Massimo Livi-Bacci

Conquest

The Destruction of the American Indios

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The arrival of Europeans in the Americas brought with it a demographic catastrophe of vast proportions for the native populations. What were the causes? The surviving documentation is extraordinarily rich: conquistadors, religious figures, administrators, officials, and merchants kept records, carried out inquiries, and issued edicts. The native world, for its part, has also left eloquent traces of events as well as direct testimony of its harsh subjugation at the hands of the Europeans. Drawing on these sources, Livi Bacci shows how not only the 'imported' diseases but also a series of economic and social factors played a role in the disastrous decline of the native populations. He argues that the catastrophe was not the inevitable outcome of contact with Europeans but was a function of both the methods of the conquest and the characteristics of the subjugated societies. This gripping narrative recounts one of the greatest tragedies of human history, one whose protagonists include figures like Columbus, Montezuma, Atahuallpa, Pizarro, Corts and Tupac Amaru.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Polity Press
• Seitenzahl: 368
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Februar 2008
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 211mm x 141mm x 25mm
• Gewicht: 474g
• ISBN-13: 9780745640013
• ISBN-10: 074564001X
• Artikelnr.: 22958452

Autorenporträt

Massimo Livi Bacci is Professor of Demography at the University of Florence.

Inhaltsangabe

* Preface

* I. In which are described three voyages that changed the faceof a continent, the American population at the time of contact, thedemographic catastrophe of the Indios, the sorrowful increase ofthe Africans, and the expansion of the Europeans.

* II. A humble Franciscan, two combative Dominicans, an Italianhumanist at the Court of Spain, a remorseful viceroy, a naturalist'alcade', a Europeanized Inca and an Inca fallen onhard times, a conquistador observer... different witnesses and acommon analysis of the catastrophe

* III. A tireless traveler disrupts a continent, but a quartercentury too late. From the Caribbean to Perú: a brief historyof a long voyage and of the suspected assassin of Huayna Capac,father of Atahuallpa. The true and presumed sins of smallpox andother crowd diseases

* IV. A golden nose ring and the tragic destiny of theTaíno. An Indio follows a deer and discovers a mountain ofsilver. A people in constant movement, over 1000 miles and at anelevation of 4000 meters, and the wealth of Potosí. Deeds andmisdeeds of gold and silver

* V. Hispaniola, the territorial paradise of Columbus and theimagination of modern scholars. One hundred thousand or ten millionTaíno? The catastrophe of the Antilles as seen from close upand a credible leyenda negra. People die while animalsflourish

* VI. A great and rich city, dreamed of by Columbus and destroyedby Cortés. The modern dispute over the population ofMesoamerica. Tributaries, tributes, and population. Thirteenbrigantines hauled overland and a tunnel in the rock. Men andbeasts

* VII. The Incas and many millions of subjects. A quarter centuryof wars: Indios versus Indios, Spaniards versus Indios, Spaniardsversus Spaniards. 'Quipu' pen and ink. A viceroy whocounts, measures and acts. Epidemics: the moderns debate them, theancients ignore them

* VIII. Colonists and 'Paulists' hunting downGuaraní between the Paraná and the Uruguay. One hundredJesuits for 100,000 Indios. Steel axes and security in exchange forChristian habits. Monogamy and reproduction stronger than crowddiseases

* Epilog

* Appendices

* * Tables

* Figures

* Notes

* Chronology

* Glossary

* Note on Illustrations

* Index

Rezensionen

"An impressive argument fora more complex way of understanding the conquest of what is nowLatin America than the single-cause explanations that have beendominant for the past several decades. The translation islucid and easy to follow, and the generous contemporaryillustrations of the life of the Indios at the time of conquestfurther enrich the text."
Population Studies

"An excellent study ... the book provides fresh insights intoone of the most catastrophic episodes of early modern history andthe narrative thrust of the work makes it very readable."
Historical Association

"Well-illustrated, useful and balanced ... an excellentprovocative volume which should have wide appeal."
European Review of Latin American and CaribbeanStudies "Bacci makes a significant contribution and should be applauded fortackling a difficult academic question. [He] commendably moves thediscussion away from singular epidemiological explanations andrefocuses debate on the multiple means and various trajectoriesinvolced in the conquest of indigenous peoples."
American Historical Review

"Massimo Livi-Bacci's Conquest is a brilliant,fascinating history of the demographic catastrophe that envelopedthe New World after 1492. Thickly illustrated with the artisticvisions and voices of native peoples, it is the most even-handed,comprehensive narrative available - now in a lively, fluidEnglish translation. Livi Bacci examines the evidence with the eyeof a seasoned detective, solving a series of mysteries - inthe West Indies, Mexico, Peru, and the Río de la Plata. Alongthe way, he finds much previously overlooked evidence, which heingenuously assembles into a compelling, nuancedinterpretation."
Robert McCaa, University of Minnesota

"Was the decay of the Amerindian population man-made, or was itbrought about by the uncontrolled spread of pathogens or some otherfactor? Massimo Livi Bacci, a world-leading demographer, joins, inthe present translation of his well-read book, the centuries-longdebate on the extent and the causes of the post-Conquest collapse,adding to the discussion fresh insights based on his expertise inpopulation studies and on a judicious and thorough historicalresearch."
Nicolás Sánchez-Albornoz, New YorkUniversity