Blood and Boundaries - The Limits of Religious and Racial Exclusion in Early Modern Latin America

In Blood and Boundaries, Stuart B. Schwartz explores how Spain and Portugal transferred their policies of exclusion and discrimination based on religious origins and genealogy to their colonies in Latin America, focusing on the three minority groups of moriscos, conversos, and mestizos. Despite efforts to regulate and exclude them, these groups often found legal and practical means to ignore, circumvent, or challenge these efforts, creating the dynamic societies of Latin America that emerged in the nineteenth century.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 09 February 2021
Publisher: University Press of New England

In his captivating book, "Blood and Boundaries," Stuart B. Schwartz delves into the intricate tapestry of late medieval Latin America, unveiling the profound impact of Spain and Portugal's policies of exclusion and discrimination based on religious origins and genealogy upon their colonies in the region. Rather than limiting his analysis to the traditional divisions of colonial society, such as Indians, Europeans, and people of African origins, Schwartz takes a unique approach by examining the three minority groups: moriscos, conversos, and mestizos. These groups, consisting of Muslim and Jewish converts and their descendants, posed a particularly complex challenge for colonial society. On the one hand, they were feared and distrusted as distinct ethnically different populations, yet their conversion to Christianity seemed to defy established social categories and identities. This paradoxical situation gave rise to "cleanliness of blood" regulations, which explicitly discriminated against converts.

Over time, these regulations expanded to encompass indigenous and enslaved African populations, eventually extending to the growing numbers of mestizos, individuals with mixed ethnic origins. Despite the concerted efforts of civil, church, and state institutions to regulate, denigrate, and exclude these affected groups, Schwartz reveals that members of these marginalized communities often found innovative legal and practical strategies to circumvent, challenge, and resist categorization and exclusion. In doing so, they inadvertently fostered the dynamic societies that emerged in Latin America during the nineteenth century.

This captivating book offers a profound exploration of the complex interplay between religion, ethnicity, and colonialism, shedding light on the enduring legacies of these policies and their profound impact on the development of Latin America. Through meticulous research and a nuanced analysis, Schwartz provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of this pivotal period in history.

Weight: 282g
Dimension: 140 x 214 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781684580200