2026/04/03 by Diana Berruezo-Sánchez, Josep Pujol-Coll · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · #Early Modern Spanish Literature #Hispanic-African Historical Relations #History, Culture, and Diplomacy
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/14636204.2026.2664869
openalex publication_date 2026/04/03 · openalex created_date 2026/05/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
This article examines the paradoxical status of eight Afro-Iberian musicians at the court of Philip IV of Spain. Documented from 1657 onwards, these men occupied a hybrid position: though referred to in archival sources as enslaved, they were afforded the markers of professional artists, including specialized training, royal patronage and financial provision. Drawing on fragmentary archival evidence and methodological frameworks from Saidiya Hartman and Miguel Valerio, this article argues that these musicians leveraged their artistry to navigate the constraints of enslavement. Their trajectory, culminating in a negotiated manumission, reveals music as a crucial tool for asserting agency and attaining freedom. By situating this case within broader courtly and diasporic musical cultures, this study challenges conventional narratives of Black professional life in the period. Ultimately, this study contributes to the cultural history of the African diaspora by foregrounding early modern music not merely as a form of entertainment, but as a critical arena for the negotiation of status, freedom and identity.