Jesuit ranches heritage of nueva Andalucía and territory articulation. A case for management, preservation and reactivation

1 Scientific Journal of Applied Social and Clinical Science ISSN 2764-2216 DOI https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2164112420056 v. 4, n. 11, 2024 All content in this magazine is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Attribution-Non-Commercial-Non- Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Scientific Journal of Applied Social and Clinical Science JESUIT RANCHES HERITAGE OF NUEVA ANDALUCÍA AND TERRITORY ARTICULATION. A CASE FOR MANAGEMENT, PRESERVATION AND REACTIVATION Saborido-Forster Gustavo-Adolfo International Doctoral School, Universidad de Sevilla https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0546-7729 Mosquera-Adell Eduardo ETSA, Univ. de Sevilla https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4079-0284 https://investigacion.us.es/sisius/sis_ showpub.php?idpers=5276 Ponce-Ortiz Mercedes ETSA, Univ. de Sevilla https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8958-7615 https://investigacion.us.es/sisius/sis_ showpub.php?idpers=3031 2 Scientific Journal of Applied Social and Clinical Science ISSN 2764-2216 DOI https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2164112420056 Abstract: This work addresses the study of Spanish-American heritage in 17th century Jesuit ranches in Córdoba of Nueva Andalucía, and their territory articulation, with reference to Andalusian counterparts. We aim to evaluate the development of the settlements, the heritage continuity from the Hispanic peninsular aspect, vernacular cultural elements in their establishment and the characterization of the support environment. We seek to research into management mechanisms to reactivate the objects of study and their territory. We used a mixed methodology with studies of: comparative historical patterns of peninsular and American territories; founding backgrounds; territorial analysis through GIS systems; comparative studies of Jesuit establishments in Europe and America; productive systems of Jesuit haciendas and estancias; and resulting architectural developments. Finally, the heritage significance to date, with an understanding of Jesuit decadence factors, is analysed. The large Jesuit territory in Córdoba of Nueva Andalucía [today Argentina] controlled the South American hinterland as geopolitical hub through which passengers and merchandise crossed on the Potosí - Buenos Aires route, and towards Lima, Guayrá and Chile, where the Society of Jesus was. The conditions of the region replicated those of Andalusia and became a familiar framework for the conquerors, who were native of that region. The territory additionally met the conditions sought by the Jesuit fathers for their foundations. The Jesuit settlements followed the Crown’s policies regarding evangelization of indigenous peoples but were also based on objectives of territorial occupation and liaison with European centres [Seville, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz, etc.]. Jesuit heritage, nowadays recognized by UNESCO, is essentially monumental. However, the importance of the supporting territory, plus the cultural landscape, essential items of the heritage baggage, need to be valued, listed and catalogued. A rational structuring of these heritage elements within an updated management framework would allow more rigorous and profound actions for future conservation and reactivation. Keywords: “Jesuit ranches, Nueva Andalucía territory, Royal roads, Heritage management and technology” INTRODUCTION After the first discovery voyages, the conquest and evangelization of the West Indies [America] was identified by territorial occupations from different exploration streams. The most significant ones in the Central American region, which formed New Spain with 75% of the North American territory. The Royal Roads play a significant role in this process, being structured on the traces of pre-Hispanic articulation routes. The capitulations of Charles I in 1534 delimit the West Indian territories to the south, including those of Tierra Firme, Nueva Castilla, Nueva Toledo, Nueva Andalucia, Nueva León and Sancho de la Hoz. Afterwards they would become the Viceroyalties of: New Granada, Peru and the River Plate [Río de la Plata] “Figure 1”. 3 Scientific Journal of Applied Social and Clinical Science ISSN 2764-2216 DOI https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2164112420056 Figure 1: Capitulations of Charles I, 1534- 1539. Source: own work. Figure 2: Current Hispanic American territory. Source: own work. To the conquest streams from the northwest towards the south, those by sea, from the east, must be added. In the case of Paraguay crossing the jungle from the ocean. In 1536 a Royal post was established on the western bank of the River Plate [Río de la Plata], which was destroyed by the indigenous peoples. But this establishes the link with the streams that were advancing in the opposite direction. Crown officials sought this to achieve a fluid transit of people, armies and goods through