9781683401988 ( .Pdf )

Writing the New World This page intentionally left blank WRITING THE NEW WORLD The Politics of Natural History in the Early Spanish Empire Mauro José Caraccioli University of Florida Press Gainesville This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem)—a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries—and the generous support of Virginia Tech. Learn more at the TOME website, available at openmonographs.org. Copyright 2021 by Mauro José Caraccioli The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. To use this book, or parts of this book, in any way not covered by the license, please contact University of Florida Press at our website at http://upress.ufl.edu. Published in the United States of America 26 25 24 23 22 21 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN 978-1-68340-168-1 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-68340-170-4 (paper) ISBN 978-1-68340-195-7 (ePDF) ISBN 978-1-68340-198-8 (OA ePDF) ISBN 978-1-68340-291-6 (ePUB) DOI: 10.5744/9781683401988 Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publications Data Names: Caraccioli, Mauro José, author. Title: Writing the new world : the politics of natural history in the early Spanish Empire / Mauro José Caraccioli. Description: Gainesville : University of Florida Press, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020023368 (print) | LCCN 2020023369 (ebook) | ISBN 9781683401681 (hardback) | ISBN 9781683401957 (pdf) Subjects: LCSH: Natural history—Political aspects—Latin America. | Political science—Latin America. | Philosophy—Latin America. | Latin America—History. Classification: LCC QH106.5 .C37 2021 (print) | LCC QH106.5 (ebook) | DDC 508.8—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020023368 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020023369 University of Florida Press 2046 NE Waldo Road Suite 2100 Gainesville, FL 32609 http://upress.ufl.edu For Vanessa, my greatest teacher And for Celeste and Gustav, everyday joys of wonder This page intentionally left blank Man, in sum, the greatest marvel posed to human comprehension, a synthesis composed of qualities of angel, plant, and beast whose elevated baseness shows traits of each of these. And why? Perhaps more blessed than other forms it was designed that Man, through loving Union, should join with the Divine. A favor never fully fathomed, and, were we to judge by how it is reciprocated, insufficiently appreciated! —Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, First I Dream This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Illustrations xi Acknowledgments xiii Opening: Of Nature and Other Demons 1 1. Narratives of Conquest and the Conquest of Narrative 14 2. Oviedo, Las Casas, and the Difference That Made Nature 39 3. The nthropoliticsA of Bernardino de Sahagún 63 4. The mperialI Renaissance of Francisco Hernández 84 5. José de Acosta and the Ends of Empire 103 Epilogue: Toward a Natural History of Colonial Domination 126 Notes 143 Bibliography 171 Index 187 This page intentionally left blank Illustrations Figures 1. Iguana, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo 51 2. “The Ahuizotl,” Bernardino de Sahagún 68 3. “The Bird of the Heart,” Bernardino de Sahagún 77 4. Anonymous drawing of Francisco Hernández 94 5. Rivea corymbosa, Francisco Hernández 96 6. Frontispiece, José de Acosta 111 7. Indian miners at Potosí, Teodoro de Bry 125 Table 1. Constitutive narratives of natural history 23 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments Books, like an education, are never entirely our own doing. My own self- discovery while writing this work has put me in contact with dozens of people who have supported, encouraged, counseled, and pushed back to make the ideas and stories therein come alive. All its limitations are entirely my own fault. This rojectp began at the University of Florida, where Leslie Paul Thiele helped steer the early stages of my research with care and camaraderie. My own thinking about the potential for judgment that a changing natural world demands would not have been possible without his probing, thoughtful guid- ance. The driving questions of this book were born in fiery discussions with Dan O’Neill. Dan’s generosity of intellect and humor convinced me that I be- longed in Political Theory, not to mention modeled for me a way toma ke friends in academia. Aida Hozic was, and remains, a champion of the mantra that clear conviction makes for clear writing. I would not have arrived at either of those without her incisive honesty. Ido Oren shepherded the historical and personal scope of this work as a master of his craft. He was also careful to re- mind me how important the life of the mind is in trying times. Lastly, much of what this book tackles would not have been possible without the encyclopedic knowledge of Ida Altman, who always made time to think together. At the University of Florida, my teachers, colleagues, union comrades, and students drove me to tell my story without