Letters and economic routes in the Spanish empire in the 18th century with GIS

Abstract

The postal service was one of the main channels through which letters, goods and actors circulated via fixed maritime and land routes, which favoured the circulation of postal communication between the most influential Spanish-American centres. This paper will examine the spatial organisation of maritime mail between Spain and America after the creation of the Maritime Post in 1764, as well as overland mail in the viceroyalty of New Granada, especially the Cartagena de Indias - Santa Fe de Bogotá route. It is based principally on the document Reglamento Provisional del Correo Marítimo de España a sus Indias Occidentales of 1764 for maritime mail. And the handwritten report of the commissioner José Antonio de Pando, which he produced around 1774. Both documents contain detailed information on postal routes, which have been reconstructed using a geographic information system (GIS). Through the use of GIS, a dynamic visualization of postal routes which made up the circulation of information, goods and agents in the 18th century is made possible.