the new territories, and to and from Andalusia. They sent expeditions from Peru to cross the South American “hinterland” towards the River Plate [del Plata] estuary, and then to Seville. Starting in 1573, the heart of New Andalusia, today’s Córdoba [Arg.] was established. The region had been a tributary of the Inca Empire and there were two indigenous tribes: the Comechingones and the Sanavirones; these related to the Inca power and the Upper Peru “Figure 2”. This development had the likeness of the colonizing and trading streams of the southern Iberian Peninsula from the 8th century BC. until the 13th century AD, where several civilizations left their mark on the territory as a base for future Jesuit agricultural and livestock establishments. The peninsular Reconquest streams give an impulse to, and are reflected in, the American Conquest streams as a continuity and then simultaneously. The architectures of both regions show the pattern of the process. THE HERITAGE CONCEPT Since the end of the last century, the heritage conception evolved towards a broad and diversified stance. The vision about heritage from the 19th century to the mid-20th century focused on the monumental. From that moment on, the stages of degradation and plunder gave rise to greater protection of the cultural asset: essentially architectural. But in the last two decades of the 20th century the discipline ventured into more exhaustive fields of action and research. There is a transition from monumental heritage to the broader artistic heritage and finally to the all-inclusive 4 Scientific Journal of Applied Social and Clinical Science ISSN 2764-2216 DOI https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2164112420056 cultural heritage. In a work on Spanish Jesuit haciendas [1], the author cites Julián Sobrino Simal and the term “cliodiversity” [2]. This is the heritage legacy interacting with the territory; that we consider in a framework of integrity, encompassing all the complexity of the asset in question. Thus we find cultural assets that transcend the material object and penetrate into the intangible, the social, the territorial and urban, the artistic, the productive. It also involves spatiotemporal analysis, not necessarily linear or rigidly stratified, but within a framework of concurrent multiplicity and superimposition. We identify in this context a duplicity in the heritage approach and its management. Especially in terms of political, socioeconomic and cultural factors; that arise from secessionist situations of the 19th century, divorcing heritage from its natural origin and trajectory. The monumental heritage, with an articulated history and management, and other heritage elements that do not seem to have the desirable prominence, nor the appropriate tools, nor the appropriate management framework. OBJECTIVES, METHODS AND DEVELOPMENT We seek to investigate the New-Andalusian Jesuit settlements as heritage continuity from the Spanish peninsular current, but integrated into the territory of articulation that influenced their establishment. We aim to characterize and understand that ambit of support; and analyze, through this, 1. In 1767 the Jesuit estrangement takes place as a result of Charles III’s Pragmatica. In a sudden, and sometimes violent action – not only for the direct protagonists, but for all those involved as well as the assets – all the Jesuits from the Spanish territories in Europe and America are expelled in a matter of days. The consequences of such an irrational action, especially with respect to heritage, were disastrous. The greatest and most profound socio-cultural experiment, perhaps in history, ever imitated, was disintegrated, and could never be recovered. One hundred and fifty years of development vanished, turning some cases into ruins that were swallowed by the jungle or diluted in businesses detrimental to the Crown and society. 2. In its 24th session of the year 2000, UNESCO included Jesuit establishments in the World Heritage list. This recognition is sometimes considered merely honorific and promotional. Unfortunately, it does not translate into financial or technical support that helps with the maintenance and management of such a unique heritage. The responsibility and burden is up to the administration. management mechanisms for the heritage conservation and its integral reactivation. We use a mixed methodology with studies of comparative historical patterns between Peninsular and American territories; foundational background and the correlation in the establishment of settlements, with the defining environmental features. In addition to the bibliographic contributions, we involve Geographic Information Systems [GIS] that we try to exploit for greater precision in the characterization of the territory to be revalued. We add comparative studies of Jesuit establishments in Europe and America; the productive devices of haciendas and ranches; and the resulting architectural development. The new-Andalusian region has its own specific characteristics; but also similarities with its Andalusian counterpart. Both develop in parallel. Among the former, the different political and legislative aspects of the European sphere stand out; and the post-estrangement development aspects1. The similarities, foundational and consistent elements for 150 years, are maintained, including territorial elements and articulation infrastructure. We currently count on a referenced monumental heritage, partly inventoried and catalogued; in certain instances also intervened. Administered by different jurisdictions, forming a collective identity, and also with international recognition2. But what happens with the other components of that “cliodiversity” that we mentioned? with the support territory and the environment? 