A large estate in the kingdom of Granada: the property of the chief magistrate Andrés Calderon (1492-1500)

Abstract

Belonging to a family that was recently introduced in the oligarchy of Soria, the licenciate Andrés Calderón firstly found in the war to conquer the sultanate of Granada and then in his post as chief magistrate in the mentioned city two ways to consolidate his social position, which always were due to a long service to the Catholic Monarchs. This article studies briefly those political compromises, making a special emphasis in the analysis and the valuation of the ways —that sometimes were fraudulent— through which the chief magistrate got hold of a considerable wealth in the new Castilian kingdom. We will also be analyze the means he used to exploit it and its final destiny: a late and implicit confiscation by the Catholic Monarchs and the foundation of the Royal Hospital of Granada in the place of the estate.