Early Modern History

Este es un estudio sobre un fenómeno de enorme repercusión en los territorios hispanoportugueses y en la Roma de la Edad Moderna, un fenómeno al que llamo mercado curial en las páginas que siguen. Creo que su importancia fue trascendental, y creo no exagerar lo más mínimo en lo que respecta a la historia de la Iglesia y a la del marco geográfico que nos ocupa, pues condicionó la estructuración y la dinámica de sociedades católicas meridionales como fueron las ibéricas. La pretensión de esta obra es darlo a conocer. Con ella, también la de ofrecer una lente nueva con que reenfocar el análisis de multitud de aspectos sociales y eclesiásticos y sus consecuencias globales. 
El libro se estructura en cinco capítulos y un epílogo, todos con un mismo formato de ensayo, que parte de un documento histórico vehicular y, en cierta forma, singular, a manera de ventanas al pasado. A través de ellos exploraré una faceta distinta de la realidad en estudio. Esos documentos son, por orden: un memorial escrito por la viuda de un banquero para proponer un arbitrio fiscal, una lista de gastos remitida por unos curiales desde Roma a su cliente en Portugal, una letra de cambio que sirvió de medio de pago a un testaferro, una carta de la correspondencia del agente portugués de Felipe II en la curia romana, unos versos anónimos de sátira contra los curiales de la nunciatura de Madrid y una novela postcervantina, que narra la historia de un labrador rico estafado con falsas promesas de resignas de prebendas para su hijo, un matrimonio ventajoso para su hija y la promoción social para toda la familia.
Así, el primer capítulo presenta el mercado curial y caracteriza a sus agentes, a la par que intenta bocetar la evolución de la articulación personal y territorial de este espacio de intermediación y negocios. El capítulo segundo ofrece una panorámica de los negocios curiales y las formas de contratación y tramitación de éstos, un universo de enorme complejidad que apenas si queda presentado en sus rasgos generales; algunos de ellos, como las dispensas matrimoniales o las pensiones eclesiásticas, bien merecen y han merecido tesis doctorales en exclusiva. El capítulo tercero se adentra en el lado oscuro y, por tanto, fascinante del mercado curial: la esfera de la venalidad encubierta, las operaciones especulativas, la extorsión y los testaferros, designación, por cierto –testa di ferro–, al parecer surgida por vez primera en este contexto. El capítulo cuarto se centra en la respuesta del poder político a esta realidad, con medidas legales y diplomáticas, pero especialmente a través de una red de técnicos especializados. Me refiero al sistema de agencias de negocios curiales de la Monarquía Católica. El capítulo quinto analiza cómo se percibía el mercado curial, esto es, intenta reconstruir la opinión y la reacción social recurriendo a fuentes cruzadas de diversa tipología: teatro, literatura espiritual y picaresca, crítica erasmista, correspondencia privada, poesía satírica, obras de índole jurídica y moral, testificaciones en pleitos, reclamaciones en cortes, memoriales, etc.
Queda pues hasta ahí explicado, a grandes rasgos y con trazo grueso, el mundo de los negocios curiales, pero no sus repercusiones. Para hablar de las consecuencias socioeconómicas que tuvo, que trascendieron, con mucho, el espacio acotado a la expedición de letras apostólicas, hace falta otro libro. No obstante, el epílogo de éste es, más que una recapitulación conclusiva, que también, un boceto de ese otro cuadro aún por pintar.

