Indigenous Knowledge and Frontier Science: Circulation of Knowledge in the Luso-Spanish Border Demarcations in South America (18th Century)

Abstract

This article analyzes the contribution of Indigenous peoples to the territorial configuration of South America in the context of border demarcations carried out by Luso-Spanish commissions, so-called Partidas de Limites, in the eighteenth century. Based on cartographic sources, manuscripts, and travel diaries from the Partidas de Limites, the text highlights modes of appropriation and silencing of local knowledge by European engineers and astronomers, but also how knowledge circulated in ways that demonstrate indigenous agency. Dialoguing with the History of Science and Indigenous History, it argues that Indigenous individuals not only provided technical support to the commissions but also offered fundamental knowledge concerning geography, river navigation, and toponymy. Special emphasis is given to the role of figures such as Francisco Xavier Arirapi, whose expertise was decisive in resolving geographical disputes. By shedding light on these interactions, the article proposes a critical reinterpretation of the processes involved in the production of colonial scientific knowledge.