Viceregal Culture and Colonial State. A Critical Approach to the Study of New Spain Political History

Traditionally, studies on New Spain political history concentrate, on the one hand, on the analysis of the juridical-legal institutions and structures imposed by the Spaniards after the conquest, and, on the other hand, on the most relevant viceroys of the 16th century, those who are thought to have established such structures in New Spain. This study attempts to go beyond that static, monolithic, and clearly restricted view of political realities in 16th and 17th century New Spain by analyzing the discourses of prudence, justice, liberality and magnificence, or key concepts and images, such as the viceroy as “the living image of the king” or the “two knives” theory. Thus, examining the defining traits of New Spain’s political culture, and more specifically, the viceregal political culture, proves to be a more adequate method to appreciate, in all its complexity, the dinamics of power among New Spain’s elite, both Peninsular and American-born