Reseña de Basques and Vicuñas at the Mouth of Hell. A Documentary History of Potosí in the Early 1620s de Kris Lane (ed.) y Timothy F. Johnson (trad.)

Jackson, Robert H.

English

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  278	suggestive	 rather	 than	 persuasive.	 A	 baroque	 overabundance	 of	proliferating	 parts	whose	 differences	 exceed	 their	 parallels	 –	 to	 borrow	Carpentier’s	apt	description	of	the	baroque	horror	vacui	–	move	“outward	and	away	from	the	center,	.	.	.	somehow	break[ing]	through	its	own	borders”	in	his	essay	“The	Baroque	and	 the	Marvelous	Real”	 (translated	by	Tanya	Huntingdon	and	Lois	Parkinson	Zamora	and	included	in	Magical	Realism:	Theory,	History,	Community).	This	prevents	the	argument	from	emerging	as	 a	 clear	 and	 coherent	 whole	 but	 does	 not,	 however,	 diminish	 the	substantial	research	base	of	this	study.	Individual	sections	and	subsections	of	chapters	are	informative	guides	on	specific	topics	and	works.	This	is	true,	for	 example,	 of	 section	 2.2	 (“Neobaroque	 Literary	 and	 Artistic	Transgressions”)	 (53-68),	 section	 4.1	 (“The	 Neobaroque	 as	 a	 Style	 of	Instability	 and	 Excess:	 In	 the	 Footsteps	 of	 Sarduy	 and	 Bataille”),	 or	 the	discussion	of	Bolívar	Echevarría’s	concept	of	“Baroque	Ethos”	(341-44).	On	balance,	Visions	of	Transmerica	makes	a	valuable	contribution	on	a	number	of	individual	counts	(mini	essays	on	specific	topics)	but	falls	short	of	its	aim	to	place	these	within	a	coherent	overall	“transmerican”	framework.		MONIKA 	KAUP 	University	of	Washington		KR I S 	 LANE , 	 ED . , 	 AND 	T IMOTHY 	 F . 	 J OHNSON , 	 TRANS . 	Basques	and	Vicuñas	at	the	Mouth	of	Hell.	A	Documentary	History	of	Potosí	in	the	Early	1620s.	Reno	and	Las	Vegas:	U	of	Nevada	P,	2024.	383	pp.		In	the	early	1620s	the	silver	mining	center	of	Potosí,	located	in	what	today	is	Bolivia,	had	a	population	of	more	than	120,000	people,	mostly	indigenous	workers	brought	to	mine	silver.	It	was	an	important	source	of	revenue	for	the	Hapsburg	monarchy	that	was	engaged	in	an	expensive	religious	conflict	in	Europe	of	Christians	vs.	Christians	known	as	the	Thirty	Years	War	(1618-1648).	 For	 three	 years	 (1622-1625),	 Potosí	was	 the	 scene	 of	 civil	 violence	reminiscent	of	the	war	between	rival	boot-legging	gangs	in	Chicago	in	the	late	1920s,	with	an	escalating	number	of	assaults	and	murders	among	rival	factions	of	Basques	and	non-Basques	known	collectively	 as	Vicuñas.	The	cycle	of	violence	ended	with	a	general	pardon	of	the	major	players	in	1625	that	excluded	the	sicarios	(assassins)	that	royal	officials	hunted	down	and	punished.		 This	volume	reproduces	in	translation	six	original	documents	that	are	accounts	 of	 the	 cycle	 of	 violence	 that	 offer	 different	 perspectives	 on	 the	conflict	and	abstracts	from	a	seventh	document	that	was	a	muster	roll	of	the	local	militia	mobilized	to	patrol	the	streets	of	the	city	in	an	effort	to	control	the	violence.	This	is	an	important	collection	of	primary	sources.	