CAMPOMANES, Pedro Rodriguez de - ZEVALLOS Y MIER, Manuel de.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Sisthema Político-Ecclesiastico, A finely bound and elegant manuscript treatise on Campomanes's Tratado de la regalia de amortizacion, written by Manuel de Zevallos y Mier, a presbyter of the University of Seville, for presentation to the Royal Council of Castile in support of Charles III's suppression of the Jesuits.Campomanes (1723-1802) was minister of the treasury under Charles III and supported the supremacy of the state over the church. His treatise was published in Madrid in 1765 and was written to explain and defend a legal proposal under review by the Council of Castile, which would prevent the church from obtaining excessive land. "Campomanes argued, as others had before him, that since canon law prevented the clergy from selling properties of religious bodies, eventually all property would belong to the church unless a restraint were placed on its acquisition" (Herr, p. 89). These arguments were particularly directed against the Jesuits, whose vast property holdings and assertion of their supremacy over political authorities frequently brought them into conflict with rulers across Europe.The council failed to pass the law, but Campomanes's work proved popular and went through several editions and translations. In April 1767, Charles III expelled the Jesuits from all Spanish territories and confiscated their property. The Jesuits had dominated the University of Seville, and with their expulsion the university had to be substantially restructured. Zevallos y Mier's t

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.