‘Beyond the Falls’: Amerindian Stance towards New Encounters along the Wild Coast (ad 1595–1627)

Abstract

According to the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Guianas represent the border re­ gion of the Demarcation Line that is approximately situated to the East of the mouth of the Amazon River. Both Iberian nations, firmly implanted on both sides of this line by the second half of the sixteenth century (i.e. Margarita and Pernambuco) do not establish themselves in this area. It is possible they do this to avoid confrontations between themselves but this settlement pattern also leaves an opening for the English, Dutch and French to intervene in the area and barter with the indigenous population (Figure 15.1). After the discovery of pearls off the Coast of Paria in 1508 and their deple­ tion by the 1530s, the focus of the Spanish upon the Aztec, Inca and Muisca gold seemed to diminish their interest in these new parts of the Americas.