The Collapse of the Polisinodia: Institutional Reforms at the Last Crisis of the Spanish Catholic Monarchy (1834–1836)
The Collapse of the Polisinodia: Institutional Reforms at the Last Crisis of the Spanish Catholic Monarchy (1834–1836)

Summary/Abstract: This paper challenges the traditional commonplaces regarding the end of the jurisdictional governance structures of the Spanish Catholic Monarchy in the third decade of the 19th century. The so-called polisinodial regime, composed of the Councils, collegiate bodies several centuries old, apparently collapsed due to the most important political reforms following the death of Fernando VII, the last absolute Spanish King. In this paper, I will first examine how legal historiography has understood these institutional reforms and their actual impact on the dissolution of the former Councils, carrying out a bibliographical review. Second, I will show the role played by the Consejo Real de Espana e Indias in this process of disintegration of the ancient polisinodia and the emergence of the new Spanish Administration. In order to do so, I will examine and interpret unpublished archival documentation from various archives in Spain, such as the Archivo General de Indias, the Archivo General de Simancas, the Archivo Histórico Nacional, and the Archivo General de Palacio.

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