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Very powerful lord /
/Balthazar de Alcozer, in the name of María de Cota, /
of black color and a free woman staying in Seville, says /
that the above said one was born and is a native of the city of /
Santo Domingo of the Española island of the Indies, /
Province of Peru [sic], where she has property /
and more comfort to be able to live in the said Province /
than in Spain since she is a native of there.
[She] implores and supplicates your highness to mandate that /
a license be given to her to travel to the said city of Santo /
Domingo, Province of Peru, with a daughter that /
She has, to whom she gave birth and was born in the said Province of /
Santo Domingo while she [María] was there. Since for this she offers /
to present an account before the judges and officials that your /
highness has at the Casa de la Contratación of Seville /
on how she is a free woman and natives herself and her daughter of the /
said Province and had come from it to these areas /
in which you should receive favor /
[Rubric] Baltasar de Alcocer [Rubric] /
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María de Cota of black color
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Passenger Seville, July 2nd of 1580 /
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In the very noble and very loyal city /
of Seville, Saturday, two days of the /
month of July of one thousand and five hundred eighty /
years, before me Marco Antonio de /
Alfaro, public notary of Seville, and witnesses signed below, appeared present /
María de Cota, of black color, and presented a/
writing requesting an action from the /
señor licenciado Juan de Aguilera, lieutenant /
Assistant in this city of Seville and /
its district by his majesty, whose content of the said writing /
is this one that fallows __________________ /
Illustrious señor, María de Cota, of black color, free /
woman, [ I ] say that I was born in the city of Santo /
Domingo of the Española island of the Indies /
and I came to this city with my mistress doña Barbola /
Solana, who let me free and freed, and thus /
by virtue of a clause of her testament /
I was freed and given freedom by don Alonso de Avellaneda /
her husband, as it shows in these documents /
which I am showing. And because I would want /
to travel to the Indies and for this it benefits me /
to give statement of the above said, and of how /
I am free and non-married, I beg and implore to your worship /
to mandate that statement is received of the above said /
and that an inquiry is given to me of it in public fashion to /
present it before his majesty and the señores of his /
council of the Indies, a for that, etcetera. And I beg /
justice and also say that I have a young girl /
my daughter of three years of age that was born in Santo /
Domingo. To your worship I beg and implore to do /
inquiry of how [she] is my daughter and was born /
in the said city of Santo Domingo, and to give it to me /
by testimony /
The said writing having been presented and seen by the /
said señor lieutenangt, [he] said that he was mandating /
and mandated that the said María de Cota /
presents the witnesses that she hopes to use, /
since he is ready to receive them /
and do justice. And [he] committed the receptions and /
exam of the witnesses to me the said public notary. And for /
that he gave me authority in due form. Witness, Gaspar /
de los Reyes and Blas de Carvajal, escrivano of Seville /
Marco Antonio de Alfaro, public notary of Seville. /
testigo
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And after the aforesaid, in this said day /
appeared the said María de Cota and [she] presented /
Hernando Lopes, market broker of this said city of Seville and /
Francisco Lopez Camargo, denizen of this said city, /
y don Alonso de Avellaneda /
as witnesses for the said purpose, from whom /
and from each one of them an oath /
was received in legal fashion. They promised /
to say the truth in what they knew /
and [what] they were asked about. And what the said witnesses /
and each one of them said and deposed /
is the following _________________ /
The said German Lopez, market broker and denizen /
of this city of Seville, witnessed presented /
for the said purpose, having sworn in legal fashion /
and being asked as per the content of the /
request, said that he knows the said María de Cota /
since twenty years ago, little more or less /
and that he knows that the said María de Cota was born in /
the city of Santo Domingo of the Española island /
of the Indies because this witness saw her arriving /
as a young girl from the said Indies at this city /
and then he learned and understood from doña
María de Arana, her mistress, who also arrived from /
the said Indies, how the said María /
de Cota had been born in Santo Domingo /
and that after doña Barbola, daughter of the said /
doña María, left her free and freed by her testament, /
under which she died. And this /
witness has seen the testament and letter of freedom /
that in accordance to this was issued by don Alonso /
de Avellaneda before Diego de la Barrera Farfan/
public notary of Seville, to which he refers, and that he knows /
that the said María de Cota for the said reason /
is free and freed and this witness considers and knows her /
as single and not-married, and if it were otherwise /
this witness would know it, and it could not be /
otherwise because of the great knowledge /
that he has of her. And he also knows that the /
said María de Cota has a girl daughter of /
three years of age, that he has heard to be /
true thing that she was born in Santo Domingo. And that this is /
