Royal Sites as Core Element of Early Modern Monarchies: Social Integration in Seventeenth-Century Castile

Abstract

A great deal of research has been published on royal sites, although up until now studies have focused primarily on their artistic heritage. This article brings a more holistic approach to the study of these sites in order to reconsider their role in the construction of European identities in the early modern period, drawing mainly from the field of court studies. This article examines the social role played by royal sites in terms of integrating the population of the Castilian kingdom from the reign of Philip IV (1621-1665) onwards. During his rule the bonds between the royal possessions and the central court were tightened more than ever before, and, as a result, the material resources of these royal sites were used to provide those servants with retirement deals, creating a system of social welfare for those directly or indirectly related to the royal households and royal sites, especially at the middle and lower levels of society.