Histories of Infamy: Francisco López de Gómara and the Ethics of Spanish Imperialism
by Cristián A. Roa-de-la-Carrera translated by Scott Sessions
University Press of Colorado, 2005 eISBN: 978-0-87081-855-4 | Cloth: 978-0-87081-813-4 | Paper: 978-1-60732-185-9 Library of Congress Classification E141.G637 2005 Dewey Decimal Classification 970.016
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
"Roa-de-la-Carrera convincingly shows that Gómara, as well as other historians in the period, cannot easily ignore nor erase the contradictions of the Spanish colonial project."
- Luis Fernando Restrepo, University of Arkansas
“In an eloquent and thorough exegesis, Roa-de-la-Carrera reveals how and why López de Gómara, having written the best of all possible books in exultation of Spanish imperialism, nevertheless failed to convince the readers of his time."
- Susan Schroeder, Tulane University
In Histories of Infamy, Cristián Roa-de-la-Carrera explores Francisco López de Gómara's (1511-ca.1559) attempt to ethically reconcile Spain's civilizing mission with the conquistadors' abuse and exploitation of Native peoples.
The most widely read account of the conquest in its time, Gómara's Historia general de las Indias y Conquista de México rationalized the conquistadors' crimes as unavoidable evils in the task of bringing "civilization" to the New World. Through an elaborate defense of Spanish imperialism, Gómara aimed to convince his readers of the merits of the conquest, regardless of the devastation it had wrought upon Spain's new subjects. Despite his efforts, Gómara's apologist text quickly fell into disrepute and became ammunition for Spain's critics. Evaluating the effectiveness of ideologies of colonization, Roa-de-la-Carrera's analysis will appeal to scholars in colonial studies and readers interested in the history of the Americas.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Cristián A. Roa-de-la-Carrera is an associate professor of Spanish at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Scott Sessions is a research associate and visiting lecturer at Amherst College.
REVIEWS
"Roa-de-la-Carrera has done an excellent job of picking through the very complex world of ideas that López de Gómara inherited. While not entirely sympathetic to his subject, Roa-de-la-Carrera does attempt to present him in an objective light by looking at the influences under which he wrote and the countervailing discourses that surround him." —John F. Schwaller, Hispanic American Historical Review
"Cristián Roa-de-la-Carrera's book makes an important contribution to the study of colonial Latin American literature by helping to fill [a] gap, integrating close study of Gómara's work into current debates about the tradition of renaissance historical writing about the Americas....Roa-de-la-Carrera fleshes out a broader argument about Spanish imperialism in the sixteenth century and the ethical debates that proved to be of paramount importance to intellectuals and writers both in the peninsula and the New World." —Patricio Boyer, The Americas
"Roa-de-la-Carrera deftly teases out the thorny issues that a pro-imperialist historian had to address: the greed and violence of the conquistadors, the place of the indigenous populations in Christian world history and in the new cultural and economic system of colonization, the vicissitudes of church and crown policies regarding the role of conquistadors and Indians....Roa-de-la-Carrera's study is carefully researched, developed, and written." —Kathleen Myers, American Historical Review
TABLE OF CONTENTS
vii Foreword
ix Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
ONE 21 G"MARA AND THE POLITICS OF CONSENSUS
21 History as Influence: The Emperor and the Conqueror
25 Historiography and Empire-Building
32 In the Service of the King: Historians and Administrators
39 Contested Histories in a Changing Discursive Landscape
46 The Authority of Discourse: The Historia general and the World of Fernando Cortés
54 The Limits of Consensus: Gómara Under Attack
TWO 77 TERRITORIES OF REDEMPTION IN THE NEW WORLD
77 Geography and Culture in the Colonial World
84 Territoriality and Sacred History
95 History, Cartography, and Dominion: Establishing Rights of Conquest
106 The Indies and Human Diversity
117 To Inherit the World: Human Intellect and Dominion
THREE 131 EXCHANGE AS A NARRATIVE OF IMPERIAL EXPANSION
131 Christian Rhetoric, Economic Ends
134 The Discovery and the Historical Tradition
144 The Humble Beginnings of the Empire
154 Exchange as a System of Colonization
165 Justice and the Dynamics of Intercultural Relations
173 Searching for a Common Good: Imperialism as a Form of Reciprocity
FOUR 187 G"MARA AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE INDIES
187 Ruling the Indians: The King and His Despots
192 The Infamy of Spain and the Conquistadors
201 Imperialism and Desire
215 Lordship and Masculinity
222 The Patriarchal Life of the Conquistador
239 Bibliography and References Cited
255 Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
Histories of Infamy: Francisco López de Gómara and the Ethics of Spanish Imperialism
by Cristián A. Roa-de-la-Carrera translated by Scott Sessions
University Press of Colorado, 2005 eISBN: 978-0-87081-855-4 Cloth: 978-0-87081-813-4 Paper: 978-1-60732-185-9
"Roa-de-la-Carrera convincingly shows that Gómara, as well as other historians in the period, cannot easily ignore nor erase the contradictions of the Spanish colonial project."