the truth and he signed it and that he is of more /
than forty years of age. Hernando López, Marco Antonio de Almagro/
notary public of Seville )____________________ /
testigo
testigo /
The said Francisco López Camargo, denizen of this city of Seville /
in the parish of Santa María, having sworn in legal /
fashion and having been asked for the content of /
the said request, he said that he knows the said María de Cota, /
female black, since the said María de Cota came from the /
city of Santo Domingo of the Indies /
which may have been twenty years ago more or less, and that /
then he saw that the said María de Cota came /
with doña María e doña Barbola her daughter from the/
said city of Santo Domingo, and that back then /
he saw the said María de Cota [being] a very young girl and he/
knew and heard and understood from the said doña María and doña /
Barbola that she had been born and was born in the said /
City of santo Domingo, and that after /
the above said [females] passed away, as per their last will /
the said María de Cota was left free and freed. /
And don Alonso de Avellaneda, husband of the said doña /
Barbola bestowed her a letter of freedom /
before Diego de la Barrera Farfán /
public notary of Seville to which he refers, /
and that he deems and knows the said María de Cota /
as free and single and non-married. And that he knows /
a girl daughter of hers of three years of age named/
Madalena of whom he has heard was born /
in Santo Domingo, and that this is the truth and /
he signed it and [said] that he is of thirty years of age more /
or less. Franciso López, Marco Antonio /
de Alfaro, public notary of Seville _________ /
The said don Alonso de Avellaneda, denizen of this city of Seville,
in the parish of San Andrés, witness presented /
for the said purpose, having sworn in legal fashion /
and being asked about the content of the said /
request, said that he knows the said María de /
Cota since more than twenty years ago, and that /
he knows that the said María de Cota was born in the /
city of Santo Domingo of the Española island /
of the Indies because at the time that doña /
Barbola de Arana, to whom the said María de Cota belonged, /
Came from the said city of Santo Domingo /
to this city, [she] brought the said black female with her /
and this witness saw her, and afterwards this witness /
married the said doña Barbola de Arana and learned and /
understood from her how the said black female /
had been born in the said city of Santo Domingo /
and that later the said doña Barbola died /
and in her testament, under which she died /
she left free and freed the said María /
and this witness made and bestowed to her a letter of freedom /
before Diego de la Barrera Farfán /
and that he knows as well Madalena/
daughter of the said María, of three years /
of age who was born in Santo Domingo /
as well, and that this is the truth. And he signed it /
and [said] that he is of forty years of age more /
or less. Don Alonso de Avellaneda. Marco Antonio /
de Alfaro, notary public of Seville.
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And having the inquiry been done in the said manner that /
is said, the said señor lieutenant said that /
he was interposing and did interpose his authority /
and judicial decree and that he was mandating /
and mandated it to be valid and firm /
wherever it was to appear, and he mandated it/
to be issued as testimony to the said María /
de Cota, and following her request I, the said notary /
public, issued the present testimony as /
it happened before me. Which is done in the said city /
of Seville on the said day, month and year afore /
said, Gaspar de los Reyes and Blas de Carvajal, /
notary of Seville, being witnesses.
I, Marco Antonio de Alfaro, public notary of Seville, had it written and did here my sign. [Rubric] /
[ ¿ ] /
[Upside down on the bottom margin of the folio:]
Inquiry [on] how María de /
Cota and her daughter, blacks, are /
free and were born in the Indies /
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Be aware all who may see this letter /
how I, María de Cota, of black
color, free woman denizen of this /
city of Seville in the San Joan parish /
of the Española island of the Indies, I bestow and /
acknowledge that I give my full power as much /
as by law it is required, to Baltasar de Alcocer /
denizen of this city of Seville, and especially so that /
in my name and as I myself [sic] may /
appear and do appear before his majesty and the señores /
of his royal council of the Indies to ask /
and supplicate that a license is given to me to go /
to the provinces of Peru of the Tierra /
Firme of the Indies, and to present about this /
whatever petitions, testimonies and /
inquiries, and to obtain whatever royal decrees and /
letters and licenses, and to do all the proceedings /
that may be convenient, and for all of it I give my said full power/
with authority so that [he?] may be substituted /
with whoever he may want to, and to nullify the/
substitutes and appoint others when he/
may deem so, and to replace their substitutes /
in legal fashion. And for the firmness of /
this I oblige my person and assets, owned and /
to be owned. The letter done in Seville on fifteen days of the month /
of January. And because the said issuer, to whom I, the notary, I swear I know, said that she did not know/
how to write, at her request it was signed by the witnesses /
of this letter, Pero Ibañez, Francisco Dominguez, /
notaries of Seville [Rubric]
I Marco Antonio de Alfaro, public notary of Seville, had it written and I did here /
my sign [Notary’s rubric] as witness [Rubric]
[?]
