The Forging of the Cosmic Race: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Mexico. [Book Review]Posted in Articles, Book/Video Reviews, Caribbean/Latin America, History, Media Archive, Mexico on 2013-05-20 00:57Z by Steven |
The Forging of the Cosmic Race: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Mexico. [Book Review]
The Journal of San Diego History
Volume 27, Number 3 (Summer 1981)
W. Michael Mathes (1936-2012), Professor of History
University of San Francisco
The Forging of the Cosmic Race: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Mexico. By Colin M. MacLachlan and Jaime E. Rodríguez O. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980. Bibliography. Illustrations. Index. Maps. 362 pages.
In general, Mexico’s colonial past has been interpreted as a negative experience by modern scholars. Within Mexico this interpretation is based primarily upon political concepts which idealize pre-Cortesian culture and condemn Spain as a cruel, autocratic nation which forcefully imposed itself upon Aztec civilization through bloody conquest. Foreign scholars either adhere to this “Black Legend” concept or, in a more revisionary sense, simply condemn colonialism as an institution. This new study presents a positive approach to the three centuries of Spanish domination in Mexico as an integral part of national evolution, not as a better-to-be forgotten period of darkness.
The basis for the development of Colonial Mexico, New Spain, is seen as mestizaje, the fusion of Indian and European culture which began with the conquest in 1519. In that Aztec and Spanish society shared more similarities than differences, mestizaje produced a dynamic new race, referred to by José Vasconcelos as “Cosmic,” the “Mexican.” As an integral part of society within New Spain, the mestizo is seen as the prime mover of economic growth and cultural homogeneity…
Read the entire review here.