5 Scientific Journal of Applied Social and Clinical Science ISSN 2764-2216 DOI https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2164112420056 With scattered material elements, some of an archaeological nature? And what is the status of the cultural landscapes, of the areas that we could classify as heritage? Or the infrastructure including the means of articulation – many of ancestral origin and deeply rooted in the social collective? In short, what happens to patrimonial integrity? Can we consider all this as heritage that has been sufficiently studied, protected and managed? We believe that not completely, and that it is necessary to consider technical-scientific mechanisms for its proper management and conservation, with the support of the structured Andalusian management as a framework of reference. HACIENDAS AND FARMHOUSES [CORTIJOS] IN ANDALUSIA Two agricultural and livestock typologies are predominant in Seville and the Andalusian territory: the haciendas and the farmhouses [cortijos]. Each one with the respective characteristics, with a specific function, evidenced through its architecture and the relationships with the territory, of its siting and its development. Based on various academic works, Álvaro Recio Mir [3] studies and explains the origins and characterization of these two typologies in the area of Carmona [Seville], from the Late Middle Ages and the Roman villas, which gave rise to the Arab farmhouses. during the Mohammedan domination. Recio Mir identifies the relationships of both typologies with specific production and communication needs to trade the produce. We find outlined here the relationship between the Old World and the New, where Andalusian olive oil went – to where it still goes today “Figures 3 and 4”. Figure 3: Hacienda San Fco. Javier de los Ángeles, Alcalá de Guadaíra, Seville. Source: own work on Google Earth image. Figure 4: Jesús María ranch [Arg.]. Source: own work. The haciendas concentrate oil production with some horse livestock on the establishments. For this reason they are located on quick access articulation and communication routes, to evacuate the production to the ports. The farmhouse, on the contrary, has a combination of cereal agriculture with pig farming and cattle in certain cases. The architecture of these establishments responds to both productive structures, the condition of the tasks and the owners. The social status is evident in the haciendas and the somewhat rustic practicality is evident in the farmhouses. In the former a certain typological containment, in the latter a more open and looser scheme. We are interested in considering the likeness of these configurations in New-Andalusian establishments beyond the ocean. 6 Scientific Journal of Applied Social and Clinical Science ISSN 2764-2216 DOI https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2164112420056 RANCHES IN NEW ANDALUSIA Other works have addressed the study of New-Andalusian ranches under the hypothesis of the continuity of Andalusian haciendas. But there are typological, territorial, functional and organizational elements of Andalusian farmhouses in them. This is also reflected in the extensions they covered. The research on Spanish haciendas in the New World [4] indicated that “hacienda” is a New Spain’s term later used in Andalusia [5] that later resumes its course in America. Estancia [ranch] is the designation used by the conquerors and the Crown [Charles III], given to these complexes in the south of the New World. The productive structures of the ranches vary with respect to the European counterpart. We neither find olive groves nor pigs. Yes, there was agricultural production according to the region, but not mostly cereal production. We do not find equine livestock and therefore stable buildings. In present-day Córdoba [Arg.] the main livestock were mules, coveted for their resistance and carrying capacity. The ranches supplied the Alto Perú market for the loading of mining extraction. The mules were transported in herds towards Potosí [Bolivia] and the territorial structure responded to that productive scheme. While in Andalusia the haciendas had areas of between 5 to 150 hectares and the farmhouses about 300 to 400 hectares, perhaps 500 hectares, a mule cattle producer like Santa Catalina de Alejandría in New Andalusia had 167,500 hectares; 67 l2. The forgotten San Ignacio had 324,000 hectares, or 129.6 l2. The new-Andalusian