Spanish Central America: A Socioeconomic History, 1520–1720

Murdo J. MacLeod

Published by University of Texas Press 2007

Spanish Central America

A Socioeconomic History, 1520–1720

Murdo J. MacLeod

https://doi.org/10.7560/717893

Overview
Contents

About this book

The seventeenth century has been characterized as "Latin America's forgotten century." This landmark work, originally published in 1973, attempted to fill the vacuum in knowledge by providing an account of the first great colonial cycle in Spanish Central America. The colonial Spanish society of the sixteenth century was very different from that described in the eighteenth century. What happened in the Latin American colonies between the first conquests, the seizure of long-accumulated Indian wealth, the first silver booms, and the period of modern raw material supply? How did Latin America move from one stage to the other? What were these intermediate economic stages, and what effect did they have on the peoples living in Latin America? These questions continue to resonate in Latin American studies today, making this updated edition of Murdo J. MacLeod's original work more relevant than ever. Colonial Central America was a large, populous, and always strategically significant stretch of land. With the Yucatán, it was home of the Maya, one of the great pre-Columbian cultures. MacLeod examines the long-term process it underwent of relative prosperity, depression, and then recovery, citing comparative sources on Europe to describe Central America's great economic, demographic, and social cycles. With an updated historiographical and bibliographical introduction, this fascinating study should appeal to historians, anthropologists, and all who are interested in the colonial experience of Latin America.

Author / Editor information

Murdo J. Macleod is Emeritus Professor of History of the University of Florida at Gainesville.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
List of Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
A New Introduction: More than Three Decades of Writing on Spanish Central America, 1973-2006 Murdo J. MacLeod Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	lv
By Way of Introduction: The War of the Worlds Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part One. THE SOCIETY OF CONQUEST AND ENCOMIENDA, 1520-1576
1. The Central American Background and Conquest Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
2. Slaves and Silver: The First Exports Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	46
3. Ephemeral Hopes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	64
4. Soconusco, A Hint of Things to Come Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
5. The Cacao Boom Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	80
6. From Conquest to the Emergence of Order and Pattern Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
7. The Two Republics, Indians and Spaniards, in the Age of Encomienda Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	120
Part Two. YEARS OF TRIAL AND MUCH ERROR: THE ECONOMICS OF SEARCH AND DIVERSIFICATION, C. 1576-1635
8. Attempts to Revive Declining Industries Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
9. The Search for New Industries and Trades Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	152
10. Indigo, 1580-1720: Possibilities and Frustrations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	176
11. The Effects of the Crisis on Local Populations and Economy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	204
Part Three. THE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DEPRESSION AND THE FIRST SIGNS OF RECOVERY, C. 1635-1720
12. The Aftermath of a Boom: Seventeenth-Century Cacao Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235
13. Honduran Mining: The Emergence of a Local Industry and Culture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	253
14. External Trades in the Depth of the Depression Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	264
15. The Currency Crisis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	280
16. Men and Land in Mid-Century: Contraction and Isolation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	288
17. The Two Republics in the Years of Depression Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	310
18. Costa Rican Cacao Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	330
19. Signs of Strain and Change (c. 1685-1720) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	341
20. The Growth of a New Solution: The Rise of Smuggling Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	348
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	374
Appendix Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	390
Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	393
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	395
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	467
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	472
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	513

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Edition: revised edition
Audience: Professional and scholarly;

eBook

Published: November 12, 2021
ISBN: 9780292749399