Abstract

ARAMENDI, Bárbara M.. Gabriel Güemes Montero: Cultured Officer and Respectable Neighbor. Andes [online]. 2008, n.19, pp.159-182. ISSN 1668-8090.

Men rather than institutions governed during the Ancient Régime, and networks of relations were a fundamental element of the social capital and action capacity that people could take advantage of. This article reflects on the administrative functioning of the Spanish empire through the analysis of the actions of a particular official: Gabriel Güemes Montero. He was sent by the crown to serve as treasurer of the Royal Finance of the Governación del Tucumán. The study of Güemes' election is an excuse for analysing a broader context. It took place because he was well known and widely recognized in Salta society since he was Martin Miguel de Güemes' father. The traditional historiography has exalted his figure and created the image of an extraordinary man and incorruptible professional that has remained up today. However, this paper has a different purpose: to study the career of a Spanish bureaucrat and reconstruct the networks he took part of. It allows us to observe the administrative organization from the point of view of interpersonal relations and also to analyze his role of intermediator between the crown's interests and those of the local society.

Keywords : Officer; Networks; Kinship.

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