En los confines de la soberanía. Esmeraldas, siglos XVI-XIX

The integration of a frontier society, the north-western province of Esmeraldas (Ecuador), into the colonial and national space is at the centre of this essay. Whereas the first part explains how this space was shaped in colonial times and why it can be defined as a frontier society, the second one focuses on the mechanisms that allow its subordination to the Quito Audiencia and later to the national state during the period of the imperial crisis and independence wars. It is not a process implying conflicts and colonisation efforts, but agreements and negotiations between state authorities and local groups.