1. Read two essays: Resistance & Black Women, Present in La Española as Early as Black Men
2. Choose theme A, B, or C below and read the translation and commentaries of the manuscripts listed.
3. Respond to the questions. Please make it clear which theme  you have chosen.
4. E-mail me your responses at ddominguez@ccny.cuny.edu by Monday, February 10, 2020 at 3:30pm.

 

A. MARRIAGE & GENDER (Compare the following 3 documents)

• Manuscript 16 (1504) Since early on in the colonization of La Española, there was an interest for including black women among the enslaved black population being sent to the new colony, & Manuscript 22 (1527) Worried by the presence in La Española of a population of enslaved black men much larger than that of the white colonists and who might attempt to rebel against the latter, king Charles V mandated the carrying of enslaved black women to the colony, and the promotion of marriage among “blacks”, & Manuscript 19 (1522) The Christmas 1521 Black slaves’ rebellion of La Española, the first recorded uprising by blacks in the Americas, appears mentioned for the first time in the colonial ordinances on Blacks issued on January 6th (Epiphany)
  • Why were colonial administrators interested in bringing black women to Hispaniola? What does this imply about gender relations?
  • Spanish slave law gave enslaved peoples certain rights, including the Catholic sacrament of marriage. What did slaves argue that marriage should confer to them?

 

B. BLACK WOMEN’S MOBILITY  (Compare the following 4 documents)

• Manuscript 13 (1513) A freed black woman and her son, black as well, obtain license to travel to the Indies after presenting their deed of freedom before the authorities of Seville Manuscript 33 (1539) Catalina Fernandez, a Black Freedwoman residing in Seville, obtained the license to travel to Santo Domingo in La Española with her daughter Francisca de Castilla, apparently a freed person as well Manuscript 38 (1575) After serving for more than ten years to two female mistresses in Seville, Spain, a young female black slave born in Santo Domingo City was granted freedom by her second mistress and, a few years later, requested license to travel back to the Americas & Manuscripts 69 (1580) Some time after been freed by her former owners, María de Cota, an until then enslaved black woman from Santo Domingo residing in Seville, requested a royal license to travel from Seville to La Española with her three-year old daughter 
  • What types of histories did you expect to find on the website called “First Blacks in the Americas”? Were these documents surprising?
  • In your study of history prior to the abolition of slavery, have you come across examples of Blacks who were not enslaved?
  • How do you interpret Cota’s use of the legal system given her socio-economic background?

 

C. BLACK WOMEN USING THE JUSTICE SYSTEM  (Compare the following 2 documents)

• Manuscript 29 (1537) Royal letter from king Charles V of Spain to the oidores or judges of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo ordering them to stop allowing judicial appeals submitted to the Council of the Indies against the Audiencia’s sentences by Indians and Blacks of La Española condemned to the death penalty or dismemberment or torture by the Audiencia, and to act as court of appeals of those same cases & Manuscript 51 (1557) A female Black slave testified as witness against a Spanish or criollo settler accused of rape against a Mestizo young girl in Santo Domingo City
  • What is significant about the witnesses in this case? Can you think of circumstances in which these witnesses would not have been acceptable?