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Perspectives on the Global Past
Navigating the Spanish Lake: The Pacific in the Iberian World, 1521–1898
Navigating the Spanish Lake examines Spain’s long presence in the Pacific Ocean (1521–1898) in the context of its global empire. Building on a growing body of literature on the Atlantic world and indigenous peoples in the Pacific, this pioneering book investigates the historiographical “Spanish Lake” as an artifact that unites the Pacific Rim (the Americas and Asia) and Basin (Oceania) with the Iberian Atlantic. Incorporating an impressive array of unpublished archival materials on Spain’s two most important island possessions (Guam and the Philippines) and foreign policy in the South Sea, the book brings the Pacific into the prevailing Atlanticentric scholarship, challenging many standard interpretations. By examining Castile’s cultural heritage in the Pacific through the lens of archipelagic Hispanization, the authors bring a new comparative methodology to an important field of research.
The book opens with a macrohistorical perspective of the conceptual and literal Spanish Lake. The chapters that follow explore both the Iberian vision of the Pacific and indigenous counternarratives; chart the history of a Chinese mestizo regiment that emerged after Britain’s occupation of Manila in 1762-1764; and examine how Chamorros responded to waves of newcomers making their way to Guam from Europe, the Americas, and Asia. An epilogue analyzes the decline of Spanish influence against a backdrop of European and American imperial ambitions and reflects on the legacies of archipelagic Hispanization into the twenty-first century.
Specialists and students of Pacific studies, world history, the Spanish colonial era, maritime history, early modern Europe, and Asian studies will welcome Navigating the Spanish Lake as a persuasive reorientation of the Pacific in both Iberian and world history.
The book opens with a macrohistorical perspective of the conceptual and literal Spanish Lake. The chapters that follow explore both the Iberian vision of the Pacific and indigenous counternarratives; chart the history of a Chinese mestizo regiment that emerged after Britain’s occupation of Manila in 1762-1764; and examine how Chamorros responded to waves of newcomers making their way to Guam from Europe, the Americas, and Asia. An epilogue analyzes the decline of Spanish influence against a backdrop of European and American imperial ambitions and reflects on the legacies of archipelagic Hispanization into the twenty-first century.
Specialists and students of Pacific studies, world history, the Spanish colonial era, maritime history, early modern Europe, and Asian studies will welcome Navigating the Spanish Lake as a persuasive reorientation of the Pacific in both Iberian and world history.
- GenresHistory
198 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2014
About the author
Rainer F. Buschmann
8 books1 followerRainer F. Buschmann is Professor of History at the California State University Channel Islands.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 6, 2026
This one was short and sweet, a much appreciated improvement over the last few books I've been working on.
I had read some time ago Joseph Wieczynski's application of the Frontier Thesis to Russia, and that inspired me to consider a frontier thesis in regards to Spain. This could be said to begin with the Reconquista, with a fluid and dynamic border between Christian Spain and Al-Andalus.
For a long time historians have noted that the legacy of the Reconquista was a major impetus in the conquest of the Americas, creating a sort of expansionist crusader ideology that impelled the Spaniards to ever new conquests.
The frontier thesis has been out of fashion for some time, and revisionist historians might attack the very foundations of such premises, challenging the notion of a Reconquista, which was a nineteenth century invention, for example, or pointing out the fact that Columbus was in Spanish employ was a coincidence as he had pitched his ideas to several other powers first.
So Spain was certainly not looking for new horizons of conquest in 1492, at least not any more than other other power. A convergence of contingencies resulted in Columbus discovering the Americas for Spain, rather than for any other power as might easily have happened.
Nonetheless, since it was Spain, the legacy of the Reconquista was an important driver for Spanish colonization of the New World, and this expansion of the frontier that began against the Muslims was continued across the Atlantic, and, as I recently realized, across the Pacific too.
An indication of this can be seen in the words the Spaniards chose to describe the Muslims of the Philippines, Moros and Alardes, Moors and Arabs, suggesting that they perceived this as a continuation of the Reconquista in distant regions.
In 1898 William Graham Sumner published his famous anti-imperialist diatribe denouncing US expansion, stating that the US would become anemic and weak as did Spain.
Sumner's suggestion that the US empire was built on the bones of the Spanish Empire was, perhaps, more accurate than he intended. Turner's frontier was, after all, largely located in areas the Spanish had explored and claimed long before.
Traditional historiography (though again open to debate) has long claimed that Turner's closing of the frontier in 1893 motivated Americans to expand the frontier across the Pacific, to the China market and the Open Door.
Here again the US was following in the footsteps of the Spanish long before. Could the frontier thesis be applied to Spain in her insatiable exploration for new lands in the Americas and across the Pacific?
