Colonial Period at the Pearl Islands, Panama: an approach

Abstract

The aim of this report is to expose the results obtained in a research based on the recompilation, systematization and preliminary analysis of the colonial documents founded at the Archivo General de Indias (Seville) about the Pearl Islands (Panama). Two principal contexts are described: one of them, related with the moment of Spaniards arrival to the archipelago, and the other one, related with the historical process experimented by the islands until the Latin American’s colonies emancipation. During this second context it is proposed a construction of seven units of time (periods). The relevance of an historical approach resides in the necessity of understanding the heritage as another possible resource. During the recent years it has become important the studies related to the social and environmental impact of this geographical unit as a potential turistical-residential destiny.