ranch territory covered a total of 956,200 ha, equivalent to more than 382 l2. We can compare this territory with the Doñana National Park in southern Andalusia, of 543,000 ha, or 217.2 l2. The new-Andalusian territory was 76% larger than Doñana! Only San Ignacio, one of the establishments, occupied an area equal to 60% of Doñana. Adding Santa Catalina we almost reach the territory of the Andalusian park “Figure 5” and “Table 1”. Figure 5: Ranches of Córdoba [Arg.] and Jesuit Block [1.7 ha]. Source: own work from diagram by Arch. L. Córsico. Table 1: Areas of ranches with Jesuit Block. Source: own work. (l2 = square leagues) The area is geographically larger. The territorial control of each establishment was carried out via management “posts”; like mini farmhouses. Santa Catalina ranch had 20 of them. Each one had its workforce of conchabados [day laborers] and slaves, with their ranch - a partly indigenous vernacular typology, continued in the Jesuit establishments. 7 Scientific Journal of Applied Social and Clinical Science ISSN 2764-2216 DOI https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2164112420056 THE SOCIETY OF JESUS, THE TERRITORY AND THE ARTICULATION WAYS. ANDALUSIA The selection of the territory was essential for the Jesuit foundations. The communication routes, the water basins, the fertility of the land, the agricultural and livestock potential, were determining factors. During the 16th century, the Society of Jesus was established in Andalusia and, in addition to Seville, one of the main centers of its action was the municipality of Carmona, located 30 km from the capital city in an east-northeast direction. In 1619 the Jesuit order founded the College of San Teodomiro in Carmona, through a donation from Don Pedro de Hoyos y Escamilla and his wife. The founders contribute the property of San Juan Bautista de la Atalaya, known as Hacienda de la Atalaya Alta. [6] This hacienda is contemporary with Santa Catalina de Alejandría in New Andalusia. Both for the development of Carmona and for this topic, the strategic position of the city and the municipal area stand out. Carmona is located on the old Vía Augusta that connects Córdoba with Seville, in an agricultural livestock region, “between lands of olive groves and vineyards.” Its location allows it to control from above the main communication routes and the three landscapes: the Alcores, the Vega plain to the south and the terraces to the north [7]. It is interesting to highlight this territorial context of the location of the Andalusian haciendas. NEW ANDALUSIA It is no coincidence then to find the Jesuit settlements of the New World also in important routes of communication and territorial articulation, which favored commercial traffic, as well as natural infrastructure networks. These territorial data have been able to be verified through GIS [tools]. A profile of the Córdoba region [Argentina] in the area of the Santa Catalina ranch allows us to appreciate the mountains falling towards the eastern plain. The northern latitude of the profile coincides with the Posta los Talas [Sarmiento] on the Camino Real al Alto Perú “Figures 6 and 7”. Figure 6: Camino Real to Alto Perú and its landmarks [Córdoba, Argentina]. Source: own work on Google Earth. Figure 7: GIS mountain territory of Cordoba [Arg.], 30¨ 46’ - 31° lat south and 63° 53’- 64° 30’ long west. Source: own work. With particular characteristics corresponding to the new environment, the Society of Jesus develops its Neoandalusian establishments 8 Scientific Journal of Applied Social and Clinical Science ISSN 2764-2216 DOI https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2164112420056 under the same principles as in Andalusia. The arrival of the Jesuit fathers coincides with the abolition of the encomiendas, and they lose their income. They then establish an economic apparatus to sustain the evangelizing mission; they also partially maintained some of the 30 Guaranitic missions. America shows a conjunction of politicalstrategic objectives of the Crown - including the religious ones inherited from the Catholic Monarchs and the “Yndian” legislation - with those of the Society of Jesus. The territorial occupation and the consolidation of the advances made by the Adelantados were vital. Philip II replaces the military conquest with an “army of friars and teachers” [8]. The congregation plays a significant role in this scheme. The administration seeks to “open the land” and an exit from the mining region of Upper Peru towards the Ethiopian Sea [Atlantic Ocean]; the connection to Andalusia, specifically Seville. Jerónimo de Cabrera founded the city of Córdoba in New Andalusia in 1573 on the Suquía or First River, in the link region between Alto Perú and the Río de la Plata. The Inca Trail “Figure 6” ran through it – an Indian “Vía Augusta”, the area of the Alcores in the South American mountains – which would make up the Camino Real al Alto Perú or Carrera de Postas [9]. The territory, in the eastern foothills of the mountains – a plain of the Vega – had numerous water courses and was suitable for agriculture and livestock [10]. The Society of Jesus founded 6 establishments there, plus the Jesuit Block of the city, with the Convictory of Our Lady of Monserrat. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES Once the Sevillian Reconquest was consolidated by San Fernando III and his armies, the Arab farmhouses began their transition towards the haciendas and farmhouses of the Late Middle Ages. The establishments pass into the hands of the Castilian nobility, merchants and ecclesiastical institutions [11]. In certain haciendas, such as San Juan Bautista de la Atalaya [Carmona], San Javier de los Ángeles [Alcalá de Guadaíra], San Ignacio de Torrequemada [Bollullos de la Mitación] and San Ignacio [Castilleja de la Cuesta] the Society of Jesus becomes the owner during the 17th and 18th centuries until the estrangement [1767]. That of Torrequemada is acquired by the [Jesuit] Province of Chile. The Jesuit settlements in Seville and surrounding areas are located at strategic points for production and marketing. But they show the close relationship between the productive and the ecclesiastical or formative function of the order. San Francisco Javier de los Ángeles “Figure 3”, for example, provided support for the novitiate of San Luis de los Franceses in Seville city itself. Santa Catalina de Alejandría, 70 km NNW of the city of Córdoba [Arg.] with its 167,500 hectares and mule livestock, belonged to the Novitiate and provided for its sustenance. San Ignacio, the first mule livestock ranch, was a retreat house [12]. The remaining ranches were complemented with livestock and agricultural production of various kinds. Jesús María, 50 km north of Córdoba [Arg.], specialized in wine crops in the style of Andalusian farmhouses “Figure 4”. The Andalusian Jesuit territory was generally limited with a certain concentration, and not too distant sites; with ease of management and relatively fast interaction. The territory can be conceived as a mixture of east-west linearity and focused compactness depending on whether we take haciendas or farmhouses. In Seville we are talking about a total area of 100,000 hectares with a perimeter of 125 km. New-Andalusian establishments show ample territories, considerable distances and a complex, but no less innovative, management mechanism. The Society of Jesus was a 9 Scientific Journal of Applied Social and Clinical Science ISSN 2764-2216 DOI https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2164112420056 multifaceted, specialized and highly efficient conglomerate for the management of such an operation and territory. Territory structured in a north-south direction with the Camino Real, or its current layout, as the backbone. The total area of the ranches was more than 900,000 hectares. With the support territory we can talk about 4 to 5 million hectares, in a perimeter of about 1,000 km. THE CONTEMPORARY LEGAL FRAMEWORK – ANDALUSIA AND NEW ANDALUSIA Formerly two regions of the Hispanic Monarchy. Today two jurisdictions with different approaches towards the heritage issue and regarding the concept of cultural heritage. Even though, given globalization, both jurisdictions theoretically rely on similar concepts, the practice and legal framework of each area impose different management dynamics. Socioeconomic realities condition both regions; and even more so the American one with limited resources. To a large extent there is also legislation there that is somewhat obsolete, from the mid-20th century, which is beginning to be partially updated; although with tangential and non-structural instruments. TECHNOLOGIES FOR RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT Geographic Information Systems for territorial study, its planning and management allowed numerous analytical variables to be visualized [13]. To better understand the areas of work we used two platforms, a commercial one [ArcGIS] and an open one [gvSIG]. We have cartography and 3D modeling in both areas of study, comprising various assets and territories “Figure 8”. Although not covered here, terrestrial scanning would complement the GIS study. Limited to the territorial aspect, HBIM [heritage modeling] is another additional tool. And we seek to use terrestrial or aerial photogrammetry via drones, as more appropriate for heritage. We explore options in the American research ambit. In “Table 2” we detail systems that we have worked with and/or are in the process of using, with their characteristics. Figure 8: GIS; topography of Neoandalusian ranches. Source: own work. Table 2: Available technology. Source: own work. CONTRIBUTIONS AND RESULTS The work addresses the Jesuit heritage issue of New Andalusia considering its material components, but from the territorial aspect that supports them and provides them with the frame of reference. We start from analogies in European headquarters, which provides unprecedented added value to the research. We consider that this is an enriching vision not explored until now, and presents a scientific-technical potential, especially for the reactivation and management of heritage, focused mainly on the material monumental.