The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association

El Paso History Museum, El Paso, TX. USA, 27-29 September, 2013

CARTA (The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association) invites interested scholars, specialists and academics to participate in an international symposium: Los Caminos Reales de América which will be held in the El Paso History Museum, El Paso, TX from 27-29 September, 2013.

Since Roman times, the concept of the Camino Real ( Royal Road ), originally a military road maintained by the Crown, existed in the Iberian Peninsular as an important instrument of commerce and control. As they colonized the Americas , the Spaniards applied the concept of military road to maintain control, administration and integration. In the beginning, they made use of the indigenous communication system but the introduction of new technology led them to develop new routes together with new communities.

The histories of the Caminos Reales are the histories of those that travelled them as well as the impacts on their hinterlands. Due to their specific antecedents and development, each Camino Real has a distinct history which is a reflection of the mosaic that is America . The overall goal of this symposium is the study and analysis of specific cases which can be integrated in such a way as to provide the overall patterns that govern the history of the American continent.