r/SpanishEmpire

The notion of territoriality in New Spain was constructed through the granting of coats of arms by Charles I, King of Spain and the Indies, V Emperor of the Romans and II Duke of Burgundy from the 16th century onwards, both to Spanish cities and to indigenous cities such as Pátzcuaro, in Michoacán; Tlaxcala, Cholula and Huejotzingo in Puebla; and San Juan Tenochtitlán. Texcoco, for example, received a coat of arms for services rendered to Hernán Cortés during the war against the Mexica. Although the original is not preserved, the oldest one dates from the late 18th century. Nevertheless, various sources indicate that the characteristics of this 20th-century reproduction coincide with the one granted in the 16th century: on the left, two facing eagles, a quilted tunic with a feathered skirt and a macahuitl (a club with obsidian points), a chimalli (shield), and a huehuetl (drum); On the right, a hill with an arm holding a date and arch, two temple towers (one is burning), and a deer's leg with a chalchihuitl from which a feathered ensemble emerges.

Image of a Coat of arms, city of Texcoco, New Spain. Author unknown, 1913. Oil on canvas.

Image:

.- ATTRIBUTED TO JUAN ARZEO (San Fernando de Dilao (now Paco), Manila, Philippines, c. 1785-c. 1865) Homage of the Filipino people to Queen Isabella II, c. 1842-1843

The delegates would have likely been Spanish, or Mestizos de Sanlgey (Chinese Mestizos). These Mestizos, especially those of Chinese ancestry who had retained or learned Mandarin, were responsible for interpreting for their Spanish colleagues.

Juan de la Cruz was described as a “mestizo de sangley, intérpete de los champanes chinos” (Chinese mestizo, an interpreter for the trading vessels [sampans or junks] that arrived annually from Cathay), alongside Juan Sansón (interpreter for the Spanish guard supervising the vessels), while Domingo de los Ríos and Agustín Carpio are referred to as vilangos (a term for a Chinese or mestizo officer of justice) for the official inspections of the navíos de China. All of these men would have worked for the several months when Chinese vessels unloaded their goods and passengers (January to June) along the Pasig River wherever the Parián happened to be located (it was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times). Hilario de la Cruz and Dionisio de Guzmán, on the other hand, served as interpreters for the provincial court of Tondo (located in the village of the same name) and the Real Audiencia in Manila, respectively.

There are several fascinating elements to these documents. First, the names are completely Hispanized. This resulted from the regular practice of Spaniards or Criollos form New Spain serving as padrinos (godfathers) at the time of baptism and passing on their surname to the mestizo infant. Secondly, that the mestizos de sangley spoke several languages, including a Fujianese dialect (since most vessels at this time hailed from Quanzhou, Xiamen, or Zhangzhou), Spanish, and Tagalog or Pampangan (from their mother’s side). The third significance is that mestizos are finding employment as lower-level functionaries in the colonial bureaucracy, indicative of a practice that had begun sometime earlier. Their tri-lingual ability provided a unique yet essential niche in Manila’s administrative machinery.

References:

.- Jesus Merino, The Chinese Mestizo: General Considerations, Felix Alonso, Jr., ed., The Chinese in the Philippines, vol. 2 (Manila: Solidaridad Publishing House, 1966), 53-56.

.- Archivo General de Indias, Seville (henceforth AGI), Filipinas 33, N. 2, D. 111 (5/12/1695).

.- Thomas R. McHale and Mary C. McHale, eds., Early American-Philippine Trade: The Journal of Nathaniel Bowditch in Manila, 1796 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1962), 55-56.

.- Merino, The Chinese Mestizo, 56-57.

It is unknown to many that the Spanish explored and claimed these territories.
We have not been able to include all topographical data (due to space limitations).

List of Spanish place names and their English versions:

1.- Topónimos – (Place Names)

Islas Alberto – (Alberto island)
Arrecife Alberto de la Bahía de Quevedo – (Alberto Reef Quevedo’s Bay)
Islas Ballena – (Ballena islands)
Banco de las Islas Ballena – (Ballena Islands Shoal)
Bahía de Torres – (Bay of Torres)
Islas Blanquizal – (Blanquizal islands)
Punta Blanquizal – (Blanquizal Point)
Bocas de Almirante – (Mouth of the Admiral)
Bocas de Apodaca – (Moira and chy)
Boca de Bodega – (Sound Mounth of Bodega)
Punta Caamaño – (Caamaño Point)
Bahía de California – (California Bay)
Canal de Nuestra Señora del Carmen – (Channel of Our Lady of the Carmen)
Canal Ulloa – (Ulloa Channel)
Islas Cañas – (Reeds Islands)
Punta Canoa – (Canoe Point)
Cabo Chacón – (Cape Chacón)
Cabo Flores – (Cape Flores)
Cabo Suspiro – (Cape Suspiro)
Bahía de Cordova – (Cordova Bay)
islas Coronados – (Coronados islands)
Islas Culebra – (Snake islands)
Islas Culebrina – (Culebrina islands)

