Description
Book SynopsisA history examining the interactions between church authorities and Mexican parishioners—from the late-colonial era into the early-national period—shows how religious thought and practice shaped Mexicos popular politics.
Trade Review“
A Flock Divided is an elegantly written and insightful work that casts new light on religious practice in the Americas. O’Hara has revitalised the study of race, religion, and politics in Latin America setting a new standard for historians interested in these themes.” - Alexander Hidalgo,
Itinerario“
A Flock Divided is a well-researched and well-written book that makes several important contributions to the discipline. . . . O’Hara also adds significantly to our understanding of cultural, social, and political
developments in this transitional period of Mexican history.” - Jim Norris,
Western Historical Quarterly“
A Flock Divided is based on careful archival research and offers new insights into the often hidden practices of local Catholicism and the role of religion in identity formation. . . . [T]his is an impressive work that merits careful attention.” - Brian Larkin,
Hispanic American Historical Review“
A Flock Divided is true to its title. It is a rich, revisionist history that confounds old notions of indigenous passivity and obsolescence by bringing to light a trove of new sources and interpretations that furnish great insight into what being Indian was about over the
longue durée. It is a welcome contribution to the history of early Mexico.” - Susan Schroeder,
Journal of Latin American Studies“[T]his is a brilliant and readable book that helps to elucidate the divisiveness of the parish system in Mexico during periods when the official government
(vice-regal or republican) was trying to get rid of caste boundaries in the Catholic Church. O’Hara does an incredible job of showing how parishioners and priests alike were frustrated by some government edicts and how they manipulated other edicts to their own benefit. . . . O’Hara should be commended for a job well done.”
- Jonathan Truitt,
Bulletin of Latin American Research“Carefully researched, engagingly written, and strongly argued,
A Flock
Divided will be mandatory reading for scholars and students of colonial and
nineteenth-century Spanish America for many years to come.”
- Matthew Restall,
Journal of Social History“
A Flock Divided is a pioneering work that contributes to a new understanding of Mexican history. It sheds light on many topics, including the intricacies of colonial and republican politics, the limitations of reform projects imposed by the church and by the state, the often difficult relationship between priests and parishioners, and the religious bases of civil society. This brilliant book also shows how much church documents reveal about popular culture and politics, from the persistence of ethnicity and race in shaping urban identities to the continuing importance of the parish and religious devotions as the locus of sociability.”—
Silvia Marina Arrom, author of
Containing the Poor: The Mexico City Poor House, 1774–1871“Based almost entirely on extensive new archival research, primarily in ecclesiastical records,
A Flock Divided is an original, thought-provoking, and compelling contribution to scholarship on late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth-century Mexico. Through subtle analysis and graceful writing, Matthew D. O’Hara illuminates the multiple intersections among race, religion, and politics.”—
Margaret Chowning, author of
Rebellious Nuns: The Troubled History of a Mexican Convent, 1752–1863“[
A Flock Divided] rests on an extensive base of sources from Mexican and Spanish archives, published documents, and secondary works on religious culture and Mexican colonial society. Recommended.” -- V. H. Cummins * Choice *
“
A Flock Divided is an elegantly written and insightful work that casts new light on religious practice in the Americas. O’Hara has revitalised the study of race, religion, and politics in Latin America setting a new standard for historians interested in these themes.” -- Alexander Hidalgo * Itinerario *
“
A Flock Divided is based on careful archival research and offers new insights into the often hidden practices of local Catholicism and the role of religion in identity formation. . . . [T]his is an impressive work that merits careful attention.” -- Brian Larkin * Hispanic American Historical Review *
“
A Flock Divided is true to its title. It is a rich, revisionist history that confounds old notions of indigenous passivity and obsolescence by bringing to light a trove of new sources and interpretations that furnish great insight into what being Indian was about over the
longue durée. It is a welcome contribution to the history of early Mexico.” -- Susan Schroeder * Journal of Latin American Studies *
“[T]his is a brilliant and readable book that helps to elucidate the divisiveness of the parish system in Mexico during periods when the official government
(vice-regal or republican) was trying to get rid of caste boundaries in the Catholic Church. O’Hara does an incredible job of showing how parishioners and priests alike were frustrated by some government edicts and how they manipulated other edicts to their own benefit. . . . O’Hara should be commended for a job well done.”
-- Jonathan Truitt * Bulletin of Latin American Research *
“Carefully researched, engagingly written, and strongly argued,
A Flock Divided will be mandatory reading for scholars and students of colonial and
nineteenth-century Spanish America for many years to come.” -- Matthew Restall * Journal of Social History *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
Introduction: The Children of Rebekah 1
Part I. Institutions and Ideas
1. Geographies of Buildings, Bodies, and Souls 17
2. An Eighteenth-Century Great Debate 55
Part II. Reform and Reaction
3. Stone, Mortar, and Memory 91
4. Invisible Religion 123
Part III. Piety and Politics
5. Spiritual Capital 159
6.
Miserables and Citizens 185
Conclusion. The Struggle of Jacob and Esau 221
Notes 239
Bibliography 281
Index 303
