The Spanish in the New World. Spain before the New World 15 th C Spain multi-ethnic (had been colonized by Romans, Visigoths, Arabs) Reconquista – war.

The Spanish in the New World

Spain before the New World

• 15th C Spain multi-ethnic (had been colonized by Romans, Visigoths, Arabs)

• Reconquista – war to reclaim agricultural land from the invading Moors had raged for 700 years, sharpening military skills

• Spain emerged as unified political entity in 1469, with marriage of Isabella, sister of King Henry IV of Castile, to Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Aragon

• Expansionist policies began in late 1470s, with colonization of Canaries Islands (conquistadors given rights: 10% of booty and land)

• License granted to Genoese navigator Cristobel Colon in 1492, to sail to the Indies

• Diverted attention away from conquest of Muslim North Africa

Isabella and Ferdinand

Castile, Aragon, and Granada

Cristobel Colon

Columbus and the Caribbean

Hispaniola

Sites investigated span the period from 1493–1821:

In Caribbean:• En Bas Saline (La Navidad) (1492)• La Isabela (1493–1498)• Concepción de la Vega (1498–1562)• Puerto Real (1503–1578)In Florida:•St. Augustine (1565–1821)

Social Processes of Spanish New World

• Multi-ethnic diversity• Interaction• Conflict• Accommodation

These processes occur in all situations of invasion & encounter

En Bas Saline (la Navidad) 1492

En Bas Saline – Taino food

mostly ate sea- fish and shellfish for protein, but also hutias small guinea piglike rodents

En Bas Saline – Taino food

plants cultivated by the Taíno included manioc tubers, also corn, peppers, beans, guava, primrose

En Bas Saline – Taino material culture

La Isabela (1493–1498)

Columbus house

‘the first intentional European colonial town in the New World’

La Isabela (1493–1498)‘The overall stylistic character of La Isabela’s material world was strongly medieval and strongly Morisco (Spanish Muslim) with medieval Muslim traditions evident in building construction, personal ornamentation, pottery forms and decoration, horse equipment, medicine, lighting, and sanitation’

Deagan and Cruxent 2002

Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic

1496-1562‘a gold-rush boom town’

Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic

• Built as small fort by Columbus in 1496• Intended to guard route to gold mines of Cibao valley• Spanish settlement gradually grew up here & the town

experienced a gold-rush boom after 1508• By 1510 was one of the largest & most important

European cities in the hemisphere; destroyed & buried by earthquake in 1562

• Excavations have exposed remains of several stone buildings, including fort with tower, water system, remains of monastery, & home sites

Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic

Thorough survey & mapping has defined the bounds of the city

Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic

Rumbler bells.top - copper alloy cascabeles (hawk’s bells) below – petaloid crotal bells AD 1500-1562

Ceramic lion shaped from a child’sfootprint

Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic

Copper alloy chain-mail links andbelt-clasp AD 1500-1560

Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic

Copper alloy candle sticks (northern European), iron candle snuffer, Italian majolica plate (AD 1500-1560), Venetian-style glassware

Importance of community

After the disasters of La Navidad & La Isabela (earliest unplanned colonies) the Spanish crown sought to impose city planning ordinances.

Laws of the Indies published in 1573. These laws imposed principals of regularity & hierarchy and led to highly organized & militaristic towns

Possible influences?• ancient Roman colonization strategy• Spanish experience in the Canary Islands

Centrality of Church & State visibly manifested in location on central plaza, with homes of elite ranged nearby, those of lesser sort living beyond the town centre

General patterns of Spanish –native interaction• Replicated to varying degrees at nearly all post-

15th-century Spanish colonial sites in the Caribbean, Florida, and Mexico, regardless of social, economic, or ethnic affiliations

• Certain elements of Spanish life were retained intact

• Spanish adopted & incorporated native American elements in other areas

• Developed new, syncretistic material forms in yet other areas

Puerto Real, Haiti 1503-1578 A coastal cattle-ranching town

-regular grid pattern organization

-concentration of governmental and religious authority in the central plaza

-spatial segregation of differing residential status groups and production activities

Puerto Real, Haiti

At its peak in the second decade of the 16th century occupied by more than 300 Spaniards and 1000 unfree Indian labourers

The town was forcibly abandoned and destroyed (after 75 years,) in 1578 on the orders of the Spanish Crown, due to persistent illegal trade with foreign traders and pirates

Puerto Real, Haiti

• Archaeologists have investigated the church complex, a high-status household, lesser households, & a production area (cattle processing for hide trade)

• Results show differentiation in architecture among households• High status had masonry

foundations, were arranged in linear plan around or adjacent to a patio

• Lesser households tended to live in two-room plan houses of post-in-the-ground construction Criollo cow

Puerto Real, Haiti: the church

Puerto Real, Haiti

Unicorn pendant(ca. 1550-1570)Haiti , Puerto Real

Columbia Plain majolica (ca. 1550-1585)Haiti , Puerto Real

Lace bobbins(ca. 1540-1575)

Haiti , Puerto Real

Puerto Real, Haiti

The material assemblage from Puerto Real is distinct from that at La Isabella, both in the diversity of its origins and in the relative scarcity of medieval and Islamic influences elements (more Italian and Dutch wares)

Cooking pots hand-made and non-European in style

Diets also changed – lots of beef eaten – as opposed to Spanish liking for fish, sheep, goat, and less reliance on imports. Local food sources used: fish turtles, manioc

Scarcity of Spanish women in early colonies

Led to intermarriage between Spanish men & native American womenNative elements predominate in female domestic activities

Socially visible symbols associated with males (e.g., clothing, ornamentation, tablewares, & architecture) remain predominantly European

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine, Florida

• Established by Pedro Menéndez de Aviles in 1565• Served as northernmost outpost of Spanish empire after fall of Santa

Elena in 1587• Was largely a garrison town at first• Settlement was made within a town already populated by Timucua

Indians, led by Secoy• Excavations have been carried out throughout the town for over 30

years, at sites across the spectrum of cultures & historical periods, including military, domestic, religious, &c., and ranging from 16th-19th centuries in date

Boazio map of St. Augustine AD 1586

St AugustineMenéndez camp

The first thanksgiving feast in the U.S. was on September 8, 1565. The meal probably included corn, fish, oysters, venison, garbanzo beans, hardtack biscuit, olives and wine, prepared and eaten using Spanish - and perhaps Indian- utensils.

St Augustine: Fountain of Youth site

St Augustine: Ximenez-Fatio House

Ximenez-Fatio Site: 17th-18th-century house

Ximenez-Fatio Site – pottery and glass

Guadalajara Polychrome(ca. 1650-1800)

16th century Spanish majolica(ca. 1585-1650)

Glass vial or perfume bottle(ca. 1650-1700)

Ximenez-Fatio Site - Artifacts