Gobernar la alteridad

Abstract

The legal figure of the protector has its roots in the Roman Empire; it was taken up by the Christianity associated with the concept of charity and recovered in modern Europe in its triple aspect of guardian, mediator and defender. In the Spanish administration, the figure of the protector of the indians is the best known, thanks to the numerous studies on the legal status of the indigenous. The «Protector of Foreigners», on the other hand, is virtually unknown. This contribution examines its evolution and the practice of protection. It argues that the «Protector of Foreigners» could have contributed to the management of an otherness that moved, in a short time frame, from a reduced peninsular space to a global dimension. The practice of protection, however, was channelled by such a complex, technical list of subsidies, and such a broad set of non-institutionalised social mechanisms, that there was, in fact, an abundance of figures acting as protectors.

Keywords

• administration
• foreigners
• privative judge
• Hispanic monarchy
• practice
• protector