The Indies of the Setting Sun: How Early Modern Spain Mapped the Far East as the Transpacific West

by Ricardo Padron

Padrón reveals the evolution of Spain’s imagining of the New World as a space in continuity with Asia.

Narratives of Europe’s westward expansion often tell of how the Americas came to be known as a distinct landmass, separate from Asia and uniquely positioned as new ground ripe for transatlantic colonialism. But this geographic vision of the Americas was not shared by all Europeans. While some imperialists imagined North and Central America as undiscovered land, the Spanish pushed to define the New World as part of a larger and eminently flexible geography that they called las Indias , and that by right, belonged to the Crown of Castile and León. Las Indias included all of the New World as well as East and Southeast Asia, although Spain’s understanding of the relationship between the two areas changed as the realities of the Pacific Rim came into sharper focus. At first, the Spanish insisted that North and Central America were an extension of the continent of Asia. Eventually, they came to understand East and Southeast Asia as a transpacific extension of their empire in America called las Indias del poniente , or the Indies of the Setting Sun.

The Indies of the Setting Sun charts the Spanish vision of a transpacific imperial expanse, beginning with Balboa’s discovery of the South Sea and ending almost a hundred years later with Spain’s final push for control of the Pacific. Padrón traces a series of attempts—both cartographic and discursive—to map the space from Mexico to Malacca, revealing the geopolitical imaginations at play in the quest for control of the New World and Asia.

Genres: History

356 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2020

Reviews

[Juhyundred]

This book is a study of early modern Spanish cartography in the 16th century. Padron disrupts the received narrative that early modern Iberian exploration definitively established that the Americas were distinct from Asia by the time of Magellan's circumnavigation of the earth. Padron shows how various mapmakers and intellectuals conceived of Asia and the Americas as a linked space until at least 1600, even after the existence of the Pacific Ocean had been established. This is a very thorough study that delves into the various metageographies that informed European interpretation of new geographical knowledge, and tracks the contradictory and sometimes competing logics that informed Spain's efforts to map Asia as the "transpacific west" in different parts of the 16th century. It's primarily a study of cartography, which means most of the book is concerned with very close readings of maps and written histories. It does get boring at times, especially to a non-expert like myself, but Padron's writing is engaging enough and his study is well organized. There was a lot of information that I think should be approached by Asianists/Asian Americanists. Padron states in his intro that he recognizes that he can't address all the implications and questions his study raises, which I think is fair. He approaches the topic as a Hispanicist who is focused on studying the Spanish imperial period.