# README – Atlas on Slavery in French and Spanish Santo Domingo (16th–18th Century) Research Data Service Center, University of Bonn – Readme Template (Version 1.8, 2021-03-03) Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 International License Template based on: [https://data.research.cornell.edu/content/readme](https://data.research.cornell.edu/content/readme) This file was generated on **2025-11-30** by **Alexa Voss** --- ## A. GENERAL INFORMATION ### 1. Title of the dataset **Atlas on Slavery in French and Spanish Santo Domingo from the 16th Century to the End of the 18th Century** --- ### 2. Brief description of the research project and its aims This project aims to create a historical atlas on slavery in Santo Domingo by compiling and systematizing information on events and structures in its French and Spanish territories from the sixteenth to the late eighteenth century. It responds to the growing need for in-depth research on the history of slavery within the framework of UNESCO’s *Slave Route* project. While Caribbean countries have increasingly evaluated slavery-related heritage, research results from the Dominican Republic and Haiti remain fragmented due to political, cultural, and archival challenges. This atlas consolidates existing findings and expands current perspectives by documenting **manieles**—settlements of maroons—thereby emphasizing traces left by enslaved people themselves rather than focusing exclusively on colonial installations. By mapping maroon settlements alongside official colonial infrastructure and tracing their spatial and temporal development, the atlas reveals known and previously undocumented communication and resistance networks across the island of Hispaniola. The results are made available through a dedicated web platform, providing a foundation for future interdisciplinary research on slavery in the Caribbean. Project website: [https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7fcb77bc1c4d46aba4bb78](https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7fcb77bc1c4d46aba4bb78) The dataset includes: * A text corpus (scientific background) * Maps * Tabular information about map features * Images accompanying the text corpus --- ### 3. Author Information #### A. Investigator Contact Information * **Name:** Alexa Voss * **Institution:** Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS), University of Bonn, Germany * **Address:** Schützenstraße 81, D-22761 Hamburg * **Email:** [avoss@uni-bonn.de](mailto:avoss@uni-bonn.de) #### B. Project Supervisor (Principal Investigator) * **Name:** Michael Zeuske * **Institution:** Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS), University of Bonn, Germany * **Address:** Carl-Maria-von-Weber-Straße 2, D-04109 Leipzig * **Email:** [mzeuske@uni-bonn.de](mailto:mzeuske@uni-bonn.de) #### C. Contact for dataset-related questions * **Name:** Alexa Voss * **Institution:** Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS), University of Bonn, Germany * **Email:** [avoss@uni-bonn.de](mailto:avoss@uni-bonn.de) --- ### 4. Date of data collection **2020–2023** Web address: [https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7fcb77bc1c4d46aba4bb78](https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7fcb77bc1c4d46aba4bb78) --- ### 5. Funding sources German Research Foundation (DFG), Grant No. **ZE 302/25-1** --- ### 6. Language of the dataset English --- ### 7. Geographic location of data collection Haiti; Dominican Republic; France; United States of America --- ## B. DATA & FILE OVERVIEW ### 1. File List * **A. README** – This documentation file * **B. Corpus_scientific_Background/** – Descriptive and analytical texts on geography, history, colonization, slavery, maroons, and socio-political developments (15th–18th centuries) * **C. graphical-representation_of_textual_data/** – Historical maps visualizing spatial, political, and environmental developments * **D. Information_about_Maps_Features/** – Excel spreadsheets documenting locations, place names, descriptions, and bibliographic references for mapped features * **E. Images_for_the_Text-Corpus/** – Photographs of landscapes, ruins, artefacts, and historical material referenced in the text corpus --- ### 2. Description of the dataset The dataset documents the geographic and historical development of Hispaniola, including toponymy, cartographic representations, indigenous settlement systems, resistance, colonization processes, and the establishment of slavery. Particular emphasis is placed on **maroon communities (Maroonage / Cimarronaje)**, their spatial distribution, and their interactions with colonial powers. Maps organized by century visualize these processes, while accompanying Excel tables document the empirical data underlying the cartography. Photographic material supports and contextualizes the textual and spatial data. --- ### 3. Multiple versions of