ELITES AND AGENTS IN THE HISPANIC MONARCHY: FORMS OF POLITICAL ARTICULATION, NEGOTIATION AND PATRONAGE GR 3/14-971683

Prof. C. Sanz Ayán leads the Research Group "Elites and agents in the Hispanic Monarchy: Forms of Political Articulation, Negotiation and Patronage (1506-1725)" at the University Complutense of Madrid (UCM, Department of Early Modern and Modern History). After being recognized in 2013, the group became in 2016 an official Research Team (GR3/14-971683) (https://www.ucm.es/udmoderna/grupos-de-investigacion-ucm-1). The Research Group, led by Prof. Sanz Ayán, additionally worked together with various research projects (such as the MINCIU project "The Financial and Bureaucratic Elite of the Spanish Monarchy: Solidarity Networks, Patronage and Genealogical Strategy amongst the Nobility (1621-1725)" (https://www.ucm.es/nobincis/). The Research Team counts a total of 16 researchers that published more than 190 works, including 24 books and 173 journal articles and book chapters. Also, the Research Team has a strong international profile, as more than a quarter of the members (5/16) currently work in a foreign institution (United States, Portugal, and Italy), and almost all of them have spent more than a year studying abroad. As their curriculum show, the Group members have strong ties with international institutions and have developed a continuous collaboration with foreign researchers and external academic centers. All group members have participated in numerous international conferences and published in international conferences and published in international journals or books.

The Research Group developed a consistent and consolidated research line. The Research Team focuses on the financial and political elites who worked for the Hispanic Monarchy during the Habsburg period (16th-17th centuries). The main objective is to explore the role played by the different imperial elites in the expansion, articulation and conservation of the Spanish Empire. It deals primarily with how these elites participated in the mediation between the Royal court and the Monarchy"s multiple territories, as well as in the provision of financial, political and military services required for the management of the Empire. The approach used by the researchers takes into consideration the immense variety of agents involved (the sovereigns and their families, the nobility, the diplomatic agents, the businessmen, and private contractors, etc.) and their transnational networks. The Research Program is highly international since the large geographic projection of the research group allows us to study these problems for Spain, Portugal, Italy, Flanders and even America. Although each researcher conducts his or her research, there is constant collaboration and connection within the Research Team.<br /><br />The Principal Investigator, Prof. Carmen Sanz Ayán, has a strong leadership profile. She has more than 15 years of experience in leading national Research Projects. HERMESP (2012-2016) was a project that included four subprojects and required the supervision of 32 researchers who proceeded from more than 15 global institutions. During the last seven years, Prof. Sanz Ayán has supervised three Ph.D. theses that obtained the highest academic distinction and the European mention. She currently has five Ph.D. students that are working under her supervision at the UCM.

The research group HERMESP is looking for a candidate interested in examining Early Modern European elites from a sociopolitical perspective. The candidates are kindly requested to submit a CV (no more than five pages), a cover letter stating their research interest (no more than two pages) and a letter of recommendation from their last research institution.