The Spanish in the New World

1. The Spanish in the New World

3. 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

4. Isabella and Ferdinand

5. Castile, Aragon, and Granada

6. Cristobel Colon

7. Columbus and the Caribbean

8. Hispaniola

9. 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)

10. Multi-ethnic diversity • Interaction • Conflict • Accommodation • These processes occur in all situations of invasion & encounter Social Processes of Spanish New World

11. En Bas Saline (la Navidad) 1492

12. En Bas Saline – Taino food mostly ate sea- fish and shellfish for protein, but also hutias small guinea piglike rodents

13. En Bas Saline – Taino food plants cultivated by the Taíno included manioc tubers, also corn, peppers, beans, guava, primrose

14. En Bas Saline – Taino material culture

15. La Isabela (1493–1498) Columbus house ‘the first intentional European colonial town in the New World’

16. ‘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 La Isabela (1493–1498)

17. Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic1496-1562‘a gold-rush boom town’

18. 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

19. Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic Thorough survey & mapping has defined the bounds of the city

20. Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic Rumbler bells. top - copper alloy cascabeles (hawk’s bells) below – petaloid crotal bellsAD 1500-1562 Ceramic lion shaped from a child’s footprint

21. Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic Copper alloy chain-mail links and belt-clasp AD 1500-1560

22. Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic Copper alloy candle sticks (northern European), iron candle snuffer, Italian majolica plate (AD 1500-1560), Venetian-style glassware

23. 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 thetown centre Importance of community

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. Puerto Real, Haiti: the church

29. 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

30. 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 Puerto Real, Haiti

31. Scarcity of Spanish women in early colonies Led to intermarriage between Spanish men & native American women Native elements predominate in female domestic activities Socially visible symbols associated with males (e.g., clothing, ornamentation, tablewares, & architecture) remain predominantly European

32. St. Augustine, Florida

33. 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

34. Boazio map of St. Augustine AD 1586

35. 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.

36. St Augustine: Fountain of Youth site

37. St Augustine: Ximenez-Fatio House

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

39. 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)

40. Ximenez-Fatio Site - Artifacts