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The Power of Transatlantic Ties: A Game-Theoretical Analysis of Viceregal Social Networks in Colonial Mexico, 1700–1755

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Christoph Rosenmüller
Christoph Rosenmüller*
Affiliation:
Middle Tennessee State University
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Abstract

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This article analyzes the power of select political actors in the social networks of New Spain (colonial Mexico), from 1700–1755. Examining the participation of these actors in successful political and economic coalitions allows for assessment of the additional (or marginal) contribution of each politician. His or her chance of altering decisions of a coalition is called the power index, delivering a quantification of the idea of power. A second step then examines how the number of communicative links with other actors changes a politician's influence and modifies the power index. A large amount of contacts significantly increases the power of an actor. Drawing on this model, I argue that the viceroy's sway increased somewhat in this period because of his improving social connections. In addition, historians who have pointed out that the Bourbon dynasty reduced the role of the Council of the Indies to that of an appellate court have underestimated the council's lasting informal influence. This interdisciplinary article introduces game theory to Latin American historical scholarship by analyzing a period that scholars have largely neglected.

Resumo

Resumo

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar el poder de actores políticos en las redes sociales de la Nueva España (México colonial), 1700–1755. La participación de estos actores en coaliciones políticas o económicas exitosas permite una determinación de la contribución marginal (o adicional) de cada actor a las alianzas. La chance de cambiar una decisión se llama el índice del poder, lo cual brinde una cuantificación del término poder. En un segundo paso, se determine como el número de contactos comunicativos en la red modifica el poder de un actor, cambiando el índice del poder. El análisis de las redes sociales muestra que los abundantes enlaces sociales aumentan decisivamente la influencia de algunos actores. Arguyo que el poder del virrey surgió algo en este período a través de mejorar sus enlaces sociales. Además, los historiadores que destacan que los Borbones tempranos redujeron el Consejo de Indias al papel de una corte judicial apelativa subestiman su influencia informal duradera. Este artículo interdisciplinario introduce la teoría de juegos a las ciencias históricas sobre América Latina, analizando una fase que la historiografía ha ignorado en su mayor parte.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 44 , Issue 2 , 2009 , pp. 7 - 36
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 by the Latin American Studies Association

Footnotes

I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Joachim Rosenmüller, emeritus of the Institute of Mathematical Economics (IMW) at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, for fundamental suggestions and the mathematical computations of this article. I also thank the three anonymous reviewers for their significant suggestions as well as the participants of the 2007 Harvard Seminar on Atlantic History for further critique.

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