Familia infanzona y nobleza hidalgael mayorazgo de los "De la Guerra" en el Antiguo Régimen

Abstract

This PhD thesis analyzes the different strategies and instruments used to achieve the social promotion of a noble family in the north of Spain. This research continues the line of investigation around the study of noble families from Cantabria begun thirty years ago, contributing a new case study that expands the knowledge about the elites in Cantabria in Modern Age. This research is integrated in the research lines on the history of the family interested in the social reproductive strategies and the way of living the family, using the methodology of collective biography through a micro focused approach on the one hand in the family Guerra de la Vega, from the locality of Ibio, and on the other hand in the family Guerra from Novales. The information has been located in different regional, national, and international archives. In this PhD thesis also analyzed through the life course perspective that allows to study the evolution of the family and each member, explaining the changes that are brought about the composition, beyond the traditional nuclear family, emphasizing the role played by vital transitions and opportunities. This research offers results that present the de la Guerra family as a concrete historical example of the development of the ideal of perpetuation in noble families of northern peninsular who developed intergenerational group projects. This PhD thesis proves that the use of different strategies and instruments, both for the development of social reproduction of the family group, for the maintenance of family ties, the perpetuation of lineage memory and internal cohesion through solidarity.