Communicating an Empire and Its Many Worlds: Spanish American Mail, Logistics, and Postal Agents, 1492–1620

2021 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-596
Author(s):  
Nelson Fernando González Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Spanish America ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Spanish American ◽  
Many Worlds ◽  
European Expansion ◽  
Postal Services ◽  
The Government ◽  
Mail System ◽  
American Cities ◽  
Official Information

Abstract This article examines the principles underlying Spanish American mail during the government of the first Hapsburgs. I propose that this mail system, in which official and unofficial postal services coexisted, allowed for an intense communicational experience; rather than restricting correspondence, mail circulated at unprecedented levels. To understand this system's rationale I focus on the figure of the correos mayores, who were responsible for the distribution of official information (or information of interest to the crown) within certain Spanish American cities. Using sources in American and European archives, I question the premise that Spanish American communication was chaotic during this period. I also argue that the exceptional circulation of mail within Spanish America and overseas during the sixteenth century is essential for understanding European expansion and the early modern world.

scholarly journals Government in Spanish America

1914 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-215
Author(s):  
Bernard Moses
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Spanish America ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Spanish American ◽  
Royal Authority ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
Protective System ◽  
Spanish Colonies ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government

Although the events of the recent Mexican tragedy cannot be seen today in as clear light as that which will be thrown on them for the next generation, still the political history of the communities established by Spain in America furnishes a certain measure of enlightment. This history seems to indicate that the Spanish colonies were unfortunate in that the government of the United States, in its early decades, appeared to them as a desirable model for the Spanish-American states that were created after the war of independence. The English colonies, left to themselves, had a normal development along lines determined by their environment and their inherent social forces. The Spanish colonies, founded by authority, were developed under a protective system designed to subserve the interests of Spaniards. The disappearance of the Indians before the invading English cleared the field for the democracy that was produced by the colonial conditions of the frontier. The incorporation of the Indians as a subordinate class in the colonial society of Spanish America, and the creation, by royal authority, of a titled nobility made democratic states impossible.

Las presencias de la Reto´´rica en la obra de Alfonso Reyes: Esbozo de una evolucio´´n

2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 149-174
Author(s):  
Eugenia Houvenaghel
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Spanish America ◽  
Classical Rhetoric ◽  
Spanish American ◽  
Third Phase ◽  
The World ◽  
Alfonso Reyes ◽  
The Subject ◽  
American Society

The Mexican diplomat Alfonso Reyes (1889––1959) was notable in the cultural panorama of Spanish America in the first half of the 20th century for his acquaintance with classical rhetoric, a discipline rarely studied at that time in that part of the world. This article distinguishes four aspects of rhetoric throughout Reyes' oeuvre: (i) a vulgar sense, (ii) an erudite sense, (iii) classical theories, (iv) and modern applications. In his early work, Reyes uses rhetoric in a pejorative and vulgar sense. Around the year 1940, Reyes starts to show a lively interest in rhetoric, opts definitively for an erudite sense of the term, and initiates the study of the classical art of persuasion. In his third phase, Reyes gains deeper knowledge of rhetoric, lectures on the subject, and explains his favorite orators andtheorists. Finally,his use of rhetoric reveals a commitment to the reality of Spanish America. Reyes' rhetoric is an "actualised" and "Americanised" version that shows the possibilities of the classical art of persuasion in Spanish American society.

Henry Clay and the Poinsett Pledge Controversy of 1826

1972 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-440
Author(s):  
Randolph Campbell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Relations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spanish America ◽  
Spanish American ◽  
Monroe Doctrine ◽  
Secretary Of State ◽  
Initial Task ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
American Nation

