Prior to 1640; when the regular slave trade to New Spain ended; colonial Mexico was the second largest slaveholding society in the New World. Even so; slaves of African descent in Mexico were surrounded by a much larger indigenous majority; and by the second half of the seventeenth century there were more free Afromexicans than slaves in the colony. While it seems logical to assume that these unique demographic conditions may have created a situation ripe for slaves to challenge their oppression; Proctor’s study reexamines those assumptions.Damned Notions of Liberty explores the lived experience of slavery from the perspective of slaves themselves to reveal how the enslaved may have conceptualized and contested their subordinated social positions in New Spain’s middle colonial period (roughly 1630-1760s). Relying heavily on trials from civil; ecclesiastical; and Inquisitorial courts; the study offers a detailed examination of some of the central issues to the culture of slavery--labor; family; cultural community; individual and collective agency; and access to liberation--to provide a more integrated picture of slavery in colonial Mexico.
#1493722 in Books 2006-10-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 11.00 x 2.10 x 7.50l; 4.73 #File Name: 0826217001576 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Mary DierbergFor settlements along the Missouri; it is essential reading/reference tool.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A deep thin slice of historyBy KatManningEncountering the colony in Herman MO as a history buff this book is a life's work very useful for understanding the area and time. Architecture tells stories in a way no other media can.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Arts and Architecture of German Settlements in MissouriBy Shirley LevingsVery happy to have the book; a must have reference for primitives and craftsmen in early Missouri history.. . ;
