Corruption in the Iberian Empires: Greed, Custom, and Colonial Networks ed. by Christopher Rosenmüller (review)

This edited volume examines how the practices that we today associate with corruption were perceived historically by peninsular ministers, colonial authorities, and local subjects. The editor frames corruption as a cultural category, meaning that those social values defining the abuse of authority change over time—not to mention that even contemporary definitions of corruption vary widely. Therefore, it is important to consider these different perspectives when analyzing practices associated with or understood as corruption, because legal definitions failed to set the social limits of corruption. Using records mostly from official inspections, such as visitas, residencias, and pesquisas, the studies in this volume demonstrate the gaps between what law prescribed and how colonial authorities behaved. They also illustrated how often locals' perceptions influenced or deterred denunciation, prosecution, and even punishment of abusive authorities.

In "Forgery and Tambos," Jeremy Mumford examines a case of document forgery, in which a low-ranking official altered colonial documents to advance his own career. The case reminds us of the vulnerability of written documents, which may conceal various formal and informal alterations that historians commonly ignored. Despite legal prohibitions against altering royal documents, the case shows that this was a common practice that did not alter the legal value of the document.

Some chapters reveal how contemporaries' perspectives on a legally-prohibited practice varied according to the interests they defended. For instance, Kris Lane presents the great debasement case unveiled in Potosí in the mid-seventeenth century. "From Corrupt to Criminal" illustrates the various perspectives that existed on illegitimate or abusive practices. While the king and his peninsular ministers saw the debasement as a crime against the credit of the crown, with enormous implications in the international markets, locals saw this illegal practice as a way to maintain their local economy. The debasement served to increase the output of coinage in a period during which production decay jeopardized Potosi's position as the best-quality silver supplier of the Spanish monarchy. Marc Eagle examines the cases of three royal officials in Santo Domingo to show that royal officers and local residents possessed different views about authorities' activities. In "Portraits of Bad Officials," Eagle unveils the grievances locals complained more frequently about, and which bad practices or misdeeds peninsular ministers punished severely. Similarly, Francisco Eisa-Barroso's work, "Our Delivery Consists in Appointing Good Ministers," examines the contradictory outcome of Philip V's decision of appointing viceroyalties and governorships as an economic reward to proven loyal ministers who were also expected to tighten control of the colonial territories. The new appointees, however, also faced locals' accusations of illegitimate performance for practices that did not differ from those committed by their predecessors.

This seemingly contradictory perspective between the rulers and the ruled is evident in "Clients, Patrons, and Tribute." William Connell demonstrates that viceregal authorities supported candidates to the native governorship of Mexico-Tenochtitlán who showed ability in tribute collection. Decay of tribute revenue motivated them to turn down denunciations of ineligibility or abusive practices of those candidates that were good tribute collectors. Rosenmüller's chapter, "The Execrable Offense of Fraud or Bribery," also illustrates the various perspectives that existed on a specific practice, such as judges' acceptance of gifts from justice-seekers. While inspectors emphasized the literal implementation of written law, local ministers accepted this customary practice as necessary to complement their low incomes. Frances Ramos' study, "Custom, Corruption, and Reform," demonstrates the conflicts that application of law encountered on rotted practiced. She examines the case of secular priests who customarily engaged in commercial activities and tax evasion in Puebla, New Spain, in the late seventeenth century. The new alcabala (sale tax) collector accused merchant-priests of using the ecclesiastical fuero (jurisdiction) to defraud the king.

The two remaining chapters cover peripheral regions in Manila and the Rio de la Plata basin. In "Merchant-Bureaucrats, Unwritten Contracts, and Fraud," Catherine Tracy Goode demonstrates how bureaucrats engaged...