Abbreviations -- List of maps and illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: The Portuguese of Castile, the Castilians of Portugal -- Chapter 2: The unrepresented -- Chapter 3: Refuge and destruction -- Chapter 4: Contraband, modus vivendi -- Chapter 5: On local truces -- Chapter 6: A grand yet local peace -- Chapter 7: 'A wolflike urge' -- Chapter 8: A rayano perspective on borderland custom houses -- Chapter 9: Restored sovereignties -- Chapter 10: 'At the back of the world' -- Chapter 11: Innumerable unresolved conflicts -- Chapter 12: The return of Mars -- Conclusion -- Bibliography.
This paper analyzes the role of the Duke of Medinaceli in the face of the Spanish succession crisis. By rejecting historiographical attempts to include the duke within a dynastic party, the essay emphasizes the idea of his loyalty to the Spanish Monarchy. In this way the defense of the unity of the Monarchy undertaken by Medinaceli is understood not only in a territorial viewpoint but as a pragmatic safeguard of a political model: the so-called 'aristomanzia'. Thanks to it, the Spanish nobility had been traditionally able to control the King by way of the Council of State and the consensus of the Grandees, a practice that languished at the beginning of the Eighteenth Century and defended with no success by Medinaceli. ; Este artículo analiza la posición del Duque de Medinaceli ante la crisis sucesoriaespañola. Frente a las tentativas historiográficas por incluir al duque en un partido dinástico, el trabajo enfatiza la idea de fidelidad del duque hacia la Monarquía. Así, la defensa de la unidad de la Monarquía acometida por el virrey es entendida no sólo desde el punto de vista territorial sino, sobre todo, como pragmática salvaguardia de un modelo político: la 'aristomanzia'. Gracias a él la nobleza española había sido tradicionalmente capaz de controlar al rey a través del Consejo de Estado y el consenso de los Grandes, una práctica que languidecía entrado el siglo XVIII y que Medinaceli defendió sin éxito.This paper analyzes the role of the Duke of Medinaceli in the face of the Spanish succession crisis. By rejecting historiographical attempts to include the duke within a dynastic party, the essay emphasizes the idea of his loyalty to the Spanish Monarchy. In this way the defense of the unity of the Monarchy undertaken by Medinaceli is understood not only in a territorial viewpoint but as a pragmatic safeguard of a political model: the so-called 'aristomanzia'. Thanks to it, the Spanish nobility had been traditionally able to control the King by way of the Council of State and the consensus of the Grandees, a practice that languished at the beginning of the Eighteenth Century and defended with no success by Medinaceli.
A menudo el Portugal «post-restaurado» ha sido visto como un escenario donde los poderes del continente entablaron una lucha por ganarse un aliado. Esa idea se ha visto alimentada por la imagen del regente don Pedro, supuestamente inestable e incapaz de optar por un posicionamiento franco en el continente. Este artículo trata de demostrar que detrás de la apariencia de un príncipe débil que ofrecieron muchos de sus coetáneos, se escondió una estrategia para asegurar la propia pervivencia de Portugal. Como se verá, en esa circunstancia tuvo mucho que ver las peculiaridades de su regencia, muy diferente de los modelos clásicos en que el poder de sus titulares suele tener de antemano una fecha límite. Defendemos, pues, que el hecho de estar llamado a ocupar el trono regio a la muerte de su hermano, favoreció un poder, débil inicialmente, que se afianzó con el paso del tiempo.«Post-Restoration» Portugal has been traditionally considered a scenario where European powers entered a race to find an ally. This idea has been fed by the image of Regent Peter, supposedly instable and unable to take a clear stand in Europe. This article aims to show that, behind the appearance of a weak prince given by many of his contemporaries, there was a strategy to ensure Portuguese's survival. As will be discussed later, this circumstance was strongly related to the peculiarities of Peter of Braganza's Regency —too distant from classical models, in which holders are characterized by having a cut-off date—. In this case, the fact that Peter was the first in the line to the throne encouraged him over time to mitigate his weaknesses.
