Women and the Economic Administration in the Franciscan Missions of Valdivia, Chile: The Syndic Clara de Eslava y Lope

This article analyzes the role of women in the public space of a colonial frontier territory in Spanish America, focusing on the female syndics of the Franciscan missions of Valdivia, Chile near the end of the colonial era. The article develops the case study of Clara de Eslava y Lope, who, as a syn...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Leal Pino, Cristián (Author) ; Rex Galindo, David (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: The Catholic University of America Press 2022
In: The catholic historical review
Year: 2022, Volume: 108, Issue: 1, Pages: 68-91
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Eslava y Lope, Clara de ca. 1720/24-nach 1791 / Valdivia / Mission station / Franciscans / Financial administration / Woman / History 1756-1801
IxTheo Classification:KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KBR Latin America
KCA Monasticism; religious orders
RB Church office; congregation
RJ Mission; missiology
Further subjects:B colonial era
B economic administration
B Franciscan missions
B Chile
B Female syndics
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Summary:This article analyzes the role of women in the public space of a colonial frontier territory in Spanish America, focusing on the female syndics of the Franciscan missions of Valdivia, Chile near the end of the colonial era. The article develops the case study of Clara de Eslava y Lope, who, as a syndic, administered financial matters for the Chillán Franciscan College for the Propagation of the Faith in the Valdivia missions. While Clara de Eslava y Lope's role as a syndic for the Franciscans was not unique in the Hispanic Catholic world, this essay sheds light on the position of female syndics, largely ignored by colonial and early modern historiographies. Through the lens of female syndics, this paper argues that women fulfilled an essential role within the Valdivia Hispanic-Creole population in the late colonial era, influenced not only by their economic power, but also their social recognition, education, and marital status as widows.
ISSN:1534-0708
Contains:Enthalten in: The catholic historical review
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1353/cat.2022.0002