The Failed Sixteenth Century Spanish Colonizing Expeditions to the Solomon Islands, Southwest Pacific: The Archaeologies of Settlement Process and Indigenous Agency

Abstract

Studies of early modern colonialism have tended to view the growth of the Spanish empire into the Americas and eventually into the fringes of Asia as a largely successful enterprise, with archaeological interest usually focused on the nature and operation of established settlements, including interactions with indigenous groups (Van Buren 2010). There were, however, instances where Spanish colonial endeavors failed as a result of poor preparation and implementation of colonizing strategies, failure to cope with new environments, hostile interactions with indigenous groups, or as a consequence of internal political troubles and unrealistic expectations within the colonizing group (Gasco 2005, p. 70). Exploration of those situations of unsuccessful colonization provides us with a greater sense of the diversity of colonizing experiences, extending beyond the current monolithic view of the Spanish empire.