Native Communities and Imperial Borders in South America

What is it about?

In the eighteenth century, Spain and Portugal mapped a borderline between their South American colonies. Throughout the continent, the line cut through lands controlled by autonomous native communities who were not subjects of either crown. This paper examines if the border had any impact upon the communities through whose lands the border ran, taking the Río de la Plata region (Uruguay, Northeast Argentina, and Southern Brazil) as a case study.

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Why is it important?

This research demonstrates that the drawing of borders did matter for autonomous native communities, who appropriated them for their own purposes. This forces us to rethink the production of borders not simply as an imperial endeavor, but one shaped by indigenous action.