Abstract

REICHERT, Rafal. The Forge of the Ultramarine Empire. The Defensive System and the Life of Soldiers in the Presidios of the Greater Caribbean in the Seventeenth Century: Case of the Garrison in La Havana. Secuencia [online]. 2020, n.108, e1731.  Epub Oct 23, 2020. ISSN 2395-8464.  https://doi.org/10.18234/secuencia.v0i108.1731.

The seventeenth century in the field of colonial history is presented as a time of constant struggle of the Spanish Crown to retain its predominant position in Europe. This situation had its repercussions in the American lands that, since the war with Elizabethan England, became the imperial frontier of the Spanish monarchy. That is why Spain created a defensive system against the foreign threat. With this, a great project was undertaken to build and modify fortifications in the Indies, especially in the Greater Caribbean region, where human and monetary resources were needed to maintain them. In this article, through historiography and primary sources of archives of Spain and Mexico, the appearance of the Spanish soldiery that served in the grancaribeños presidios is presented. The recruitment aspects for the Indies are presented, the daily life and, with the example of Havana, the original precedence of the Indian soldiers is analyzed.

Keywords : Greater Caribbean; garrisons; La Havana; seventeenth century; soldiers.