The Conquest of History: Spanish Colonialism and National Histories in the Nineteenth Century (Pitt Latin American Series) - Tapa dura

This is a commendable piece of scholarship which argues something genuinely new by mixing an impressively braod canvas and a fascinating wealth of detail.An elegant, rich and convincing argument for a need to reappraise a neglected period and occasionally misunderstood processes." - Journal of Latin American Studies "Schmidt-Nowara's excellent and persuasively argued book pushes the limits of empire studies . . . particularly through the examination of nation-building outside of a nationalist context. Fundamentally, this is a study of the art of interpretation and a clear example of the ways that textual and discourse analysis are ideological arms in the battle for the control over recounting the past. This book is essential for anyone interested in empire studies, comparative colonial studies, or the literature and culture of the Spanish, Philippine, or Antillean nineteenth century." - Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies "Well-written and documented, this study is valuable for historians of ideas and the writing of history, as well as historians of Spain and Spanish America. All college and university libraries should purchase it. Highly recommended." - Choice

As Spain rebuilt its colonial regime in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines after the Spanish American revolutions, it turned to history to justify continued dominance. The metropolitan vision of history, however, always met with opposition in the colonies.The Conquest of History examines how historians, officials, and civic groups in Spain and its colonies forged national histories out of the ruins and relics of the imperial past. By exploring controversies over the veracity of the Black Legend, the location of Christopher Columbus's mortal remains, and the survival of indigenous cultures, Christopher Schmidt-Nowara's richly documented study shows how history became implicated in the struggles over empire. It also considers how these approaches to the past, whether intended to defend or to criticize colonial rule, called into being new postcolonial histories of empire and of nations.