2.- Topónimos – (Place Names)

Cima El Capitan – (El Capitán Peak)
Pasaje El Capitán – (El Capitán Passage)
Lago El Capitán – (El Capitán Lake)
Isla El Capitán – (El Capitán island)
Bahía de Torres – (Torres Bay)
Punta Evia – (Evia Point)
Lago Galea – (Galea Lake)
Islas Gallegas – (Galician Islands)
Hermanos Islas – (Hermanos Islands)
Isla la Desgraciada – (Unlucky Island)
Isla Gallegas – (Gallegas Isla)
Isla Partida – (Parida Island)
Isla de Paba – (Paba Island)
Isla del Rosario – (Rosary Island)
Isla de San Felipe – (Saint Felip Island)
Isla Totii – (Toti Island)
Isla del Viejo – (Old Man’s Island)
Bahía de Kendrick – (Kendrick Bay)
Isla Kendrick – (Kendrick Island)
Islas Ladrones – (Ladrones Islas)
Isla Larzatita – (Larzatita Island)
Arrecife de la Isla Larzatita – (Lazartita Island Reef)
Isla Madre de Dios – (Madre de Dios Island)
Arrecife Mariposa – (Mariposa Reef)
Punta México – (Mexico Point)

3.- Topónimos – (Place Names)

Nuestra Señora de los Dolores – (Our Lady of Sorrows)
Punto Núñez – (Núñez Point)
Núñez Rocas – (Núnez Rocks)
Isla Parida – (Parida Island)
Parida Isla Arrecife – (Parida Island Reef)
Punta Perlas – (Perlas Point)
Rocas Filipinas – (Phillips Rocks)
Punta Ildefonso – (Point Ildefonso)
Punta Lomas – (Point Lomas)
Punta Miraballes – Point Miraballes)
Punta Providencia – (Point Providence)
Punta San Sebastián – (Point Saint Sebastián)
Puerto Bagial – (Port Bagial)
Puerto Caldera – (Port Caldera)
Puerto Estrella – (Port Estrella)
Puerto San Nicolás – (Port Saint Nicholas)
Punta Delgada – (Delgada Point)
Punta de Evia – (Evia Point)
Punta de los Islotillos – (Point of the Islets)
Punta San Cosme – (Point Saint Cosmas)

4.- Topónimos – (Place Names)

Punta de San Felipe – (Saint Phillip Point)
Punta de San Yldefonso – (Ildefonso Point)
Punta del Sosiego – (Tranquil Point)
Bahía de Quevedo – (Quevedo’s Bay)
Isla Ranchería – (Ranchería Island)
Carretera del Valle del Río Beaver – (Río Beaver Valley Road)
Isla Rosario – (Rosary Island)
Lago de San Nicolás – (Saint Nicholas Lake)
Isla de San Felipe – (Saint Philip Island)
Arroyo Sal – (Sal Creek)
Bahía de San Alberto – (San Alberto Bay)
Punta de San Antonio – (San Antonio Point)
Canal de San Cristoval – (San Christoval Channel)
Roca de San Cristoval – (San Christoval Rock)
Isla Sombrero – (Sombrero Island)
Isla Toti – (Toti Island)
Punta Tranquila – (Tranquil Point)
Bahía de Trocadero – (Trocadero Bay)
Canal de Ulloa – (Ulloa Channel)
Isla Ulloa – (Ulloa Island)

By Josep Alos.

Ferrer Maldonado, Lorenzo. Berja (Almería), 1557 – Madrid, 1625. Navegante, geógrafo y descubridor. Este artículo analiza el viaje del capitán almeriense Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado a través del océano Ártico a finales del siglo XVI, que culminó con el descubrimiento del antiguo estrecho de Anián, hoy conocido como estrecho de Bering. Las características físicas y naturales de la zona geográfica que exploró quedaron registradas en un informe presentado en 1609 al Consejo de Estado del rey Felipe III. Sus descripciones presentan sorprendentes similitudes con la región actual, demostrando no solo que Lorenzo Ferrer realizó este viaje a esta remota región en 1588, sino también que descubrió el estrecho que separa Asia de América, anticipándose al Dane Vitus Bering en 140 años. Esto abre una nueva vía historiográfica que rescata el texto de Ferrer de su estatus apócrifo y lo eleva a la categoría de documento histórico fundamental para comprender la historia de los descubrimientos, especialmente aquellos relacionados con la geografía del norte.

