| Indigenous Elites and Creole Identity in Colonial Mexico, 1500-1800 Contributor(s): Villella, Peter B. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1107129036 ISBN-13: 9781107129030 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $150.10 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: January 2016 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Latin America - Mexico - History | Social History |
| Dewey: 972.02 |
| Series: Cambridge Latin American Studies |
| Physical Information: 1.04" H x 6.1" W x 9.34" (1.41 lbs) 368 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 16th Century - Cultural Region - Mexican - Chronological Period - 17th Century - Chronological Period - 18th Century - Cultural Region - Latin America |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Modern Mexico derives many of its richest symbols of national heritage and identity from the Aztec legacy, even as it remains a predominantly Spanish-speaking, Christian society. This volume argues that the composite, neo-Aztec flavor of Mexican identity was, in part, a consequence of active efforts by indigenous elites after the Spanish conquest to grandfather ancestral rights into the colonial era. By emphasizing the antiquity of their claims before Spanish officials, native leaders extended the historical awareness of the colonial regime into the pre-Hispanic past, and therefore also the themes, emotional contours, and beginning points of what we today understand as 'Mexican history'. This emphasis on ancient roots, moreover, resonated with the patriotic longings of many creoles, descendants of Spaniards born in Mexico. Alienated by Spanish scorn, creoles associated with indigenous elites and studied their histories, thereby reinventing themselves as Mexico's new 'native' leadership and the heirs to its prestigious antiquity. |
Contributor Bio(s): Villella, Peter B.: - Peter B. Villella is Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. |