Negotiating Borders: Indigenous Peoples and Demarcation Commissions in Late 18th -Century Amazonia

ABSTRACT

During the implementation of the Treaty of San Ildefonso (1777), Spain and Portugal dispatched joint expeditions to demarcate their South American borders, as they had previously done in 1750 for the Treaty of Madrid. This paper draws on documentation from both Portuguese and Spanish commissions from the 1780s and early 1790s, highlighting their impact on, and especially the actions of, Indigenous people. It especially emphasizes the records produced by Spanish commissioner Francisco Requena, who also served as the governor of Maynas. The paper highlights how Indigenous populations leveraged Iberian rivalries to negotiate their resettlement and maintain autonomy, arguing that native territorial and alliance claims created a permeable frontier, thus undermining the demarcation strategies of the Iberian commissioners.

Keywords:
Amazonia; Demarcation Expeditions; Indigenous Peoples; Francisco Requena; Frontiers