A Universal Sui Generis History: Empires and Imperialism in Giovanni Botero's Relazioni Universali (1591-1611)

This contribution aims to focus on a work of great significance in relation to the change of narrative paradigm that affected the writing of universal history during the sixteenth century. This is Giovanni Botero’s Relazioni universali (Universal Relations), an ambitious work first published in Rome in 1591 and subsequently updated by its author until approximately 1610. Botero, originally from Bene Vagienna in the Duchy of Savoy (1544–1617), received his training as a Jesuit but left the Society of Jesus in 1580. He then assumed an active role in diplomacy and in the secretariat of Carlo and Federico Borromeo. Following the publication of Botero’s Della ragion di stato (Reason of State) in 1589, his perspicacious gaze was directed towards the political and religious realities of the global landscape. The term ‘universal’ is used in conjunction with the political-diplomatic concept of reports (relazioni) to describe this vast and complex fresco. While the traditional concept of universal history does not apply, the Relazioni mark a change of narrative in describing the world in its complexity, including its temporal depth. This narrative also encompasses the idea of translatio imperii regarding the role of the Spanish Empire and the universal mission of the Church of Rome.