Don Quixote

The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha
by Miguel de Cervantes

A Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Published in two volumes, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered one of the most influential works of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature and one of the earliest canonical novels, it regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published, such as the Bokklubben World Library collection that cites Don Quixote as authors' choice for the "best literary work ever written". It follows the adventures of a nameless hidalgo who reads so many chivalric romances that he loses his sanity and decides to set out to revive chivalry, undo wrongs, and bring justice to the world, under the name Don Quixote.

 He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, who often employs a unique, earthy wit in dealing with Don Quixote's rhetorical orations on antiquated knighthood. Don Quixote, in the first part of the book, does not see the world for what it is and prefers to imagine that he is living out a knightly story. Throughout the novel, Cervantes uses such literary techniques as realism, metatheatre, and intertextuality. It had a major influence on the literary community, as evidenced by direct references in Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers (1844), Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) and Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac (1897), as well as the word "quixotic". Arthur Schopenhauer cited Don Quixote as one of the four greatest novels ever written, along with Tristram Shandy, La Nouvelle Héloïse and Wilhelm Meister.

Barcelona: The Civic Stage

Barcelona: The Civic Stage
by Robert Goldston

Mr. Goldston is enormously sensitive to the look and feel and life style of Barcelona and his first few pages are tantalizing. But his purpose is not simply to exalt "a congeniality, satisfaction and inner order which is to be found in practically none of the world's other large cities"; he intends that its past should be a lesson to it, that its near-present should be a lesson to us, that its future should be a universal concern--and along the way the argument falters. After surveying the history of the city, he focuses on the amenities of each historic quarter and the factors which together distinguished Barcelona--which is all well and good if hardly novel (the terms of analysis are as old as Lewis Mumford's 1938 The Culture of Cities and some go back to Camillo Sitte [1889]) or unique--as he concedes later, similar conditions existed elsewhere. The late arrival of Barcelona to the modern world is his strongest point but now that it has arrived, the bulwarks of a humane existence are crumbling (as they have elsewhere), which he also acknowledges: "Religious forms and influence. . . are facing disintegration"; "the economic 'stand-off' between those eager to exploit the city for their profit and those who have seen in the city's preservation their principal means of protecting themselves against exploitation is coming to an end too"; "and Catalan apartness, the sense of Barcelona's civic independence which has preserved so many cultural forms and activities. . . is also vanishing." What is the remedy? The book's greatest weakness is that Mr. Goldston not only evinces no acquaintance with the more sophisticated solutions of modern city planning (decrying the encroachment of the car, he offers no alternatives) but also that he holds to the "villain" theory of urban development; if capitalist exploitation is to be countered, the city will need to adapt as well as preserve. Mr. Goldston knows the good life when he sees it but he doesn't show how Barcelona can hold on to it or how the rest of us can attain it. And of course there may be some people who prefer punctuality and supermarkets. . . but this review is too long already.

Barcelona

Barcelona: A Thousand Years of the City's Past
by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

Barcelona, like Spain itself, has in recent years attracted the gaze and fascination of the world. Chosen as the host city for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, the international spotlight will soon focus on this beautiful, two thousand year-old city, furthering Barcelona's hopes for a lasting place on the world stage. But success has never come easily to this Spanish metropolis. Not blessed with a natural port, and checked throughout history by a series of natural disasters and military defeats, Barcelona has struggled hard to become the industrial and commercial first city of Spain, and the biggest urban center on the Mediterranean seaboard. And Barcelona's relationship with the rest of Spain has always been strained by its status as the capital of the separatist Catalonian state.

As this comprehensive and vividly written history makes clear, all of Barcelona's fluctuating fortunes are mapped out in its remarkably rich architectural and artistic heritage. While many associate the city with the distinctive, fin-de-siecle signature of the architect Gaudi, Fernandez-Armesto reveals Barcelona's many other faces. Tracing the legacies of the Roman occupation, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the modern age, he illuminates the inherent tension that makes Barcelona one of the most vibrant, beautiful, and misunderstood cities of Western Europe.

Letters of Hernan Cortes to Emperor Charles V (#1)

Letters of Hernan Cortes to Emperor Charles V (Volume 1)
Edited by John Greenway

These five letters by the Spanish Conqueror Hernando Cortes were written to the Emperor Charles V of Spain between the years 1519 and 1526. They describe the earliest discoveries of the mainland, the perilous trek into hostile country, the capture of the Aztec capital, the extension of Cortes power throughout Mexico, the expedition to Honduras, and the organization and ordering of the Spanish empire in the new world.

The Conquest of New Spain

The Conquest of New Spain 
by Bernal Diaz del Castillo

 "The History of the Conquest of New Spain is a subject in which great interest is felt at the present day, and the English public will hail these memoirs, which contain the only true and complete account of that important transaction. The author of this original and charming production, to which he justly gives the title of 'The True History of the Conquest of New Spain,' was himself one of the Conquistadores; one who not only witnessed the transactions which he relates, but who also performed a glorious part in them; a soldier who, for impartiality and veracity, perhaps never had his equal. His account is acknowledged to be the only one on which we can place reliance, and it has been the magazine from which the most eloquent of the Spanish writers on the same subject, as well as those of other countries, have borrowed their best materials. Some historians have even transcribed whole pages, but have not had sufficient honesty to acknowledge it. The author, while living, was never rewarded for the great services he had rendered his country, and it is remarkable that, after his death, his very memoirs were pillaged by court historians, to raise a literary monument to themselves."

Cortés

Cortés
by William Weber Johnson


The book Corte’s by William Weber Johnson is a book about the character Captain Hernan Cortes who was born in Spain and lived from 1485-1547. He was the heroic explorer who helped conquer the little country of Mexico from it tyrannical Aztec leaders. As the book explains Cortés from an early age was an enterprising boy eager for exploration power and adventure, so it was no surprise when during his conquests convinced the Cuban governor into assisting him with troops to lead the expedition to Mexico in 1519. As mentioned, Mexico was being governed by Montezuma II, emperor of Aztec. After his arrival, Cortes soon learned of the Aztecs and began to make his way to Tenochtitlan, the capital city where he met with various tribes that war at war with the Aztecs and helped him conquer them.

 In November of 1519, Corte’s cleverly took hostage of Montezuma the Aztec emperor knowing full well that if he did not have any leverage against them, they would soon try to kill him. He wasn’t successful because they managed to drive him out of the city but once he had regrouped, Corte’s manages to capture the Mexican city and overthrow the Montezuma regime. After his conquest, Cortes did not return home but instead remained in Mexico City and began to rebuild it on the Aztec ruins. He then invited Europeans to come and settle there. Due to his many his conquests and battles, Cortes acquired a lot of gold and jewels which made him very wealthy and popular back home in Spain. He was therefore appointed governor and captain of New Spain (Mexico).

 Cortes was still interested in exploring, therefore in 1524, he advanced into present day Honduras where he settled for two years but by this time the Spanish government was getting wary of Cortes’ numerous conquests and decided to deport him back home to Spain. He later convinced the Spanish monarchy and they allowed him to return back to South America but with fewer privileges. In 1536, Cortés was clearly bored so he spent his last days exploring Baja Californian peninsula and the Pacific coast of Mexico before returning back to Mexico. Cortes later died in 1547. The narrative of Cortés, Montezuma, and the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire has been chronicled several times, and with explanation, since it is one of the primary events in world history. There are most likely no new facts left to uncover on the conquest, but it is a thrilling, intensely moving, and tremendous story well worth retelling. Johnson is not an acclaimed historian, but he is a well equipped writer who knows the facts, and clever enough is to let the excitement and drama of the saga to unfold by itself. At the epicenter of the narrative is clearly the two protagonists Cortes and Montezuma.

 Cortés is depicted as an enthralling combination of tireless ambition, religious fidelity, and amazing tenderness. Montezuma, also very religious, was less a proactive leader than Cortés, and his introspective nature probably warranted his doom. As Johnson illustrates, this was also an earth shattering clash of civilizations that is still evolving centuries later. This is an amazing work of popular history, perfectly designed for general readers. In this literary piece of writing generally Johnson has greatly used factual research. In fact he recommends several other sources, a number of which are out of print. The book is not revisionist; rather it seems to provide a balanced and non biased opining on Spanish and Aztecan beliefs, practices and cultures. The attention to detail is impeccable, with the provision of a narrative which flows well and is interesting. The book is not ones stereotypically boring history piece but instead a broad, descriptive analysis of Mexican history and how they acquired their independence. This book effectively transports the reader from the former Empirical regime of Montezuma II to the Spanish regime that still stands to date.

Much like Christopher Columbus, Cortés character is still subjected to public scrutiny and criticism simply because it is difficult to establish whether he was truly a hero or an antagonist. According to Johnson’s book, Cortes id viewed as a man who travelled around the globe in search of weak, undemocratic colonies to conquer, he went about his business not mindful of the natives’ cultural practices and beliefs. Although Cortes brought freedom to the Mexican state, his methods of liberation are still questioned. The book generally demands that a reader reads it first then establishes an opinion for him or her self.

 Although this book is generally for people looking to delve into the historical past of Mexico, it also appeals to those with a genuine interest in world history and enlightens the mind on global occurrences that are not often discussed. This book is adequate for analytical readers and scholars alike in perfectly illustrating how a man with twisted interests manages to conquer a territory, leaving tracks of emancipated but socially, politically and economical distraught people. This man overthrows a regime and forces his native political structures and religious views of a people. In this day an age we can draw examples of leaders with misguided interests but still a noble and worthy cause regarding their people from this book. As much as Corte’s went about operating with impunity, brutality and neglect, he was much more interested in bringing down an imperial government that did not put the wills and needs of its citizens as a priority. He did assist Mexico in attaining independence but not without a price i.e. Spanish rule. In general it is safe to say that all interpretations and judgments are left to the reader as he is after all the beneficiary of the historical piece.

The Broken Spears

The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico
edited by Miguel Leon-Portilla

For hundreds of years, the history of the conquest of Mexico and the defeat of the Aztecs has been told in the words of the Spanish victors. Miguel León-Portilla has long been at the forefront of expanding that history to include the voices of indigenous peoples. In this new and updated edition of his classic The Broken Spears, León-Portilla has included accounts from native Aztec descendants across the centuries. These texts bear witness to the extraordinary vitality of an oral tradition that preserves the viewpoints of the vanquished instead of the victors. León-Portilla's new Postscript reflects upon the critical importance of these unexpected historical accounts.

The Aztecs

The Aztecs: A History
by Nigel Davies

"THE AZTECS is quite simply the best general political history of that nation now available in english...Purchase of this book is a real must for persons with a serious interest in the aboriginal peoples on Mesoamerica, Mexican history, or the comparative study of early civilizations."--LATIN AMERICA IN BOOKS.

Night of Sorrows

Night of Sorrows
by Frances Sherwood

 Night of Sorrows plunges readers into the conflicting New Worlds of the mysterious Malintzín, born as an Aztec princess and sold as a slave, and her dashing and ruthless lover-master, conquistador Hernán Cortés. As they march through the Empire of the Sun to the shimmering island metropolis, Tenochtítlan (Mexico City), Cortés advances his cause by winning friends through Machiavellian conniving and confronting enemies in merciless battle. We witness the volatile dynamics and multifarious intrigues of the commander and his temperamental compadres, and weather the heartbreaking inner odyssey of Malintzín. Set at the twilight of the Aztec empire—April 1519 through the night of sorrows, la noche triste, June 30, 1520—Night of Sorrows explores the nature of slavery and imperialism, prostitution, friendship, feminine identity, and the macho ideal. Combining historical and fictional characters, Frances Sherwood's new novel is the story of a spectacular clash of traditions, imbued with her characteristic humor and bringing to life the colors, smells, and sounds of Mexico.

Conquistador

Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs 
by Buddy Levy


The saga of Cortés, Montezuma, and the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire has been chronicled repeatedly, and with justification, since it is one of the seminal events in world history. There is probably no new information on the conquest left to uncover, but it is a thrilling, moving, and tragic story well worth retelling. Levy is not a professional historian, but he is a fine writer who knows the material, and he is wise enough to allow the pure excitement and drama of the story to unfold naturally. At the center of the tale, of course, are the two protagonists. Cortés is viewed as an intriguing combination of ruthless ambition, religious piety, and surprising tenderness. Montezuma, also deeply religious, was less a man of action than Cortés, and his contemplative nature probably sealed his doom. As Levy illustrates, this was also an earthshaking clash of civilizations that is still working itself out five centuries later.

A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies

A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies
by Bartolomé de las Casas

An account written by the Spanish Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas in 1542 (published in 1552) about the mistreatment of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas in colonial times and sent to then Prince Philip II of Spain.

One of the stated purposes for writing the account is his fear of Spain coming under divine punishment and his concern for the souls of the Native Peoples. The account is one of the first attempts by a Spanish writer of the colonial era to depict examples of unfair treatment that indigenous people endured in the early stages of the Spanish conquest of the Greater Antilles, particularly the island of La Hispaniola.

Las Casas's point of view can be described as being heavily against some of the Spanish methods of colonization, which, as he describes, have inflicted a great loss on the indigenous occupants of the islands. His account is largely responsible for the passage of the new Spanish colonial laws known as the New Laws of 1542, which abolished native slavery for the first time in European colonial history and led to the Valladolid debate. The images described by Las Casas were later depicted by Theodore de Bry in copper plate engravings that helped expand the Black Legend against Spain.

History of the Conquest of Mexico

History of the Conquest of Mexico
by William H. Prescott

"It is a magnificent epic," said William H. Prescott after the publication of History of the Conquest of Mexico in 1843. Since then, his sweeping account of Cortés's subjugation of the Aztec people has endured as a landmark work of scholarship and dramatic storytelling. This pioneering study presents a compelling view of the clash of civilizations that reverberates in Latin America to this day.

"Regarded simply from the standpoint of literary criticism, the Conquest of Mexico is Prescott's masterpiece," judged his biographer Harry Thurston Peck. "More than that, it is one of the most brilliant examples which the English language possesses of literary art applied to historical narration. . . . Here, as nowhere else, has Prescott succeeded in delineating character. All the chief actors of his great historic drama not only live and breathe, but they are as distinctly differentiated as they must have been in life. Cortés and his lieutenants are persons whom we actually come to know in the pages of Pres-cott. . . . Over against these brilliant figures stands the melancholy form of Montezuma, around whom, even from the first, one feels gathering the darkness of his coming fate. He reminds one of some hero of Greek tragedy, doomed to destruction and intensely conscious of it, yet striving in vain against the decree of an inexorable des- tiny. . . . [Prescott] transmuted the acquisitions of laborious research into an enduring monument of pure literature."

Seventeenth-Century Europe

Seventeenth-Century Europe
by Thomas Munck

This is a fully-revised edition of a well-established synthesis of the period from the Thirty Years War to the consolidation of absolute monarchy and the landowning society of the ancient régime. Thematically organized, the book covers all of Europe, from Britain and Scandinavia to Spain and Eastern Europe. Important new material has been added on the Ottomans, on Christian-Muslem contacts and on the role of women, and the text has been thoroughly updated to take account of recent research.

Thomas Munck is Reader in History at the University of Glasgow.