the dataset No --- ### 4. Relationship between files * **Corpus_scientific_Background:** Analytical and interpretative texts based on historical sources * **graphical-representation_of_textual_data:** Visualizations derived from spatial and historical data * **Information_about_Maps_Features:** Structured tabular data linked directly to the maps * **Images_for_the_Text-Corpus:** Visual documentation accompanying the texts and maps --- ### 5. Additional related data not included in this package An ArcGIS StoryMap version of the atlas, including maps, photographs, and videos, is available in English, Spanish, and French via the project website. --- ## C. SHARING / ACCESS INFORMATION ### 1. Was data derived from another source? Yes. All texts are based on publicly accessible historical sources. Full references are provided in the bibliography within *Corpus_scientific_Background*. --- ### 2. Licenses / restrictions placed on the data Creative Commons **CC-BY 4.0 International License** --- ### 3. Links to publications using the data None --- ### 4. Links to other publicly accessible versions of the data None --- ### 5. Links/relationships to ancillary datasets Supplementary research articles are available via the project’s scientific blog hosted on Hypotheses.org: [https://sklavereisdq.hypotheses.org](https://sklavereisdq.hypotheses.org) --- ## D. METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION ### 1. Methods used for data collection / generation Archival and library research; museum and private collection visits; field surveys; collection and analysis of historical maps; photographic documentation; use of modern cartographic material; creation of new thematic maps. --- ### 2. Methods for processing the data Information was extracted from primary sources, secondary literature, and grey literature, categorized thematically, and processed into text files and Excel tables. Colonial cartographic distortions were analyzed and compared with modern atlases. Artefacts were catalogued, chronologically classified, and interpreted. Photographs were standardized and organized by topic. --- ### 3. Software and instrumentation * ArcGIS ArcMap 10.8.2 (Basics) * Microsoft Excel (Microsoft 365, Build 2508) --- ### 4. People involved in data collection, processing, analysis, and submission **Study Coordination:** * Michael Zeuske (Historian, Senior Professor, University of Bonn – BCDSS) **Scientific Coordination of the Atlas:** * Alexa Voss (Archaeologist, University of Bonn – BCDSS) **Research Group:** * Kenrick Demesvar (State University of Haiti) * Javier Laviña (University of Barcelona) * Alexa Voss (BCDSS) * Michael Zeuske (BCDSS) **Collaborators:** * Domingo Abreu (Santo Domingo Speleological Group) * Emelin Quevedo (University of Valladolid) * Gabriela Martínez Rocourt (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) **Graphic Design:** * Pedro Pablo Milán Fonseca (University of Valladolid) **Editorial Review:** * Spanish: Natividad Francisco, Maria Fernández * French: Marie Dousset * English: Lijia Pereyra **Additional contributors:** *Creation of 3D models and visualizations used in the project: Philippe Pathe, M.Eng., (University of Bonn – BCDH) --- ### 5. Quality-assurance procedures Manual verification of data import, corpus statistics, and visualization outputs. No personal or sensitive data are included. --- ### 6. Standards and calibration information All spatial data use the **WGS84** geographic coordinate system. --- ### 7. Environmental / experimental conditions Field data were collected in tropical climate conditions. Map production and data processing were conducted in a digital research environment. --- ## E. DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION ### Dataset: Information_about_Maps_Features * **Map feature development (Hispaniola, 16th–18th centuries):** Locations of maroon settlements, forts, sugar mills, mines, and cities. * **Interactions between maroons and colonial authorities (16th–18th centuries):** Place of interaction, colonial affiliation (SD ES = Spanish Santo Domingo; SD FR = French Santo Domingo), coordinates, summaries, bibliographic references, and image metadata. --- ### 2. Units of measurement * Latitude / Longitude: degrees (WGS84) --- ### 3. Missing data codes * **NA:** Not available / no data * Empty cell: Not applicable --- ### 4. Specialized formats or abbreviations * **SD ES:** Spanish Santo Domingo * **SD FR:** French Santo Domingo * **WGS84:** World Geodetic System 1984 --- ## F. FILE NAMING CONVENTIONS (PROJECT-SPECIFIC) All file names are standardized for long-term archiving and cross-platform compatibility. * Special characters and spaces are removed. * Underscores `_` are used consistently. * English terminology uses **Mar (Maroonage)**. * Spanish terminology uses **Cim (Cimarronaje)**. * Excel files split by sheet follow the pattern: **[MainCode]_Tab#.xlsx**