Paper short abstract:

The objective of this paper is to analyze the way in which a new frontier was developed in the territories of the Isthmus of Panamá, and to explore tensions between Spaniards and Indians to focus on how negotiation or hostility shaped the new frontier urban society in Central America.

Paper long abstract:

After the first 20 years of Spanish colonization in the Caribbean the model of exploitation seemed exhausted. Constant effort was made by the Crown to take advantage of the resources of the land specially using Indian work force, but after that time new territories of expansion seemed necessary. The objective of this paper is to analyze the way in which a new frontier was developed in the territories of the Isthmus of Panamá, to explore tensions between Spaniards and Indians and also within the very Spanish expeditions.

The colonization of the territory known as Castilla del Oro was carried out through the building of new towns; some of which remained and others did not. However, all of them represented the interest of the Crown in establishing its authority and signified the necessity of taking control of both Spanish and Indian population. For this paper I will focus on the relations between Spaniards and Indians in a moment of deep tension since the new policies of the Spanish government forbid mistreatment of Indian population but the colonizers still wanted to take advantage of them as either slaves or servants. The process of negotiation or plain hostility is a good ground to analyze how a new society was being built. For this I will compare theoretical approaches that appear in the laws with the chronicles in which we can read how those theories were or were not implemented.