Resumen

DIAZ BARRERA, Jorge Alejandro. An Integrated Postal Reform. The Establishment of the Royal Post Office Revenue in New Spain, 1764-1773. Estud. hist. novohisp [online]. 2026, n.74, pp.166-196.  Epub 13-Abr-2026. ISSN 2448-6922.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iih.24486922e.2026.74.77939.

This article examines the establishment of Royal Post Office Revenue [Renta de Correos] in New Spain between 1764 and 1773. It posits that the first Postmaster of Mexico, Domingo Antonio López, functioned as a key node articulating the structural components of the revenue system -namely, postal regulations and jurisdiction-. His work was crucial in creating legal instruments (edicts and postal rates) that set the postal offices into operation. Furthermore, the study contends that postmasters, in addition to coordinating postal operations, served as meticulous record managers, since the proper functioning of the revenue system required oversight of both official and private correspondence. To this end, the article refers to the ordinances, instructions, and provisions issued by imperial authorities, but focuses primarily -through an administrative and institutional lens- on the documentation generated by the postal revenue system, which is preserved in the National General Archives of Mexico [Archivo General de la Nación]. This archival source sheds light on the local strategies devised to implement the Bourbon postal reform.

Palabras llave : postal reform; Royal Post Office Revenue; official correspondence; records management.

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