Los documentos de Ferrer Maldonado, cifrados y redactados como secretos de Estado, incluyen coincidencias entre lo que el hombre de Berja describió en 1588 y la realidad actual del estrecho de Bering. En concreto, describió características geográficas, fauna y flora propias de esos lugares, así como rutas y direcciones específicas de entrada y salida al atravesar el estrecho, como los accidentes geográficos que conforman el punto más alto del mismo. Ferrer informó de su viaje al rey en 1609 y afirmó haber descubierto el estrecho de Anián en 1588. El informe, cuyo título completo es:

«Relación del descubrimiento del estrecho de Anian, que hice yo el capitán Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado el año 1588, en el cual está la orden de la Navegación y la dispusicion del sitio y el modo de fortalecerlo y asimismo las utilidades de esta navegación y los daños, de no hacerla, se siguen».

Inicialmente se perdió en los despachos, aunque fue publicado posteriormente en 1866. En él relata su expedición al norte, utilizando dos barcos (La Esperanza y Santa Ana) y siendo acompañado por Miguel Alvear, Bartolomé de Velasco y su piloto, Juan Martínez. El Marqués de Velada, don Gómez Dávila y Toledo, mayordomo mayor del rey consejero de Estado, rechazó este descubrimiento, influenciado por las opiniones negativas sobre Ferrer que tenía García de Silva y Figueroa, quizás por defender líneas políticas y geoestratégicas distintas. A partir de ahí, el manuscrito del marino español quedó como secreto de Estado.

El objetivo del proyecto es "corregir una injusticia, contar la verdad sobre el descubrimiento del estrecho de Bering", explican los investigadores.

Imagen: Ilustración de Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado realizada por Miguel Zorita (autorretrato).

Between 1543 and 1639, Japan maintained commercial and religious contact with Portugal and Spain. The newcomers were called nanbanjin, "southern barbarians," after the maritime route that brought them from Macau and Manila. The term was descriptive, without any derogatory connotation. From this contact, a specific pictorial genre emerged: Namban art. Folding screens, mother-of-pearl lacquerware, panels, and kakemono (portraits) are where Japanese painters portrayed Europeans with meticulous ethnographic attention.

What fascinated them most was their physical appearance. Large, prominent noses, almost always exaggerated to the point of becoming an identifying mark of Europeans (the folding screens call them tengu-bana, "tengu noses," like those of the demon in Shinto folklore). Round, light-colored eyes, in contrast to the almond-shaped eyes of the Japanese. Full beards, sometimes red or brown, which is why they were also nicknamed akahige, "red beards." Wavy or curly hair, never straight. Tall stature, upright posture, and expressive hand gestures.

Their clothing seemed equally strange. Satin breeches (calças tonosamas), loose shirts with starched white ruffs (the ruffs of Austrian fashion), short cloth capes, tall conical or wide-brimmed hats, high leather boots, and long, straight swords at their belts. The complete opposite of the samurai's kimono and wakizashi. The Kanō painters depicted every textile detail with almost documentary precision.

The typical scenes on the Namban screen follow a fixed pattern. On the right side, a Portuguese carrack anchors in Nagasaki Bay. The captain-major disembarks accompanied by his entourage, under a distinctive black parasol. On the left side, the procession moves through the port city toward the church or Jesuit residence, where it is greeted by priests in black cassocks (Jesuits), Franciscans in brown habits, and the Japanese population, both converted and curious. Among the procession are African slaves wearing turbans, Asian servants, merchants carrying rolls of silk and barrels, and exotic animals: monkeys, leopards, Arabian horses with trappings, and European greyhounds.

Catholicism is the central theme. Churches with bell towers, crosses, and arched porticoes; processions; priests celebrating Mass; rosaries and breviaries on display. Namban folding screens offer a Japanese perspective on the Christian era.

Many Namban painters were Japanese Christians trained at the Jesuit art school in Arima (Kyushu), founded by the Italian priest Giovanni Niccolò in 1583. There, converted Japanese artists were taught European oil painting, perspective, and shading techniques. From that school emerged altarpieces, depictions of the Virgin Mary, and Christ figures, all executed in Western techniques with Japanese features. Painters also returned to the great Kanō and Tosa schools and adapted the Namban style to large-format folding screens.

The genre died out with the closure of Japan. In 1639, the Tokugawa shogunate expelled the Portuguese, persecuted Christians, and prohibited any representation that evoked contact with foreigners. The surviving screens ended up in European collections (Lisbon, Porto, Rome, Madrid) or remained hidden in Japanese homes. Today, some ninety Namban screens are preserved in museums in Japan, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Each one is a unique ethnographic document: the first extensive portrait that an Eastern civilization made of Europeans at the height of their global expansion.

Recommended bibliography:

– Alexandra Curvelo, Os Biombos Namban, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisboa, 2018.
– Yoshitomo Okamoto, The Namban Art of Japan, Weatherhill, 1972.
– Charles R. Boxer, The Christian Century in Japan 1549-1650, University of California Press, 1951.