/ 41 /
Hernando
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Maria de Cota/ free /
and of black color /
Implores to be given license to /
return to Peru from where /
[she] is native, and being evident /
to the officials of Seville /
the afore said being so /
señor Alonso [ ] [ ]der /
of report /
[ ] done /
He presents it /
to señor licenciado [Espadero?] /
[Rubric]
license to return to the island /
of Santo Domingo and to be able /
to take her daughter [with her ] [Rubric] /
See in Seville on XXIIII of February /
of [IUDLXXX?] [Rubric] /
Done [Rubric] /
The historical records show a number of cases of enslaved and freed blacks of sixteenth-century La Española that engaged in actions that clearly indicate an exercise of an assertive, proactive selection of choices and preferences both within the narrow and oppressive options offered by life in enslavement as well as those relatively more flexible offered by life after manumission.
In the early summer of 1580 in Seville, a procurador or lawyer named Baltazar de Alcocer went before local authorities to request a license for a client, María de Cota, “of black color, and a free woman” and her three year old daughter Magdalena to travel to the Indies. María was a native of the city of Santo Domingo of La Española. According to Alcocer’s statement, in Santo Domingo María “has property and more comfort for living in the said province than in Spain, since she is not a native of it [of Spain].” In the application documents María reiterated that she and her daughter were both natives of La Española and had “come from it to these lands” (meaning, to Spain). María had also requested a license to the Americas in 1575 (see Manuscript 038).
On Saturday, July 2nd of 1580, María went before the authorities and presented a written statement in which she declared that she had arrived in Seville from her native Santo Domingo accompanying her mistress Doña Bárbara Solana. Subsequently she had been freed by Barbara and had her freedom reconfirmed by Bárbara’s widower Don Alonso de Abellaneda. She also declared she was not married. Her daughter was three years of age at the time.
That same day María presented as witness a Hernando Lopez, trade broker and a Francisco Lopez Camargo, as well as Don Alonso de Avellaneda himself, all denizens of Seville. López indicated he knew María since about twenty years before and had seen her arrive from “the said Indies” as a girl, and that he learned María was from Santo Domingo directly from her first mistress Doña María de Arana. He went on to declare that Doña Maria’s daughter, Doña Bárbara, in her testament, left María free, and her freedom was subsequently confirmed by don Alonso de Avellaneda. He had heard that Maria’s daughter, of three years of age, was born in Santo Domingo.
Francisco López Camargo stated he knew María also from twenty years before, when she arrived from the Indies a young girl (“muy niña”) with Doña María and her daughter Doña Bábara. For the rest, he reiterated the same as López. He added that Maria’s daughter’s name was Magdalena, and that she was known to have been born in Santo Domingo. Finally, Alonso de Avellaneda declared that he knew María de Cota from the time she arrived in Seville with Doña Bárbara de Arana, with whom Avellaneda married afterwards.
From the documents we also learn that, at the time she was hiring a procurador to request a license to travel to the Indies, María did not know how to write. The authorities of Seville seem to have issued the license for María and her daughter to travel to Santo Domingo on February 24th, 1581. As in the case of another source about María’s efforts to return to Santo Domingo (see Manuscript 065), this document seems to show a longing or a preference for residing at the social-cultural environment where she lived the earliest years of her life, even when she must have grown up and been socialized in Seville.
On the other hand, though no additional details are offered on the matter in this manuscript, the fact that María’s daughter Magdalena is said to have been born in Santo Domingo three years before, seems an indication that María herself must have traveled to La Española at least slightly before that amount of time was over, and that she subsequently traveled back to Spain with the girl before deciding in the summer of 1580 to cross the Atlantic again to return to Santo Domingo.
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