Historians have assumed that early modern Europeans did not practice neo-naticide similar to the great Asian civilizations, but sex-ratio studies are only now entering the demographic literature. This article passes in review both published and unpublished research on sex ratios at baptism in Italy, France, England and colonial Acadia, together with juvenile sex ratios drawn from censuses in Germany, France and Italy. Both endemic and conjunctural imbalances appear everywhere, but they could target females or males depending upon the context. It is still considered newsworthy that in much of the world, parents select the sex of their children before bringing a pregnancy to term. In China, the sex ratio at birth is currently 116 males for every female, while in India, the rate is 111, significantly above the well-established biological norm of 105. 1 This sex preference creates well-publicized difficulties for young men seeking brides (The Economist, April 18 2015). Why kill females preferentially? The literature often lays the blame on misogynistic ideologies, suggesting that it would be sufficient to combat them with propaganda in order to eradicate the practice. There are several better reasons: first of all, in agricultural economies requiring strenuous ploughing with large animals and equally strenuous field and forest work far from home, males were better value. In patrilocal societies where husbands, or their families, received a sizeable dowry for the bride (which served as a security cushion for her and her children in the event of the premature death of either spouse), parents were unequal to the task of providing those for several daughters. Finally, if the aim is to keep the future population stable in order not to overstretch resources, then killing future child-bearers is simply more efficient than killing males and females indiscriminately. Today unwanted pregnancies are usually terminated by abortion, but in the past, the safer solution was to kill the newborn or expose it to the elements. Infanticide, like abortion, may be human universals, that is, part of the behavioural repertoire of every known society, although its frequency would vary according to local environmental conditions. 2 Humans are not alone in this behaviour: mothers in many species of mammals will sometimes cull their offspring at birth. In Darwinian language, infanticide, or abortion that has replaced it, are adaptive mechanisms involving some kind of rational decision-making on the part of the parent, which is usually the mother. 3 In most societies, newborns are not considered full-f ledged persons when leaving the womb. Rather, some sort of ceremony confers a name and social identity on them, sometimes providing an additional set of symbolic kin. Returning to the great Asian civilizations where sex-selective behaviour persists, parents enact strategies to better themselves and assess the likelihood of survival and future of the newborn infant. In traditional China and Japan, neonatal infanticide was a kind of post-natal abortion that allowed parents to choose the number, the spacing and the sex of their offspring, while coping better with short-term difficulties like famine. 4 In his compelling recent study on northeastern Japan, Fabian Drixler suggests that one-third of live births ended with infanticide during the 18th century, despite government disapproval of the practice. 5 Historians sometimes

Aan de populariteit van de historische biografie lijkt maar geen einde te komen. Ieder jaar weer verschijnen er tal van nieuwe levensbeschrijvingen van vroegmoderne vorsten, staatslieden, kunstenaars en drukkers. Doorgaans zijn het klassieke, chronologisch geordende levensbeschrijvingen, stevig ingebed in de historische context, tot tevredenheid van de meeste recensenten en lezers. Echter, enige kritische reflectie op de biografische methode ten aanzien van figuren uit de vroegmoderne tijd ontbrak tot nu toe in de Lage Landen. Deze uitgave wil hiertoe een kritische bijdrage leveren en houdt de hedendaagse biografische methodes goed tegen het licht. De auteurs in dit volume verkennen de (on)mogelijkheden van de dominerende, klassiek chronologisch geordende levensbeschrijvingen over personen uit de vroegmoderne tijd, en staan daarnaast ook stil bij de historische context, de verhouding fictie versus feit, en ten slotte bij het schrijfproces zelf.

