Oath Ceremonies in Spain and New Spain in the 18th century: A Comparative Study of Rituals and Iconography

• Main Author: Inmaculada Rodríguez Moya
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad de los Andes 2017-10-01
• Series: Historia Crítica
• Subjects: Thesaurus: iconografía. Palabra claves autor: festivales; virreinatos americanos; arte efímero; ceremonias de juramento
• Online Access: http://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/doi/full/10.7440/histcrit66.2017.01

This paper will focus on a comparative study of the royal oath ceremonies in Spain and New Spain starting with the 16th century, when the ritual was established, to later consider some examples from the 18th century. A process of consolidating a Latin American and Hispanic identity began in the 17th century and was reflected in religious and political festivals everywhere. The royal oath ceremony was a renewal of vows of loyalty to the Crown, which was especially important in a monarchy composed a variety of different kingdoms. This ritual was very important in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, where a king ruled from afar over subjects scattered throughout a vast territory that was ethnically and culturally very diverse. The ceremony was therefore used in the 18th century to assert matters of identity through ritual gestures and the images that adorned the ephemeral architecture created for it. Accounts of festivities and prints depicting the event as it took place in places like Lisbon, Barcelona, Valencia, Majorca, Mexico and Lima will be studied from a comparative point of view.