5 - Ceremonies of Power

Summary

The King's Presence in the Colonies

In most cities across the Spanish world, royal ceremonies covered a range of events associated with the royal family. They included the arrival of new infants, birthdays, commemoration of royal patron saints as well as simple gatherings at the local church to pray for the well-being of a particular member of the royal family who was unwell. Undoubtedly, among all these events, the most important was the death of the king and the subsequent proclamation of his successor. On these occasions, the routine of eighteenth-century city life was disrupted; market activities ceased and streets in the city centre transformed giving way to processions and parades. Citizens were compelled to attend the festivities and even if they did not, the ceremony brought to a halt their everyday routines, making them aware of the events.

Royal proclamations and city arrivals are closely related and have been traced back to the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem and therefore linked to Christian rituals. It was during the Medieval Ages when Christianity spread, creating centres in Europe where political power and Christian rituals intertwined. This was particularly true in catholic Spain, where rituals of power and ideas of civitas soon merged and rooted in society. In medieval Castile and in the event of the death of a monarch, the custom was that the nobility met in private to make funeral arrangements and select a new ruler, with a public proclamation following soon afterwards. As rituals were based upon familiar actions, gestures and movements that were meaningful to a given society, they were understood and mostly acknowledged without debate. By the time of the conquest and colonisation of the Americas, rituals were well established in the Spanish society and seen as a powerful tool for domination. Elaborate religious and political acts were therefore transferred to the colonies during the foundation of new cities (see Chapter 1), becoming regulated as soon as the administrative geographies were organised and the relevant offices in charge of events established. Notwithstanding, the issue of how to make the presence of the king felt by all subjects during royal ceremonies became an important question for overseas administrators.