Forasteros y transeuntes en América, siglo XVIII. El caso de Francisco Fernández de la Fuente

Abstract

This article deals with the demographic characteristics of the Spanish emigration to America between 16th and 18th Centuries, and the way in which the Spanish Crown controlled people traffic in order to prevent the transit of marginal and unsettled population to the New World. The author shows the case of an 18th Century Spanish emigration through the examination of the legal proceedings opened by the authorities in the Antioquia Province, Nueva Granada. The social aspects of the migration process to America are shown in literary form, including the social integration of the newcomers in the colonial neighbourhoods, their personal perfomance with regard to laws and norms, the social conflicts inherent to their situation as travellers who were little integrated in the communities, and aspects of the local life of the time.