Historian	  279	Kris	Lane	provides	a	detailed	overview	to	the	conflict	 in	the	introduction	and	offers	a	detailed	analysis	and	description	of	each	of	the	documents	that	places	them	into	the	context	of	the	narrative.	Lane	adds	two	appendices	at	the	end	of	the	book,	and	a	useful	list	that	identifies	the	main	actors	in	the	drama.	The	first	appendix	offers	a	series	of	anecdotes	drawn	mostly	from	notarial	records	that	attempts	to	provide	more	of	a	sense	of	day-to-day	life	in	Potosí	in	the	early	1620s.	The	information	in	the	appendix	is	useful,	but	this	reader	was	left	wanting	more	detail	and	particularly	more	analysis.	The	second	appendix	is	a	helpful	historiographic	essay	that	analyzes	different	interpretations	of	the	violence	in	Potosí.	The	six	documents	reproduced	in	this	volume	are	important	primary	sources,	and	in	making	them	available	in	translation	this	volume	makes	an	important	contribution	to	the	 literature.	The	militia	roll	was	perhaps	too	long	to	include	in	its	entirety	in	this	volume.	However,	since	the	complete	document	was	not	reproduced,	the	volume	editor	could	have	analyzed	the	content	of	the	roll	not	made	available	to	the	reader.	Lists	such	as	these	can	provide	 invaluable	 information	 not	 available	 from	 other	 sources.	 My	comments	 here	 focus	 on	 Lane’s	 introductory	 material	 and	 appendices.	Appendix	 2,	 the	 historiographic	 essay,	 is	 well	 done	 and	 is	 an	 important	contribution.	I	wish	I	could	say	the	same	for	Appendix	1.	The	anecdotes	are	interesting	and	provide	some	details	to	day-to-day	life	in	the	city.	However,	the	punchline	was	missing,	or,	in	other	words,	what	did	the	volume	editor	want	us	to	learn	about	life	in	Potosi	in	the	1620s?	I	would	like	to	make	several	comments	regarding	the	main	introductory	essay,	which	does	a	good	job	providing	an	overview	to	the	cycle	of	violence	in	Potosí	in	the	1620s.	I	will	focus	on	two	points.	The	introduction	left	me	with	 a	 sense	 of	 “and”	 or,	 in	 other	words,	 I	 wondered	what	 the	 story	 of	violence	in	Potosí	tells	us	about	Spanish	domination	or	lack	thereof	in	the	Americas,	social	relations,	conflict	resolution,	etc.	In	reading	this	history	I	was	left	with	the	sense	that	royal	authority	was	extremely	weak.	What	came	to	mind	is	the	interesting	book	by	Martin	Nesvig	that	analyzes	sixteenth-century	Michoacán	in	Mexico,	Promiscuous	Power:	An	Unorthodox	History	of	New	Spain.	People	there	routinely	ignored	royal	authority	and	the	mandates	of	 royal	officials,	 and	basically	did	what	 they	wanted.	This	 is	 the	 type	of	larger	 analysis	 and	bibliographic	 references	 that	 are	 lacking	 from	Lane’s	introductory	essay.	A	 second	 point	 regarding	 the	 introductory	 essay	 is	what	 I	 saw	 as	 a	dearth	of	historiographic	analysis	of	urban	violence	in	early-modern	cities	and	in	Spanish	American	cities.	Lane	mentions,	for	example,	a	1624	tumulto	(urban	 riot)	 in	Mexico	 City	 (there	was	 another	 tumult	 in	Mexico	 City	 in	1692),	that	I	presume	he	included	because	it	occurred	at	the	same	time	as	the	violence	 in	Potosí.	 