Abstract

SALERNO, Natalia Soledad. Former Spanish-Creole Captives and Mediation Roles: The Case of the Expeditions to Salinas Grandes (1778-1810). Front. hist. [online]. 2024, vol.29, n.1, pp.242-269.  Epub Jan 01, 2024. ISSN 2027-4688.  https://doi.org/10.22380/20274688.2475.

In this paper, we propose to problematize the dependence on interpreters and lenguaraces by colonial officials, as well as the apparent scarcity of individuals who could serve in such roles within the framework of activities involving indigenous societies. Subsequently, we will analyze the cases of former Spanish-Creole captives who were capable of playing mediation roles, who lived in captivity in indigenous societies for extended periods of time and who were rescued, or who escaped by their own means, during the expeditions directed to the Salinas Grandes area between1778 and 1810. In addition, we will seek to determine how many of these women were enabled by the authorities, upon their return to their places of origin, to work as cultural mediators, and to what situations their participation in this regard was limited, taking into account that, frequently, the authorities were at the mercy of unreliable message translators.

Keywords : captives; cultural mediators; colonial society; Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.

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