Abstract

The article analyzes the process of territoriality in five Guanacaste communities during the 18th century. Our objective is to characterize the mechanisms of access to land in order to demonstrate the formation of cattle ranches. To fulfill this purpose, the traceability of land transactions carried out in the communities involved was studied. Within them, the role played by the chaplaincies and brotherhoods as financing mechanisms was addressed. Based on the use of colonial protocols and the files of the Juzgado Contencioso Administrativo, it was possible to clarify the peculiarities of the process of "land seizure" for the purpose of developing livestock activity in the northern Pacific of Costa Rica during the 18th century.

Keywords Costa Rica; livestock; territory; colony; indigenous population