Books by Ricard Torra-Prat
Del territorio al Estado. Actores y poderes locales en la construcción de la monarquía hispánica ... more Del territorio al Estado. Actores y poderes locales en la construcción de la monarquía hispánica (siglos XVI-XIX) es una obra colectiva que tiene como objetivo principal ofrecer una visión de conjunto acerca de la relevancia de los actores y poderes locales en los procesos de construcción estatal hispánicos entre el siglo XVI y el XIX. De alguna manera, el enfoque que aquí se ofrece "desde abajo" pretende ser complementario de todos los estudios nacionales e internacionales que existen alrededor de la idea de la construcción del Estado en Europa en la época moderna. El libro analiza estos aspectos a partir de cuatro grandes ejes: la cosmovisión y construcción de los espacios de frontera por, para y gracias a las comunidades locales; la concepción y percepción del Estado desde el mundo local y la instrumentalización desarrollada por el Estado; la acción de los actores al margen del poder a nivel local; y el análisis de la representación de las comunidades locales en los centros de poder y/o decisión y su agencia. Para ello se reúnen los trabajos de catorce especialistas en la historia de la construcción de la(s) monarquía(s) hispánica(s) de la época moderna y contemporánea con el objetivo de superar viejas delimitaciones cronológicas en aras de establecer un diálogo fructífero entre espacios, períodos y realidades políticas heterogéneas.
Corruption, Anti-Corruption, Vigilance, and State Building from Early to Late Modern Times challe... more Corruption, Anti-Corruption, Vigilance, and State Building from Early to Late Modern Times challenges current historiographical approaches, proposing new interpretations to rethink the relation between corruption and the socio-political and economic transformations since early globalisation.
By adopting both transnational and long-term approaches, the book explores the historical dimension of notions such as accountability, transparency, and vigilance in their immediate political, social, and legal contexts. The starting point is to view corruption not as a moral category that emerged in 1789 to delegitimise past, foreign or present state systems, but as a constantly contested concept that must also be historicised in past societies. The collection revisits chronologies and examines different local, regional, and national frames, highlighting that the path to modernity was contested and affected by a variety of unique circumstances, such as revolutions and external political powers.
Building on the latest research and offering new methods of inquiry, this book is a compelling resource for academics interested in political history and the history of corruption.
Oscar Jané, Ricard Torra i Ignasti Fernández (eds.), Com sobreviure a una tesi d'Humanitats, Anem Editors, Andorra-Montellà, 2021, 144p., 2021
El present volum compila els escrits de diversos investigadors en el camp de les humanitats que e... more El present volum compila els escrits de diversos investigadors en el camp de les humanitats que expliquen la seva experiència de recerca i la seva vinculació al món laboral universitari i investigador, amb l’objectiu d’explicar a les joves generacions que segueixen una carrera investigadora en humanitats els reptes, vicissituds, dificultats i realitats que es van trobar en el seu moment.
Continguts:
El primer pas en la conquesta de la torre d’ivori? Fer una tesi d’humanitats a principis del segle xxi, per Oscar JANÉ, Ricard TORRA i Ignasi FERNÁNDEZ, p. 9-13.
Ensopegades evitables, encerts i reptes, per Josep CAPDEFERRO, p. 15-28.
Empezar por el principio… O fent i desfent una tesi doctoral, per Maria Betlem CASTELLÀ, p. 29-46.
Un retall de «la Primavera» i la «fugida als boscos», per Maria GARGANTÉ LLANES, p. 47-69.
I és així com volem tirar pel dret però avancem en ziga-zaga, per Miquel PÉREZ LATRE, p. 71-87.
Reflexions crítiques sobre el món de la recerca, per Gerard ROSICH, p. 89-100.
La tesi i les seves circumstàncies, per Marta ROVIRA MARTÍNEZ, p. 101-119.
Assaig d’una tesi que parla de perifèries i poder, per Antonio STOPANI, p. 121-134.