Perhaps this extended introduction is improper because this book does not really address this question, I suspect I would find more useful information in Oskar Spate's trilogy.
This book does however provide a solid grounding for Spanish activities in the Pacific, and some interesting suggestions. For example Buschmann contends that the Spanish did not view the Pacific as an independent entity, but as an extension of the Americas.
We learn that Spain's position here was long protected by distance and remoteness from power centers in Europe. As Spain controlled the entire Pacific coast of the Americas, or at least denied it to anyone else, her position here was quite strong, in contrast with that in the Caribbean.
Chapter 2 is devoted to these subjects, the geopolitical context of the Pacific under Spanish rule and attempts by other European powers to penetrate the ocean or undermine Spanish power there.
Chapter 3 deals with an interesting examination of the Philippines under Spanish rule. These islands were very weakly held, and the Spanish sometimes curtailed and sometimes encouraged Chinese migration, resulting in a large population of Chinese mestizos who were regarded as strong supports for the Spanish administration.
This is fascinating because there were very few actual Spaniards, and another interesting insight is that the Philippines were governed more as an extension of Mexico (or New Spain, rather) than as colonies in their own right. It was not until the Bourbon Reforms when the Philippines were brought under direct Spanish control in Madrid, rather than ruled effectively from Mexico City.
This chapter notes that the Philippines were practically undefended when the British took over in 1762, but that after this shock the Spanish organized the Chinese mestizos into an effective auxiliary force, and many of these men participated in the guerrilla waged against the British until 1764.
Chapter 4 deals with Guam and the Marianas, and to what extent Spanish culture can still be seen in the language and customs of the Chamorro. This concentrates on what the authors refer to as Archipelagic Hispanization, and, though interesting in its own right, I felt was kind of awkwardly juxtaposed with the earlier chapters.
The epilogue sums everything up nicely, and provides some key information on Spain's failure to Hispanize her Pacific possessions to the same extent as her American possessions.
I had tried to draw up some potential reasons for this, including sparsity of actual Spaniards in the Pacific, and I had considered that continued Spanish rule had perhaps even retarded this development because in the Americas the new Latin American states imposed nationalist programs intending to teach all children Spanish. Many of them did not yet know it, and so Latin America followed similar patterns as nationalism in Europe where a streamlined national language was imposed on the population.
It could be the case that Spain remained too weak to attempt this in the Philippines, and any independent government that might have tried was never allowed to emerge. And, unlike in the Americas, the Philippines transitioned directly from Spanish rule to the rule of another colonial power, and the United States was hardly going to implement of a policy of teaching all pupils to speak Spanish.
Unfortunately this is not dealt with, but other suggestions emerge. The lack of Spaniards and the large presence of Chinese for example, and the ironic alienation of the native population from Spanish rule by the policies favoring the Chinese, the absence of large conurbations, and the failure of disease to reduce the Filipinos at it had the Native Americans.
These are all interesting insights, and there are a great number of sources cited to follow up these questions and more. I consider this work a great introduction to the Spanish Pacific experience, quickly covering key points like explorers, the Nootka Controversy, the Malaspina Expedition, and so on.
I was a bit disappointed that no mention was made of a truly fascinating trans-Pacific phenomenon that I looked into myself in a few articles and papers. This was the spread of lambonag, what the Spaniards called vino de coco, to the New World.
Lambonag is a traditional liquor distilled from coconuts whose production in the Philippines long preceded the arrival of the Spanish. Filipinos brought to Mexico introduced the liquor and the techniques to make it, which became wildly popular in Mexico.
Since this created stiff competition with traditional alcohols made in Spain, like wine, brandy, aguardiente, etc the Spanish colonial authorities banned it. But this was not the end of the story, however.
Using Filipino-style copper and clay stills, the people of Mexico were able to make alcohol out of the local agave plant which became mezcal, and its numerous variations like the ever-popular tequila. This is a minor but extraordinary (and fun!) by-product of Spanish Pacific colonization and I invite any reader of this review to look into it. Those who enjoy a shot of tequila on occasion can reflect that the drink is a result of the contacts Spain established between Mexico and the Philippines many centuries ago.
This book doesn't take long to read and will provide a springboard for those interested in pursuing this subject further.
I had read some time ago Joseph Wieczynski's application of the Frontier Thesis to Russia, and that inspired me to consider a frontier thesis in regards to Spain. This could be said to begin with the Reconquista, with a fluid and dynamic border between Christian Spain and Al-Andalus.
For a long time historians have noted that the legacy of the Reconquista was a major impetus in the conquest of the Americas, creating a sort of expansionist crusader ideology that impelled the Spaniards to ever new conquests.
