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Bárbaros: Spaniards and Their Savages in the Age of Enlightenment
Contributor(s): Weber, David J. (Author)
ISBN: 0300119917     ISBN-13: 9780300119916
Publisher: Yale University Press
OUR PRICE:   $32.67  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: August 2006
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Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Annotation: This landmark book explores how Spain tried to come to terms with independent Indians on the frontiers of its American empire in the late 1700s.
"[An] important new book. . . . It displays . . . a mastery of the literature and impressive erudition; a capacity for the patient teasing out of the truth from sources that are often incomplete and partisan; and a lucid narrative style that carries the reader along. . . . A formidable achievement."--J. H. Elliott, "New York Review of Books"
"A stunning book that will be read for generations and lauded for its awesome research, judicious analysis, and graceful prose."--James Schofield Saeger, Lehigh University



Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | Europe - Spain & Portugal
- History | Native American
- History | Americas (north Central South West Indies)
Dewey: 323.119
Series: Yale Western Americana
Physical Information: 1.07" H x 6.78" W x 9.74" (2.17 lbs) 480 pages
Themes:
- Chronological Period - 18th Century
- Ethnic Orientation - Native American
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

A majestic exploration of Bourbon Spain's efforts to come to terms with the native peoples of the Americas, from Argentina to Alaska

Two centuries after Cort s and Pizarro seized the Aztec and Inca empires, Spain's conquest of America remained unfinished. Indians retained control over most of the lands in Spain's American empire. Mounted on horseback, savvy about European ways, and often possessing firearms, independent Indians continued to find new ways to resist subjugation by Spanish soldiers and conversion by Spanish missionaries.


In this panoramic study, David J. Weber explains how late eighteenthcentury Spanish administrators tried to fashion a more enlightened policy toward the people they called b rbaros, or "savages." Even Spain's most powerful monarchs failed, however, to enforce a consistent, well-reasoned policy toward Indians. At one extreme, powerful independent Indians forced Spaniards to seek peace, acknowledge autonomous tribal governments, and recognize the existence of tribal lands, fulfilling the Crown's oft-stated wish to use "gentle" means in dealing with Indians. At the other extreme the Crown abandoned its principles, authorizing bloody wars on Indians when Spanish officers believed they could defeat them. Power, says Weber, more than the power of ideas, determined how Spaniards treated "savages" in the Age of Enlightenment.