COMUNICACIÓN

The doctoral thesis El Ministerio de Ultramar (1836-1899), by Dr. Elisa Díaz Álvarez, has been awarded the 10^th Research Prize to Ibero-American Doctoral Theses organised by the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation. (26/03/2026)

This research analyses the four decades during which the Ministry of Overseas Affairs was in operation, an independent department that managed the political-administrative services provided overseas at the time when the first American independences began to take place.

In this edition, 71 doctoral theses were submitted, from Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Guatemala, Portugal and France.

The winning thesis takes us into the context and work carried out by the Ministry of Overseas Affairs at a time when the Spanish monarchy had to reorganise, in the wake of the first American independences, a complex sovereign space in structural terms, due not only to the heterogeneity of the territories but also to their geographical dispersion, a mosaic of islands spread across the Caribbean and the China Sea. After several failed attempts, in 1863 a previously untested solution was adopted, namely the creation of an independent department that did not encompass all colonial competences, as Foreign Affairs, War and the Navy remained under their respective authorities.

The Ministry of Overseas Affairs was established as a single centre, based in Madrid, to manage the political-administrative services provided overseas. This marked the clear triumph of centralising tendencies over those who still advocated an autonomous or decentralised system. The Overseas portfolio functioned as a kind of bridge between two worlds while grappling with a host of challenges, ranging from a lack of funds and pressure from the Antillean slave-owning oligarchy to the constant threat posed by the powerful neighbouring United States.

Elisa Díaz Álvarez holds a degree in Law and a PhD in Law from the University of Extremadura. Her doctoral thesis was awarded the distinction of summa cum laude. She also completed a Master’s degree in Historical Research at the same university, where she received the prize for the best academic record. She has taken part in national and international conferences and is the author of numerous articles in academic journals. She is currently a lecturer in Law at UNED.

The award ceremony took place during the 9^th International Congress on Relations between Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, entitled “The Role of Latin America and Europe in a World at War” in this edition, which was held at the Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe.

FINALISTS AND JURY

In this edition of the Prize, the following works were shortlisted as finalists: ‘Por Vos han dejado lo poco que tenían’: beatas y la construcción del catolicismo moderno en los mundos ibéricos de América y Asia (siglos XVI-XVIII), by Elena Manchado Rodríguez; El ritual postridentino y su música durante la labor misional Jesuita en América, by Miriam García Apolonio; Domingo Dulce y Garay (1808-1869). Guerra y política a ambos lados del Atlántico, by Javier Zúñiga Crespo; and Chile en el corazón: las relaciones de solidaridad política del Partido Comunista de España (PCE) y del Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya (PSUC) con la democracia chilena (1970-1982), by Pedro Salvador Marchant Veloz.

The jury for the 10^th Research Prize to Ibero-American Doctoral Theses was composed of Sigfrido Vázquez Cienfuegos, professor of American History at the University of Extremadura; Rosa Mª Perales Piqueres, professor of Art History at the same university; Gabriel Moreno González, professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Extremadura; Carmen Fernández-Daza, director general of the Santa Ana University Centre and full member of the Royal Academy of Extremadura of Letters and Arts; and Juan Carlos Moreno Piñero, director of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, who chaired the jury.

RESEARCH PRIZE TO IBERO-AMERICAN DOCTORAL THESES

The European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation established the Research Prize to Ibero-American Doctoral Theses in order to recognise the best doctoral thesis defended over the past two years in Spain, Portugal, or any Ibero-American or European country, provided that it has received the highest academic distinction. The prize is awarded to theses that address relations between Spain, Portugal or Europe and Ibero-America, and vice versa, from a historical, cultural, social, scientific, economic or any other academic perspective. The award is endowed with €3,000 and includes the publication of the doctoral thesis.