The frontier thesis has been out of fashion for some time, and revisionist historians might attack the very foundations of such premises, challenging the notion of a Reconquista, which was a nineteenth century invention, for example, or pointing out the fact that Columbus was in Spanish employ was a coincidence as he had pitched his ideas to several other powers first.
So Spain was certainly not looking for new horizons of conquest in 1492, at least not any more than other other power. A convergence of contingencies resulted in Columbus discovering the Americas for Spain, rather than for any other power as might easily have happened.
Nonetheless, since it was Spain, the legacy of the Reconquista was an important driver for Spanish colonization of the New World, and this expansion of the frontier that began against the Muslims was continued across the Atlantic, and, as I recently realized, across the Pacific too.
An indication of this can be seen in the words the Spaniards chose to describe the Muslims of the Philippines, Moros and Alardes, Moors and Arabs, suggesting that they perceived this as a continuation of the Reconquista in distant regions.
In 1898 William Graham Sumner published his famous anti-imperialist diatribe denouncing US expansion, stating that the US would become anemic and weak as did Spain.
Sumner's suggestion that the US empire was built on the bones of the Spanish Empire was, perhaps, more accurate than he intended. Turner's frontier was, after all, largely located in areas the Spanish had explored and claimed long before.
Traditional historiography (though again open to debate) has long claimed that Turner's closing of the frontier in 1893 motivated Americans to expand the frontier across the Pacific, to the China market and the Open Door.
Here again the US was following in the footsteps of the Spanish long before. Could the frontier thesis be applied to Spain in her insatiable exploration for new lands in the Americas and across the Pacific?
Perhaps this extended introduction is improper because this book does not really address this question, I suspect I would find more useful information in Oskar Spate's trilogy.
This book does however provide a solid grounding for Spanish activities in the Pacific, and some interesting suggestions. For example Buschmann contends that the Spanish did not view the Pacific as an independent entity, but as an extension of the Americas.
We learn that Spain's position here was long protected by distance and remoteness from power centers in Europe. As Spain controlled the entire Pacific coast of the Americas, or at least denied it to anyone else, her position here was quite strong, in contrast with that in the Caribbean.
Chapter 2 is devoted to these subjects, the geopolitical context of the Pacific under Spanish rule and attempts by other European powers to penetrate the ocean or undermine Spanish power there.
Chapter 3 deals with an interesting examination of the Philippines under Spanish rule. These islands were very weakly held, and the Spanish sometimes curtailed and sometimes encouraged Chinese migration, resulting in a large population of Chinese mestizos who were regarded as strong supports for the Spanish administration.
This is fascinating because there were very few actual Spaniards, and another interesting insight is that the Philippines were governed more as an extension of Mexico (or New Spain, rather) than as colonies in their own right. It was not until the Bourbon Reforms when the Philippines were brought under direct Spanish control in Madrid, rather than ruled effectively from Mexico City.
This chapter notes that the Philippines were practically undefended when the British took over in 1762, but that after this shock the Spanish organized the Chinese mestizos into an effective auxiliary force, and many of these men participated in the guerrilla waged against the British until 1764.
Chapter 4 deals with Guam and the Marianas, and to what extent Spanish culture can still be seen in the language and customs of the Chamorro. This concentrates on what the authors refer to as Archipelagic Hispanization, and, though interesting in its own right, I felt was kind of awkwardly juxtaposed with the earlier chapters.
The epilogue sums everything up nicely, and provides some key information on Spain's failure to Hispanize her Pacific possessions to the same extent as her American possessions.
I had tried to draw up some potential reasons for this, including sparsity of actual Spaniards in the Pacific, and I had considered that continued Spanish rule had perhaps even retarded this development because in the Americas the new Latin American states imposed nationalist programs intending to teach all children Spanish. Many of them did not yet know it, and so Latin America followed similar patterns as nationalism in Europe where a streamlined national language was imposed on the population.
It could be the case that Spain remained too weak to attempt this in the Philippines, and any independent government that might have tried was never allowed to emerge. And, unlike in the Americas, the Philippines transitioned directly from Spanish rule to the rule of another colonial power, and the United States was hardly going to implement of a policy of teaching all pupils to speak Spanish.
Unfortunately this is not dealt with, but other suggestions emerge. The lack of Spaniards and the large presence of Chinese for example, and the ironic alienation of the native population from Spanish rule by the policies favoring the Chinese, the absence of large conurbations, and the failure of disease to reduce the Filipinos at it had the Native Americans.
These are all interesting insights, and there are a great number of sources cited to follow up these questions and more. I consider this work a great introduction to the Spanish Pacific experience, quickly covering key points like explorers, the Nootka Controversy, the Malaspina Expedition, and so on.
