This second posting shares some of the preliminary research questions we are asking ourselves as part of this research project. Many of these will be answered through other blog entries, as well as through articles, seminars, and lectures by members of the project and other scholars of the academic community with whom we collaborate. They are also an invitation to consider in what ways the study of this topic impacts on various fields of knowledge and why it matters.

ONE

What impact did the objects of artistic value that were transported from Europe to America, or from Italy to Spain, have on the local art scenes where they arrived? How were they exhibited, and did they influence local artists?

TWO 

What was the impact of the scientific objects that sometimes traveled in Jesuit crates (including clocks, for example) and the hundreds of books? 

THREE

Given the volume of objects that Jesuit procurators moved, some in large quantities (especially devotional ones), how were they distributed? To whom were the devotional objects destined? And everything else?

FOUR

Where are these objects that travelled such long distances to be found today? How much has been lost? 

FIVE

Did the provincial procurators charge a commission for carrying out the requests and petitions of third parties in their provinces of origin? 

SIX 

Did the procurators have local agents to whom they turned to make their purchases in the usual stops of their itinerary, places such as Barcelona, Genoa, Rome, and Naples? 

SEVEN

Did the procurators typically buy the same things, or did the nature and types of objects purchased change over time? Did they buy on the open market and in bulk? How often did they commission specific objects or works of art in the cities to which they traveled?

EIGHT

Given that for the case of the Spanish American viceroyalties, many of the Jesuits who undertook these journeys were Creoles (Spaniards born in America) and that, in general, they had not traveled long distances before (which may also apply to those travelling from Iberian Spain as well), what did the journey entail as an experience for them? Can the journey of the Jesuit procurators in the later period and with its various stops be likened to the Grand Tour?

NINE

How does the activity of the procurators from the provinces in Spain compare with those who went to Rome from the American continent? Did those from Spain also buy objects in Rome? What were their main tasks? 

TEN 

How can we understand the concern and controversy that arose around the Jesuit procurators,  and the growing perception that they were acting as merchants and were exceedingly involved in worldly matters? How did these procurators negotiate between their vow of obedience (instructions from their superiors asking them to limit favors for the local lay population and curtail the quantities of materials purchased) and the service they felt necessary to carry out for and in their communities?

Luisa Elena Alcalá, “10 preguntas preliminares… en torno a los objetos viajeros y los procuradores jesuitas”, en Blog ProJesArt, febrero 2023 [ https://projesart.org/blog/ ]

La entrada 10 PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS se publicó primero en ProJesArt.

In this first blog entry, we offer an introduction to the main ideas one must be familiar with in order to approach the principal object of study of the ProJesArt Project: Jesuit provincial procurators and their involvement with material and artistic culture in the Early Modern Age.  At the end, a basic bibliography is included. Further texts by members of the project are listed in the “Publications” section of this web page.

ONE. DEFINITION OF THE POST 

The provincial procurators (procurator provinciae) were appointed every three years (sometimes six) to report on the affairs of their respective provinces to the highest authority of the order in Rome, the General, and to attend (if they coincided) the Congregations of the Society of Jesus. Sometimes the periodicity was not fulfilled due to various problems: in the case of the Americas, there could be economic obstacles to procurator mobility leading to the decision by some territories to delegate in other provinces; there were often also logistical problems, related to fleets, shipwrecks, etc.

TWO. PRIORITIES IN AMERICA AND THE PHILIPPINES

The procurators who came from the Jesuit provinces of America, including the Philippines, had an additional priority during their sojourns: to recruit missionaries and accompany them on the return trip. However, not all provincial procurators ended up returning to their original locations; some stayed in Spain to occupy other positions, such as Procurator General in Madrid or Procurator General of the Indies in Seville. 

THREE. DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THESE “PROCURATORS” AND OTHERS

Within the Society of Jesus, the provincial procurators (to Rome) are a position distinct from the Jesuit procurators who worked on a local scale in all their institutions, managing the affairs of the colleges, seminaries, churches, and estates (such as the haciendas, estancias, or obrajes). It is also a different position than other special procurators appointed by the order at different times and places, such as the Procurator General in Madrid (liaison of the Jesuits at court), and the Procurator General of the Indies in Seville. The office of the latter was founded to facilitate the task of the procurators from the provinces of America and assist in organizing the transfer of missionaries from Europe abroad (on the subject, see A. Galán García in the bibliography). 

FOUR. PROFILE

These procurators were usually very capable Jesuits who had demonstrated their ability to deal with complex organizational tasks in previous occupations. They were also thoroughly knowledgeable about the specific needs of their province. All were professed Jesuits who had taken the four-vows. They were usually accompanied on their journey by a coadjutor (lay brother) who assisted them.

FIVE. INSTRUCTIONS

Prior to the trip, the highest Jesuit authority in each Province, the Provincials, issued Instructions to the procurators. Certain instructions were recurrent from one Provincial to the next, especially that they should make sure to obtain the necessary travel licenses from the Spanish authorities to travel to Rome from Spain, as well as to transfer missionaries. 

SIX. THE ACQUISITION OF OBJECTS ON THEIR TRAVELS

Another of the instructions was that they should acquire “things of devotion”, sometimes specifying rosaries, crucifixes, prints, medals and more, which were to be obtained in Rome. The purchases of this nature were extended to other geographies in the itinerary of their trip, including devotional objects from various sanctuaries they visited on their journey (Montserrat and Loreto) as well as other types of objects (such as sculpture in Naples). The “things of devotion” that traveled with the procurators were exempt from taxation because they were of devotional use and considered necessary for the missions. 

SEVEN. PETITIONS FROM THIRD PARTIES 

The Jesuits’ return crates also included some things that were NOT of a religious nature and that had been acquired in response to specific petitions the procurators had received from third parties in their places of origin before departing. The objects they purchased for third parties included devotional objects as well as books, clocks, rich fabrics such as silks, brocades, and velvets and other fashionable objects.  They also accepted commissions from these third parties of an administrative nature, leading the procurators to mediate in Europe in various affairs: depositing money for relatives, requesting a license for a private oratory, settling a debt, depositing alms in specific churches, chapels, or congregations, and more.

EIGHT. THE VOYAGE AND THE SCOPE OF THIS STUDY

The figure of the Jesuit procurator offers a window into the history of travel in the Modern Age with many possibilities for study (cultural, material, economic, political, social, religious and art historical). For the history of the American viceroyalties, these transfers are special because the procurators were among the most frequent travelers to Europe and very few residents in America had the possibility of making this transatlantic and Mediterranean round trip. Moreover, in the context of the history of the Hispanic world and its inter-territorial relations, it is a singular trip because it was not only about connecting America with Spain: rather, the objective was to reach Rome and, on the way, the Jesuit procurators passed through many other European geographies.

NINE. SOURCES

The documentation related to the activity of these Jesuit procurators found in archives around the world is very rich in information and still awaits further exploration. It includes instructions, much correspondence (which provides a glimpse into the true modus operandi of the procurators and how they negotiated the regulations and expectations of the period), registers of petitions, travel books, accounting records, and more.

TEN. THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE

In spite of the very extensive and rich historiography on the Society of Jesus world

Luisa Elena Alcala, “10 preguntas preliminares… en torno a los objetos viajeros y los procuradores jesuitas”, en Blog ProJesArt, febrero 2023 [https://projesart.org/blog/ ]

La entrada Ten Things One Needs to Know about the Provincial Procurators to Rome se publicó primero en ProJesArt.