Provides the first detailed analysis of the evolution of the concept of corruption in colonial Mexico.

Christoph Rosenmüller is a professor at Middle Tennessee State University. His publications include the edited volumes Corruption in the Iberian Empires: Greed, Custom, and Colonial Networks (2017), 'Dávidas, dones y dineros': aportes a una nueva historia de la corrupción en América Latina desde el imperio español a la modernidad (2016), and the book Patrons, Partisans, and Palace Intrigues: The Court Society of Colonial Mexico, 1702-1710 (2008).

List of maps, Tables and figures; Acknowledgments; A note on terms; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Empire of justice; 2. From judicial to administrative corruption; 3. 'This custom or better said corruption': legal strategies and the native trade with the Alcaldes Mayores; 4. 'Vile and abominable pacts': the sale of judicial appointments and the great decline of viceregal patronage; 5. Criminal process and the 'judge who is corrupted by money'; 6. Guilt and punishment for fraud, theft, and the 'grave offense of bribery or corruption'; 7. The politics of justice: Francisco Garzarón's Visita (1716-1727); Conclusion: approaching historical corruption; Appendix; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.