Archivo y relato en el Rí­o de la Plata Colonial. El difí­cil discurso de la violencia

Abstract

In this opportunity the proposal is to address the relationship between archive and account in the Rí­o de la Plata during the 16th century. In order to do this, a piece of information raised by Cabeza de Vaca upon his defence, dated 1544, will be analyzed, since it leads to the emergence of a set of voices of Spaniards denouncing outrages, burdens and abuses suffered by their peers in pursuit of the collection of the quinto. These discourses, not reproduced by other printed texts during the mentioned century, pose not only a complex issue: the relationship between law, violence and conquered space, but also one of a different order: the significance and effects of discursivities such as these, results of a cruel account stopped in time from the court file. This paper seeks to address both problems as well as to provide a space for this series of forgotten voices.