Spaces, Authorities, and Jurisdictions in the Iberian Atlantic, 1400-1650

FAIN: FA-251482-17

Karen B. Graubart
University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN 46556-4635)

A book-length study of Spanish juridical administration in 15th-century Seville and 16th- and 17th-century Lima.

Neighbors and Others examines governance strategies in 15th century Seville and 16th and 17th century Lima, to show how the laws used to differentiate and administer Muslim, Jewish and sub-Saharan African communities under Christian rule in Iberia were transformed to accommodate the integration of indigenous and African peoples into the new Spanish empire. These systems of governance, which offered limited autonomy to most subject peoples, enabled communities to articulate their own notions of justice and law within the environment of Iberian Christian dominance. By focusing on the local – mapping where urban residents lived and worked, and how they acted through different social and juridical categories – the book demonstrates how Spanish forms of delegated governance created a multi-jurisdictional society that enabled communities to lead themselves via a variety of beliefs and practices.

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