The parental networks of power in San Juan, from the colonial times to the nineteenth century

Abstract

The present work aims to investigate the conformation of the network of the different families in the province of San Juan, from colonial times to the late nineteenth century. Likewise, the conformation of the local elite emerged as a result of the power groups, for reaching a high status in political power, while the province became a pioneer in reaching some key points of the liberal ideas on the rise at that time, such as the Carta de Mayo in 1825. From early times, different type of networks operated in San Juan. The marked endogamy of local families, together with a few exogamous links as a result of commercial activities, made it possible to create a dense social network. Kinship relations, on some occasions, were renewed through godfatherhood ties, which shows the malleability of alliances.

The methodological approaches that will guide the research are constituted through the analysis of the local framework, while the period was marked by the influence of liberal ideas in the geographical space corresponding to the current Argentine territory. It is for the aforementioned that the investigation of the main works that dealt with this issue in the nineteenth-century San Juan is relevant, while inquiring about sources corresponding to various Funds from the Archivo General de la Nación and, thematic envelopes, coming from the Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno.