The Enlightenment on trial : ordinary litigants and colonialism in the Spanish empire / Bianca Premo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Premo, Bianca, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Justice, Administration of--Latin America--History.

Justice, Administration of.

Law--Spain--Colonies--History.

Law.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations (black and white)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2017.

Summary:

The principal protagonists of this history of the Enlightenment are non-literate, poor, and enslaved colonial litigants who began to sue their superiors in the royal courts of the Spanish empire. With comparative data on civil litigation and close readings of the lawsuits, 'The Enlightenment on Trial' explores how ordinary Spanish Americans actively produced modern concepts of law.

Contents:

Introduction : why is it enlightenment?

Agents and powers : litigants and writers in the courts

Derecho and law : legal enlightenment in philosophy and policy

Numbers and values : counting cases in the Spanish empire

Pleitos and lawsuits : conjugal conflicts in civil courts

Then and now : native status and custom

Being and becoming : freedom and slave lawsuits

Conclusion : why not enlightenment?

Appendix I. Archival methods

Appendix II. Analysis of civil litigation over time.

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2017.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on January 6, 2017).

ISBN:

0-19-063875-3

0-19-063876-1

0-19-063874-5