Slavery, baptism and spiritual kinship in Seville in the 16th-17th centuries

Abstract

This article examines the phenomenon of spiritual kinship among slaves baptized in Seville during the 16^th and 17^th centuries. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of synodal documentation and parish baptismal records allows for the identification of established godparenting models and the factors conditioning the selection of godparents. The research reveals that the reduction in the number of spiritual parents, imposed by the Council of Trent, drastically limited slaves’ opportunities to articulate new networks of sociability or reinforce existing ones through spiritual kinship. Whereas multi-godparent models predominated in the pre-Tridentine period, the application of conciliar norms led to the prevalence of single-godparent models, particularly the individual type. This reduction fostered an increasing social verticalization in the choice of spiritual parents, with a predominant profile of free men linked more to the immediate parish environment than to the master’s household. Nevertheless, the post-Tridentine period also evidences an incipient process of horizontalization in these relationships, with a rise in the number of slaves and horros acting as godparents. Although a minority compared to the dominant godparenting profile, this increase suggests greater participation by these groups in the social and religious life of the city of Seville.