Archaeologies of Early Modern Spanish Colonialism illustrates how
archaeology contributes to the knowledge of early modern Spanish
colonialism and the "first globalization" of the 16th and 17th
centuries. Through a range of specific case studies, this book offers a
global comparative perspective on colonial processes and colonial
situations, and the ways in which they were experienced by the different
peoples. But we also focus on marginal "unsuccessful" colonial episodes.
Thus, some of the papers deal with very brief colonial events, even
"marginal" in some cases, considered "failures" by the Spanish crown or
even undertook without their consent. These short events are usually
overlooked by traditional historiography, which is why archaeological
research is particularly important in these cases, since archaeological
remains may be the only type of evidence that stands as proof of these
colonial events. At the same time, it critically examines the
construction of categories and discourses of colonialism, and questions
the ideological underpinnings of the source material required to address
such a vast issue. Accordingly, the book strikes a balance between
theoretical, methodological and empirical issues, integrated to a lesser
or greater extent in most of the chapters.