Lane	cites	a	 recent	 study	of	 the	 1624	 tumulto	 that	  280	focuses	 on	 it	 as	 being	 an	 example	 of	 conflict	 resolution	 in	 seventeenth-century	 Spanish	 America	 (Angela	 Ballone,	The	 1624	 Tumult	 of	 Mexico	 in	Perspective	 (c.1620–1650):	 Authority	 and	 Conflict	 Resolution	 in	 the	 Iberian	Atlantic).	This	relates	to	his	own	interest	in	the	royal	response	to	the	urban	violence	in	Potosí.	Lane,	however,	did	not	discuss	the	general	literature	on	the	 causes	 of	 urban	 riots	 and	 urban	 violence.	 In	 some	 instances,	 urban	violence	resulted	from	the	shortage	of	and/or	sharp	increases	in	the	price	of	bread	(the	staple	of	the	diet	of	the	urban	poor),	and	in	Mexico	also	the	shortage	of	corn	for	tortillas.	Lane	would	have	benefited,	for	example,	from	a	close	reading	of	David	Ringrose’s	study	of	Madrid	during	the	early	modern	period,	Madrid	and	 the	Spanish	Economy,	 1560-1850,	 among	other	 studies.	One	question	remains	unanswered:	was	the	violence	in	Potosí	a	typical	or	atypical	example	of	urban	violence	in	the	Hispanic	world	in	the	seventeenth	century?	This	introductory	essay	could	have	included	more,	for	instance,	for	the	morbidly	inclined,	an	estimate	of	the	body	count.	We	know,	for	example,	the	number	 of	 victims	 in	 the	 so-called	 “Saint	 Valentine’s	 Day	 Massacre”	(February	 14,	 1929)	 in	 Chicago.	 On	 balance,	 though,	 this	 volume	 is	 an	important	contribution	to	the	literature	in	that	it	makes	important	primary	sources	available.		ROBERT 	H . 	 J ACKSON 	 	Independent	Scholar	Mexico	City			ASUNC IÓN 	 LAVR IN , 	 Y 	MAR ÍA 	 CAS I LDA 	DEL 	 POZO 	Y 	 CALDERÓN . 	Autobiografía	de	una	devota	secular	en	Nueva	España.	San	Antonio:	UNAM	San	Antonio,	Biblioteca	Arte	y	Cultura,	2023.	423	pp.		En	 los	 últimos	 años	 los	 estudios	 sobre	 las	 mujeres	 novohispanas	 han	centrado	su	mirada	en	las	seglares	que,	anónimas	en	su	mayoría,	vivieron	su	espiritualidad	de	manera	intensa.	En	la	historiografía	mexicana	destacan	principalmente	los	trabajos	enfocados	en	monjas,	beatas	embaucadoras	y	mujeres	procesadas	por	la	Inquisición,	siendo	este	último	sector	el	que	sin	duda	 ha	 llamado	 más	 la	 atención	 de	 los	 investigadores.	 Sin	 embargo,	aquellas	 que	 no	 fueron	 procesadas	 por	 el	 Santo	 Oficio	 y	 que	 tampoco	lograron	profesar	en	alguno	de	los	numerosos	conventos	novohispanos	han	quedado	 relegadas	 Nos	 referimos	 a	 las	 beatas,	 modelo	 devocional	significativo,	que	solo	hasta	fechas	recientes	comenzó	a	ser	estudiado	como	un	 fenómeno	 inserto	 en	 lo	 que	 Margaret	 Chowning	 ha	 llamado	 la	feminización	de	la	religión.	Es	posible	que	el	olvido	de	estos	personajes	se	

KRIS LANE, ED., AND TIMOTHY F. JOHNSON, TRANS. Basques and Vicuñas at the Mouth of Hell. A Documentary History of Potosí in the Early 1620s. Reno and Las Vegas: U of Nevada P, 2024. 383 pp.

https://uottawa.scholarsportal.info/ottawa/index.php/rceh/article/download/7483/5829

KRIS LANE, ED., AND TIMOTHY F. JOHNSON, TRANS. Basques and Vicuñas at the Mouth of Hell. A Documentary History of Potosí in the Early 1620s. Reno and Las Vegas: U of Nevada P, 2024. 383 pp.

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