Col·legials majors a l’Audiència borbònica de Catalunya.

Abstract

This articles analyses the presence of graduates of the colegios mayores of Castile in the Bourbon Audiencia of Catalonia (1716-1808). In the text the magistrates who held a scholarship from the six colegios mayores are identified, through the study of their geographical, family and social origins, as well as their judicial career before and after their stay in Catalonia. The work is completed with the study of the magistrates proceeding from other colleges. Finally, the important group of magistrates that emerged from the colegios mayores is compared with that of magistrates of other origins, in particular, lawyers and those who came through careers in varas (corregidores and alcaldes mayores). In general terms, their presence within the Audiencia of Catalonia confirms the known model of the Audiencia of Valencia, but significant differences are also observed, such as a later collegial presence in the Catalan Audiencia, due to the specific circumstances of the creation of this court in 1716 and the appointment of judges deposed after the fall of Melchor de Macanaz.