During the Cuban War of Independence (1895-1898), Spain sought to crush the rebellion by targeting civilians rather than just combatants. In 1896, Spanish General Valeriano Weyler implemented the reconcentration policy, forcing hundreds of thousands of Cubans (mostly women, children, and the elderly) into what became the world’s first modern concentration camps.

These camps were overcrowded, unsanitary, and lacked food and medical care, leading to the deaths of 100,000 to 400,000 people within just 18 months (nearly 1/3 of Cuba’s rural population). Victims died not from battle but from starvation, abuse, disease, and exposure, making this a deliberate policy of extermination.

Though the term genocide didn’t exist at the time, this mass killing meets its definition: Spain knowingly created conditions that would wipe out a significant part of the Cuban population, targeting them as a national group. This event set a dark precedent, influencing later uses of concentration camps in the Boer War (1899-1902) and the Holocaust (1933-1945).

The horror of the reconcentration camps shocked the world, fueling U.S. outrage and contributing to the Spanish-American War (1898), which led to Cuba’s independence. Despite its scale, the Cuban genocide remains largely overlooked in history, yet it stands as one of the first major genocides of the modern era, demonstrating how state policies can be used to systematically destroy a people, not just through executions, but through starvation and forced confinement.

The name "Jamaica" comes from the Arawak name for the island – Xamayca, meaning "land of springs" or "land of forests and streams" – due to the abundance of water in its lush forests. Christopher Columbus arrived in Jamaica in May 1494, during his second voyage to the "New World," and it was his son, Diego Columbus, who conquered it in 1509. When the English conquered Jamaica, they changed its name to Spanish Town. Today, it is also known simply as Spain. It is located 20 km from Kingston (the current capital) and is full of beautiful colonial buildings.

In 1977, the skeletal remains of the conquistador Don Francisco Pizarro, which had been housed in an ossuary and a lead box, were exhumed. Engraved on the top of the box was the figure of a six-petaled rosette and the inscription:

Original: «Aquí está la cabeza del Señor Marqués Don Francisco Pizarro, que descubrió y ganó los Reinos del Perú y puso en la Real Corona de Castilla».

Translation: “Here lies the head of the Lord Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro, who discovered and conquered the Kingdoms of Peru and placed them under the Royal Crown of Castile.”

It was then that the Peruvian archaeologist Dr. Hugo Ludeña raised the possibility that the conquistador Don Francisco Pizarro was actually of Jewish origin, like a small group of officials who arrived in Peru during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, who were also buried with this strange symbol associated with Jews. Dr. Ludeña was not just any researcher; he was an expert and specialist in the study of Francisco Pizarro, a field in which he had been involved for more than 30 years of his life.

Dr. Ludeña presented evidence unrelated to the symbol that could corroborate the hypothesis that the Spanish conquistador was of Jewish origin. For example, he points to the large number of converts and disguised Jews who traveled to the Indies in the early years of the viceroyalty, fleeing the Holy Inquisition. He also indicates how little was known about his mother's lineage and her family. Ludeña notes that Pizarro was not acknowledged by his father in his will. In that era, when children born in and out of wedlock were recognized without much difficulty, this omission is interpreted as a criticism of the mother's reputation.

"The mother's bad reputation could have been due to her customs or to having Jewish ancestors", Ludeña suggests.

Another important fact highlighted by Dr. Ludeña is that Pizarro's remains were exhumed a few years after his burial, around January 1544, at the request of his close relatives. This fact is noteworthy, as it was they who moved his skeletal remains to the ossuary and the lead box that contained them for several centuries, and in which is found the strange engraving that has generated doubts about the origin of Peru's most famous conqueror.

Reference:

- Francisco Pizarro: El símbolo secreto, Hugo Ludeña Restaure (2014).

It occurred during the Second Neapolitan War in what is now the town of Cerignola (province of Foggia, in Apulia), at that time a small village on a hill, protected by a ditch and a rampart erected by the Spanish troops stationed there. Following the victory of Admiral Juan Lezcano's Spanish fleet over Admiral Prijan's French fleet at the Battle of Otranto, the Great Captain was able to reinforce his forces with German Landsknechts, with whom he launched an offensive in the spring of 1503. The battle took place on April 28, 1503. As previously mentioned, the French, primarily heavy cavalry and Swiss pikemen, were commanded by Louis d'Armagnac, Count of Guise, Duke of Nemours, and Viceroy of Naples (since 1501), while the Spanish were led by Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, known as the Great Captain. The Battle of Cerignola marks the beginning of Spain's hegemony on European battlefields.

He arrived there in July 1776, the same month the United States was founded. The Domínguez-Escalante expedition was an incredible and daring undertaking of 1776 to find an overland route from Santa Fe (present-day New Mexico) to the Catholic missions of California.