Alfonso J. Hernández Rodríguez graduated in Geography and History from the Universidad de La Rioja (2016), where he had an introductory research scholarship from 2015 to 2016. He holds a Master’s Degree in American Studies (2017) and Advanced Historical Studies, specializing in Early Modern History (2018), both from the Universidad de Sevilla. In 2023, he completed his studies within the framework of the Official Doctorate Program in History at the Universidad de Sevilla, defending his thesis, which obtained the highest possible grade with cum laude honors.

From 2019 to 2023, he was hired as a pre-doctoral FPI researcher, becoming part of the staff of the Department of Early Modern History at the Universidad de Sevilla as well as working as a professor. To date, he has been part of the teams of various research projects funded by the Spanish government. In addition, he has completed several pre-doctoral and post-doctoral research stays at the Investigaciones Dr. José María Luis Mora de la Ciudad de México and participated in a number of national and international conferences and seminars. His main lines of research are the political, institutional, commercial, and, above all, military history of the Carrera de Indias in the 17th century. However, in recent years he has become interested in other phenomena that are crucial to understanding the polycentric nature of the monarchy: inter-American trade between New Spain and Peru in the late 17th and early 18th centuries through the personal accounts of businessmen; and the defensive and manufacturing capabilities of viceregal Mexico through the production and distribution of such an indispensable commodity as gunpowder.

In recent years, he has published some of the results of his research in journals such as Gladius, Magallánica, Studia Historica: Historia Moderna, Anuario de Estudios Americanos, Revista Complutense de Historia de América, and Tiempos Modernos.

His first book, Soldados de la Carrera de Indias. Estructuras militares y conexiones atlánticas de la Monarquía Católica en el siglo XVII, the result of his doctoral thesis, dissects the military structure of the Indian fleets based on unpublished documentation from different archives and dialogue with the most recent methodological and interpretative paradigms related to war, the military profession, and the construction of the modern state.

Revelant publications 

Soldados de la Carrera de Indias. Estructuras militares y conexiones atlánticas de la Monarquía Católica en el siglo XVII, Madrid, Doce Calles, 2025

“Contractor State, administración y abastecimiento de pólvora y armas de fuego portátiles en la Carrera de Indias de la primera mitad del siglo XVII”, Gladius. Estudios sobre armas antiguas, arte militar y vida cultural en Oriente y Occidente, 45, 414, 2025. DOI: 10.3989/gladius.2025.414

“¿Soldados o mercaderes? Comercio, fraude y administración de los infantes alistados en las armadas y flotas de la Carrera de Indias del siglo XVII”, Magallánica: revista de historia moderna, 10-20, 2024, pp. 32-61.

“¿Quién gobierna un galeón de la plata? Orgánica profesional, interés comercial y fraude en el sostenimiento del aparato militar de la Carrera de Indias a principios del siglo XVII”. Studia Historica: Historia Moderna, 46-1, 2024, pp. 353-384. DOI: 10.14201/shhmo2024461353384

“Contractor State, Carrera de Indias y militares- empresarios en la segunda mitad del siglo XVII”. Anuario de Estudios Americanos, 80-1, 2023, pp. 141-174. DOI: 10.3989/aeamer.2023.1.05

“Entre la Carrera de Indias y la Capitanía General de las Costas de Andalucía. El presidio de Cádiz (1596-1635)”. Tiempos Modernos: Revista Electrónica de Historia Moderna, 13-47, pp. 19-38.

Participation in proyects

UNICIN “El universo humano de la Carrera de Indias” (Universidad de Sevilla). Proyecto financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. PIs: José Jaime García Bernal y José Manuel Díaz Blanco. Member since 2023.

ANDATLAN “La construcción de un Mundo Nuevo: Circuitos económicos, dinámicas sociales y mediadores culturales en las ciudades atlánticas del sur de España, siglos XVI-XVIII” (Universidad de Sevilla). Project financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy. PI: Juan José Iglesias Rodríguez. Member since 2019.

“Religión, extranjería e identidad europea en la Monarquía Hispánica durante el siglo XVIII: estudio comparativo y análisis de las pervivencias y contrastes” (Universidad de Huelva). Project financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and FEDER. PI: David González Cruz. Miembro del proyecto desde 2019.