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The central Andean peoples and their relationship to the sea
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- By Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo, Instituto Riva-Agüero, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
- Edited by Christian Buchet, Michel Balard
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- Book:
- The Sea in History - The Medieval World
- Published by:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Published online:
- 19 May 2017
- Print publication:
- 17 February 2017, pp 727-740
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Summary
ABSTRACT. Whereas the Incas were from inland South America and had no maritime traditions, the Moche and Chincha civilizations drew great profit from the sea: by way of fishing, guano extraction, and shell trade. At the start of the 16th century, the Spanish were astonished to discover their rafts constructed of balsa trunks, equipped with sails and rudders, and thus capable of traversing long distances.
RÉSUMÉ. Alors que les Incas, originaires de l'intérieur de l'Amérique du Sud, n'ont pas de traditions maritimes, les civilisations Moche et Chincha ont tiré grand profit de la mer : pêche, extraction du guano, commerce des coquillages, exploités par des radeaux constitués de troncs de balsa, équipés de voiles, d'un gouvernail et capables de parcourir de longues distances, à l'étonnement des Espagnols qui les ont découverts au début du XVIe siècle.
The Andes are a chain of mountains which extend along the length of South America's western seaboard. Its central area served as the background to a series of cultures which flourished right up until the arrival of the first Europeans, which took place whilst the Inca were in power. The Inca represent the peak of cultural development in South America. For almost two centuries they ruled over a number of cultures in an area which comprises substantial parts of present day Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Argentina. A number of these cultures had developed strong maritime traditions, which were the result of their longstanding relationship and links with the sea. The Incas on the other hand originated in the Cusco region, high in the Andes and were not natural seafarers.
In addition to fishing traditions, some of these cultures with maritime foundations exploited guano (bird excrement which served as a fertilizer) from islands off the coast of Peru; and undertook short- and long-range maritime trade. In many instances, these cultures and their successors retained a relationship with the sea, which remained almost intact and largely unchanged until the mid-19th century, when the growing presence of European fishermen in these fishing communities, as well as competition and the use of more efficient vessels,affected.
The Peruvian Viceroyalty and the Pacific
- from Développement maritime et maîtrise organisationnelle
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- By Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo, Peruvian Institute of Economics and Politics
- Edited by Christian Buchet, Gérard Le Bouëdec
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- Book:
- The Sea in History - The Early Modern World
- Published by:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Published online:
- 11 May 2017
- Print publication:
- 17 February 2017, pp 879-890
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Summary
ABSTRACT. The sea played a very important role in connecting populations and developing exchanges along the Pacific coast of Central and South America. Trade induced numerous activities, starting with naval construction, and was at the start of the creation of a powerful merchant community that contributed to the economic development of the Viceroyalty of Peru as well as that of Spain.
RÉSUMÉ. La mer joua un rôle très conséquent dans la mise en relation des populations et le développement des échanges sur toute la façade pacifique de l'Amérique Centrale et du Sud. Ce commerce induisit de nombreuses activités, à commencer par la construction navale, et fut à l'origine de la constitution d'une puissante communauté marchande qui contribua au développement économique de la Vice-royauté du Pérou et incidemment à celui de l'Espagne.
When it was established in 1542, the Peruvian Viceroyalty encompassed all South America, with the exception of Venezuela and the Portuguese overseas territories. The eight audiencias which formed part of the Viceroyalty of Peru (Panama, Bogota, Quito, Lima, Cusco, Chile, Buenos Aires and Charcas) were substantially reduced in the 18th century. The first three were merged, to become the Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada; and Buenos Aires and Charcas formed the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata. From 1808 onwards the Peruvian Viceroyalty was challenged by various regional independence movements, and finally came to an end in December 1824.
The political, cultural and economic centre of the huge territory covered by the Viceroyalty of Peru was Lima. This city was founded on an area that had been significant to a sequence of pre-Columbian cultures which had settled in the Rimac Valley; and there were also some other important cities, such as Cusco and others, which had been significant settlements prior to the arrival of the Spanish. Native populations suffered an important decline during the first century of the Spanish rule, mostly as a result of epidemics, but also through violence and wars. Even so, the indigenous peoples continued to be the single largest ethnic component within the total population. Spaniards and Africans formed a small portion of this total, and, with time a new group, the mestizos,increased substantially.
“Ibero-American Maritime History: Recent Advances in Research, 1975-1994”
- from Contributors
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- By Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo, St. Andrew's University
- Edited by Frank Broeze
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- Book:
- Maritime History at the Crossroads
- Published by:
- Liverpool University Press
- Published online:
- 01 May 2018
- Print publication:
- 01 December 1995, pp 151-170
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Summary
Any review of maritime history as a whole will always be complex due to the nature of the discipline, but this difficulty is considerably increased when we try to embrace the variety of the Ibero-American community, which includes Spain, Portugal and all those American countries in which the influence of the Iberian nations, in interaction with indigenous society, has created a common cultural, religious and historical base. Since this historiographie review focuses only on the American part of this community, it should be easy to accept its usual denomination, i.e. Latin America, even if the region also contains some countries of non-Iberian origin. When the colonies of Spain and Portugal achieved independence, the frontiers of the new states were fixed largely according to the boundaries of viceroyalties or other existing political units. Maritime history in Latin America can be divided into three distinct phases: native, colonial and independent. Within these each country had its own specific historical moments and priorities.
During the first of these phases, the sea played an important role in several parts of Latin America, especially in the Caribbean, Central America and the Andean region. In the former area, the early extinction of the Tainos and other Caribbean native groups has left little evidence on early maritime activities. In the other two areas, Central America and the Andes, not only were these activities well recorded by early chroniclers but also some, despite the European conquest, have lasted to the present.
The arrival of the Europeans suddenly moved America out of its continental isolation and into a new global maritime history by incorporating substantial parts of the New World under the dominion of Spain and Portugal. The possession and control achieved by these powers relied heavily on their considerable maritime development which enabled them to explore and discover new islands and territories, to establish new trade routes under naval protection, to create ports and shipyards where new maritime communities developed, to exploit new fishing grounds, and to become involved in other maritime activities.
Independence in the early nineteenth century brought substantial changes in maritime activity, as each republic understandably tried to obtain the best part of its trade and shipping.