Andrés de Rada, Jesuit Visitor: Navigating Urban and Bureaucratic Tensions Between Latin America and Madrid (17th-18th Centuries)

This article analyzes the trajectory of the Jesuit visitor Andrés de Rada between Latin America and Europe during the second half of the seventeenth century, with a focus on his presence in key urban centers and the long-standing controversies linked to his figure. These polemics re-emerged at the end of the eighteenth century in the context of the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from Iberian territories and its subsequent suppression. Drawing on institutional writings, the study explores how internal conflicts within Jesuit Colleges manifested in urban settings, transforming cities into arenas of resistance, negotiation, and memory. By tracing these conflicts through a Jesuit institutional lens, the article reflects on the broader implications for understanding the tensions between religious authority, institutional dynamics, and the urban experience in the early modern Iberian world.