“Que nosotros quedemos en aquella figura como nuestra lealtad y servicios merecen”: cadenas de representación en el Imperio hispánico

Abstract

This article analyses the different forms of procuration that existed in the Hispanic Monarchy during the 16th Century and presents a typology for its study. The authors propose to distinguish two types of procurators: those officials who performed their duties by office, as mediators in courts and tribunals; and those who were elected by individuals or groups to carry out all kinds of negotiation processes. The study describes the characteristics of both forms of procuration, their differences and similarities, and the way they complemented in their functions of mediation and representation. Finally, the article presents a case study on a group of Yucatan procurators that worked at the king’s court to show how the different types of these proxies acted in practice.

Keywords

• representation
• Indies
• colonial administration
• number procurator
• business procurator