Caneque The King's Living Image

The Culture and Politics of Viceregal Power in Colonial Mexico
Erscheinungsjahr 2013
ISBN: 978-1-135-94509-1
Verlag: CRC Press
Format: PDF
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.