La Visita del General de Catalunya fou la institució que des de 1599 i fins a 1714 s'encarregà de... more La Visita del General de Catalunya fou la institució que des de 1599 i fins a 1714 s'encarregà de controlar les actuacions dels membres de la Generalitat de Catalunya i corregir-ne les corrupteles. Aquest llibre reconstrueix la seva història-des dels seus orígens a les Corts catalanes del segle XV fins a la seva supressió juntament amb la resta d'institucions catalanes l'any 1716-, les relacions que mantingué amb els altres poders polítics i jurisdiccionals de la Catalunya moderna, el seu funcionament, els resultats de les seves inspeccions, l'economia i la seva composició social. En la Visita del General confluïren les dues idees clau que encapçalen el títol d'aquest llibre: d'una banda, «anticorrupció», perquè la Visita perseguí amb determinació les pràctiques il•lícites dels oficials de la Generalitat; d'altra banda, «pactisme», perquè la Visita fou la institució que millor representà la idea de contrapès d'un dels poders jurisdiccionals més rellevants de l'època: la Generalitat. En definitiva, a través de la Visita del General de Catalunya es pot entrellucar la complexitat, la vigència i la modernitat d'un sistema polític-el català d'època moderna-que, contràriament a allò que han exposat alguns historiadors, feu del respecte als ordenaments jurídics aprovats en les assemblees representatives l'eix vertebrador de la seva comunitat política.
Journal Papers by Ricard Torra-Prat
This article explores the hypothesis that during the late medieval and early modern periods, Cata... more This article explores the hypothesis that during the late medieval and early modern periods, Catalan society was structured around the political practice of agreements, or 'pacts', between the monarch and the realm, formalised within the framework of the Corts Catalanes (Catalan Parliament). By critically engaging with the historiography on this topic, this study traces the evolution of legal observance in Catalonia across various stages of these periods, culminating in the abolition of Catalan public law following the War of the Spanish Succession.
Este trabajo plantea una metodología para el estudio de la corrupción política en la época modern... more Este trabajo plantea una metodología para el estudio de la corrupción política en la época moderna. Para ello, se debate un enfoque basado en tres ejes que pretende superar las dificultades en el momento de definir la idea de corrupción en un determinado momento histórico. Un primer eje se ocupa de la perspectiva geográfica, enfatizando la importancia del contexto local del lenguaje relacionado con las prácticas corruptas; el segundo eje plantea el papel central de las cesuras históricas a la hora de evaluar los antecedentes del universo conceptual de una determinada sociedad; finalmente, el tercer eje sugiere que el análisis de un amplio vocabulario proveniente de diferentes fuentes puede resultar útil a la hora de reconstruir el concepto de corrupción en las sociedades precontemporáneas.
This article uses the concept of ‘cultures of vigilance’ (vigilanzkulturen) as an analytical tool... more This article uses the concept of ‘cultures of vigilance’ (vigilanzkulturen) as an analytical tool to shed light on how early modern Catalan citizens interacted with public institutions in relation to the fight against tax fraud. By studying the surveillance mechanisms used by fiscal authorities in both local and regional scenarios, the article shows how private individuals, guilds, tax farmers and public officials collaborated in partnership to create a system of vigilance in which everybody was surveilling and under surveillance using direct and indirect methods. For public officers and institutions to benefit from practices of vigilance, citizens had to be genuinely willing to collaborate, and the article thus points towards the existence of a deeply rooted symbiosis between citizens and the state in early modern Catalonia under the Spanish monarchy.
Revista catalana de dret públic, 2023
This study analyses the accountability mechanism of royal officials in the Catalonia of the ancie... more This study analyses the accountability mechanism of royal officials in the Catalonia of the ancien regime known as the table trial (judici de taula). It provides an in-depth study of various kinds of primary documentation, such as the legislation approved by the late mediaeval and modern Catalan Courts in relation to the table trial, contemporary testimonies and, in particular, the previously unpublished documentary resources preserved in the Archive and Episcopal Library of Vic on this institution. This allows us to obtain a more accurate vision of the table trial, showing the differences between that stipulated in the law and daily procedural practice.
eHumanista, 2021
This article aims to offer a brief overview concerning the public officials’ accountability pract... more This article aims to offer a brief overview concerning the public officials’ accountability practices passed by the Catalan Parliament during the Late Medieval and Early Modern times: the Judici de Taula, the Visita of royal officers, and the Visita del General. To do so, the paper discusses both the latest historiographical contributions and new archival evidence.
AUSA, 2020
Based on the analysis of the documentation of the diputació local of Vic preserved at the Arxiu i... more Based on the analysis of the documentation of the diputació local of Vic preserved at the Arxiu i Biblioteca Episcopal de Vic, this paper aims to briefly describe elements such as how the Early Modern Generalitat of Catalonia organised the territory under its jurisdiction, which public officials served it at the local level and their social background, the relation with the rest of jurisdictional powers and institutions settled across the Catalan countryside, and to asses the level of cooperation between the public power represented by the local diputació and the inhabitants of Vic’s tax district.
