University:
Arizona State University
Course:
HST 200 | Historical Themes
Academic year:

2024
Views:

164

Pages:

2
Author:

Thuyoul US

NATURALIZATIONS OF FOREIGNERS IN THE CANARY ISLANDS UNDER THE ANCIEN RÉGIME The introduction and settlement of Europeans in the archipelago, a phenomena that had been happening since the 14th century, was facilitated and led to by the end of the ISth century's island conquest process. A phenomenon that intensified in the early 1500s, when it was encouraged by multiple factors: first, the Canary Islands strategic location as a link between Europe, America, and Africa; second, the potential to obtain a number of goods grown on the islands, such as sugar, wine, orchilla, etc. As a result, we are dealing with a situation that will only get worse, with the logical constraints brought about by the island's international political and socioeconomic circumstances up until this point. It is therefore not surprising that European immigrants have become a constant in the Canary Islands history. It is thus not surprising that many of these people choose to make the archipelago their permanent home. The majority of them not only established themselves but also completely assimilated into the island's culture, which is why they were willing to marry local women. They also actively engaged in the civic and religious life of the community as well as the typical economic pursuits of the locals. This integration happened to such an extent that many of these individuals attempted to seek Spanish nationality, or naturalization, or gave up their own country. We shouldn't be fooled, though, as practically all of the applicants for the nature charter had two other goals concealed behind it: the first was the potential for trade with the Indies, and the second was the desire to be able to take public office on the islands. Despite this, the applicant's personal information and social and economic background are provided in great detail in the nature letters, making them an essential piece of paperwork. Thus, our goal is to examine and research the people who received the much anticipated letter from nature; to learn about their backgrounds, occupations, and overall distribution across time. Lastly, we would like to draw attention to a problem that we feel needs to be addressed: the majority of the paperwork is derived from two distinct sources: the General Archive of the Indies' Indifferent Section and the General Archive of Simancas' General Registry of the Seal Section. It is likely that some nature chart may eventually be found in this last area, though, as it has not been entirely cleared out, particularly during the most of the seventeenth century. This does not change the fundamental nature of our communication, but in order to minimize potential mistakes, we have opted to approach this work from a qualitative rather than a quantitative point of view. Despite this, we still provide quantitative statistics.