Sixteenth-Century La Española: Glimpses of the First Blacks in the Early Colonial Americas A young mulatto from Santo Domingo residing in Seville (1553)
TRANSCRIPTION
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ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Miguel de Torquemada
Swore on the fifth of December 1603
[On the left margin: Witness] Andres Gomez Adalid merchant and resident of Seville at the parish Of San Roman witness received, swore in accordance to law and being asked what he knows of Miguel de Torquemada who introduces him as witness, who is young, short, face of wheat-like complexion, with black eyes and beard just coming out and [crossed out: n] has a small scar from a wound [crossed out: to the] on the right side of the forehead and must be of eighteen years of age, [witness] who is aware that he [Torquemada] is the legitimate son of Alonso Ceron and Mrs. Ana Ceron his wife, residents of the city of Santo Domingo, and that the aforesaid is from the said city and was born there and is of very good progeny and that this is the truth and that the aforesaid arrived on the admiral’s [vessel] and now he returns to his mother who is seen in the said city Of Santo Domingo and with her and that this is truth as per the oath he took and he signed it [rubric] Andres Gomez [rubric]
Took oath today [
On the left margin: witness] Luis Mateos resident of Santo Domingo, witness received, took oath in accordance to law and, being asked, he said that he knows Miguel de Torquemada, who presents him as witness, whom he knows to be a native of the city of Santo Domingo because he was born there and he grew up with this witness at the house of Alonso Ceron his father and of doña Ana Ceron his mother, denizens of the said city, and that he knows that the aforesaid came to Spain [crossed out: here] on the admiral’s vessel and now wants to return with his mother to the said city and that this is the truth as per the oath he took and he signed it [rubric:] Luis Mateo[ ] [sheet folded]
Colonial Santo Domingo City small-scale model. Museo de las Casas Reales
Commentary
On December 5th, 1553, in Seville, Spain, the administrative capital of the Spanish Empire, merchant and city resident Andres Gómez Adalid provided an oral affidavit stating what he knew about Miguel de Torquemada, who is defined by the authority issuing this document as a young man of short stature, a face of dark complexion, “caritrigueño”, and a rudimentary beard. Gómez described Torquemada as being age 18 and a native of Santo Domingo City. Gómez added that he knew Torquemada’s parents, who were denizens of the same city, and that now Torquemada wanted to return to Santo Domingo to join his mother “who is seen by people in the said city” and to care for his estates