Conversations across time and space: classical traditions in the andes

On a June night in 1557,Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo, courtier, soldier, imperial official, man of letters and historian, lay on his deathbed, clasping in his hands the key to the fortress of Santo Domingo of which he had been commandant, alcaide, during the preceding thirty four years. 2 His life had been long and event ful. In his youth, he had served in the household of the Infante Don Juan, son of Ferdinand and Isabel, at whose side he witnessed the capture of Granada. After the lnfante's premature death in 1498, Oviedo spent some time in Italy. Long afterwards, he was still exchanging letters with some of the eminent Italians whom he had met during those years.Ona June night in 1557,Gonzalo Femández de Oviedo, courtier, soldier, imperial official, man of letters and historian, lay on his deathbed, clasping in his hands the key to the fortress of Santo Domingo of which he had been commandant, alcaide, duringthe preceding thirty four years. 2 His life had been long and event ful. In his youth, he had served in the household ofthe Infante Don Juan, son of Ferdinand and Isabel, at whose side he witnessed the capture of Granada. After the lnfante's premature death in 1498, Oviedo spent sorne time in Italy. Long afterwards, he was still exchanging letters with sorne ofthe eminent Italians whom he had met during those years

New World Civitas, Contested Jurisdictions and Intercultural Conversation in the Construction of the Spanish Monarchy

Jurisdictional frontiers were created, contested, and negotiated among a wide range of actors, including native Americans and Europeans, with reference to the cities founded in Castilla del Oro (roughly present-day Panama). This research deals, first, with the reshaping of the concept of a city in the New World, based on its inhabitants' sense of civitas. It analyses, secondly, the creation and redefinition of jurisdiction during political conflicts and, third, the construction and maintenance of jurisdiction through local relations with indigenous populations described as "conversation". The analysis of the creation and preservation of local jurisdictions allows for an interpretation of the complexities involved in the configuration of political power and political space from below in the territories claimed by the Spanish Monarchy.Art Empir