Revista de Dret Històric Català, 2020
This study aims to discuss to what extent the growth of the Diputació del General de Catalunya du... more This study aims to discuss to what extent the growth of the Diputació del General de Catalunya during the second half of the 16th Century and the first decades of the 17th Century was a consequence of the legislation passed by the representatives within the Early Modern Catalan Parliament. In doing so, it briefly analyses the laws approved during the 15th and the 16th Centuries. Finally, it addresses a few of the questions that future research concerning this topic should answer.
Recerques. Història, Economia, Cultura, 2020
The aim of this paper is the analysis of the so-called taulers or collidors del General de Catalu... more The aim of this paper is the analysis of the so-called taulers or collidors del General de Catalunya during the first half of the 17th Century. It is done mainly thanks to the study of a publication ignored by the historians until now: the Summari dels Càrrechs, published in 1657. The printing of this oeuvre was ordered by the visitadors del General de Catalunya, and its objective was to gather all the previous legislation concerning the taulers and their duties to assure the correct function of its fiscal activity.
Studia Historica, Historia Moderna, 2019
Within the last decades, there has been a noticeable
increase regarding the study of the accounta... more Within the last decades, there has been a noticeable
increase regarding the study of the accountability institutions of the
territories of the Early Modern Spanish Monarchy. Thus, it allowed
improving our knowledge concerning Visitas, Juicios de Residencia and
Pesquisas’ procedures, virtues and weak points. However, although the
previous literature has argued that these institutions were to some extent futile, none of these works has studied systematically their sentences. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the sentences of the Visita of the Generality of Catalonia and its execution procedure.
This article aims to study the Visita (inspection) of the royal officials of the Principality of ... more This article aims to study the Visita (inspection) of the royal officials of the Principality of Catalonia within the 17th and 18th centuries, an institution far less known to the historiography than its Castilian counterparts. Our goal is to offer a global understanding of the Visita using not only legal and procedural sources but also showing the point of view of the agents of the institution and of the people who interacted with it. In doing so, we focalize our attention in two Visitas, the one held between 1635-1636 and the one held between 1710-1711, respectively. Although both inspections had the same final purpose, that is the control over the public servants of the king, their legal framesets were by no means different: this offers also an outstanding occasion for a comparative study.
Scripta, Revista internacional de literatura i cultura medieval i moderna, 2019
This article studies three different cases judged by the Visita of the Generality of Catalonia wi... more This article studies three different cases judged by the Visita of the Generality of Catalonia within the first decades of the 17th Century. Thanks to its study, we can comprehend the role developed by the Visita in controlling the actions of the public officers of the Generality of Catalonia during the whole century, how the Generality was established around the territories of the Principality of Catalonia and the political relations amongst the major institutions in Catalonia in the mid-1650’s. The first two cases that we want to analyse took place during the inspection conducted by the Visita of the Generality of Catalonia of 1629-1630 within the tax district of Vilafranca de Conflent, which focused their attention on its public officers. The third case, which took place after the conclusion of the Reaper’s War (1640-1652), pays particular attention to the relation between the diputats and the oïdors de comptes of the Generality of Catalonia of 1654-1656, the commanders of the institution, and the visitadors of 1654-1655.
The aim of our work is to study the renewed constitutional framework established in Catalonia in ... more The aim of our work is to study the renewed constitutional framework established in Catalonia in 1652, after its defeat in the commonly named Reaper’s War. The first section of our analysis focuses on the new legislation introduced by the Spanish Monarchy to control the decisive Catalan institutions, the Consell de Cent of Barcelona and the Diputació del General of Catalonia. The next stage analyzes the relations between those Catalan institutions, specifically the ones between the Diputació del General and the Visita del General and the new role played by the Monarchy as a judge. Lastly, we discuss the assumption of the new roles played by both, the Catalan institutions and the Spanish Monarchy between 1652 and 1702.
In this essay, we summarize the history of the Visita del General de Catalunya from its origins a... more In this essay, we summarize the history of the Visita del General de Catalunya from its origins at the beginning of the 16th Century as a part of the Catalan Cortes, until its suppression along with the other Catalan institutions at the end of the Spanish War of Succession. In doing so, we highlight the Visita's most crucial characteristics, its procedures and how the institution was integrated on the Catalan Public Law system.
