedro (2023). La Universidad de Barcelona en el siglo XVII

Carlos Díaz-Santos — 2025-01-29

Royano Cabrera, Miguel (2023). La comunidad mercantil de la corona de Aragón en la Baja Andalucía (1516-1556)

Enrique Cruselles Gómez — 2025-01-29

Sallés Vilaseca, Nuria (2022). La política internacional de Giulio Alberoni: el desafío al orden europeo en el reinado de Felipe V

Mario Luis López Durán — 2025-01-29

Vincent, Bernard (2023). Esclavitudes Ibéricas. Hacia una historia conjunta del fenómeno esclavista entre el mundo mediterráneo y el mundo atlántico (siglos XVI-XVIII)

Antonio Jiménez Estrella — 2025-01-29

Wunder, Amanda (2024). La moda española en la época de Velázquez. Un sastre en la corte de Felipe IV

Rafael Japón — 2025-01-29

Presentation. Mediating with the Pen and the Word: Secretaries and Language Translators in the Monarchy of Spain (1516-1714)

Roberto Quirós Rosado — 2025-01-29

«His Highness does not Know How to Speak a Single Word in Spanish»: Some Considerations on Charles of Ghent and the Court of Brussels Through the Reports to Cardinal Cisneros (1516-1517)

Juan M. Carretero Zamora — 2025-01-29

Since the death of Ferdinand the Catholic (January 1516) until the journey of Charles I to Spain in September 1517, cardinal Cisneros received diverse reports on the situation at the Court of Brussels and personality of the young monarch Charles I. Confidential reports (some of them illegible as they were encrypted) were written by Diego López de Ayala and those around Bishop Alonso Manrique de Lara. The content of these reports is of great interest for the knowledge of the Court that surrounded Charles I in Brussels. The monarch appears as a young man subjected to the influence of his advisors from Flanders and Spaniards residents in Brussels (Chièvres, Sauvage, Mota, etc.), educated exclusively in the culture of Burgundy and who only expressed himself in the French language. This linguistic aspect constituted a political problem in the education of Charles I, as had already been noted in the relations of Ferdinand le Catholic with Emperor Maximilian I (1507-1515). This linguistic problem also affected the financial relations between the Spanish treasures and the argentiers of Flanders.

The Greek Language Translators in the Spanish Monarchy (16th-17th Centuries)

José M. Floristán — 2025-01-29

The extent and diversity of the foreign policy of the Spanish Monarchy during the Habsburg period brought it into contact with various communities of Eastern Christendom, among them, the Greek one. The political Hispanophilia in the Balkans and eastern Mediterranean for ideological reasons and the establishment of Greek emigrants in the kingdoms of the Monarchy made necessary the work of translation of written texts or oral testimonies of Greek language. In this paper I present and analyze the known data on the interpretation of diplomatic and judicial documents in the 16th-17th centuries, a task that was entrusted to native speakers or Spanish humanists with knowledge of Greek.

Habsburgs’ Governing Language Secretaries and Their Influence (17th Century): The Cases of Cristóbal Angelate de Cratzenbach and Johannes Walderode

Luis Tercero Casado — 2025-01-29

From a socio-cultural and political perspective, some reflections will be made on the main foreign language secretaries at the Habsburg courts of Madrid and Vienna, in relation to the dynasty’s governing languages during the 17th century: Spanish and German. In particular, the cases of Cristóbal Angelate de Cratzenbach and Johannes Walderode, individuals who enjoyed the greatest visibility and influence in these positions for much of the century, will be the subject of analysis. Their role as the first administrative link in the communication chain between both family courts will be examined, focusing on the aptitudes, suitability, professional development, and promotion of these secretaries. Additionally, the influential role they played in relation to concepts such as loyalty, autonomy of action, espionage, corruption, and opposition within this particular dynastic context will also be explored.

Secretaries, Music, and Cultural Diplomacy: The Post-Mortem Inventory of Juan de Castro Laurel (Rome, 1709)

José María Domínguez — 2025-01-29

The secretaries of ambassadors and viceroys in Spanish Italy in the late seventeenth century were key agents of cultural mediation. Both they and lower-ranking officials, thanks to their command of languages, formed networks similar to those of ambassadors and viceroys, though subordinate to them. In addition to acting as intermediaries between the Italian and Spanish spheres of scholarship, some developed notable poetic talents by composing musical poetry (such as cantatas and operas), translating works, or facilitating the transmission of sources and themes for operas. The cases of Gianvincenzo Gravina and Dean Emanuel Martí exemplify these roles in Rome at the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. However, there are other, lesser-known figures tied to the fates of their respective patrons and to the period of instability that began for the embassy in 1696, such as Juan de Uriarte, secretary to the Count of Altamira, as well as other secretaries like Pedro Echenique y Aguirre or Diego Ortiz de Zárate. This article reevaluates these figures based on previously unpublished documentation. In this context, the case of Juan de Castro Laurel, a secretary associated with the music-loving Cardinal Giudice, offers new insights into the cultural practices of these literary figures and their emulation of their patrons’ tastes. Laurel died in Rome in July 1709. This article publishes his post-mortem inventory, an unpublished document held in the Archivio Storico Capitolino. The inventory includes paintings and musical instruments that can be analyzed from three perspectives: musical patronage, material culture as framed by Renata Ago’s concept of the gusto delle cose, and finally, the spatial distribution of music within Roman palaces and the audience involved.

Secretaries and Agents: Key Components of the Clientelistic Network of Luis Francisco de la Cerda y Aragón, 9th Duke of Medinaceli, in Rome

Sabrina Delneri — 2025-01-29

The reading of a series of correspondences between secretaries, agents and servants of Luis Francisco de la Cerda y Aragón, 9th Duke of Medinaceli, has allowed to bring to light some useful elements to understand the operation of the hierarchy within the ducal client network. In particular, the letters, developed between Bernardo de Rezusta, one of the duke’s secretaries in Madrid, and Ignacio de Emparan, cleric and servant of the same in Rome, in the years 1704-1706, has allowed to focus the mechanisms and the practices of government that were acted to achieve the political designs animated by the ambitions of the Duke of Medinaceli.

Nueva Planta and Political Rivalry. The Bourbon Reforms and the Decline of the Secretariat of State and War in the Southern Low Countries (1702-1711)

Roberto Quirós Rosado — 2025-01-29

At the beginning of Philip V’s reign, the Secretariat of State and War in the Spanish Netherlands saw its powers change and found itself at the centre of a political dispute between its head, Joseph de Arce, and the Bourbon Minister of War, the 2nd Count of Bergeyck. The intervention of the courts of Versailles and Madrid, the control of Brussels’ governance by Louis XIV and his courtiers and the increasingly distant links with Spanish ministers were the consequences of this jurisdictional dispute. However, after the Battle of Ramillies (1706), the collapse of Bourbon rule over Flanders forced part of the Spanish Ministry to follow the Elector of Bavaria to Mons, initially, and then to Namur, from where the secretary, his officers and other administrators recounted their hardships and the problems which they would face as the Philip V’s sovereignty of the Low Countries ended up being granted to their governor general, Maximilian II Emmanuel of Bavaria.