fear. Larry Dodd was a true champion of my intellectual and personal growth, single-handedly pushing me to the limits of my own capacity for wonder. Badredine Arfi, Eric Keys, Ben Smith, Laura Sjoberg, Dietmar Schirmer, Leann Brown, and Sophia Acord were all marvelous interlocutors, particularly in those times I doubted who and what this project was for. The Political Theory mafia at UF heard more versions of this account than I am willing to admit, but they did so with selfless candor: Lorna Bracewell, Alec Dinnin, Evgenia Ilieva, Jon Masin-Peters, Manu Samnotra, and Seaton Tarrant were true fellow travelers and exemplary of the difference community makes. TheDepartment of Political Science during those years was a timely social experiment. Reading groups, workshops, membership drives, movie nights, and student life would not have been nearly as enjoyable without the following colleagues and friends: Oumar Ba, Kevin Baron, Lina Benabdallah, Mamadou Bodian, Dave Bradshaw, Li-Li Chen, Ross Cotton, Rolda Darlington, Amanda Edgell, Dan Eizenga, Kevin Funk, Adi Mamo, Chesney McComber, Koki Men- dis, Lia Merivaki, Macarena Moraga, Anna Mwaba, Victor Olivieri, Buket Oz- tas, Sebastian Sclofsky, C. G. Shields, Dragana Svraka, Saskia van Wees, Anna Weismann, and most especially Jon and Isabella Whooley for their endless generosity—with love, always. This book was initially more about the science of imperialism than about the relation between faith, nature, and empire. I was able to pursue archival research at the John Carter Brown Library thanks to a generous Research & Travel Grant from the UF Department of Political Science. At the JCB, the original project’s limitations quickly became evident thanks to the charitable curiosity of Ken Ward. During my time in Providence, Ben Reed was a true friend in an environment I wasn’t sure how to navigate. Alexis Ettner provided a home and warm memories. Bob Cook and Meghan Kallman shared with me their meals and roof on the edge of Pawtucket. Adam and Esther Ryland Keul witnessed with me the most beautiful (and only) moonrise I’ve ever experi- enced. Robert Samuels helped make a layover in the Imperial Capital fun and restful. Across several years, three cities, and two children, many more friends and colleagues accompanied this book’s evolution. At Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, Herb Kessler was the first to invite me to share the full scope of my work with the faculty. Bob Brenneman and Gabriela Ochoa hosted many eve- nings and helped me think through so many questions with care. In the Politi- cal Science Department, Michael Bosia, Jeff Ayres, Shefali Misra, Bill Grover, John Hughes, and Trish Siplon welcomed me into their pedagogically rebel- lious oasis. Valentina Rojas, Crystal L’Hote, Steven Obranovich, Farrah Fatemi, Allison and Kevin Jerram, and Bret Findley gave me friendship and solidarity like few others. At Virginia Tech, my work is better today thanks to the tireless mentoring of François Debrix and thoughtful friendship of Cara Daggett, Danna Agmon, and Matthew Gabriele. Among my amazing friends, colleagues, and students, I xiv Acknowledgments would also like to thank: Tim Luke, Edward Weisband, Yannis Stivachtis, Karen Hult, Luke Plotica, Charles Taylor, Ilja Luciak, Nick Copeland, Rebecca Hes- ter, Rachel Gabriele, Melanie Kiechle, Priya Dixit, Andy Scerri, Besnik Pula, Wayne Moore, Scott Nelson, Caitlin Jewitt, Sylvester Johnson, Clair Apodaca, Paul Avey, Karin Kitchens, Nick Goedert, Aaron Brantly, Binio Binev, and Eric Jardine for all their encouragement. In the closing months of finishing this book, Desirée Poets, Bikrum Gill, Audrey Reeves, Edward Polanco, Gonzalo Montero, Patrick Ridge, and Javiera Jaque joined our outlaw mountain haven with an unbridled commitment to strengthening its fellowship. I am a better scholar for having them in my life. Lastly, my ASPECT comrades-in-arms (past and present) and students have also been key to my evolution: Jenn Lawrence, Rohan Kalyan, Bettina Koch, Brett Shadle, Rachel Scott, Leigh McKagen, Alex Stubberfield, Ezgi Seref, Rob Hodges, Jay Burkette, and Kate Morton all saw in my story something that took me a bit longer to articulate. It was through their eyes that the scope of my endeavors became fully visible. Most of the chapters in this book were first discussed over long conversa- tions with friends and colleagues across the world. Many thanks are owed to: Dan Green, Michael Nordquist, Brent Steele, Jon Carlson, Harry Gould, Ella Street, Jack Amoureux, Alex Barder, Stefanie Fishel, Einar Wigen, Julia Costa López, Halvard Leira, Benjamin de Carvalho, Ty Solomon, Bob Vitalis, Pat- rick Jackson, Mark Shirk, Jeppe Mulich, Morton Anderson, Xavier Guillaume, Swati Srivastava, Manuela Picq, Patchen Markell, Jeanne Morefield, Michelle Schwarze, Michael Goodhart, Nina Hagel, Briana McGinnis, Nev Koker, Bren- don Westler, Anatoli Ignatov, Josh Simon, Inés Valdez, and many others for their impressions, friendship, and support.

Load more