Abstract
Citizenship is a polysemous concept that acquires meaning through the historical process of recognition and protection of civil, political and social rights, individual rights and collective rights. Our text cogitates on the theoretical framework first, then revises the process of its introduction in the Western world, and stops at the political elaboration of the notion of citizenship in the context of the Spanish Imperial Courts of 1810, as well as in its immediate consequences. This article has been prepared within the framework of the Research Project HAR2016-78910-P of the Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica (MINECO).