Africa and the Atlantic through the Canary Islands during the Portuguese Integration into the Hispanic Monarchy: Frontier Spaces and Atlantic Construction

Abstract

This research considers how the African continent’s transatlantic socioeconomic relations developed during the period of the Portuguese integration into the Hispanic monarchy. This paper sets out to examine Africa’s engagement in transoceanic dynamics during consolidation of the Atlantic world based on the analysis, as an object of study, of the Macaronesian islands as a link between the neighbouring continent and the surrounding territories. The purpose of this research, based on the analysis of contemporary documentary sources and on historiographic criticism, is to explore the cross-border relations that connected Atlantic Africa with other oceanic territories through transnational trading networks.