Baroque Times in Old Mexico: Seventeenth-Century Persons, Places, and Practices

by Irving A. Leonard

Illuminates life in the feudal society of colonial Mexico

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

Reviews

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an excellent and highly readable account of the Seventeenth Century in colonial Mexico. As it was originally published in 1959, some reviewers have lodged slight criticisms against the book for some of its language, and viewpoint, but I thought they were minor. Present, but minor, and not enough to devalue the rating of the book. It does admirably what it set out to do--give a picture of a time and place that might otherwise be glossed over as a period of inactivity or stagnation.

Not that the author makes any extravagant claims for this century--he recognizes it as a lacuna in most accounts of Mexico, or of the colonial period precisely because more exciting events, more politically and culturally important events, were either happening outside of the century or outside of this region. But he maintains that the general impression of the 'Baroque' period in Mexico can be shown to be flawed, and that a student of Mexican history might be surprised at the level of activity that was going on.

Leonard focuses less on political happenings because that aspect of life changed very little--instead he tries to illustrate what it was like to live in this period by highlighting a few biographical snippets (a la Barbara Tuchman, though on a reduced scale), or to bring to light the details involved in some of the cultural events that took place. What emerges is a sometimes charming picture, a report on a place I might like to visit, but not live. By the end, I think he justifies his claims--there was more going on there and then than one might have thought. To me, this was an excellent example of historiography in its own right, even if the subject was not as exciting as, say, the arrival of the conquistadors, or perhaps the Mexican Revolution. Still, I would highly recommend it to anyone who's interest is primarily in Latin American history. Those interested in any aspect of history will find it worth their while as well.

[Monet Wolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book to read between my semesters in grad school and keep my mind attuned to antiquated historical essays such as Leonard's. What I found interesting and somewhat misleading from the title was the author's focus on the Spanish literary boom withing the 17th century Old Mexico. I'm super curious as to why and what evident impacts there was on the culture.

I can definitely make a hypothesis on this, being the influential book collectors interests in the mystical sciences such as astrology. I think Mexican culture, white or indigenous is very spiritual and intuitive so I suppose it makes sense. I wish I was able to read on the connections more but I suppose this was a window into the academic life during Baroque Mexico.

Overall very readable even in today's age of short attention spans, etc. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a light academic reading that feels grounding yet casual.

[Dusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baroque Times is a splendidly-written and classic account of the cultural and historical conditions of Mexico in the seventeenth century. When it was published it was surely the most complete account of that period yet written (thus its "classic" status) but in the half-century since then some of Leonard's perspectives have gone, well, out of style. For example, it's probably inappropriate to refer to the (obliterated) Aztecs as "barbaric" or to New World baroque aesthetics as fetid and largely worthless. Anyway, if you're interested in the country, the era or the history of the history of Mexican history (repetition intended), you'll need to give this book a look. If you're searching for a "hip" read to prepare you to join a twenty-first conversation about "Old Mexico", however, you'll need to turn elsewhere.

[Charles Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seminal work is still the best starting place for studying viceregal Mexico. Its language and methodology are a little quaint, and certainly some of its conclusions have been reevaluated, but it's a fascinating and very engaging read.