In the late seventeenth century, an Ottoman traveler, Ilyas (Ilyas ibn Hanna al-Mawsuli), witnessed “a large nocturnal vampire” in Panama’s coast town named Portobelo. According to the traveler, the vampire “who fastens upon his victim while asleep and bleeds him by sucking his blood,” also had wings which he used “simultaneously to fan the victim and let him enjoy his sleep.” The traveler proceeded to say that the vampire drained the blood from his prey “until the victim barely awakens on account of the great loss of blood.” Is this narrative implying that vampires did exist in Spanish America, or is it responding to the traveler’s fantasy world? Why might an Ottoman traveler compose such stories in colonial regions far from his homeland?

With these questions in mind, I present this research project which delves into the fantasy world created by an Ottoman subject in the late seventeenth century. I primarily focus on the extraordinary stories witnessed by the traveler: fantastic beasts and creatures. Therefore, I highlight two crucial ideas. First, the colonial discourse of the traveler’s experience in the New World. Second, while portraying his fantasy world, he “Ottomanized” the Spanish Empire’s colonial domain by conveying the political structure of the Ottoman world. As a result, through his discourse on identity, representation, and memory, in this research, I will present the sentiments of an early modern traveler in the New World and, thus, connect the two topics offered at the 2nd Annual Michael Gordon Memorial History Graduate Conference—historical categories (class and race), and identity (community membership, and personal individuality).

This research paper is presented at Second Annual Michael Gordon Memorial History Graduate Conference on April 28-29, 2023 in University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI, USA.

To visit the webpage of the conference organizers, the UWM History Graduate Student Association, click here.

To access the abstract of the presented paper, click here.