Objective/Context:

The initial decades following the Spanish foundation of Quito were pivotal for shaping its peri-urban spaces. Between 1534 and 1575, three colonization strategies were crucial for producing the space surrounding the colonial city of Quito: Hispanic municipal governance, asymmetrical alliances with indigenous authorities and evangelization. This article explores the intervention in the landscape of Añaquito, on the outskirts of the town of Quito, where distinct agricultural zones were demarcated alongside Christian landmarks and circumscriptions, and places of memory were recognized in association with the acknowledgment of indigenous jurisdictions. The production of this landscape is approached through colonial urban ideals, memory production, linked to colonial governance, and subsequent Christianization of the space.

Methodology:

The analysis is based on municipal council records, letters from the king or the Council of the Indies to the municipality, and documents regarding land disputes and jurisdictions held in the General Archive of the Indies in Seville. The analysis of these documents focuses on what they tell us about space.

Originality:

While the urban layout of Quito has been extensively examined, no studies emphasize the significance of peri-urban space. This study’s relevance lies in calling attention to the peri-urban space and demonstrating how Spanish colonization was projected physically and ideologically onto the landscape adjacent to the city, the peri-urban space, during its early stages. The multidimensional colonization of the Añaquito landscape shaped it physically and redefined its meaning. These contributions will undoubtedly shed light on the formation of peri-urban space in other colonial cities.

Conclusions:

The landscape produced in the plains neighboring the city of Quito, the peri-urban space, was shaped and provided with meanings due to various colonial strategies of domination.

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