Description
Book SynopsisBeing the Heart of the World offers a timely reflection on the relationship between mobility and identity-making in the Spanish colonial world. It will be of value to historians of colonial Mexico and the Spanish empire.
Trade Review'Nino Vallen has written an indispensable study about how the Spanish transpacific expansion into Asia from New Spain radically impacted the fashioning of socially mobile identities. Well-sourced, convincingly argued, and nuanced, it reveals that the rise of the notion of the colonial 'deserving self' is intrinsically tied to conflicting ideas of the literal and figurative place of Mexico as 'the heart of the world'.' Christina Hyo-Jung Lee, Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Princeton University
'The waves of Spanish exploration that crashed across the South Sea after the conquest of Tenochtitlán were not just echoes of that foundational event. In this deft study, Nino Vallen demonstrates that they played a crucial role in the ongoing development of creole society in New Spain. A must read for anyone interested in the role played by the Pacific in colonial Spanish America.' Ricardo Padrón, author of The Indies of the Setting Sun: How Early Modern Spain Mapped the Far East as the Transpacific West
'The men in this important book fought in wars, arranged transpacific shipments, adjudicated criminal cases, compiled reports, and more. Military and administrative competency warranted royal favor. Nino Vallen delves into the interior lives of imperial agents to shed new light on the meritocratic ideals of the Spanish Hapsburg empire.' Tatiana Seijas, author of Asian Slaves in Colonial Mexico: From Chinos to Indians
Table of ContentsFigures; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The Discoverer: Legal Struggles over the Pacific Northwest; 2. The Veteran: Capitalizing on Knowledge of the Routes Between the Indies; 3. The Meritorious: Rootedness and Mobility in the Pacific Basin; 4. The Creole: Distributing Royal Patronage on the Western Religious Itinerary to Asia; 5. The Merchant: Debating Transpacific Trade and the Functioning of the Economy of Favor; Glossary; Sources and bibliography; Index.