I was a bit disappointed that no mention was made of a truly fascinating trans-Pacific phenomenon that I looked into myself in a few articles and papers. This was the spread of lambonag, what the Spaniards called vino de coco, to the New World.
Lambonag is a traditional liquor distilled from coconuts whose production in the Philippines long preceded the arrival of the Spanish. Filipinos brought to Mexico introduced the liquor and the techniques to make it, which became wildly popular in Mexico.
Since this created stiff competition with traditional alcohols made in Spain, like wine, brandy, aguardiente, etc the Spanish colonial authorities banned it. But this was not the end of the story, however.
Using Filipino-style copper and clay stills, the people of Mexico were able to make alcohol out of the local agave plant which became mezcal, and its numerous variations like the ever-popular tequila. This is a minor but extraordinary (and fun!) by-product of Spanish Pacific colonization and I invite any reader of this review to look into it. Those who enjoy a shot of tequila on occasion can reflect that the drink is a result of the contacts Spain established between Mexico and the Philippines many centuries ago.
This book doesn't take long to read and will provide a springboard for those interested in pursuing this subject further.
July 30, 2018
Excellent, slim history of Spain's Pacific empire. The book also calls into question the Eurocentric schematic of "Atlantic world", since 75% of wealth from the Americas actually crossed the Pacific.
Four chapters that seem to have arisen from a conference panel. An introduction and epilogue.
Chapter 1: a macro historical examination of how the Spanish conceived and made real their "lake."
Chapter 2: How, as opposed to the English and Dutch, the Spanish considered their Pacific as part of the greater Americas, a defensive perimeter. Whereas the Northern Europeans viewed the Pacific as a scientifically and anthropologically "new" system of islands, Humboldt later gave are credence to Spanish geographers and officials for having been there, almost every island, first. One of the first names of the Big Island of Hawaii, if I am reading this correctly, was "la mesa"! Two hundred years before that git, Captain Cook. This chapter also has a brief history of how Pacific expansion and exploration gave impulse to setting up the Archivo de las Indias in Seville, one of the world's great archival repositories.
Chapter 3 discusses the militarization of Manila which relied heavily on Mestizo officers and soldiers. Here, as in other histories, the military provides a social leveler.
Chapter 4 is the nearly 400-year history of Guam as a Spanish island.
Archipelagic Hispanization. But Mexico functioned as a metropole, therefore "archipelagic Mexicanization" in the Asian Pacific: tamales, achiote, cacao, champurrados, all made their way, along with silver and tobacco, to the Philippines.
Excellent work with good histories of Spanish colonial processes of administration, acculturation, indoctrination, and more.
Trivia:
Guayabera comes from China, not Cuba or Yucatan.
Escabeche is from the Arabic by way of Persian.
Four chapters that seem to have arisen from a conference panel. An introduction and epilogue.
Chapter 1: a macro historical examination of how the Spanish conceived and made real their "lake."
Chapter 2: How, as opposed to the English and Dutch, the Spanish considered their Pacific as part of the greater Americas, a defensive perimeter. Whereas the Northern Europeans viewed the Pacific as a scientifically and anthropologically "new" system of islands, Humboldt later gave are credence to Spanish geographers and officials for having been there, almost every island, first. One of the first names of the Big Island of Hawaii, if I am reading this correctly, was "la mesa"! Two hundred years before that git, Captain Cook. This chapter also has a brief history of how Pacific expansion and exploration gave impulse to setting up the Archivo de las Indias in Seville, one of the world's great archival repositories.
Chapter 3 discusses the militarization of Manila which relied heavily on Mestizo officers and soldiers. Here, as in other histories, the military provides a social leveler.
Chapter 4 is the nearly 400-year history of Guam as a Spanish island.
Archipelagic Hispanization. But Mexico functioned as a metropole, therefore "archipelagic Mexicanization" in the Asian Pacific: tamales, achiote, cacao, champurrados, all made their way, along with silver and tobacco, to the Philippines.
Excellent work with good histories of Spanish colonial processes of administration, acculturation, indoctrination, and more.
Trivia:
Guayabera comes from China, not Cuba or Yucatan.
Escabeche is from the Arabic by way of Persian.
May 31, 2023
This is an excellent short, but detailed history of Spanish exploration of the Pacific Ocean beginning in 1521. There is actually very little in the book about the 19th Century. The importance of the Pacific possessions waned with the independence of Mexico. The book explains how and why the exploration patterns were established. It concentrates on the Philippines and covers importance of the mestizos de sangley (Chinese-Fiipinos) community to the security of the archipelago. The short chapter on the Marianas focuses on the background for etymology of Guamian family names. If you want to understand the reasons behind Spain's colonization of the Pacific this is a very good place to start.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews