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In this paper, I present one of my focus of research dealing with remote government as part of the Hispanic Monarchy: analyzing Philippines’ case, I try to identify the mechanisms of connections between different parts of the “empire” and the options followed – or rather the trial-and-error methods – to establish a Castilian dominion in Asia. One aspect of this issue lies in the role of religious institutions within the government, specially the bishop’s and diocese’s role, while in Asia relations with the Portuguese were still at odds. I study the geopolitical implications of the creation of Manila’s diocese, and how the bishopric was an adjustement variable in the search for a good government in the Philippines. I also try to explain Domingo de Salazar’s appointment as first bishop of the Philippines, a Dominican friar, defender of the Indians, who turned out to be a real statesman.

Resulting from a dialogue with colleagues interested in different aspects of history, this paper offers a historiographical and methodological reflexion on her book Impressions de Chine. L’Europe et l’englobement du monde (xvie-xviie siècles) (Paris, Fayard, 2016). The discussion developed around three major points: global history and its epistemological aspirations; the spatial turn, knowledge related to space and how its production is articulated between field observation, interactions with local actors and armchair knowledge; the part played by the Iberian empires in the process of material and intellectual encompassing of the globe at that time.

The letter of Manilla magistrate Delgado y Florez to his brother Sancho who remained in Spain is rare because we seldomly have private writings of officers in the Hispanic Monarchy. On the one hand, the letter tells about the barrier of distance in communications between the different parts of the Spanish Empire. On the other hand, it shows the different circles of Delgado’s social relations from relatives accompanying him in the Philippines, to members of his family in Spain and to powerful figures of the Court. Finally, the letter focuses on the experiences and feelings of a senior Spanish judge who considered himself a recluse at the end of the world, in the Philippine archipelago in distant Asia.