Sam Terry’s Reviews > The Penguin History of Latin America > Status Update

Getting into the brief section on the colonial history of Brazil. Forgot my highlighter at home so I want to go back over it. Still have some 22 pages left but so far I would appreciate more elaboration on the nature of the “donatory-captaincies” that governed early Brazil

On why the New World criollo elite did not resist the Spanish imperial authority which checked their power: “Any direct attack on the monarchy ran the risk of bringing down the complex ideological edifice which kept the double colonialism of the Indies from collapsing in bloody chaos.” I love this goddamn book

Really interesting and nuanced perspectives on the role of the Spanish crown in defining the nature of Latin American colonial society. The monarchy is characterized in a much more sympathetic way than I imagined it would be, but maybe the monarchy had better intentions in its colonial ambitions than I’ve been taught

Patterns and internal dynamics of urban settlement. Adelantados, cabildos, port cities, makings of the hacienda system