This thesis investigates the significant role that the Venetian humanist Vettor Fausto (1490-1546), professor of Greek at the School of Saint Mark, played during the first half of the 16th century in Venetian naval architecture. Early in the 16th century, the maritime power of Venice was seriously threatened by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman II in the East and by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in the West. In order to regain its naval power in the Mediterranean, the Republic of Venice strongly encouraged Venetian shipwrights to submit new designs for war galleys. The undisputed founder and champion of this naval program was not a skilled shipwright but a young professor of Greek in the School of Saint Mark named Vettor Fausto, who in the heat of this renewal programme, proposed “marine architecture” as a new scientia. In 1529, Vettor Fausto built a quinqueremis whose design, he claimed, was based upon the quinquereme “used by the Romans during their wars” and that he had derived the shipbuilding proportions “from the most ancient Greek manuscripts.” The recovery of Classical traditions resulted in major changes in many fields. It included shipbuilding practices as well, especially after Fausto introduced in the Venetian Arsenal a new scientia, that of “marine architecture”, in opposition to the fabrilis peritia, the empirical shipbuilding practice. This work examines several Renaissance sources and archival material in order to illuminate the technical features and the design of Fausto’s quinquereme. Based on the study of the anonymous 16th-century Venetian manuscript Misure di vascelli etc. di…proto dell’Arsenale di Venetia from the State Archive of Venice, this thesis presents a general overview of Fausto’s life and his cultural background in order to better understand the humanistic foundations that led him to propose the construction of the quinquereme. Also presented in this thesis is a theoretical reconstruction of Fausto’s quinquereme and the suggestion that the shipbuilding instructions contained in the anonymous manuscript are connected to the work of Fausto in the Venetian Arsenal.

This dissertation charts the social interactions, work experiences, and routes traveled by Asian workers within and between the colonial Philippines and Mexico between 1571 and 1720. Residents of early colonial Mexico called these workers chinos. Most free chinos were Filipinos, but enslaved chinos had origins all over Asia. Chinos crossed the Pacific on the Manila galleons, which sailed between the Philippines and Mexico. These ships facilitated the exchange of American products, mostly silver, for Asian products, primarily textiles. This study explores the social and spatial mobility of chinos to show how trade between and within the Americas and Asia opened a new chapter in the social history of the early modern world. This project expands the study of Latin American history in three ways. First, it analyzes the ways in which chinos, especially Filipinos, created and sustained colonial Mexico as part of a Pacific world, advancing scholarship that already celebrates Mexico as part of an Atlantic world. Next, this work develops the study of economic history by comparing the ways that chinos shaped and connected different regions of colonial Mexico by employing Southeast Asian labor organization and technology. Thirdly, this dissertation refines studies of ethnicity by considering the ways that chinos, especially free laborers, represented themselves as members of a new corporate group in colonial Mexico, and appropriated the ethnic category of "indio," originally established for indigenous people in the Americas. They used these categories to claim resources from the colonial state, to form social networks, and to create bases for collective action. This work advances the field of early modern global and world history. It analyzes the Philippines and Pacific New Spain as arenas of cross-cultural interaction, labor, migration, and production in their own right, rather than as mere commercial intermediaries mediating between East Asia and the Americas. Finally, this work considers the ways that the long history of interactions between Island Southeast Asia and the rest of Asia shaped the mobility of chinos, while also situating their trans-Pacific interactions within the institutions of the global tributary empire of the Spanish Habsburgs.

The Spanish colonisation of the Philippines in 1565 opened up trade between China, Latin America and Europe via the Pacific crossing, changing the history of global trade forever. The traditional understanding of the early colonial period in the Philippines suggests that colonial control spread rapidly and peacefully across the islands, ushering in dramatic changes to the social, political and economic environment of the archipelago. This dissertation argues by contrast that the extent of Spanish control has been overstated - partially as a by-product of an over-reliance on religious and secular chronicles that sought to magnify the role and interests of the colonial state. Through extensive archival work examining different sites of colonial authority and power, I demonstrate that Philippine communities contested and limited the nature of colonisation in their archipelago. In making this argument, I challenge prevalent assumptions of indigenous passivity in the face of imperial expansion. By demonstrating the agency of Southeast Asians, particular actors come to the fore in each of the chapters: Chinese labourers, indigenous elites, fugitives and apostates, unpacified mountain communities, native priestesses and Moro slave raiders. The culture and social organisation of these Southeast Asian communities impacted on the nature of Spanish imperialism and the capacity for the Spanish to retain and extend their control. Throughout the seventeenth century, the Spanish presence within the archipelago was always tenuous. A number of communities remained outside of Spanish control for the duration of the century, while still others oscillated between integration and rebellion, by turns participating in and resisting the consolidation of empire. These communities continued to maintain their local and regional economies and customs. Thus, by the end of the seventeenth century, imperial control remained fragmented, partial and incomplete. The dissertation contributes not only to the historiography of the Philippines - which remains under-explored - but also to the historiographies of Colonial Latin America, Southeast Asia and early modern empires. Conceptualising the Philippines as a frontier space helps to overturn the foundations of the myth of a completed conquest. This dissertation thus raises questions about the inevitability of empire by arguing that indigenous communities were active respondents to Spanish colonisation attempts and that indigenous traditions and culture in this region were both resilient and enduring in the face of colonial oppression.

Beginning in the 16th century, the Isthmus of Panama was identified as a region of strategic importance. Although mountainous and prone to adverse weather, it provided the most direct route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. During this period the Isthmus served as the primary route for the shipments of silver and gold extracted from the mines of Peru. The bullion was transported via coastal armadas from Peru to Panamá la Vieja, where it was loaded onto pack mules and hauled across the Isthmus to Nombre de Dios until 1597, and after that to Portobelo. Once the bullion arrived at the Caribbean port cities it was transferred to the ships of the Armada de la Guardia de la Carrera de Indias and shipped across the Atlantic to the royal coffers of Spain. Because of the Isthmus’s role in the transportation of valuable commodities, it quickly became a region prone to attacks by pirates and privateers looking to profit from the plunder of Spanish assets. Thus the Spanish crown began a campaign to defend the Isthmus early on and repeatedly adapted its defensive strategy in order to meet the ever-changing tactics of the pirates and privateers. This thesis investigates the history of the Isthmus of Panama and the ways in which Spain defended this strategically significant locale during the 16th century. It incorporates an historical analysis of the tactics planned, ordered, and executed by the crown; an overview of the most relevant structural remains of the fortifications built during this period; and a synopsis of previous archaeological investigations, as well as the prospects of future archaeological research. The thesis begins with a brief history of the three main cities located on the Isthmus as well as a general description of the geography and climate in order to better explain the challenges faced by the inhabitants, soldiers, and attackers in this region. It then discusses the strategic importance of the Isthmus as it was perceived in the 16th century. Since defense would not have been necessary had it not been for the presence of pirates and privateers, the history of attacks on the Isthmus is discussed, and a general overview of piracy in the Spanish Main during the period under analysis is presented. Lastly, the archaeological work previously undertaken in the region is examined and summarized, and recommendations for further research are provided in an effort to provide a basis for future study of the ships and infrastructure used during this era for the defense of the Isthmus of Panama.

The Portuguese galleon, the São João, is one of the greatest enigmas in South African maritime history, not only because so little is known about its cargo, passengers and crew, but also because the location of the wreck has puzzled researchers from the early 20th century until the present. The aim of the Port Edward Project 2001-2003 was to assess both documentary and physical material pertaining to the wreck, to throw more light on the location of the wreck site and survivor camp because this ship is an important part of South Africa’s maritime history as it was the first cargo ship wrecked along the country’s coastline. Many researchers believe it was one of the most richly laden ships to have left India since it was discovered. To begin with all available sources containing reference to the São João and the events surrounding its wrecking were investigated. This established a historical archaeological standard for dating and identification of Portuguese shipwrecks along the South African coast. A chronological examination of the extent of documentary sources resulted in an archaeological underwater and land survey in the area where the greatest concentrations of artefacts are still found today. This geographic area was within a defined zone within the municipal area of Port Shepston. Investigations were limited to a stretch of coast and adjacent inland area between the town of Port Edward, more specifically Tragedy Hill, and the Kuboboyi River. The archaeological material investigated: includes: Chinese porcelain shards, cowrie shells, cornelian beads, pepper and cannons. To prevent reiterating previous investigator’s research a survey was conducted to determine what scientific research has been done on the archaeological material. The actual location of the campsite has not been indisputably determined. It became evident that some research has been done to identify this important site but always only up to a certain point where some uncertainty still remains. This uncertainty is the result of certain factors. Firstly, Tim Maggs only positively identified the wreck site in the early 1980’s. Secondly, great amounts of agricultural activity have been reported in the area and thirdly the survivors only camped for twelve days, which limits the possibility of finding any material. In order to assist in locating this elusive site, the descriptions and details of other Portuguese campsites were investigated. From this it was possible to construct a virtual picture of the survivor camp by comparing the survivor’s account and the known characteristics of Portuguese survivor camps with the artefacts found and geography of the Port Edward area. The chronological examination of documentary sources, the comparison of other Portuguese survivor campsites, the artefacts found in Port Edward and the geography of the area led to the following conclusions: it can be said with a reasonable amount of certainty that the site in Port Edward is that of the São João. A site which demonstrates Portuguese campsite characteristics, where great concentrations of pepper have been found, was identified. It has been established that the partnership with historical documentation and archaeology gives this project the option of taking the investigations further. The virtual scenario assists in reducing the possibilities and refining the focus as opposed to merely terminating the search. It is recommended that specialized equipment be used for future underwater research since the sea conditions are harsh and dangerous. Tough the possible location of the survivor camp was established further excavations might reveal more about the construction of the camp. / Dissertation (MA (cultural history))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Historical and Heritage Studies / unrestricted