figshare
Browse
Tying up Columbus.pdf (4.12 MB)

Tying up Columbus: A historical and material culture study of the networks that resulted from the first European voyages into the Caribbean (AD 1492-1504)

Download (0 kB)
presentation
posted on 2014-06-06, 15:53 authored by Angus A. A. Mol, Floris W. M. Keehnen, The connected past The connected pastThe connected past The connected past

On twelve October, 1492 the networks of the Old and New World ─ the former represented by Admiral Christopher Columbus and his crew, the latter by the indigenous people of the Caribbean ─ connected for the first time. In this paper we will combine material culture and historical sources to explore the structure and content of the relations between individuals and groups during this first encounter. These early interactions between Europeans and indigenous people had a formative influence on the development of later cross-cultural contacts and historical accounts of the first voyages have always been an invaluable resource for studying these. However, because sources like the famous Colombus Diario feature a complex set of inter-personal ties between Columbus, political players back in Europe, other crew members, and, last but not least, Caribbean indigenous people, it has been difficult to discern the larger structural patterns behind the events. To come to a deeper understanding of some of the actions of Columbus and other key players we will employ (ego-)network approaches to abstract and analyze the structure of ties that are mentioned in the documents. We will focus in particular on the importance of the exchange of goods for the relations between European and indigenous peoples and suggest that a material culture study of encounter contexts can aid in the further contextualization of these inter-personal networks. This will show how, by sharing, exchanging or otherwise incorporating material culture in their interactions, Europeans and Amerindians alike attempted to create and maintain ties of huge personal and historical interest.

History

Usage metrics

    Licence

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC