SPAN 5300/7300: José de Acosta and the Making of Colonial

Prof. Andrés Prieto Horas de oficina: MWF, 11-12

Arguably the most influential ecclesiastical figure in sixteenth-century Spanish America, José de Acosta's political and intellectual activities make him an ideal figure to explore the making and implementation of colonial policies. Born in 1540, two years before the official recognition of the by Pope Paul III and seven years after the execution of Atahualpa, Acosta lived in a rapidly changing world. His public life coincided almost exactly with the reign of Philip II (1556-1598), a fateful period that saw the consolidation of Spanish colonial rule over most of South America, but also the diminishing of the influence exerted over Europe. As a Jesuit, Acosta participated in the explosive expansion of the Society of Jesus and in the crisis and changes in orientation the Jesuits experimented as the order became one of history’s first truly global corporations. The Peru to which he arrived in 1572 was also a changing society. After decades of civil war and weak government officials, Viceroy Francisco de Toledo (1569-1581) was intent on bringing Peru firmly under the control of the Spanish Crown and to turn it into the source of revenue so desperately needed by Spain. Acosta’s role, both as an adviser to the Viceroy and as superior of the Peruvian Jesuits, would be instrumental in the civil and ecclesiastical reorganization of Peru. But if Acosta had left Spain at the zenith of its power to fully immerse himself in his country’s imperial enterprise, things were different on his return to Europe. Acosta returned to Spain in the wake of the crushing defeat suffered by the Spanish Armada, when the country was beginning its long period of decadence and its position as the dominant European power was on the wane. Acosta lived long enough to see Spain fall into default in 1596. By the time he died in 1600, another default was all but inevitably.

Although usually hailed as a missionary or a natural philosopher, in this class we will studfy Acosta as an imperial agent. Through detailed attention to his actions and texts, we will see how he became instrumental for the configuration both Peruvian colonial life and the Jesuit order would acquire entering the seventeenth century.

Evaluación:

Presentación corta: 10% Propuesta: 10% Bibliografía anotada: 10% Trabajo final: 70%

Horario tentativo 24 Agosto: Introducción a la clase. Burgaleta, José de Acosta: His Life and Thought.

31 Agosto: Clossey, Salvation and Globalization in the Early Jesuit Missions.

7 Septiembre: Ignacio de Loyola, Ejercicios espirituales; Christopher Van Ginhoven Rey, Instruments of Divinity (selecciones).

14 Septiembre: Monumenta Peruana (selecciones); Cartas de Francisco de Toledo.

21 Septiembre: Monumenta Peruana (selecciones); Cartas de Toledo; Anónimo, Parecer de Yucay; Las Casas, Tratado de las doce dudas.

28 Septiembre: Actas del proceso contra Fray Francisco de la Cruz (selecciones).

5 Octubre: Jennings, "Acosta's Laugh"; Acosta, De Procuranda Indorum Salute (I).

12 Octubre: Acosta, De Procuranda Indorum Salute (II).

19 Octubre: Brewer-García, "Bodies, Texts, and Translators"; Ruan, "Andean Activism and the Reformulation of Mestizo Agency"; Monumenta Peruana, selecciones; Anónimo, De las costumbres antiguas.

26 Octubre: Confessionario para los curas de indios; Doctrina cristiana y catecismo; Durston, Pastoral Quechua (selecciones).

2 Noviembre: Tercero Catecismo; Hosne, Jesuit Missions to China and Peru (selecciones).

9 Noviembre: Acosta, Historia natural y moral de las Indias (I); McCormack, Religion in the (selecciones). Propuestas de trabajo final y bibliografía anotada.

16 Noviembre: Acosta, Historia natual y moral de las Indias (II).

23 Noviembre: FALL BREAK

30 Noviembre: Acosta, "Parecer sobre la guerra de China"; Brockey, Journey to the East (Selecciones); Hosne, Jesuit Missions to China and Peru (selecciones).

7 Diciembre: Presentaciones orales. Entrega de trabajo final.