Una nueva aproximación al estudio de la delincuencia en el reino de Valencia (1580-1609)

At the communication, the world of delinquency in the Old Kingdom of Valencia is approached between the end of XVI century and the beginning of XVII century. Starting from a main source, “Maestre Racional”, which is kept in the Archive of the Kingdom of Valencia and includes the cases of crimes initiated by the high courts of the Kingdom, it is intended to know the criminals who committed their outrages in this territory, originally from there or that came from other places and of course, to know who were the victims of the violent acts. The current work also intends to analyze the performance of the judicial authorities at different levels. In addition, the pragmatics published by the viceroys, which are concrete measures to combat the criminal landscape that reigned at that time, are of great relevance. These provisions, as will be seen, meant in many cases a violation of the jurisdiction of the Kingdom. We are not dealing with everyday crime, but with the most serious cases, those that reached the higher courts of justice, that is, the Royal Court and the Government. With the help of a set of instruments, such as tables, charts, graphs or maps, which gather a large amount of data obtained from the emptied documentation, the aim is to interpret and analyze them in order to achieve the proposed objectives. In the first place, the imprint that delinquency left in the high courts of justice; secondly, the degree of effectiveness achieved in the struggle to maintain public order and, finally, the varied typology of criminal activities and penalties imposed. A part of the article is dedicated to the Moorish population that at that time coexisted with the Christian community in the Valencian lands.