- Luis Fernando Restrepo, University of Arkansas
“In an eloquent and thorough exegesis, Roa-de-la-Carrera reveals how and why López de Gómara, having written the best of all possible books in exultation of Spanish imperialism, nevertheless failed to convince the readers of his time."
- Susan Schroeder, Tulane University
In Histories of Infamy, Cristián Roa-de-la-Carrera explores Francisco López de Gómara's (1511-ca.1559) attempt to ethically reconcile Spain's civilizing mission with the conquistadors' abuse and exploitation of Native peoples.
The most widely read account of the conquest in its time, Gómara's Historia general de las Indias y Conquista de México rationalized the conquistadors' crimes as unavoidable evils in the task of bringing "civilization" to the New World. Through an elaborate defense of Spanish imperialism, Gómara aimed to convince his readers of the merits of the conquest, regardless of the devastation it had wrought upon Spain's new subjects. Despite his efforts, Gómara's apologist text quickly fell into disrepute and became ammunition for Spain's critics. Evaluating the effectiveness of ideologies of colonization, Roa-de-la-Carrera's analysis will appeal to scholars in colonial studies and readers interested in the history of the Americas.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Cristián A. Roa-de-la-Carrera is an associate professor of Spanish at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Scott Sessions is a research associate and visiting lecturer at Amherst College.
REVIEWS
"Roa-de-la-Carrera has done an excellent job of picking through the very complex world of ideas that López de Gómara inherited. While not entirely sympathetic to his subject, Roa-de-la-Carrera does attempt to present him in an objective light by looking at the influences under which he wrote and the countervailing discourses that surround him." —John F. Schwaller, Hispanic American Historical Review
"Cristián Roa-de-la-Carrera's book makes an important contribution to the study of colonial Latin American literature by helping to fill [a] gap, integrating close study of Gómara's work into current debates about the tradition of renaissance historical writing about the Americas....Roa-de-la-Carrera fleshes out a broader argument about Spanish imperialism in the sixteenth century and the ethical debates that proved to be of paramount importance to intellectuals and writers both in the peninsula and the New World." —Patricio Boyer, The Americas
"Roa-de-la-Carrera deftly teases out the thorny issues that a pro-imperialist historian had to address: the greed and violence of the conquistadors, the place of the indigenous populations in Christian world history and in the new cultural and economic system of colonization, the vicissitudes of church and crown policies regarding the role of conquistadors and Indians....Roa-de-la-Carrera's study is carefully researched, developed, and written." —Kathleen Myers, American Historical Review
TABLE OF CONTENTS
vii Foreword
ix Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
ONE 21 G"MARA AND THE POLITICS OF CONSENSUS
21 History as Influence: The Emperor and the Conqueror
25 Historiography and Empire-Building
32 In the Service of the King: Historians and Administrators
39 Contested Histories in a Changing Discursive Landscape
46 The Authority of Discourse: The Historia general and the World of Fernando Cortés
54 The Limits of Consensus: Gómara Under Attack
TWO 77 TERRITORIES OF REDEMPTION IN THE NEW WORLD
77 Geography and Culture in the Colonial World
84 Territoriality and Sacred History
95 History, Cartography, and Dominion: Establishing Rights of Conquest
106 The Indies and Human Diversity
117 To Inherit the World: Human Intellect and Dominion
THREE 131 EXCHANGE AS A NARRATIVE OF IMPERIAL EXPANSION
131 Christian Rhetoric, Economic Ends
134 The Discovery and the Historical Tradition
144 The Humble Beginnings of the Empire
154 Exchange as a System of Colonization
165 Justice and the Dynamics of Intercultural Relations
173 Searching for a Common Good: Imperialism as a Form of Reciprocity
FOUR 187 G"MARA AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE INDIES
187 Ruling the Indians: The King and His Despots
192 The Infamy of Spain and the Conquistadors
201 Imperialism and Desire
215 Lordship and Masculinity
222 The Patriarchal Life of the Conquistador
239 Bibliography and References Cited
255 Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE