The dynamics of a shared periphery: Southeast Asia and the institutional relations between the Inquisitions of Mexico and Goa in the 17th century

In 1640, the secession of the Portuguese Crown from the Habsburg Monarchy put a halt to cooperation between the tribunals of the Iberian inquisitions, which, to varying degrees, had existed since the founding of the Portuguese Holy Office. Southeast Asia and East Asia never saw open warfare between Portugal and Spain, unlike what happened in the Iberian Peninsula. The caution shown by the Spanish Governors of the Philippines with regard to Portuguese outposts such as Macau and Borrobos (Makassar)—informal establishments with different degrees of institutionalization—and the expectation that their inhabitants would declare allegiance for Philip IV allowed for the maintenance of informal communications between vassals of both Crowns. This situation created a favorable environment for the exchange of information and correspondence between the Inquisitions of Mexico and Goa when, in the Iberian Peninsula, such practices were interrupted. This paper intends to demonstrate how the configuration of the Iberian empires in Asia created conditions for the continuation of inquisitorial cooperation despite the Restoration wars between the two Crowns and the trade restrictions imposed after the end of the conflict.