Attitudes towards death on the edge of the Spanish Empire at the end of the 16th century

MARIA XIMENA SENATORE; MARIANA DE NIGRIS; RICARDO GUICHON; PALOMBO, PAULA

Sacramento, CA

Congreso; Meeting of the Society of Historical Archaeology; 2006

Society of Historical Archaeology

 The project of fortifying the Magellan Strait became one of the most tragic stories in the Spanish Colonization of America at the end of the 16th century. Sarmiento de Gamboa who was in charge of the expedition landed over 300 settlers at the very end of South America. Of these there was only one survivor This paper presents the first archeological study of the cemetery of Ciudad del Nombre de Jesús, one of the two towns settled in 1584 in the Magellan Strait. Death in the Magellan Strait is approached from both written documents and the material culture. Narratives by two of the main characters are analyzed: Sarmiento de Gamboa´s report before his return to Spain in 1590 and the only survivor´s report written on request of the Viceroy of Peru in 1620.