Entre el laberinto jurídico de la monarquía hispánica: El caso de un cacique del Nuevo Reino de Granada (1571-1578).

Abstract

This article reviews the lawsuit of Diego de Torres, a cacique mestizo of Turmequé, in the New Kingdom of Granada, since the ratification as cacique (1571) until he presented to the king Philip II (1578). I propose that he acquired the knowledge about colonial juridical practices through people he met. As a consequence the cacique was able to barge his way through the different judicial instances and to obtain an audience with the monarch. I conclude that Diego de Torres was part of a local network composed by crown officials and rich spaniards, and at the same time he became an important node of a transatlantic network.