Republics, their Customs, and the Law of the King

Convivencia and Self-Determination in the Crown of Castile and its American Territories, 1400-1700

Bibliographic Data

ID5778499
AuthorsMax Deardorff (0000-0002-0108-802X, University of Florida, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume2018
Issue26
Pages162-199
Publication date2018-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRechtsgeschichte - Legal History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1619-4993 • E-ISSN: 2195-9617
PublisherMax Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.12946/rg26/162-199
OpenAlexW2888022363
LanguageEN
Citations received2

This article examines a conflict over indigenous inheritance law in one small corner of the 16th-century Spanish Empire - the northern Andes - in order to open a window onto legal traditions in the wider Hispanic world. A specific emphasis is devoted to the mechanisms that placed custom (unwritten norms) at the center of early modern Spanish legal theory, making the Spanish monarchy one especially adapted to incorporating diverse social elements. By focusing on the late-medieval / early modern conception of »republics« - cultural communities oriented toward cohesive action preserving their common good - as the basic unit of study, and on custom as the basic guarantor of their continuing self-determination, I suggest ways to think about the legacy of Iberian convivencia both within and outside of its traditional medieval frame. Recommended citation: Deardorff, Max, Republics, their Customs, and the Law of the King: Convivencia and Self-Determination in the Crown of Castile and its American Territories, 1400-1700, in: Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History Rg 26 (2018) 162-199, online: http://dx.doi.org/10.12946/rg26/162-199

Historical Studies in Latin America · Historical Studies on Spain · Latin American history and culture

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