Like all other European and Asiatic dynastic empires, the Iberian empires functioned according to a combination of internal dynamics and external pressures. The relation between core and peripheries operated in a complex fashion. In political terms, the corethe centers of power in Madrid and Lisbonexercised dominion over all the components of the Monarchy, but this did not always signify effective control. Distance, time, and a type of self-attributed leeway on the part of enforcing agencies on the spot considerably modified the efficacy of royal policy. Added to these factors was the political necessity of reconciling through informal negotiation metropolitan interests with the power groups formed within the American territories. composite monarchiesThese were not unusual in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when Spain and Portugal largely began their experience as colonial powers. 1 At first sight, the Kingdom of Portugal's territorial unity made it appear 1 The Austrian Habsburgs secured the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary in 1526, after gaining the Burgundian inheritance in 1477. After 1516, the grandson of Mary of Burgundy and son of Philip I of Austria and Juana of Castile succeeded to both the Spanish kingdoms in 1516, and in 1519 was elected Holy Roman Emperor. From 1520, the Kingdom of Castile acquired large swathes of territory in continental America. The three Basque Provinces and the Kingdom of Navarra, all associated with the Crown of Castile, retained their traditional privileges. When the Spanish Habsburg king acquired the Crown of Portugal (from 1580 to 1640), institutions of the two (hitherto rival) Monarchies remained distinct. See

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Mexico's fascinating complexities are difficult to approach. This illustrated Concise History begins with a brief examination of contemporary issues, while the book as a whole - ranging from the Olmecs to the present day - combines a chronological and thematic approach while highlighting long-term issues and controversies. Modern Mexico, founded after independence from Spain in 1821, was created out of a long and disparate historical inheritance which has constantly influenced its evolution. This book takes account of that past and pays attention to the pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial influence. Mexico's economic problems are given historical treatment together with political analysis and attention to social and cultural factors. The book's prime objective is accessibility to readers, including those interested in gaining a broad general knowledge of the country and those across the professions anxious to secure a rapid but secure understanding of a subject where there are few starting points.

28.2 ) North of Lima many city residents possessed landed properties in the fertile Callejön de Huaylas, which sent wheat, maize, fruit, vegetables, wine and livestock to Lima. Further north on and near the coast the Valleys of Sana, Lambayeque, and Trujillo had begun to develop and export sugar, rice, wheat and certain manufactures such as soap and hides to Cajamarca, Chachapoyas and Quito. Soon the trade extended along the Pacific coast as far as Central American port of Realejo. In these northern regions of Peru cotton cultivation slowly developed, and a number of obrajes or textile workshops opened up in Trujillo, Lambayeque, and Chachapoyas. Negro slave labour tended Andalusian-derived vines planted in the southern Valleys of lea, Pisco, and Nazca.

Between the years 1805 and 1809, the Spanish Metropolitan Government secured an estimated total of between 10,500,000 and 12,750,000 pesos by the appropriation of the capital and sale of landed properties belonging to Pious Foundations and Chantries. The present article deals with (i) the nature and functions of these Foundations; (ii) why Spain was forced to order their appropriation; (iii) the course of the implementation of the appropriation, known as the ‘Consolidación de vales reales’; (iv) the persons and institutions affected, and adjacent incomes of the Ramo de Consolidación; (v) the effects in New Spain. Secondary sources concede the importance of the appropriation, but rarely offer more than rudimentary details. Through the use of primary sources, the present article attempts to remedy in a small measure that dearth of information.