The Royal Provision in Modern Age (Peru, XVI-XVII centuries): characterisation of a diplomatic type

Abstract

The Royal Provision was one of the main diplomatic types issued by the royal chanceller-ies, linked to the person of the monarch by such distinctive elements as the full, solemn and majestic title, and the seal with his royal arms. This linkage meant that the Royal Provision attained great significance in the Indies as an instrument of power used by the monarch’s representative authorities to enforce his decisions and endow them with greater authority. The aim of this study is to advance our knowledge of this diplomatic typology by analysing the Royal Provisions issued in Peru (16th and 17th centuries) by the authorities empowered to issue them (Royal Audience, Court of Auditors and viceroys). To this end, first of all, we will reflect on the concept of “diplomatic type” and its defining elements, in order to accurately qualify the documents under study. Once we have established what we understand by Royal Provision, some notes will be given on its origin in late medieval Castile and its process of elaboration in the district of the Audiencia de Lima. Finally, the material and documentary forms that characterised this type of diplomacy will be analysed