Ceremonial Demarcations. The Viceregal Court as Space of Political Communication in the Spanish Monarchy (Valencia, Naples, and Mexico 1621–1635)

Abstract

The author discusses the cases of the viceregal courts of the Spanish monarchy, concentrating on the realms of Valencia, Naples, and New Spain (Mexico). Research concerning the 'composite monarchy' of the Spanish Habsburgs and the political relationship between the royal court at Madrid and the different territories of the monarchy in Europe and America has elucidated the role of the viceroy within the complicated arrangement of institutional and personal relations that characterised the government of the vast transatlantic empire during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He describes the role of the Spanish viceroy and the viceregal court within the royal government in the three realms under consideration. He addresses the extent and function of ceremonial rules within the three viceregal courts. He discusses ceremonial disputes as a part of the political communication at these courts. This comparative approach highlights differences and similarities in political communication at these different viceregal courts. Keywords: Naples; New Spain; royal court; Spanish monarchy; Valencia; viceregal court