Ethnological Hermeneutics for an Early Colonial Encounter on the Island of San Juan: The 1532 Probanza of Juan González

This article argues for the importance of an ethnological hermeneutics in the study of the early colonial period in the Caribbean. It does so by applying this methodology to a founding document concerning early colonial encounters on the island of San Juan or present-day Puerto Rico. The 1532 probanza of Juan González is privileged as a text through which crucial information concerning the Spanish colonization of San Juan and its original inhabitants could be obtained. The article thus contextualizes the probanza as part of a genre of colonial writing within the amply known relaciones de méritos y servicios.