Portuguese agency in the Canary Islands and the transatlantic links with Spanish America during the period of the Iberian Union

Abstract

This research forms part of the specific object of study, namely Portuguese interests established in Spanish America during the period of the Iberian Union, within which it is confined. Firstly, within the Habsburg government, specifically in the attempts to dominate the overseas empire. Moreover, in its effective organization in parallel to the central institutional power. As a result, and from a polycentric perspective, it will consider the actual limitations of royal power and the connection of peripheral governance bodies. From the study of the Portuguese presence on the Canary Islands, as well as the ties such individuals established with other members of the Portuguese community spread throughout America, this presents a model connecting the Iberian Atlantic based on transoceanic mercantile dynamics and transnational relations.