The Cultural History of the Black African Diaspora in Early Modern Spain (BADEMS)

The BADEMS project, funded by the European Research Council with €1.77 million, aims to uncover and analyze the significant cultural contributions of Black communities in Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite Spain, along with Portugal, hosting the largest Black African diaspora in early modern Europe, the cultural production of these communities has largely been overlooked in academic research. This project seeks to fill this gap by investigating Afro-Iberian cultural production through early modern Spanish literature, history, and linguistics.

BADEMS will systematically identify and document Black cultural creators from this period, establishing an innovative open-access archive that will serve as a vital resource for understanding their impact on early modern cultural narratives. The archive will include the roles played by Black men and women as singers, dancers, actors, storytellers, and painters, highlighting their contributions to Spain’s cultural landscape.

By examining how Afro-Iberian communities influenced cultural productions and constructed their identities, BADEMS will introduce a new academic framework for reevaluating European cultural heritage. The project will emphasize the tangible and intangible legacies of Afro-diasporic communities in Spain, offering an interdisciplinary approach to their multilingual creations and practices. This comprehensive research aims to deepen our understanding of survival, creativity, and cultural mediation in the context of the Black African diaspora in early modern Spain.

The BADEMS project will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, integrating methods from literary, historical, and linguistic analysis. We will conduct an exhaustive review of primary and secondary sources, including manuscripts, historical documents, and literary works from the 16th and 17th centuries. Advanced textual and critical analysis techniques will be employed to identify and document the cultural contributions of Black communities.

In addition, we will conduct consultations with experts in Afro-Iberian studies and organize workshops and seminars to discuss and validate preliminary findings. The project also includes the creation of an open-access digital database, which will serve as a vital resource for researchers and the general public. This database will feature biographies, works, and contributions of Black cultural creators, along with critical analyses of their impact on early modern Spanish culture.

Our methodological approach will be complemented by detailed case studies and comparative analyses to contextualize Afro-Iberian contributions within the broader cultural landscape of early modern Iberia. This comprehensive approach will enable a deeper understanding of survival, creativity, and cultural mediation in the context of the Black African diaspora in early modern Spain.