The History of a Periphery

This fantastic book examines a wide range of never-published maps from colonial Colombia, with unique representations of the Pacific Lowlands that make up the current departments of Chocó and parts of Valle, Cauca, and Nariño, plus slices of eastern Panama and northwest Ecuador. This vast region (the 'Greater Chocó') is barely studied by historians, even less by art historians, and thus this book is something entirely new and very exciting. Via Wiersema’s book, we are (from one perspective) entering the outermost edge of empire, the periphery of the periphery. ~Kris Lane, Tulane University, author of Potosí: The Silver City that Changed the World

Through a careful and original study of four fascinating maps, Wiersema provides an insightful examination of the late colonial history of the Pacific Lowlands of Colombia that uncovers revealing details of local politics and aspirations, as well as key forgotten aspects of the Indigenous past. This accessible book will inspire others to use cartography as a source for Latin American history; historians, geographers, and anthropologists will enjoy and profit from reading it. ~Claudia Leal, Universidad de los Andes, author of Landscapes of Freedom: Building a Postemancipation Society in the Rainforests of Western Colombia

Wiersema’s The History of a Periphery is a sensitive, thorough, and clearly articulated investigation of manuscript maps that shed new light on the history of Colombia’s Pacific Lowlands in the eighteenth century. The book is an excellent demonstration of how close readings of the details of maps, together with their archival contexts, can reveal important evidence not available in other sources. ~Chet Van Duzer, University of Rochester, author of Frames that Speak: Cartouches on Early Modern Maps

Wiersema’s well-researched and elegantly argued book is a sterling addition to the scholarship of the Spanish colonial empire, Indigenous and African peoples, and colonial frontiers. The author's focus is on manuscript maps, which were included with written reports, and directed at a limited audience of imperial officials. Their purpose was not purely illustrative; nor were they meant to serve as charts to guide seamen, travelers, or administrators. This multidisciplinary study allows the reader to perceive the ways in which the managers of the Spanish Empire incorporated the local knowledge held by Indigenous people and the African and European sojourners at the empire’s far periphery into their systems of planning and thought. As such, the maps were akin to Columbus's letters, or the narratives of the conquistadors—many were aspirational in depicting a hoped-for colonial future.

~Ignacio Gallup-Díaz, Bryn Mawr College, author of The Door of the Seas and Key to the Universe: Indian Politics and Imperial Rivalry in the Darién 1640–1750