THE CITY-RIVER PARADIGM IN THE PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH EMPIRES. Belém and Valdivia in the 17th century

Abstract

In the early 17th century, Portugal and Spain shared territory and enemies, with Portugal experiencing previously peaceful countries such as Holland and England as threats to its colonies and trade and Spain experiencing attacks from the English and Dutch in its overseas colonies. Loosely consolidated colonial cities were established to consolidate footholds in under-exploited territories and for the defense of these territories. The foundation and maintenance of these cities were subject to the intervention of military and military engineers, aiming this article to understand the urban form resulting from this action, using urban morphology as a discipline of analysis. Although they do not correspond exactly, by analyzing the layouts of both cities, we realize that they are characterized by similar principles, such as orthogonality and the proximity of the main squares near the river, as well as the role of natural obstacles as boundaries and defense. Although the physical distance between the two cities is considerable, the Portuguese and Spanish intentions and layouts converged in a typology identified by us here.

Keywords: Iberoamerican Cities; Colonial History; Belém; Valdivia.