Afro-Latino Voices

"A groundbreaking book . . . provides a broad and rich sampling of documents recording the early modern voices of the African diaspora. . . . Wills, testaments, letters, and historical chronicles are some of the sources that scholars from various disciplines present in this anthology. . . . Each scholar provides a meticulous contextualization of the historical, social, cultural, and political circumstances surrounding the production of each document. The trilingual presentation allows the reader to see the rhetorical style of archival documents in the original language. Additionally, the maps ensure that students have a clear understanding of the geography and historical sites relevant to the range of texts included in the book." —Margaret Olsen, Macalester College

SKU
26905g

Narratives from the Early Modern Ibero-Atlantic World, 1550-1812

Edited by Kathryn Joy McKnight & Leo J. Garofalo

2009 - 416 pp.

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Paper 978-0-87220-993-0
$22.00

eBook available for $17.95. Click HERE for more information.

"A groundbreaking book . . . provides a broad and rich sampling of documents recording the early modern voices of the African diaspora. . . . Wills, testaments, letters, and historical chronicles are some of the sources that scholars from various disciplines present in this anthology. . . . Each scholar provides a meticulous contextualization of the historical, social, cultural, and political circumstances surrounding the production of each document.
    "The trilingual presentation allows the reader to see the rhetorical style of archival documents in the original language. Additionally, the maps ensure that students have a clear understanding of the geography and historical sites relevant to the range of texts included in the book."
     —Margaret Olsen, Macalester College

 

"A landmark scholarly achievement . . . With judicious commentary by several of the leading experts in the field, this book dramatically expands the canon of texts used to study the black Atlantic and the African diaspora, and captures the tenor of the 'black voice' as it collectively engaged the power of colonial institutions.  
    "In no uncertain terms, Afro-Latino Voices will prove to be a remarkable pedagogical tool and an influential resource, inspiring deeper comparative work on the African diaspora."    
     —Ben Vinson III, Center for Africana Studies, Johns Hopkins University

 

"Rarely does a primary document reader provide so many fresh conceptual challenges. This book conveys a clear sense of the circulations that defined the Iberian Atlantic, linking Spain, Portugal, West Africa, and various Latin American and Caribbean spaces. At the same time, it places African-descended peoples firmly at the center of Atlantic history.  
    "Another considerable strength of the book . . . is its cross-disciplinary focus. The diversity of Afro-Latin voices is matched by the diversity of the historians recording them; this is unusual and allows for a wide range of interpretations."
     —James Sweet, University of Wisconsin

 

"Kathryn Mcknight and Leo Garofalo have produced a remarkable book in which the search for historical facts are subsumed by the voices who sought to describe the reality of their times and places.  The authors ask the reader “to read these documents as rhetorical and symbolic texts rather than as straightforward sources of historical information.  Some students of history or social sciences may find it uncomfortable to move from a search for what ‘really happened’ and what people ‘really believed’ to an examination of how historical actors presented that reality” (p. xviii).  This book covers politics and war, families and communities, religious beliefs and practices, and justice.  The book brings together a myriad of cultures from Kongo and Ndongo in Central Africa, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, Spain, and Portugal, among others.  Beyond being a mere reader for students, McKnight and Garofalo have created a sourcebook that reveals an entirely different world than what is seen in conventional history books and anthologies.  In that sense, this edited volume has broken new ground.  Aside from classroom use, this book is highly recommended to librarians, writers, and researchers of colonial Latin America."
     —Colonial Latin American Historical Review

 

"The various narratives reveal the issues people of African descent had to confront: war and politics, families and communities, spiritual beliefs and practices, human rights, and, of course, enslavement. The passages break down the assumptions, stereotypes, and over generalizations that continue to limit understanding the lives of people of African descent and the ways they imagine their lives. These selections counteract the prevalent myth that Ibero-Atlantic blacks were primarily enslaved on plantations, excluded from exercising free will. Highly recommended."
     —R. A. Santillan, Medgar Evers College, CUNY, in CHOICE

 

About the Authors:

Kathryn Joy McKnight is Associate Professor of Spanish, University of New Mexico.

Leo J. Garofalo is Associate Professor of History, Connecticut College.