The aim of this thesis is to study the government of the “Estado da Índia” by D. João de Castro (governor and viceroy between 1545 and 1548). His rule witnessed a period of political and military tensions, during the war with the sultanate of Gujarat (its peak being reached with the siege of the Portuguese fortress of Diu, in 1546) and Bijapur, and the reinforcement of the policy and strategy of king D. João III for the Indies. Castro’s government was marked by the military campaigns he enforced and the image of power that he himself projected. Thus, this thesis is aimed at understanding the role of the government of D. João de Castro in the construction of the “Estado da Índia” and the Portuguese presence in Asia. At the same time, it surveys the historiography about this figure of the Portuguese expansion in search of an understanding of the processes by which Castro was made into a myth, along with offering a critical and objective vision of his government.
To this purpose, the thesis divides into four, departing from an overall account of the history of “Estado da Índia” to come to an analysis of the government of D. João de Castro. The first part reassesses the previous knowledge about the Portuguese presence in Asia during the first half of the 16th century, highlighting the main elements in the formation of the “Estado da Índia” as the setting the second part, D. João de Castro’s government. The second part thus utilises a more narrative approach to the personal background and career of D. João de Castro, beginning with his cursus honorum before nomination as governor of the “Estado da Índia” in 1545. From this point onwards, his government is chronologically analysed. The third and fourth parts are the core of the critical and historiographical evaluation of this government. Here, warfare organization and administration are discussed, evaluating the human, material and financial means, with the aim to reconstruct and understand the process by which D. João de Castro sustained his campaigns logistically. Following this, the political and symbolic impact of his rule is examined, focusing on the building of a princely court in Goa, assessing the practices of government, the reinforcement of the networks maintained by the governor and the construction of an imperial image for the “Estado da Índia”. All these elements were aimed at centralising and strengthening the real and symbolic power of the Portuguese king through his highest official in Asia. Lastly, the thesis analyses the ways in which the memory of this governor and of his governance were created, lasting in the Portuguese collective memory, from its origins in chronicles from this period and from projects commemorating D. João de Castro led by his grandchildren, who used his memory for their self-aggrandising.
More than a historiographical exercise of revision, this thesis seeks to contribute to the understanding of the formation of the “Estado da Índia” and the Portuguese maritime empire in the 16th century. The government of D. João de Castro is then understood as part of the strategy of king D. João III to organise a vast Empire of which the “Estado da Índia” was but one component, a piece projected into a diversified whole.
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A presente tese de doutoramento tem como objecto de estudo a governação do “Estado da Índia” em tempo de D. João de Castro (governador e vice-rei, entre 1545 e 1548). A sua acção decorreu num conturbado período de tensão político-militar, no âmbito da guerra movida aos sultanatos do Guzerate (cujo principal momento se materializou no cerco à fortaleza portuguesa de Diu em 1546) e de Bijapur, e de reforço da política e da estratégia Joaninas para a Ásia. Este governo ficou indelevelmente marcado pelas campanhas militares empreendidas e pela imagem de poder que o próprio Castro consolidou. Assim, esta investigação procura compreender qual o papel do governo de D. João de Castro na construção do “Estado da Índia” e da presença portuguesa na Ásia. Paralelamente, pretende-se também revisitar a historiografia sobre esta figura da Expansão portuguesa e captar os processos pelos quais foi mitificada, permitindo uma visão crítica e objectiva quanto à sua acção governativa.
Para tal, organizou-se o estudo em quarto partes, passando de uma visão ampla da história do “Estado da Índia” para um estudo analítico da governação de D. João de Castro. A primeira parte reavalia aquilo que sabemos sobre a presença portuguesa na Ásia na primeira metade do século XVI, destacando as principais linhas de força na formação do “Estado da Índia”, delineando assim o pano de fundo sobre o qual a governação em estudo se foca. A segunda parte, de carácter narrativo, segue o percurso pessoal e a carreira de D. João de Castro, explicitando o seu cursus honorum antes de ser nomeado capitão-mor e governador do “Estado da Índia” em 1545, e avaliando exaustivamente o seu governo, seguindo a sua evolução cronológica. A terceira e quarta partes constituem o cerne da avaliação crítica e historiográfica deste governo. Num primeiro momento debruçamo-nos sobre a organização e administração da guerra. Procuramos reconstituir e apreender o processo pelo qual D. João de Castro conseguiu sustentar logisticamente as suas campanhas, avaliando os meios humanos, materiais e financeiros para tal. De seguida, examinamos o impacto político e simbólico deste governo. Observando a estruturação de uma corte em Goa, visámos compreender as suas práticas governativas, o reforço das redes clientelares de o Governador e a construção de uma imagem imperial do “Estado da Índia”, elementos que concorreram para centrar e fortalecer o poder, real e simbólico, do mais alto oficial régio na Ásia. Por fim, analisámos a forma como a memória deste governador e do seu governo se firmou na memória colectiva portuguesa, fruto da cronística da época e de alguns projectos memorialistas dos seus netos, que procuraram aproveitar a figura de D. João de Castro para engrandecerem a sua própria acção.
Mais do que um simples revisionismo historiográfico, esta tese pretende contribuir para a compreensão da formação do “Estado da Índia” e do próprio Império Marítimo Português no século XVI. A governação de D. João de Castro é assim entendida como parte de uma estratégia de D. João III na estruturação de um extenso Império em que o “Estado da Índia” era compreendido como uma dos componentes enquanto peça projectada e concretizada num todo plural.

