"Palacio donde morar". "Heredad donde holgar". Spéculation immobilière et constitution de fief nobiliaire. Inquisition et noblesse andalouse

Abstract

This paper investigates the subject of how, throughout the Inquisition, there was a silent conflict for land in Spain. Consequently, this allowed for the establishment of a new “service” nobility which resulted in an upgrading of certain lineages and, conversely, the social downgrading of the converso families. The two themes addressed are the issues of property speculation, which took place after the sale of confiscated estates, and those of the fief constitution. These enhanced the lineages of Enríquez de Ribera, the marquesado de Tarifa and, later, the ducado de Alcalá by affording the purchases of parts of the converso property. This process allowed the swift advancement and strengthening of these lineages. From this point in time, with the change of property ownership and the economic pattern of the land, there was a redistribution of power. This transformation profoundly changed the social order of the 16th Century.