Mail concessions for a global empire: correos mayores in the Spanish Empire in America (1514-1620)

Abstract

The nature of mail concessions awarded to private parties in order to enable the distribution of information within the Spanish Empire in the sixteenth century is examined. I propose the hypothesis that several versions of mail concessions coexisted within the Spanish Empire. Likewise, I question the notion that these mail concessions were intended to gain monopoly control. The analysis concentrates on correos mayores, through which contracts were negotiated and entered into with the crown for the rights to distribute correspondence in several communication epicenters. By means of a comparison between the situations in Sevilla, the Royal Court, Mexico, and Guatemala, the article shows that “gifts” by various means, as well as auctions, were the main models for allocating mail concessions.

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