Family strategies against the jesuits in colonial Argentina: Catamarca, 1683-1767

Abstract

Based on a lawsuit, I will conduct a detailed study of the strategies of Catamarca ´s colonial settlers to deal with Society of Jesus, the most powerful institution of the time.Three families were fighting for survival in a small colonial town in a middle of intercontinental fight between a forceful Spanish Crown and a hesitant Catholic Church. In the gaps of that struggle, each family negotiated their identity against a multiplicity of interests in play, seeking the best of possibilities in a world that was rapidly changing.