Abstract

RUZ, Mario Humberto. Nueve cartas de amor y un testamento inesperado: Lo público de la vida privada en la Guatemala dieciochesca. Península [online]. 2005, vol.1, n.0, pp.71-112. ISSN 1870-5766.

Due to it's nature intrinsically private, love correspondence rarely appears in public archives, unless their content affect in a special way the relationships among other society members. This correspondence, beyond allowing us to watch the love relationship between a rich Asturian retailer and a Guatemalan mestiza tailor, show us how this documents sometimes could be used with legal purposes as well as illustrate about the defenselessness in which the common neighbors were placed in front of the ambition of some religious orders members, in this case the powerful Society of Jesus.

Keywords : private correspondence; legal affairs; Guatemala; Society of Jesus; XVIII century.