The King in Lima: Simulacra, Ritual, and Rule in Seventeenth-Century Peru

Abstract

In 1622, King Philip IV was in Lima. Leandro de la Reynaga Salazar, the most senior alcalde, was chosen to carry Him to a temporary throne set on the center stage of Lima’s Plaza Mayor. But the King turned out to be rather heavier than expected. At the last minute, it was necessary to secure the help of three more men to carry His Majesty with the “appropriate decency required by the occasion.”2In 1622, Philip IV was not in Lima. In his stead, a “lifelike copy of the King” (un trasunto vivo del Rey) measuring two yards tall by one and a half yards wide, with an additional half yard for its frame, was carried to the Plaza Mayor for the King’s proclamation ceremony.3 The portrait’s black frame was decorated with gold trimmings, chains, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and royal topaz, and inscribed on it in golden letters were the words, “Long Live the Catholic King Philip IV for Many Happy Years.” The painting itself depicted Philip’s entire body, with a face like that of an “angel,” where (according to the official chronicler Roman de Herrera) the King’s half smile and expressive eyes “undoubtedly communicated a look of authority.”4When the four men and the King had reached the stage, the royal magistrates and all seated in the surrounding bleachers and galleries stood and removed their hats. The King was then “seated” on the “throne” (described as an elaborate and luxuriously covered chair) under a silken and gold canopy. With the King comfortably seated, the royal magistrates took their seats and covered their heads.The entourage that had accompanied the portrait exited the stage “bowing down—deeply—to the Theater of the King Our Lord.” As this was happening, Herrera tells us, luxuriously dressed squadrons began to enter the plaza, led by Diego de Carvajal, postmaster general of Peru and deputy of cavalry. Mounted companies of musketeers were followed by one hundred artillerymen, who paraded before the “theater,” bowing to the King’s portrait. Two hundred uniformed infantrymen followed, likewise bowing to the King’s portrait. When all companies had entered the square, they formed four blocks of 25 rows of men and saluted their King by firing their muskets into the air. Crowds gathered in the balconies, on the rooftops of surrounding buildings, and in the streets adjacent to the main square watched and cheered this event.5It is well known that the Spanish kings never visited their American dominions. Nevertheless, in colonial America, the unseen king was widely seen as the legitimate head of the Spanish Empire’s vast body. Viceregal Lima was something of a bastion of loyalism even as the wars of independence came knocking in the early nineteenth century. By what means was this colonial loyalty and royal legitimacy crafted in the American kingdoms of the Spanish Empire? While many cultural practices naturalized the exercise of colonial power, I am here concerned with only those ceremonies directly related to the body of the Span-ish king and their relationship to a geography of power.Spanish historian Xavier Gil Pujol notes that the “presence” of the King— even of a physically absent one—was irreplaceable as head and member of the community he ruled.6 A fundamental issue for the composite Spanish monarchy, from Charles V on, was how to make the king “present” in his many dominions, particularly those most distant. Beginning with the rule of Philip II, even in Spain itself the king had become increasingly absent, in part due to a new system of ritual life that sought to render the Spanish king invisible.7 Nonetheless, peninsular subjects could hope to see their king at least once in their lives when he made triumphal entries into European cities, took part in various religious rituals, or participated in the autos de fe.8 In the Indies, however, for colonial officials and local elites alike, making the king “present” and real was rather a different endeavor, since he never ventured across the At-lantic.9 Perhaps surprisingly, the figure of the Spanish king and the workings of his rule in this distant overseas possession remain largely unexamined.I suggest that courtly ceremonies in Lima served the dual purpose of making the absent king present to his distant subjects and binding him and his subjects in a reciprocal pact that was made real through ritual. Since (unlike in Spain) the real king was never produced in Peru, his simulacra—copies for which there are no originals—in effect made him a hyperreal king whose centrality in Lima’s ceremonies seems to have been unmatched by any other American city.10 Furthermore, given that Peru’s viceroy was never present during the courtly ceremonies of the Royal Exequies or the king’s Proclamation in seventeenth-century Lima, these rituals may have been more significant for legitimating colonial rule than the viceregal entries meant to initiate the tenure of the king’s alter ego.11 In short, my contention is that in Lima, the king’s simulacrum was not only the organizing principle of royal ceremonies but also a central aspect of the exercise of monarchical rule. Equally significant, however, was the role of kingly ceremonies in producing Lima as the principal city in the of Peru, more than its The ceremonies the king’s in the of Lima’s courtly during its seventeenth-century with the of the as the head or of the Lima’s courtly during the of the by the of the the city as the center of all colonial in the as well as the cultural for the entire Spanish that the to the king as the to with and even to to I am more concerned here with the than the In seventeenth-century Lima, the of to the king was in the of the Royal the was also central to the king’s While the Exequies city and to their and the of their the of the king’s Proclamation required that city and their to and for his Since to was on a as the of the king in these colonial ceremonies was of In colonial Lima, the king was present in different he courtly ceremonies comfortably seated in a his was when his to the city was by the most senior royal his was by the royal the of the was and his and colonial The Spanish king may have one in but his in Lima, and when in elaborate rituals they his distant subjects to and Him as were to Spanish historian the was an of and The was an the city not only the in and to but also with of the main of this was its of of of buildings, and In European of the was a in the of local of as and and centrality as made the seats of their and as produced by the of the their In overseas the of new colonial as Lima, and the of into known as the new of rule life in of as the city as the center of cultural and Furthermore, the of to in the century. the of the and through elaborate rituals of or something into Furthermore, the and in religious and were for of and that were not only and but also served a purpose in with the at in the and center of colonial in the was the In Lima, was in and the of and cultural the Plaza The of the Plaza Mayor as the center of in Lima was its in when for the the royal the and the the surrounding it to his their a of his and as of the By the this of in Lima had been to the main city streets adjacent to the Plaza by by the and significant which in the geography of in colonial Lima the plaza, was the or a of luxuriously city who accompanied the royal in his of to the ceremonies in Lima were set in by the of a royal the and the and of its The of the and the to be followed was then communicated to the city in the of the of the real were by rituals that the with the and of the rituals their effect only when as Since the the and before the official buildings, the served as a ritual of by what de a of an official ritual in which ceremonies were or Lima, the and official the Plaza Mayor a of colonial rule into a of by the The of luxuriously dressed and accompanied by through the streets in to at significant buildings, the centrality of the these in as it an of colonial the Plaza Mayor that was widely and by the elites and the In a black to the of in to the of the the streets adjacent to the main city square, and the the viceregal the the and the As I have in colonial Lima the ritual of official the Plaza Mayor could also be by of and as a for the of was in this that was for the the city on the of elaborate and Lima’s city those adjacent to the Plaza with as new and also required new different and for all to As the sought to and of the with to the in ceremonies to of making the city into a In the of the was to the where something or was to the or of the the In this of was the principal of power, and and a was made in and through the and of these the for and new colonial as Lima on how the its As a Spanish and to the and the of the ceremonies and the But there was more to the city than its official the of and of the city a city of in The with a were an of colonial Lima’s in one to lives into by and and of were the of an that with the courtly of official ceremonies in were the of the and carried out in the by the of and the the city the of a of cultural the more stage of colonial in the during royal ceremonies colonial officials and to the city into a a that many practices and were Royal to the of courtly ceremonies an of royal to and their of the king’s of seems at with the cultural and of these of and the required of these officials to the king and to other city officials the that these on the Nevertheless, as a rule to carry out the in the “appropriate official colonial and officials for of the out of their when city and were many sought reached a Nevertheless, since these were to the or of the city the the and subjects The of the also a to that their city had and the of their and a of their as a or community through elaborate rituals but also and the to be in the of the the de had for the that as Lima Furthermore, of have been from a of and however, the that through these of and and subjects stood to the required to cities, which in could additional in the of and by their new The of was on a of real and from the in the to was as of which had to be in to Lima’s three hundred particularly related to the life of the king and his royal the and of and and for their and related to the life of the the of royal and the new king’s Royal ceremonies with an to of and of the more and ceremonies in colonial Lima were the Royal Exequies and the king’s In the Spanish dominions, these ceremonies for as and their by elaborate and ceremonies as as a to the of one king and the of The of ceremonies the and the loyalty to its In a the by the king’s in their and in their to the of the was to the of their for and loyalty to the of during Royal Exequies were seen as a of and for by the king to the city and his was also in the of the real and his entourage during the king’s the real to Lima the of Philip IV and the of to the throne of Spain the that the of the Proclamation to when the of of had the for Philip I with the for the King In kings were by the and by the The of in to the surrounding the of the king and proclamation of the new to its in the and in to the new king and then out the rituals in to the of the new who then to the of the and to new through the the their new and to and The Proclamation a of loyalty king and this the the of the king and the of a new one to the and in Lima in their to the and the new and of the new king seems to the out in the of the Proclamation of Philip in in The notes that his was made to with the of and that it be to the new king as a of the of his seventeenth-century Lima, for the of the Royal Exequies and the king’s Proclamation could not the official real The of was known in Lima for before the reached the In of the and of the that the of la he he was to the of the royal before the king’s The viceroy the of the king’s at the of his loyalty to to the the not the to the official The is the to the king’s in a was not his of the royal the viceroy to the and to the and the that they in could the of the king and the of the new by the for the The royal on At the the of the and the to the and a was to it to the the was in a In the Philip the Royal Exequies into an official ritual to be not only in but also in all the of his the Spanish to its at the that it the of a of for the new The of the Royal Exequies was as a of as it was a and it of their not least that of the in of the that his to his is to the Spanish king’s since his before with the of the While the elaborate ritual surrounding the king’s was meant to the or of the monarchy, the Spanish the king’s before The by the king his the black of the Spanish king his By never the king may have a from his subjects that not to have been the with the Spanish In the king in black in for in the of his his was by an covered with a the of his body. His however, was in the and that decorated his Exequies were of loyalty and was that those who most from and the king make of or was by in a he on the of the Exequies of all were to their on how they had from followed, that since and kings the most from they had a to make of however, was not by a of but rather by a of in the of the and in the and of the by all in the city were to and for the and also to the at in the these as meant to or the of the was also widely that the of Since the Spanish for and were to to their were in the of the and the to The of the