Caneque The King's Living Image

The Culture and Politics of Viceregal Power in Colonial Mexico
Erscheinungsjahr 2013
ISBN: 978-1-135-94508-4
Verlag: CRC Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 416 Seiten

Reihe: New World in the Atlantic World

To rule their vast new American territories, the Spanish monarchs appointed viceroys in an attempt to reproduce the monarchical system of government prevailing at the time in Europe. But despite the political significance of the figure of the viceroy, little is known about the mechanisms of viceregal power and its relation to ideas of kingship. Examining this figure, The King's Living Image challenges long-held perspectives on the political nature of Spanish colonialism, recovering, at the same time, the complexity of the political discourses and practices of Spanish rule. It does so by studying the viceregal political culture that developed in New Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the mechanisms, both formal and informal, of viceregal rule. In so doing, The King's Living Image questions the very existence of a "colonial state" and contends that imperial power was constituted in ritual ceremonies. It also emphasizes the viceroys' significance in carrying out the civilizing mission of the Spanish monarchy with regard to the indigenous population. The King's Living Image will redefine the ways in which scholars have traditionally looked at the viceregal administration in colonial Mexico.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Caneque, Alejandro

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
List of Appendices
Introduction: Rethinking The Spanish Empire in America
I. Imagining the Viceroy
The Rule of One
The Image in the Mirror
The Mystery of Power
II. The Pillars of Government
The Viceroy's Companions
The Realm's Head
III. In the Service of Two Majesties
A Tale of Two Knives
One Body, Two Heads
A Remedy from Heaven
IV. Performing Power
The Politics of the Viceroy's Body
Ritual Challenges
The Preeminence of the Body
V. The Economy of Favor
On Favors and Rewards
The Crown's Dilemma
The Specter of Corruption
VI. The Political Culture of Colonialism
The Rhetoric of Wretchedness
The Civilizing Mission
To Serve Is To Be Civilized
VII. Colonial Rhetoric and Indian Rebellion
Two Republics and One Viceroy
A Republic Without Rhyme or Reason
The Return of The Wretched Indian
Conclusion: The Power of the King's Image
Bibliography
Appendices
Glossary
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Alejandro Cañeque is an Assistant Professor of History and Latin American Studies at the Gallatin School of New York University.