"although rustic, knowledge and reason were not missing": justice and peasant society in-situ chinu, new kingdom of granada, 1798-1813

At the end of June in 1798, in Cartagena province of The New Kingdom of Granada, the site of Chinu was the scene of popular riots as a consequence of a road opening. Neighbors, mostly peasants and farmworkers, rebelled against Spaniards authorities. With the time, these acts became more violent so they abandoned them soon and decided to turn to written manifestations instead. They used from rags, performances and petitions to powers granted to lay and lawyers in legal affairs, which with they have access to justice. During the judicial process, there was a confrontation, between the traditional legal culture and the legal system, on the need to open a road that was not real, in the sense of services to the King and the defense of customary argued by those rustic peasants. These facts and elements were examined in detailed, using the written manifestations mentioned before. Besides, it was taken into account the interests and actions of stakeholders involved in that judicial process, whose duration went beyond set by Spanish Law.