Slavery and Dominion in the South Sea Armada, 1570s-1680s.

Abstract

A key outcome of Francis Drake’s incursion into the South Sea was the formation of the South Sea Armada, which was based out of the port of Callao in the Viceroyalty of Peru and whose primary purpose was to guard the transport of silver to Panama, where it would be transferred for trans-oceanic shipment. Yet the squadron faced immediate existential threats from within, as evidenced by the pattern of viceregal decrees targeting slaveholders who brought slaves on board for the ostensible purpose of serving as deckhands and pages, only to press them into personal service. This tension, between the demands of the maritime defense industry, on one hand, and slaveholders’ personal prerogatives, on the other, constitutes the primary focus of this article.