Officials of the Contaduría Mayor de Hacienda under the Catholic Monarchs (1474-1516)

Abstract

This study of the Contaduría Mayor de Hacienda (Head Body of the Royal Exchequer) under the Catholic Monarchs has two sections. In the first one, the Exchequer payrolls are used to analyse the links between its effective structure and the configuration of power groups within it, with a special focus on the factors that fostered their formation and dismemberment. In the second part, we explore the nature of some of the horizontal/symmetrical and vertical/asymmetrical relations between their members. In particular we analyse how being part of a group conditions some of the Exchequer officials’ important decisions but also gives them a certain autonomy against higher-rank officials. We close our study with what we consider to be the landmark of this process of change.