Organization of the Azores naval campaign of 1582: court and territories in the reign of Philip II

Abstract

This study is aimed at dealing with the exercise of royal power, its intermediation through the court and its projection on territories through an analysis of the organization of a specific military campaign, namely the Azores campaign of 1582, in greater depth. The common thread which helps us better understand this event is a closer examination of the leading figure and officer who took part: the field master Francisco de Bobadilla, future count of Puñonrostro. This analysis will allow us to establish the characteristics of two different types of relationship between the instruments of the sovereign’s power, taken to be either receivers and distributors of his grace or as negotiators of his delegated jurisdiction. The key to achieving this objective is to perform a vertical study, following a line starting from the monarch himself and terminating at the final recipients of his orders, passing through the intermediate ministers and secretaries, as well as a horizontal cross-section of the court, which will allow us to comprehend the different connections between the different servants and institutions of the monarch, either at court or further afield in the king’s territories.