Las bases Prehispánicas de la Configuración Territorial de la Provincia de Popayán en el período colonial / The Pre-Hispanic Bases of the Territorial Configuration of the Province of Popayán in the Colonial Period

This article analyzes two problems related to the configuration of the province of Popayán during the colonial period. First, it considers the great diversity of the province, one of its characteristic features, and argues, using archeological findings, that the unity of the colonial province was based on long–established pre–Hispanic macro structures. Second, it studies the process of the province’s delimitation and the establishment of a colonial dual jurisdictional dependency. This is explained as the result of its relationships and articulations with both the Kingdom of New Granada to the north, and Quito to the south. This phenomenon is not an isolated process but is related to the attempts by Quito to maintain autonomy from the Viceroyalty of Peru.