The King's Living Image: The Culture and Politics of Viceregal Power in Colonial Mexico

ISBN-13: 9780415944441 / Angielski / Twarda / 2004 / 416 str.

Alejandro Caaneque

Opis

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.

Spis treści

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

O autorze

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