were were with and the the the more its be to the and to the rows during the by city and colonial for with and officials made of The were to and a his the seventeenth-century Spanish Diego that was for the of and that was the of or and were for and a la and as well as for the for the of the was as the and to of these the at and in to the and of the and of the In this of power, as it the of a of and and and of colonial as Lima’s one hundred Philip in the city and the life of the city came to a and officials from their of loyalty and for the were had to be dressed in and even in to be dressed in In Lima’s viceregal the to his had to be the and of all colonial and city were covered in to one by an of and by the and the city from black made real and the of the was the only in the was a of and in Lima it was in the central of the of the on the of the that life as and for but a and that was even for a The of the of the and the of the the of life these could not only to the king but also to one of his to de Philip Exequies were in Lima with as and as in the king’s The ceremonies began with a of companies of the with men dressed in black men were followed by colonial and dressed in black was on the for two in the of The one hundred by all the in the that of were in the for the In religious in the city one hundred of hundred of one they came into the to and a other city were given for their royal central took on when the of the four religious to the and led by of their dressed in de followed in a a his was followed by a of more than four hundred in and and dressed in of black But the most of the was the in the central of the which all the to the The was a of with for more than three In the entire was with of black and gold the and were covered with black was inscribed with Philip depicted the of the and the of his and his into was with many principal and that during the king’s these had to the official by of the they a to his and as a The the king’s entries into different European and the many of of all his these only the king’s of his rule suggest an to its in in the of his during the Royal Exequies also the king’s life and were in the of and before the and of the most they were before on these to be of the king’s rule. In the of Philip IV with the of in the kingdoms of While have been only to the by the king’s the of distant kingdoms was to the Spanish king’s royal of the the king’s and his In this of the what to him was not as with the king by the de but his or royal in the of The of him with other kings and royal of in this the their as one more of their and In Peru, the of was Charles Philip II, and on were on the of as the of the in colonial of the of of this was also present in royal the with the of In the Royal Exequies in for of in the was by of of to Philip were from a of with the of and other The to the were and of the in the making the and most in the The copy made these not only but the the of those the of the king’s and the royal of the king to his and the royal of the royal portrait on the throne under a gold in the center stage of Lima’s Plaza Mayor the king in the of the Philip the stage in of the viceregal and to the yards yards wide, and yards of this stage stood a yards and yards wide, with by a with and The of the stage and the to the king’s the the and the his of this stage stood a one measuring yards by yards wide, with four the under which the king’s throne was on a The of this were covered with on which of the king’s the two the were two the most of the Lima and a in its the in a to the king in his which they no than his Lima and here the king on as it the that the ritual took in Lima and not is more The Lima with and which it could to the of the In this the colonial and were under the of the a Proclamation in this to of the an and the a of to their By this had a of their and under Philip The of Lima and by of the and the this this also with the legitimacy that of the as in and this in the of Lima’s as the center of in the of Proclamation was in Lima on 1622, two Philip Exequies had the Exequies and the of in by and from different through the city streets and however, to one of as the city to their new a that on the all out and the of Philip Proclamation with and other to and of and in to the the were their for and and their black for and and from and balconies, from which the could the luxuriously dressed in the of the real into the plaza, the royal the royal of on one and Lima’s of and one on the the of the of the by two and the the to the where the king before the king’s the then three the before the of the he then of the in of what His Majesty and to this and to for its and the King Philip IV whose may for many The through the of the the and for him as by its of and and and to the and new in the the royal from the the before the king and for the King Philip may him for many The in the king Philip the may the King for many de Herrera on the and of the frame of Philip Since the were of The frame was an aspect of the of the on the by In Lima, Philip painting him with his body and dressed in a and with the portrait was of the king’s entire body, Herrera only its his that his a royal a look of The Proclamation in also notes that the king’s portrait and of the of Philip IV and the that one could to the of the king through the of his expressive In de that the face the of a as a and is in the body, and in is all the that are the other In one could a through his or that the face was the of communicated through the eyes of men and the head as the body, its were to at the The of the head as the of the body is in the of the where the king as the the of his kingdoms and to face was to in the of and in the of to the in Spain and in Lima, royal increasingly royal ceremonies in of the absent The of this is by the that during the of when the the royal of Philip IV from the of the royal they had their royal as a of and The of the king’s portrait in Lima’s rituals however, with the in the century. In the Proclamation of Philip the portrait of the king was no in the main that of the king were and to the By the of Proclamation in the and of the king had the royal took center stage under the In the was to and the the of was of suggest that the more “presence” of the kings was to a more of under the In the king’s body, and eyes all but from the and the The ceremonies in Lima to that of the in subjects could hope to see their king at least once in their in colonial the king was never The of the king American and to the king’s his In short, for his colonial subjects in Lima, the Spanish king’s copy for which there is no Since the had never been

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