Making the Early Spanish Empire Visible

Description

Ideas of empire in relation to XVI C Spain are controversial. There is no
agreement on the theory of empire that supported the use of the term as an
institutional category or the legal implications of them. Generally speaking there
is a debate between an idea of particular and limited empire, which allows for
the juxtaposition of various empires on a single monarch, and an idea of empire
of universal character, such as that of the Holy Roman Empire (Frankl 1963;
Pagden 1998). The case of Spain under Charles V combined both ideas on the
same person, but the Spain of his son Philip II seems focused on the idea of
individual empire. Philip was the king of all Spains, an idea that did not recognise
colonies but kingdoms under a single monarch. This debate became prominent in the context of the conquest and colonisation of New Spain (Mexico) by Hernan
Cortes 1519 and the Cartas de Relaciones (correspondence with the King).
However, what is particularly interesting in relation to these debates is not the
legal basis but how a particular idea of empire was made possible through
imperial practices.

Period	2-May-2019
Event title	Mapping European Empires
Event type	Conference
Location	Snekkersten, DenmarkShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International