Gender, Race and Religion in the Colonization of the Americas

With outstanding documentation of the importance of local conditions in defining historical outcomes and paying equal attention to North, South, and Central America, Nora Jaffary's compilation is a welcome contribution to the rapidly expanding field of "Trans-Atlantic" studies.Christine Hunefeldt, Professor of History, University of California-San DiegoThe essays in this collection provide a coherent perspective on the comparative history of European colonialism in the Americas through their treatment of four central themes: the gendered implications of life on colonial frontiers; non-European women's relationships to Christian institutions; the implications of race mixing; and social networks established by women of various ethnicities in the colonial context. Geographic regions covered include the Caribbean, Brazil, English America, and New France.When Europe introduced mechanisms to control New World territories, resources and populations, women-whether African, indigenous, mixed race, or European-responded and participated in multiple ways. By adopting a comprehensive view of female agency, the essays in this collection reveal the varied implication of women's experiences in colonialism in North and South America.Although the Spanish American context receives particular attention here, the volume contrasts the context of both colonial Mexico and Peru to every other major geographic region that became a focus of European imperialism in the early modern period: the Caribbean, Brazil, English America, and New France. The chapters provide a coherent perspective on the comparative history of European colonialism in the Americas through their united treatment of four central themes: the gendered implications of life on colonial frontiers; non-European women's relationships to Christian institutions; the implications of race mixing; and social networks established by women of various ethnicities in the colonial context.Contents: Introduction: Contextualizing race, gender, and religion in the New World, Nora E. Jaffary. Part I Frontiers: Women as go-betweens? Patterns in 16th-century Brazil, Alida C. Metcalf; Gender and violence: conquest, conversion, and culture on new Spain's imperial frontier, Bruce A. Erickson; The very sinews of a New Colony: demographic determinism and the history of early Georgia women, 1732-52, Ben Marsh. Part II Female Religious: The convent as missionary in 17th-century France, Susan Broomhall; 'Although I am black, I am beautiful': Juana Esperanza de San Alberto, Black Carmelite of Puebla, Joan C. Bristol; Andean women in religion: Beatas, 'Deceny', and the defense of honor in colonial Cuzco, Kathryn Burns. Part III Race Mixing: Incest, sexual virtue, and social mobility in late colonial Mexico, Nora E. Jaffary; 'An empire founded on libertinage': The Mul'tresse and colonial anxiety in Saint Domingue, Yvonne Fabella; Mediating Mackinac: métis women's cultural persistence in the Upper Great Lakes, Bethany Fleming. Part IV Networks: Circuits of knowledge among women in early-17th-century Lima, Nancy E. van Deusen; Waters of faith, currents of freedom: gender, religion, and ethnicity in inter-imperial trade between Curaçao and Tierra Firme, Linda M. Rupert; Afterword: women in the Atlantic world, Patricia Seed. Bibliography; Index.This volume adds a new dimension to current scholarship in Atlantic history through its emphasis on culture, gender and race, and through its explicit effort to link religion to the broader imperial framework of economic extraction and political domination.About the Author: Nora E. Jaffary is Assistant Professor of History at Concordia University in Montreal. She is also the author of False Mystics: Deviant Orthodoxy in Colonial Mexico.