Surveying in the viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

Abstract

When Columbus set sail from the port of Palos, he had no notion that he would discover a new continent, as his course and ambition were centred on the spices found in present-day India and the Moluccas. The American continent stood in his way, and this unforeseen event altered Spain’s political objectives: pepper and nutmeg were soon replaced by gold. Thus, efforts shifted towards the discovery, conquest, and colonisation of a new world. From the earliest stages of colonisation in our lands, the establishment of settlements became a necessity. In rural areas, the need to work the land required its distribution among the first settlers, which in turn led to the surveying of vast tracts of territory. For this reason, the role of the surveyor has been pivotal since the outset of Spanish rule. Those initially tasked with such operations were not formally trained surveyors, but rather seafarers and military personnel who had arrived in the New World, and who, owing to their basic technical knowledge, were entrusted with carrying out those early surveying activities.

From the beginning of the colonization of our lands, the formation of populated centers was necessary. In rural areas, the need to work the land required the distribution of those among the first settlers. And with it the need to measure large areas of the field. For this reason, the work of the Surveyor has been intense, since the beginning of Spanish rule. In the beginning, those in charge of carrying out this task were not titled Surveyors but the Sea Pilots and the Military who came to the New World, who were in charge of executing those first Surveying operations, because they had basic related knowledge.