Squares, Streets, and Mentideros: Political Communication in Public Space in Early Modern Spain

Abstract

Beyond the spheres of opinion built around the circles of power, political communication in the early modern age went through other channels accessible to a wider and more diverse public, which also included subaltern groups in that society. This article adopts a spatial and material approach to explore the role of squares and streets as channels for political discourse. While examining the significance of these spaces as a resonating box for political information, it also recognizes the importance of public engagement with other types of news and stories. Since one of the most emblematic places of public information in modern Spain was the mentidero, this study analyses its relevance as a public political space in the seventeenth century. The focus on Madrid is due to its status as the capital of the Hispanic monarchy and to the greater density of accounts about its mentideros, notably the one situated on the steps of the convent of San Felipe, albeit primarily derived from literary sources.