The sale of the offices in the provinces of Spanish viceroyalty. Study cases and prospect for research

Abstract

Between the 16th and 17th centuries the Kingdom of Naples, like the other
European states, was interested in the practice of venality. The documents consulted at
the National Library of Naples and the State Archives of Naples, highlighted the
mechanisms by which the offices were transmitted, the attitude of the Monarchy in the
face of the spread of the phenomenon, the social groups that take advantage of this
practice which becomes a tool to ascend the social hierarchy and to build complementary
annuities.