Debating friendship in seventeenth-century Lima, 1678–1681

Abstract

ABSTRACT Given its performative functions and polysemic nature, friendship was constantly debated within the multiple political and legal sites of the Spanish Empire. This article focuses on the case of the Conde de Castellar, the viceroy of Peru (1674–1678), who was removed from office after being accused of excessive distribution of offices to his favors. The conde’s case demonstrates that friendship was both a widely accepted aspect of political life and a useful category in delegitimizing opponents. This essay focuses especially on the conflict over the conde’s social relationships and their amical character (1678–1681) as he was accused of manipulating witnesses and judges to help him escape his end-of-tenure judicial review with little punishment. Exploring manuscript records held at the Archivo General de Indias, this study reconstructs the practices and meanings of friendship with the goal of depicting the processes by which personal friendships were transformed into social and legal facts.