1st Edition

A Microhistory of Early Modern Transatlantic Migration The Frigate Agata (1747)

By Alejandro Salamanca Rodríguez Copyright 2025
178 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

178 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

178 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This microhistory of early modern transatlantic migration follows the journey of the Agata , a Dutch frigate hired by Spanish merchants in 1747 to travel between Cádiz and Veracruz. Manned by migrants from across Europe, the Agata was intercepted by British privateers on its return trip, an event that led to the preservation of most of the documents on board, including a collection of personal... Read more

Introduction  

 

Microhistory   

Migration history       

Migration in the early modern Atlantic         

Letters as a Source for the History of Migration       

The Agata’s Letters in Context         

Structure and sources 

 

Chapter 1: The Master and his Family      

 

Sanlúcar de Barrameda: A City of Migrants 

Life Before the Agata

Becoming Shipmaster

Letters from Mexico  

News From the Family          

Letters to Spain          

 

Chapter 2: The Agata’s Journey    

 

From Zaandam to Spain        

A Dutch Ship in Cádiz          

War, Privateering and Trade  

The charterers

Preparations for the Journey  

From Cádiz to New Spain     

The Agata in Veracruz           

Missing Havana         

The Capture and the Captors 

 

Chapter 3: The Agata’s Migrants  

 

Mobile Workers         

A Multinational Crew

Life on the Agata       

Regular and Irregular Migration in the Spanish Atlantic      

Blending in: Citizenship and Belonging in New Spain         

A Free Black in Mexico         

Return Passengers: from Batavia to Veracruz           

 

Chapter 4: The Agata’s Letters      

 

Letters to Migrants Sent From Sanlúcar        

From Josefa Croquer in Sanlúcar de Barrameda to Her Nephew Antonio

From Juan Franchois in Seville to Juan de Espinosa y Eliguisamon 

Letters From Migrants in Mexico to Sanlúcar           

From José de Vargas to a Woman Named Catalina          

From José de Ribas to His Wife Rosa Francisca de Ribas y Aguilar        

From Bartholomé Rodríguez de Reina to His Relative Román de Bargas   

Two Letters of Recommendation      

 

Chapter 5: A Father and a Son      

 

A Commercial Agent and His Son    

Letters and Themes    

From Juan to Ángela Vallejo 

From Juan to Bernardo Fallon           

The Valderrama Family         

From Juan to Luis      

From Juan to Pantaleona       

From Joaquín to Pantaleona  

From Joaquín to Antonio and Luis    

 

Conclusion    

Bibliography 

Biography

Alejandro Salamanca Rodríguez is a PhD researcher at the European University Institute of Florence and an associate researcher at the Prize Papers Project. His work focuses on migration and social history in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.