Spain in the Southwest: A Narrative History of Colonial New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and California

by John L. Kessell

Book Overview

John L. Kessell's Spain in the Southwest presents a fast-paced, abundantly illustrated history of the Spanish colonies that became the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and California. With an eye for human interest, Kessell tells the story of New Spain's vast frontier--today's American Southwest and Mexican North--which for two centuries served as a dynamic yet disjoined periphery of the Spanish empire.

Chronicling the period of Hispanic...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806134844
• ISBN13: 9780806134840
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 484 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.8" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

Colonial History is about Conquest . . . This is colonial history!

While I appreciate the comment about being frustrated, how can one possibly look at colonial history without talking about conquest and domination and killing Indian people (Sadly, this is almost a definition of colonial history)? The purpose of a colony, especially a mercantilist colony (which Spain, England, France, and Russia were, incidentally) is that the colony survives for the benefit of the mother country. But, unlike the English and French regions, Spaniards had to have contracts from the king to settle or explore, as Kessell makes very clear, and had to abide by over 8,000 rules and regulations about the Indies. No other European colony had accountability like the Spanish. This book is far from Black Legend (I have some suggestions for that). Colonial history is about conquest, domination (how else do you turn something into a colony?), control, exploitation (some worse than others), but they all had to follow the regulations set up in the Recopilacion de las leyes de las Indias==and even Onate was found guilty of using excessive force against the Acoma Pueblos, living immorally, executing two of his own colonists (and more--, even though he eventually got exonerated by King Philip IV). While this book delves into COLONIAL history from a Spanish perspective, it is about as balanced as one can get. My only complaint is also a compliment--Kessell is an amazing storyteller (the way history should be), but sometimes the storytelling gets the reader off track and it's hard to come back to the flow of the chapter. Good on ya, Kessell. Great book!

Excellent Overview

John Kessell has again provided an insightful and clear overview of Spanish presence in the Southwest. The careful reader will readily notice Kessell's talent for fleshing out the important events and shifting developments during this long period of time. And as always, it is remarkably well written. Contrary to the previous reviewer's comments, Kessell's book does not espouse any semblance of 'Spanish Black Legend.' Not even implicitly. He instead presents conflicts between Spaniards and Native peoples with diplomacy and dignity. One can easily recognize Kessell's deep appreciation for the history of this region. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of the Spanish Colonial Southwest.