Abstract

DE LA O TORRES, Rodrigo Alejandro. Collective Fears and the Phenomenon of Piracy in the Gulf-Caribbean during the Sixteenth Century. An Approximation Essay. Historelo.rev.hist.reg.local [online]. 2019, vol.11, n.22, pp.267-300.  Epub July 26, 2019. ISSN 2145-132X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/historelo.v11n22.73263.

Violent events and smuggling-related activities-originating from the piracy phenomenon- very accurately depict the most perceptible contexts in that story, which takes place in the Gulf-Caribbean region during the colonial period. This, however, avoids social dynamics strongly related to the action and presence of French and English seafarers in that expanse of the American Continent. Our objective is to deal with the Hispanic perspective on the matter. The otherness of foreign mariners struck collectivefear into the colonial society of the Gulf-Caribbean region. The path involves depicting the reasons that caused this Hispanic dread. There were, at least, three characteristics: a) the arrival of non-Hispanic ships was atfirst seen as a novelty, to be later referred to as customary and dangerous; b) the threatening nature ascribed to corsairs rested on the much havoc they wrought; c) all the foregoing revealed vulnerabilities of colonial society according to Spanish authorities. By observing the different expressions of fear, we can recount how it helped culturally build the social group and, at the same time, how fear constituted a means to understand the Gulf-Caribbean region itself.

Keywords : collective fears; the phenomenon of piracy; Gulf- Caribbean; 16 ^th century.

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