Abstract
The Colonisation of America is a fundamental process in the history of the modern world. Along with archaeological remains, the historical writings related to the Virreinatos constitute crucial sources of information to understand this period. Ordered by the Spanish crown in the 16th century, a compilation called Relaciones Geográficas, gathered vast amounts of information about the New World through multiple records, both in Spanish and indigenous style. Research of these documents has relied on the close reading of a handful of these texts, which can take the scholar a life-time to examine. Using a Big-Data approach, this project will apply novel computational methodologies to study one of the most important sources for the colonial history of America, and it will identify, extract, cross-link, and analyse information of vital importance to historical enquiry. In doing so, the project will transform the way historical sources are approached and analysed by modern scholars.
