At first glance this volume might seem to have limited interest and utility for historians of Latin America since only 2 of its 12 chapters deal directly with Spanish America and none with Brazil, but that would be a misleading conclusion for a number of reasons. The editors have brought together 12 scholars (5 historians and 7 literary specialists) to address the essential paradox of early modern empires that based their creation and expansion on supposed divine mandates, but that simultaneously provoked moral and ethical questioning of the violence and exploitation inherent in their creations. To varying degrees this was true of all the early modern Atlantic empires, Protestant and Catholic alike, and so their commonality and the variations between them provide numerous opportunities for comparison and contrast. Although a number of the articles included here do not actually attempt that task and are mostly limited to one imperial area,...
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February 1, 2012
