Promiscuous Power

Promiscuous Power is an intriguing book. The so-called Conquista, the complex encounter between Europe and the Americas in the late 15th till 16th century, is an extensively studied topic, in particular regarding the area of New Spain. However, for centuries the historiography has viewed this subject primarily in order to glorify or condemn the conquistadors. These nationalist and Eurocentric perspectives have been challenged since the late 1960s. In the wake of postcolonial and subaltern studies, the focus shifted to actors who had been marginalized by historiography thus far. Under their own label of New Conquest History, a group of mainly U.S.-American historians has asked new questions and targeted ignored sources. Giving the indigenous cultures, blacks, slaves, and women voices and agencies, the new scholarship changed the picture of a handful of adventurous brave men who allegedly subjugated vast parts of the Americas to a differentiated scene of multiple factors, including alliances with, and among, indigenous groups.

Ancient history · Archaeology · CONQUEST · Ethnology · Genealogy · Historiography · Indigenous · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Scholarship · Sociology · Subaltern · Subject (documents) · Anthropology · Asian American and Pacific Histories · Diverse Historical and Scientific Studies · Gender Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law