Islanders and Empire: Smuggling and Political Defiance in Hispaniola, 1580–1690

Abstract

Historians' interest in the seventeenth-century Caribbean has surged in recent years. Juan José Ponce Vázquez's revised dissertation analyzes the role that smuggling played in the cultural, economic, and sociopolitical development of Santo Domingo from the end of the sixteenth to the late seventeenth century. The author focuses on local communities that reflect shifting opportunities for the population during a period when hostile powers penetrated parts of the Spanish empire, including the island of Hispaniola, and established their own colonies in the Caribbean.Based on extensive research in the Archivo General de Indias, Ponce Vázquez shows that the development of plantation economies was not the only viable option for settlers in colonies neglected by the Spanish crown's preference for resource-rich parts of the New World. Some people found other means of survival, and the reason that Hispaniola trod a different path was its access to the lucrative contraband economy. Illicit trade, as it turned out, generated income for a substantial portion of the island's population. The author convincingly demonstrates that the colony was not lingering on the periphery of the Caribbean, as it has long been depicted, but was an active participant in the Atlantic economy that transcended the mercantilistic policies of the European rulers.The book is organized in chronological order. The first chapter covers most of the sixteenth century, when Hispaniola evolved from the center of Spanish imperial expansion to an impoverished backwater with limited opportunity for its inhabitants. In chapter 2 Ponce Vázquez describes how smuggling emerged as the predominant sector in the island's economy toward the end of the century. Contraband trade with Dutch merchants flourished, and many settlers profited from this form of commerce. The third chapter outlines the well-known forced depopulation between 1604 and 1606 that left large parts of the island's north and west open to foreign intrusion. The author then examines how Santo Domingo's inhabitants consolidated control over colonial government and forged new relationships with non-Spaniards and the authorities in the motherland. The focus on Rodrigo Pimentel's remarkable career as officeholder and ruthless businessman in the next chapter provides fine insights into the political culture of this neglected colony. The final chapter considers the relations with intruders, particularly the French who, beginning in Tortuga in 1629, seized the western coastal regions of the island and established the colony Saint-Domingue at a time when the Spanish crown barely managed to protect major Caribbean ports from foreign assaults.The surviving sources do not seem to be as rich as for other Spanish colonies like Mexico or perhaps Panama, but Ponce Vázquez paints a vivid picture of the development of Santo Domingo from the failure of plantation economy to the war against the French in 1690. The descriptions of the social and cultural implications of the reliance on illicit trade belong to the great strengths of this book. The author shows how the cabildo (governing council) became a “select club where friendships were established, profitable deals were struck, but also where members could become life-long enemies” (p. 144). While the local elites used the power of political office for their own advantage, the dirty work was often carried out by slaves. A few examples make the stories of various individuals come alive as well as further contribute to a better understanding of colonial society.Although this book covers much new territory, for historians of the Atlantic world the crucial intersection with the French remains a bit of a mystery. The author, for instance, describes a number of raids and counterraids in the 1660s and 1670s, but it is not clear whether there was any peaceful trade between these parties during this period. The lack of references in the Spanish correspondence is a major roadblock. Some papers in French archives suggest that merchants from Normandy specifically sought customers among the island's Spanish settlers. The potential profits seem to have outweighed the risks. The French and the Dutch sides of these illicit transactions wait to be explored in future research projects.In sum, Ponce Vázquez's work is an important contribution to the growing body of studies of smuggling and contraband trade in various parts of the Spanish empire. This excellent book is rich in detail and illuminates Hispaniola's history during a crucial phase of development. The author has done a fantastic job in bringing the many facets of colonial life outside the centers of prosperity to light. It is regrettable that the exorbitant price will severely limit the readership. Not only historians of Latin America and the Caribbean but also a broad audience with a more general interest could profit from the wider distribution of this study.