Derived from a conference held at the University of New South Wales in October 2002, New World, First Nations is an anthology that examines the complex experience of indigenous peoples under Spanish colonial rule. Besides a short introductory essay by David Cahill and Blanca Tovías, the book contains ten articles that reassess in a variety of ways the social and ethnic changes that occurred in the Andes and Mesoamerica with the Spanish Conquest, the imposition of the colonial order, and the coming of independence.
The anthology’s first section examines the modification and survival of indigenous social and cultural practices during the conquest. Susan Schroeder considers the ways that despite the Aztecs’ defeat, Nahua record keeping was perpetuated by colonial amoxoaque (keepers of the book) such as Chimalpahin and Tezozomoc. By preserving and adding to the chronicle of their altepetl (ethnic state), they sought to preserve its memory and status. Susan...
