Conquest : the destruction of the American indios
Massimo Livi Bacci, Carl Ipsen (Translator)
The arrival of Europeans in the Americas brought with it a demographic catastrophe of vast proportions for the native populations. In this book Livi Bacci argues that the catastrophe was not the inevitable outcome of contact with Europeans but was a function of both the methods of the conquest and the characteristics of the subjugated societies.
368 s. : illustrations ; 21 cm
9780745640013, 074564001X
1001698008
PrefaceI In which are described three voyages that changed the face of a continent, the American population at the time of contact, the demographic catastrophe of the Indios, the sorrowful increase of the Africans, and the expansion of the EuropeansII A humble Franciscan, two combative Dominicans, an Italian humanist at the Court of Spain, a remorseful viceroy, a naturalist ‘alcade’, a Europeanized Inca and an Inca fallen on hard times, a conquistador observer... different witnesses and a common analysis of the catastropheIII A tireless traveler disrupts a continent, but a quarter century too late. From the Caribbean to Perú: a brief history of a long voyage and of the suspected assassin of Huayna Capac, father of Atahuallpa. The true and presumed sins of smallpox and other crowd diseasesIV A golden nose ring and the tragic destiny of the Taíno. An Indio follows a deer and discovers a mountain of silver. A people in constant movement, over 1000 miles and at an elevation of 4000 meters, and the wealth of Potosí. Deeds and misdeeds of gold and silverV Hispaniola, the territorial paradise of Columbus and the imagination of modern scholars. One hundred thousand or ten million Taíno? The catastrophe of the Antilles as seen from close up and a credible leyenda negra. People die while animals flourishVI A great and rich city, dreamed of by Columbus and destroyed by Cortés. The modern dispute over the population of Mesoamerica. Tributaries, tributes, and population. Thirteen brigantines hauled overland and a tunnel in the rock. Men and beastsVII The Incas and many millions of subjects. A quarter century of wars: Indios versus Indios, Spaniards versus Indios, Spaniards versus Spaniards. ‘Quipu’ pen and ink. A viceroy who counts, measures and acts. Epidemics: the moderns debate them, the ancients ignore themVIII Colonists and ‘Paulists’ hunting down Guaraní between the Paraná and the Uruguay. One hundred Jesuits for 100,000 Indios. Steel axes and security in exchange for Christian habits. Monogamy and reproduction stronger than crowd diseasesEpilogAppendicesTablesFiguresNotesChronologyGlossaryNote on IllustrationsIndex