Oeconomia católica y buen gobierno: La casa y la potestad doméstica en el ordenamiento del gobierno en los territorios españoles en América

This article posits that the Catholic Oeconomia, understood as the good governance of the household, served as the main technology of government in Hispanic America. Far from being a private sphere, the authority of the pater familias over his 'populated household' (casa poblada) was the essential prerequisite for accessing the status of citizen (vecino) and holding public office. This domestic model allowed the monarchy to govern its vast territory, across the island model of goverment, anchoring power in each family unit. The household functioned as a primary space for the production of local normative knowledge, which often prevailed over general law. The paper argues against the use of anachronistic concepts such as State, proposing an analysis of the pre—liberal order on its own terms, based on grace, kinship, and corporate jurisdiction.