The
history of the Northwest Coast objects housed in Madrid's Museo de
América is a checkered one. Their path has been circuitous from the
time they were collected until their formal presentation in today's
museum. The background of this collection, like so many others preserved
in Spanish museums, is closely tied to the royal and noble collections
formed in centuries past.
The arrival of the first Europeans in America was the beginning of
a virtual avalanche of information, references, and descriptions of
the lands that were being encountered for the first time. In this
early period, published documentation was centrally important to the
Spanish political interests, because it identified Spain as both the
discover and colonizer of these lands when the rest of Europe was
yet to look westward across the sea.
While
colonial interests were unquestionably stimulated by all this material,
it is interesting to observe that all of these early texts were illustrated
with European-made drawings, which virtually never depicted indigenous
works. Some New World objects were known at the time, of course, such
as the gifts Columbus brought back to the Catholic kings, or objects
sent by the Aztec emperor Montezuma to his Spanish counterpart. Because
of different perceptions of aesthetics and the value of certain materials,
however, they were considered strange and poorly rendered and most
were not retained in the palaces, which housed items considered to
be of artistic value. Most ultimately found shelter in other collections,
many outside of Spain. Thus, despite the fact that Spain was the first
European country to explore the Americas, and to take possession of
its lands, its peoples, and their possessions for the Crown, few of
the objects dating to the early contact period are preserved in Spanish
collections.
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Interest
in collecting objects from the Americas largely lay dormant until
the eighteenth century. Its development was a direct consequence
of the emergence of Rationalism, developments in the art of illustration,
and early efforts in the field of taxonomy. New attitudes of the
ruling elite toward positivism were also an important contributing
factor, and resulted in the formation of Spanish institutions
such as the Gabinetes de Antiguedades (Museum of Antiquities)
and the Camaras Reales (Royal Collections), as well as expeditions
specifically staged for scientific research. The collections formed
in this period are the foundations of most important Spanish museums
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The
roots of the earliest collections in the present Museo de América
lie in this context. Without getting too bogged down in detail, the
beginnings of the museum's collection lie in the eighteenth century
with the scientific patronage of Charles VII, then king of Naples.
His interests continued after his ascension to the Spanish throne
as Charles III upon the death of his half-brother FerdinandVI in 1759
and. When Charles arrived in Spain, he brought his scientific collections
with him. Additional works were added, and eventually it became one
of the greatest collections of the time. A major part of it was assembled
in Paris by a single scholar, Pedro Franco Da Vila. In 1771, the Real
Gabinete de Historia Natural (Royal Cabinet of Natural History) was
founded to house this vast collection. Typical of the time, the contents
of this museum ranged from specimens from the mineral, vegetable,
and animal kingdoms, to Classical antiquities, to curiosities from
around the world. The latter category deserves some clarification:
"curiosities" in this case has a broad definition encompassing all
of the material produced by the native peoples of the New World, whether
archaeological, ethnographic, or colonial. None of these objects fell
into the category of antiquities, which was reserved solely for materials
originating from Mediterranean cultures that formed the basis of Classicism.
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Once
this setting was established, the monarch sought to expand his holdings.
Orders were passed on to all viceroys, governors, and religious bodies.
Thanks to continuing advances in navigation, scientific expeditions
were later included in this effort. These turned out to be an excellent
vehicle for increasing the collections of the Real Gabinete de Historia
Natural, and the various survey-oriented campaigns sponsored by the
Crown were also summarized in illustrated encyclopedic projects. The
accumulated knowledge these works contained helped form the basis
for modern scientific disciplines such as botany, zoology, and astronomy.
The insights resulting from
these voyages and the advancement of science cast a new light on the
relatively unstructured notes recorded as early as the sixteenth century
by chroniclers in the New World. These notes gained new relevance
in dealing with the exploration of the distant regions of the empire.
Until
the eighteenth century, the Pacific Ocean was little navigated, although
Spain, empowered by the papal bull of 1493, maintained strict control
over these waters. During the Enlightenment, however, changes in the
European political landscape propelled France, England, Russia, and
Holland to pursue overseas holdings. Various accords and treaties,
such as that of Utrecht, did little to support Spanish domination
of the New World. The true motivation of the scientific expeditions
lies in this context. European nations sent expeditions to survey
and record precise measurements of distant lands, islands, and archipelagos
not purely for knowledge's sake, but with the goal of creating an
accurate cartographic record, and, in doing so, to secure those territories
which, for strategic or economic reasons, would be useful for their
expanding empires. The basis of European interest was no longer gold
or silver, spices, or fountains of youth; it was wood for shipbuilding
or the domination of key points for the establishment of trade routes.
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If
it is true that political agendas lay hidden behind scientific efforts,
it is hardly surprising that Spanish interest in the exploration of
the Northwest Coast was sparked by the news that Russia and Britain
were establishing a presence in this region. The establishment of
a northern frontier to halt these incursions became an important Spanish
priority. To this end, a fleet of well-equipped corvettes was dispatched
under Juan Pérez, and in 1774 it reached the 55th parallel, just north
of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). Turning into the Dixon Entrance,
the fleet arrived at the Prince of Wales Islands in the Alexander
Archipelago. Here Pérez encountered representatives of the indigenous
population, and artifacts were exchanged. Notebooks from this expedition
survive that include descriptions of the clothing, physical features,
and ornaments of the peoples they encountered. These notes are the
earliest European documentation of the Haida and Tlingit cultures.
Poor weather conditions on the return journey forced Pérez to take
refuge on an island he called San Lorenzo de Nutka, where he also
exchanged artifacts with the inhabitants and noted the existence of
another island, which they called Yuquot (present-day Kyuquot). This
was the first expedition that brought back Northwest Coast artifacts
now preserved in the Museo de América, and it was also the first European
expedition to come in contact with these indigenous cultures.
