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Spanish royal officials were nobles/hidalgos
Source: The King?s Coffer #83
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Whether transferred to Florida from the bureaucracy elsewhere or coming into office via inheritance, the royal official was presumed to be an hidalgo or he would never have been appointed. This meant, technically, that he was of legitimate birth, had never been a shopkeeper or tradesman, had not refused any challenge to his honor, and could demonstrate two generations of descent from hijos de algo (“sons of something”) untainted by Moorish or Jewish blood and uncondemned by the Inquisition. The advantages of being an hidalgo—someone addressed as don in a time when that title had significance—were unquestioned. There were, however, concomitant responsibilities and expenses. A Gentleman was expected to “live decently,” maintaining the dignity of his estate whether or not his means were adequate. Openhandedness and lavish display were not the idiosyncrasies of individuals but the realities of class, the characteristics that kept everyone with pretensions to hidalguia searching for sources of income. (Bushnell KC)
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