Judith Mansilla

This research project explores the colonial origins of endemic corruption that Peru and other Latin American countries endure. The prosecution of various former presidents in Peru, which led them to prison time, exile, and even suicide, shows that these practices are common in this country. To unveil the roots of these abuses, this study examines the life and career of one administrator of Lima’s royal treasury in the seventeenth century. It analyzes the interplay between royal administrators' performance and society's perceptions and expectations of such performance to show how such perceptions ultimately shaped the treatment of abusive and dishonest activities.

This project examines the legal and social limits of corruption and dishonesty in early modern Lima, Peru, by studying the convulsive career and life of a senior royal administrator and his circle of relatives, friends, allies, adversaries, and even lovers. Their political and social activities demonstrate that abusive and dishonest practices were deeply rooted in colonial society before contemporaries labeled them as corrupt and illegal. It specifically examines the interplay between authorities’ performance and society's perceptions and expectations of such performances to demonstrate how these perceptions ultimately shaped the treatment of abusive and dishonest activities.