François de Tott was the son of a Hungarian nobleman, who immigrated into France where he served as hussar officer in the Royal French Army and diplomate in Eastern Europe. In 1755 he was sent to Constantinople to learn the Turkish language and to gather information about the Ottoman Empire. This period had a great influence on his career. He returned to France in 1763, and four years later he was appointed French consul in Crimea with a secret mission to incite the Tatars to make war against Russia. After having completed his mission, he leaved Crimea and moved to Constantinople where he was commissioned by the Ottoman government with the task of defending the Dardanelles against the Russian fleet. After his military suc- cess, he played a major role in the modernisation of the Ottoman warfare during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). He succeeded in having a new foundry built to make modern French type canons, and was involved in the creation of a mobile artillery unit (in Turkish süratçis). He also built fortifi- cations on the Bosporus and founded a new mathematics and naval science school. In 1775 he returned to France and was associated to the plans of colonisation of some territories of the Ottoman Empire (for ex. Egypt). Dur- ing his last oriental mission (1777–1778) he visited coastal cities around the Mediterranean Sea and elaborated military plans of Egypt’s occupation. Af- ter his return to France he wrote his memoirs, which were published first in Amsterdam in 1784. In his memoirs he described numerous ethnic and reli- gious minorities of Ottoman Empire, like Greeks, Moldaves, Armenians, Jews, Tatars, Kurds etc. He also participated to the great philosophical debat of his age on the oriental despotism. According to his political theory, the climate was not a determining force, the so-called „moral forces” had a stronger influence on the oriental societies.

Resumo: Este artigo tem por objeto de estudo a Ordem Terceira do Carmo da vila de Pombal. Através da análise sistemática dos registos notariais conservados no Arquivo Distrital de Leiria e do cruzamento com outras fontes documentais, tais como assentos paroquiais e livros de devassas, o texto estuda os homens que a governaram e analisa a atividade creditícia que a mesma desenvolveu, prática de onde provinha a sua principal fonte de receitas. Palavras-chave: Pombal, Época Moderna, Ordem Terceira do Carmo, Mesários, Crédito.

Abstract: The present article intends to study the presence of the Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the town of Pombal. Through the systematic analysis of notarial registries maintained in the Leiria District Archive and cross-referencing with other documental sources, such as parish records and books of wantonness, this paper studies the men that ruled it and analyses the credit activity developed by the Order, which practice was their main source of revenue .

The present book is a complex approach to the elements that built the Catalan national identity, which can only be analyzed through its complexity and longue durée historical times. Regarding medieval and early modern centuries, the territorial construction, law and state are presented, along with the complexity added by the appearance of composite monarchies in the 16th century, and taking into account the significance of constructing a literary and historiographic tradition to define national character. Regarding modern centuries, the authors do not ignore the importance of socioeconomic dimensions in a very complex diversity which flows both in the intellectual and political world and in the dissemination of identity through the mass media in an international level as well

The micro-historical paper shows that soldiers from a low social class were not "socially dead" either as prisoners of the Ottomans or as personal slaves in the Balkan region. Bernhard Teutschmann, a subject of Count Ludwig II. of Nassau-Saarbrücken, had substantial scope of opportunity to initiate his release. In the course of the eight years that he spent as a prisoner in Istanbul and Buda respectively, it is documented that he sent more than 50 letters. In his letters, he made skilful use of different text forms, narrative strategies and alterity constructions in order to gain supporters amongst the nobility and clerics. After Teutschmann swapped captivity as a prisoner of war for the status of a personal slave in 1609, his opportunities for action increased further: He was at times permitted to move freely in Buda and was able to convince three (presumably Christian) citizens to vouch for him so that he could travel to the imperial hereditary lands for 40 days and collect the ransom of 2,000 guilders. Count Ludwig II., who invested economic capital and a high amount of time in order to pay for the release of his subject, was ultimately able to extract symbolic benefits from it: On his return, Teutschmann was forced to spend five months at the Count's court in Ottweiler and profess his gratitude for the clementia of the Count, amongst others, in a public audience.