Conquest

The Destruction of the American Indios

von Massimo Livi-Bacci

368 Seiten, Hardcover

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

The arrival of Europeans in the Americas brought with it a demographic catastrophe of vast proportions for the native populations. What were the causes? The surviving documentation is extraordinarily rich: conquistadors, religious figures, administrators, officials, and merchants kept records, carried out inquiries, and issued edicts. The native world, for its part, has also left eloquent traces of events as well as direct testimony of its harsh subjugation at the hands of the Europeans. Drawing on these sources, Livi-Bacci shows how not only the 'imported' diseases but also a series of economic and social factors played a role in the disastrous decline of the native populations. He argues that the catastrophe was not the inevitable outcome of contact with Europeans but was a function of both the methods of the conquest and the characteristics of the subjugated societies. This gripping narrative recounts one of the greatest tragedies of human history, one whose protagonists include figures like Columbus, Montezuma, Atahuallpa, Pizarro, Corts and Tupac Amaru.

• Themen: Gesellschaft und Sozialwissenschaften Gesellschaft und Kultur, allgemein Gesellschaftliche Gruppen, Gemeinschaften und Identitäten Ethnic Studies / Ethnizität Ethnische Gruppen und multikulturelle Studien Indigene Völker / Indigenität
• ISBN: 9780745640006
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 13.12.2007
• Größe: 146 x 224 mm
• Verlag: John Wiley and Sons Ltd