It is well known that the initial task of interpreting the Monroe Doctrine as a functional policy in international relations fell largely on John Quincy Adams. Somewhat ironically, the noncolonization principle in Monroe's famed Annual Message of 1823 for which Adams, then Secretary of State, was most responsible, received relatively little attention in the 1820's. Leaders in the United States and Spanish America alike were more concerned with the meaning of the other main principle involved in the Message—nonintervention. What were the practical implications of Monroe's warning that the United States would consider intervention by a European power in the affairs of any independent American nation “ as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States ” ? John Quincy Adams laid the groundwork for an answer to this question in July, 1824, when Colombia, alarmed by rumors of French interference in the wars for independence, sought a treaty of alliance. The President and Congress, Adams replied, would take the necessary action to support nonintervention if a crisis arose, but there would be no alliance. In fact, he added, it would be necessary for the United States to have an understanding with certain European powers whose principles and interests also supported nonintervention before any action could be taken or any alliance completed to uphold it. The position taken by the Secretary of State cooled enthusiasm for the Monroe Doctrine, but Spanish American leaders did not accept this rebuff in 1824 as final.

Informing Dissent

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-212
Author(s):  
Hillary Greene ◽  
Dennis A. Yao
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Information Control ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Social Communities ◽  
Social Pressures ◽  
The Government ◽  
Economic Tools ◽  
Official Information

The first part of this commentary argues that because the production of dissent depends on the availability of information, greater attention should focus on government restrictions on access to official information. At no time is this more important than when information is monopolized by the government. If not constrained, government’s monopoly control of information, combined with its incentives to shape support for its policies, may at some times and in some ways reduce dissent. In the second part of the commentary, a cost-benefit approach is proposed to analyze an individual’s incentives to produce speech and is then applied to assess the role social communities play vis-à-vis individual dissent. This analysis underscores the important and complex (sometimes encouraging, sometimes discouraging) role that communities play in the generation of dissent. Our analysis uses economic tools, often accompanied by an antitrust perspective, to better understand the implications of government information control and social pressures upon speech and dissent.

scholarly journals LOBBYING IN THE SYSTEM OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC PRIORITIES OF UKRAINE

2020 ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Olena GOLOVNYA
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Business And Society ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Government

The article is devoted to the research of lobbying activities as an important component of the process of forming the state policy of socio-economic development. The author emphasizes that the Ukrainian economy has a high dependence on the external environment, as well as high sensitivity to global economic fluctuations. In turn, the openness of the country's economy is a significant factor in its involvement in modern value chains, global and regional integration. It is determined that securing a full-fledged public-private partnership in the modern world requires lobbying as a deliberate influence on the public by the authorities in order to make a number of economic decisions. The study found that the structure of the phenomenon of "lobbying" includes three main components: object, subject, technology. Thus, lobbying in the modern world appears to be a complex process of purposeful influence on the government in order to obtain the desired solution. The purpose of lobbying structures activities is often a series of decisions, in which the adoption of laws concerning economic activity and investment, innovation, and customs policies is of great importance. It is revealed that lobbying requires an extensive network of institutions and organizations - from trade unions and business owners to the media and civil society organizations. Significant influence on the advancement of national socio-economic priorities is exercised by consulting firms, mass media, non-state think tanks, various industry associations. Lobbying in developed countries is a tool for cooperation and communication that leads to progressive decisions that are beneficial to both business and society. This confirms the progressive experience of the USA and the EU. The study draws attention to the fact that Ukraine mainly practices shadow lobbying, since the activities of domestic lobbyists are not regulated by any legislative acts. This is explained by the fact that our business and political leaders benefit from such interaction when large financial and industry groups sponsor, large decision-makers and expensive electoral campaigns.

scholarly journals Free and Frank Advice and the Official Information Act

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kibblewhite ◽  
Peter Boshier
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Government Agency ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Good Government ◽  
Work Programme ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
Official Information

Concern exists that New Zealand hasn’t struck the right balance between two potentially competing principles of good government: officials should provide free and frank advice to ministers, and the public should have opportunities to participate in decision making and hold the government to account. Steps we have taken to address this include: strengthening constitutional underpinnings for free and frank advice (Cabinet Manual changes and issuing expectations for officials); a work programme to improve government agency practice in relation to the Official Information Act; and the Office of the Ombudsman reducing uncertainty about when advice can be withheld by issuing new principles-based guidance and providing more advisory services.

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