This article aims to study both, the process of creation and the action and results of the embass... more This article aims to study both, the process of creation and the action and results of the embassies sent by the "Diputació del General de Catalunya" to Philip II of Spain during the biennium of 1594-1596. Likewise, the second part of our work is focused on the analysis of the embassies core line, strongly influenced by the constitutionalist point of view typical of the Early Modern Catalan political system.
Resumen: El objetivo del presente artículo es el estudio de la Visita del General de Catalunya de... more Resumen: El objetivo del presente artículo es el estudio de la Visita del General de Catalunya desde su vertiente pública como institución jurídico-política que, a partir de su instauración en el año 1599, tendrá que compartir el espacio político con el resto de organismos catalanes. Mediante este análisis, queremos constatar que a diferencia de los otros sistemas de fiscalización presentes en la Monarquía Hispánica de los Austrias, la Visita del General consistió en una institución pública autónoma respecto de la institución que tenía que visitar, de carácter principalmente jurídico, pero que también utilizó los recursos políticos a su alcance para generar y asegurarse un espacio dentro del juego institucional de la Cataluña de las primeras décadas del siglo XVII.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is the study of the Visita del General de Catalunya from its public view as a political and legal institution that since its restoration in 1599 had to deal with the other Catalan entities in the way to redistribute their political space. With this research, we want to stress the fact that unlike the other public control systems that took part in the Spanish Monarchy, the Visita was the only one that had an autonomous operation towards the institution that it was supposed to be controlled. Although it was a legal institution, the Visita used all its available political sources to generate and ensure a place inside Catalonia's institutional game during the first half of seventeenth century.
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Books by Ricard Torra-Prat
By adopting both transnational and long-term approaches, the book explores the historical dimension of notions such as accountability, transparency, and vigilance in their immediate political, social, and legal contexts. The starting point is to view corruption not as a moral category that emerged in 1789 to delegitimise past, foreign or present state systems, but as a constantly contested concept that must also be historicised in past societies. The collection revisits chronologies and examines different local, regional, and national frames, highlighting that the path to modernity was contested and affected by a variety of unique circumstances, such as revolutions and external political powers.
Building on the latest research and offering new methods of inquiry, this book is a compelling resource for academics interested in political history and the history of corruption.
Continguts:
El primer pas en la conquesta de la torre d’ivori? Fer una tesi d’humanitats a principis del segle xxi, per Oscar JANÉ, Ricard TORRA i Ignasi FERNÁNDEZ, p. 9-13.
Ensopegades evitables, encerts i reptes, per Josep CAPDEFERRO, p. 15-28.
Empezar por el principio… O fent i desfent una tesi doctoral, per Maria Betlem CASTELLÀ, p. 29-46.
Un retall de «la Primavera» i la «fugida als boscos», per Maria GARGANTÉ LLANES, p. 47-69.
I és així com volem tirar pel dret però avancem en ziga-zaga, per Miquel PÉREZ LATRE, p. 71-87.
Reflexions crítiques sobre el món de la recerca, per Gerard ROSICH, p. 89-100.
La tesi i les seves circumstàncies, per Marta ROVIRA MARTÍNEZ, p. 101-119.
Assaig d’una tesi que parla de perifèries i poder, per Antonio STOPANI, p. 121-134.
Journal Papers by Ricard Torra-Prat
increase regarding the study of the accountability institutions of the
territories of the Early Modern Spanish Monarchy. Thus, it allowed
improving our knowledge concerning Visitas, Juicios de Residencia and
Pesquisas’ procedures, virtues and weak points. However, although the
previous literature has argued that these institutions were to some extent futile, none of these works has studied systematically their sentences. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the sentences of the Visita of the Generality of Catalonia and its execution procedure.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is the study of the Visita del General de Catalunya from its public view as a political and legal institution that since its restoration in 1599 had to deal with the other Catalan entities in the way to redistribute their political space. With this research, we want to stress the fact that unlike the other public control systems that took part in the Spanish Monarchy, the Visita was the only one that had an autonomous operation towards the institution that it was supposed to be controlled. Although it was a legal institution, the Visita used all its available political sources to generate and ensure a place inside Catalonia's institutional game during the first half of seventeenth century.