Making the king's rights his own. Antonio de Vergara y azcárate: Corruption, quintos and signiorage. (1637-1683)

Abstract

This article studies the forms of corruption of which the treasurer of the Santafé Mint, Antonio de Vergara y Azcárate (1637-1683), was accused. It is affirmed that the accusations of corruption were made at different times during his office as treasurer, and that the reasons were always the same: inappropriate use of the king's rights, that is to say quintos and signiorage. To resolve the case of these accusations the High Court and the Council of the Indies commissioned visits to the Santafé Mint, but the results were favourable for Vergara y Azcárate. Some regular institutional practices from the American kingdoms had an influence on corruption: people kept the same positions for many years, there was little surveillance and too much power in the hands of only one official, whose position had been bought. With regard to the methodology, a case study was the starting point, with the aim of showing the practices which influenced the irregularities in the Santafé Mint, their effect and corruption throughout a large part of the 17th century.