Cortejo, matrimonio y sentimientos en la España de la Ilustración a través de la correspondencia privada

Abstract

A research about family conflict lawsuits between 1707 and 1820 located in both civil and church archives led us to the construction of a compendium of private letters added to those lawsuits as proves about the accused intentions. Through these letters and their context that we know due to their attached prosecutions, this article presents an analysis of the deals, conflicts and strategies developed in order to reach achieve the desired marriage and a view about the importance of the written communication between the couple or their families. The results show a high level of marriage making strategies in which neither free will or paternal authority had the last word. Marriage is show as dependent on numerous factors, since economic matters to personal feelings.