Abstract

DIETER HENSEL, Franz. PUNISHMENT AND SOCIAL ORDER IN COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA. THE NUEVO REINO DE GRANADA: A PRELIMINARY SKETCH. hist.crit. [online]. 2002, n.24, pp.141-161. ISSN 0121-1617.

This article inquires into the relationship between punishment and social order in colonial Latin America, especially during the 17th and 18th centuries in the Nuevo Reino de Granada. For this purpose, punishment is understood not only as a means of social regulation but also as an advantageous way to study the colonial order. Thus, the proposal explores the link between sanction and society at various moments. First, the most relevant features of the administration of justice are reviewed. Next, the main crimes and punishments relating to crimes against nature are identified. In the final section, some doctrinal sermons and talks about the sacrament of penance are considered to show how punishment, the social order and the divine order must be viewed as parts of a single process, rather than as isolated units lacking reciprocal relationships.

Keywords : punishment; social order; administration of justice; divine order; social regulation.

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