Las relaciones geográficas y el conocimiento del territorio en tiempos de Felipe II

The geographical records and territory awareness in time of Philip II. The Relaciones Topográficas that were compiled during the reign of Philip II are a primary source of territory awareness. This compilation of data is made up of the answers to a survey designed by Court choniclers, cosmographers and civil servants; answers given by people from over hundred villages belonging to the Crown of Castille. These surveys were carried out both in mainland Spain and in America. The author of this paper studies the survey origins, its structure, possibilities and, most importantly, its influence on other secondary sources which were already used as censuses apart from including knowledge of the territory.Las relaciones geográficas y el conocimiento del territorio en tiempos de Felipe II. Las Relaciones Topográficas mandadas realizar en el reinado de Felipe II constituyen una fuente de primera magnitud para el conocimiento del territorio. Se trata de las respuestas dadas por personas de más de setecientos pueblos de la Corona de Castilla a un interrogatorio preparado por cronistas, cosmógrafos y funcionarios de la Corte de El Escorial. Se llevaron a cabo tanto en la Península como en América. En este trabajo se estudian sus orígenes, estructura, posibilidades y, sobre todo, su influencia sobre otras fuentes posteriores que, además del conocimiento del territorio, tenían ya una finalidad catastral. [fr] The geographical records and territory awareness in time of Philip II. The Relaciones Topográficas that were compiled during the reign of Philip II are a primary source of territory awareness. This compilation of data is made up of the answers to a survey designed by Court choniclers, cosmographers and civil servants; answers given by people from over hundred villages belonging to the Crown of Castille. These surveys were carried out both in mainland Spain and in America. The author of this paper studies the survey origins, its structure, possibilities and, most importantly, its influence on other secondary sources which were already used as censuses apart from including knowledge of the territory