On the Edge: a study of Spanish colonisation fleets to the West Pacific and archaeological assemblages from the Solomon Islands

Abstract

This thesis explores Spanish colonisation through the provisioning of colonisation fleets to the West Pacific during the 16th to early 17th Centuries. Historical research focussed on fleets departing from the Americas, namely, those of Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón, Ruy López de Villalobos, Miguel López de Legazpi, Alvaro de Mendaña y Neira and Pedro Fernández de Quirós. The provisions recorded for each fleet were identified, allowing insights into provisioning patterns over time. The fleets were also placed in a colonisation model, allowing insights into these patterns, along with historical research. Research indicates that a generic provisioning pattern existed: local items (in close proximity to point of departure/provisioning) were generally sourced, unless the provisions were of poor quality, unavailable and/or the items were desired because their value was partially or wholly dependent on non-local origin and/or sourcing. The gathering of local resources was dependent on a number of factors including cultural preference, function, cost, production and distribution. The analysis of archaeological assemblages from Graciosa Bay and Pamua, Solomon Islands, was also undertaken, both sites associated with Mendaña’s second voyage to the region, c. 1595-1596. Research focussed on the ceramic component to gain insights into pottery production and distribution in the Viceroyalty of Peru and material culture at the close of the 16th Century. A ceramic attribute database collated finds from both sites, providing an updated range and description of pottery types and counts, and site plans were collated to better understand pottery distribution. Vessel forms and ceramic provenance were determined through typological, petrological and geochemical studies (instrumental neutron activation analyses), along with U-Pb dating of detrital zircons. Ceramics were variously provenanced to Peru, Panama, Spain, Thailand and China. The provenance results support the notion that the Pamua assemblage originally formed part of Mendaña’s fleet assemblage, and contribute to the chemical and petrological profiles of ceramics from colonial Peru and Panama, Spain and Thailand. The identification of Peruvian-made ceramics indicates distribution of colonial Peruvian-made vessels in Ecuador and Panama, evidence of the wide-ranging trade networks operating in the Americas during the late 16th Century, of which the Viceroyalty of Peru was an integral part. The provenance results also indicate that provisioned ceramics were available locally due to production in the area and trade. Ceramic selection appears to have relied upon ceramic production and distribution and its relationship to trade and cost, as well as cultural preference. By examining provisioning both historically and archaeologically, insights are thus gained into not only what was taken, but also into the society that provisioned them.