[en] Que nunca pense, ni aspire a que trujeses thesoros de las Indias. Aristocracy and Courtly Mediation Regarding an Extravagant Provision of the Viceroyalty of Peru (1686-1688)

The courtly spheres of the Spanish Monarchy offer different perspectives from which to study them, in terms of their space as well as their actors. Given its prestige and political ascendancy, the aristocracy was a key player in that microcosm. Sociability and interests converged in a panorama marked by the need to establish channels of mediation with the royal officials to obtain the king's grace. Despite all this, the figure of the noble mediator has been obscured by the constant appearance of agents linked to the councils. This study addresses this figure through the correspondence maintained between Count of Cifuentes, during the years of 1686 and 1688. The correspondence articulates a broad process of recruitment of figures willing to aid in the procurement of the Viceroyalty of Peru for the Count. This dignity, once obtained from Carlos II, would not be made effective given the geopolitical and personal extravagancies of the elected viceroy.