Conflictos y tensiones en las sociedades portuarias del norte peninsular (siglos XVI–XIX) [Reseña]

Depósito de investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla https://idus.us.es/ “This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Sage in International Journal of Maritime History on 2024, available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/08438714241231409.” 1 Book Review: Conflictos y tensiones en las sociedades portuarias del norte peninsular (siglos XVI–XIX) by Manuel-Reyes García Hurtado, ed. This book review was published in the International Journal of Maritime History 36(2) (2024). The publication is available here: https://doi.org/10.1177/08438714241231409 Germán Jiménez-Montes University of Seville, Spain. Manuel-Reyes García Hurtado, ed., Conflictos y tensiones en las sociedades portuarias del norte peninsular (siglos XVI–XIX). A Coruña: Universidade da Coruña Servizo de Publicacións, 2022. 420 pp., tables, figures, index. ISBN 978-8- 4974-9855-5, €28 (hbk). ‘What is maritime history?’ is the question that Gelina Harlaftis raised in this journal to introduce a forum discussion on the significance of the field for the historical discipline in 2020. Her first answer was a straightforward one: maritime history is ‘the study of the relationship of humankind with the sea’ – an accurate but simple interpretation, as Harlaftis recognized immediately after, because it neglects the true potential and dynamism of the field. 1 Indeed, maritime history can be many things, including an opportunity to reflect on old and new historiographical debates from a fresh perspective, taking the distinctive nature of maritime societies as a subject of study. This is the case with the volume edited by Manuel-Reyes García Hurtado, which translates as Conflicts and Tensions in Northern Iberian Port Societies (1500–1900). In this volume, 15 chapters examine how individuals and institutions dealt with different forms of tension and conflict on the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, with a special focus on its north-western corner – the region of Galicia. Galicia is usually underestimated as an Atlantic maritime region because it had minor involvement in long-distance seafaring compared to Andalusia and the Basque provinces. Scholars of Spain's maritime history have overwhelmingly paid attention to the role of Andalusia (southern Spain) in the early evolution of the Carrera de Indias (the navigation and trade between Spain and the Americas), or the thriving maritime activities of the Basque provinces, on the border with France, with a long tradition in high-seas shipping and fishing. This volume, in contrast, stresses the regional complexity of Spain's Atlantic coast by examining Galician maritime society (or societies) and, on a few occasions, other northern ports outside Galicia, such as Aveiro and Bilbao. The book, however, is not just an uncovering of northern Spain's maritime societies; it is a remarkable collective effort to address up-to-date historiographical discussions on personal and institutional conflict through small-scale case studies, observed with rigorous methodology. The volume incorporates studies conducted by early career researchers together with works by well-established scholars, mostly from the University of Santiago de Compostela and the University of A Coruña, although institutions from outside Galicia are also represented. The intergenerational approach of the book evidences the good shape of the ‘Galician school of history’, which has traditionally led the field of demography and statistical methods in Spain's early modern historiography. The 40 tables, figures and graphs that support the text are a good illustration of this. The 1 Gelina Harlaftis, ‘Forum Introduction: What Is Maritime History?’, International Journal of Maritime History, 32, No. 2 (2020), 354–63. 2 research is also firmly based on a rich array of primary sources, which are thoroughly analysed, from 24 archival collections, including national (for example, Archivo General de Indias), regional (for example, Archivo del Reino de Galicia), local (for example, Archivo Municipal de Betanzos) and ecclesiastical archives (for example, Archivo Histórico Diocesano de Tui). The chapters follow a chronological organization from the end of the fifteenth century to the first half of the nineteenth century. Such chronological breadth allows the reader to see how maritime societies in northern Spain adapted to the tensions created by the development of the Habsburg institutional organization, the transition to the more centralized Bourbon regime, and finally the dismantling of the Old Regime. Local contexts are used as the main scale of analysis, covering large towns as well as municipalities of less political and demographical relevance. The different case studies provide a good representation of the demographic distribution that is characteristic of northern Spain, and Galicia in particular. While revolving around questions on conflict, the topics covered by the volume are diverse. In common, the chapters have an emphasis on the complex multijurisdictional organization of early modern Spain. Such jurisdictional complexity is especially relevant in the northern Iberian case, due to the early introduction of the Real Audiencia de Galicia (Royal Court of Galicia) in 1480, the existence of traditional privileges (fueros) in the Basque provinces, and the incorporation of Portugal into the Habsburg dynasty in 1580. The contributors examine how institutions, groups and individuals adapted to the forms of tension and conflict prompted by these multijurisdictional particularities. Several chapters analyse conflict management. While Chapters 4 and 11 do so from an institutional perspective, Chapters 9, 13, 14 and 15 adopt a gender perspective to address how women resorted to public justice and extrajudicial strategies. Other chapters reflect on how institutional changes challenged the authority of local powers, spurring tensions between central and regional powers; many of the authors agree that the introduction of the Matrícula de Mar – a recruitment system for the Armada implemented in the eighteenth century – was a key source of friction. The state's ambition to take more control over trade (Chapters 3, 5 and 6) and port services (Chapters 7 and 8) also became a source of conflict. But centre–periphery tensions did not necessarily result in conflict. As Chapter 1 shows, local elites often found it best to adapt to new institutional frameworks, collaborating with the monarchy. Finally, on other occasions, institutional changes did not only prompt tension, but also boosted competition between different towns, as examined in Chapters 2, 10 and 12. While all of the chapters deal with questions on conflict and tension, the focus on maritime societies is not really relevant. Maritime societies are used as a context to discuss conflict and tension rather than a subject of study to discuss to what extent maritime societies in northern Spain, with a high degree of mobility, developed particular forms of conflict and tension. Additionally, readers may sometimes find themselves in very local – and niche – studies that have few connections to the other contributions to the book. As such, this volume fails to provide a comprehensive approach to the maritime history of northern Spain and to highlight points of similarity or difference between the different case studies, or between northern Spain and other maritime regions. However, to be fair, rather than being a weakness, the diversity of case studies, as well as methodological approaches, constitutes the main strength of the book. The variety of case studies makes the different parts of the book interesting for a wide audience working on conflict management or specific areas of the northern Iberian coast, especially 3 Galicia. Readers from diverse academic backgrounds will benefit from this book as a source of well-researched contributions on the development of maritime societies in northern Iberian ports in the early modern period.