In 1775, Bruno de Hezeta led another expedition to this region and
encountered the Tlingit. On this trip he was accompanied by Francisco
de Bodega y Quadra and Francisco Mourelle de la Ria, two individuals
well remembered today for their data-collection efforts. The diaries
of these two seafarers are meticulous. Their notes address a wide
range of aspects of Tlingit culture. They describe the peoples' characteristics,
dwellings, attire and ornamentation, social organization, food, religion,
warfare, etc. Their notes also thoroughly explore important aspects
of the flora of the area. The information they recorded was translated
into English and was used by subsequent English and French expeditions
in the area.
In 1779, Bodega y Quadra and Mourelle embarked on another expedition,
this one under the command of Ignacio de Arteaga. This voyage was
motivated by intelligence of Captain Cook's third voyage, which had
included the territories of the Northwest Coast. They reached the
Prince of Wales Islands-territory previously visited-and continued
on to the waters of Cape St. Elias, the northernmost territory yet
visited by the Spanish. Here, they encountered strangely fashioned
boats, which the inhabitants called "kayaks." The Arctic populations
they met here were the Chugach, whose culture was greatly influenced
by that of their southern neighbors. The data this expedition collected
documents cultural and linguistic forms different from those of populations
further south.
Several years later, news that Russians had descended as far as Nootka
Sound (on present-day Vancouver Island) made Spain realize that the
northern borders it had established were seriously compromised, and
the decision was made to send another expedition to the Pacific. In
1788, Esteban Martinez and Gonzalo Lopez de Haro sailed there with
two frigates and established a presence in Nootka. This occupation
continued until 1795, when Spain withdrew in accordance with the Treaty
of El Escorial, which had been signed in 1790. The objects collected
and sent back to Spain by Martinez during the course of this expedition
are preserved in the museum and greatly increased its collection.
The most ambitious journey sponsored by the Crown was the circumnavigation
of the globe by Alejandro Malaspina, which lasted from 1789 to 1794.
This venture was sponsored by Charles III and his successor, Charles
IV. In the spirit of the Enlightenment, it was intended to be both
a scientific and political voyage. In a joint document sent to the
Ministry of the Navy, Malaspina and Dr. José Bustamenta defined it
as a voyage made by Spanish navigators with two precise objectives:
the creation of navigational charts for the most remote regions of
America, along with the definition of safe shipping lanes for the
developing merchant service; and the investigation of the political
situation of America, in relation to Spain and other countries. The
political focus of this voyage was clear, but the group of experts
chosen to take part included specialists in botany, as well as painters
and graphic artists skilled in the representation of nature. In the
course of their travels, they touched at points in America, Asia,
and Oceania, rigorously noting and collecting everything of scientific
interest, and illustrating bays, coves, mountains, glaciers, plants,
animals, and minerals. Human culture was treated as just another aspect
of nature. From the hands of these illustrators and painters came
the first images of the American north to be seen in Europe. They
painted what they saw and they collected many of the objects they
depicted in their works, along with precise notes detailing use and
function.
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Despite
the remarkable record keeping that accompanied their collection, linking
the artifacts that had been gathered on these voyages to their corresponding
expeditions has been a challenge. The enlargement of the Real Gabinete
gave rise to a negligent bureaucracy. When the explorers returned
from their long and hazardous voyages, the crates in which their collections
were packed often languished for months on the wharves of Cádiz. When
they finally arrived in Madrid, they were dispersed to different departments
before eventually being settled in the appropriate collection. The
immense lapse of time only complicated matters. The Jardin Botánico,
the Real Botica, the first Real Gabinete (later the Museo de Ciencias
Naturales), and, after its founding in 1867, the Museo Arqueologico
Nacional all received material from such voyages. Thus, the objects
presented here have remained a well-kept secret until the beginning
of this century, when researchers began to look into their origins
and history.
We are now aware of the importance of these items, with their almost-forgotten
historical context of distant cultures visited by the scientific explorers
of the eighteenth century-a memory almost eradicated by subsequent
colonial activity in the Northwest Coast. Today these artifacts have
a dual significance. On one hand they serve as tangible historical
records, a reminder of how much has been lost by the peoples who created
them. On the other, they speak to the rest of the world of a moment
when their past was intact, affected only by its natural environment
and exchange with neighboring peoples.
It should be noted here that the items acquired by these diligent
collectors, though of great cultural value for those who produced
them, were traded according to standards defined by the indigenous
communities: for copper and iron artifacts, for red ribbon (used by
Europeans to bind official documents), for sealing wax, and domestic
items. All of these served as mutually agreeable currency of exchange.
The functions of many of the items illustrated here were lost in the
nineteenth century. Thanks to the efforts of historians, anthropologists,
and archaeologists, some of this information has been retrieved, even
to the extent that facts noted about their use relate to the eighteenth
century.
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The
Northwest Coast collection of the Museo de América includes objects
from the southern part of the central coast to the far north of the
Northwest Coast culture region. The southern area is represented by
the Nuu-chah-nulth culture, which in eighteenth century records, Spanish
publications, and elsewhere until recently is referred to as Nootka.
Today most of these people live off the central western coast of Vancouver.
Most widely represented in the collection is the Tlingit culture,
today found primarily in the Alexander Archipelago, now part of Alaska.
The northernmost culture represented in the collection is the Chugach,
which, though related to the Arctic, has close cultural affiliations
with Northwest Coast cultures and shows signs of strong influences
from the south.
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