The Power of Kings

The Power of Kings: Monarchy and Religion in Europe, 1589-1715
by Paul Kleber Monod

In the sixteenth century, the kings of Europe were like gods to their subjects. Within 150 years, however, this view of monarchs had altered dramatically: a king was the human, visible sign of the rational state. How did such a momentous shift in political understanding come about? This sweeping book explores the changing cultural significance of the power of European kings from the assassination of France's Henry III to the death of Louis XIV. Paul Kléber Monod draws on political history, political philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and literature to understand the relationship between kings and their political subjects and the interplay between monarchy and religion. He also makes use of 35 paintings and statues to illuminate the changing public images of kings.

Discussing monarchies throughout Europe, from Britain to Russia, Monod tells how sixteenth-century kings and queens were thought to heal the sick with a touch, were mediators between divine authority and the Christian self in quasi-religious ceremonies, and were seen as ideal mirrors of human identity. By 1715, the sacred authority of the monarchy had been supplanted by an ideology fusing internal moral responsibility with external obedience to an abstract political authority. Subjects were expected to identify not with a sacred king but with the natural person of the ruler. No longer divine, the kings and queens of the Enlightenment took up a new, more human place in the hearts and minds of their subjects.

Black Folk Here and There, Vol. 2

Black Folk Here and There : An Essay in History and Anthropology, Volume II
by St. Clair Drake

To the Jews of pre-Christian Palestine, Black people were sometimes friends and sometimes enemies, but never objects of racially based derision or contempt. The ancient Greeks categorized people not as Black or white, but as ''civilized'' or ''uncivilized.'' In the Muslim world, many slaves were Blacks, but so were many soldiers, several prominent rulers, and an occasional saint. Armed with such facts gathered during a lifetime of research, St. Clair Drake in his final work, Black Folk Here and There, submits to the test of history a wide range of theories that attempt to explain what happens when Black people and white people interact and why color prejudice may arise.
In this volume, Drake challenges theories claiming that negative attitudes toward blackness and Black people, which emerged from centuries of racial slavery, have always prevailed. Drake finds telling evidence of color prejudice and equally telling evidence of its absence or irrelevance.

Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest

Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest

by Matthew Restall

The notion of some final and complete "Conquest" itself becomes one of the seven examples of the misconceptions and convenient fictions examined by Restall (Latin American studies, Pennsylvania State U.) in this exploration of the Spanish invasion of the Americas. Noting that the enduring historical myths about the Conquest are rooted in cultural conceptions, misconceptions, and political agendas of the Spanish, he uses Spanish, Native American, and West African sources to contest the ideas that the Spaniards exhibited some special exceptionalism and genius, that they were agents of the King of Spain, that colonialism was rapidly imposed, that the Spaniards acted largely alone, and that the Native Americans displayed little to no adaptability and ongoing vitality in the face of the Conquest.

According to historical consensus, the Spanish conquest of the New World was a cataclysm in which superior European technology and organization overwhelmed Native American civilizations. In this daring revisionist critique, Penn State historian Restall describes a far more complex process in which Indians were central participants on both sides of the struggle. Far from regarding the Spaniards as gods, Restall argues, Indians offered a variety of shrewd, pragmatic responses to the invaders while advancing their own political agendas. Indeed, given that the conquistadors were vastly outnumbered by their Indian allies, the Conquest was in many respects a civil war between natives. Nor did Indian societies fall apart at one blow: independent Mayan polities, for example, persisted into the 19th century. Even under Spanish rule, Indians continued to live in self-governing communities, where they maintained their own languages, cultures and leaders who had considerable clout with the colonial administration. Drawing on Spanish, Native American and West African accounts of the Conquest, academic studies and even Hollywood movies, Restall examines the paradigm of European triumph and Indian "desolation" as it evolved from the conquistador's self-serving narratives to contemporary interpretations by such writers as Jared Diamond and Kirkpatrick Sale. Rejecting the implicit juxtaposition of "subhuman" Indians with "superhuman" Europeans, Restall asserts instead that, through war and epidemic, native societies retained much of their autonomy and cohesion, and "turn[ed] calamity into opportunity." Restall's provocative analysis, wide-ranging scholarship and lucid prose make this a stimulating contribution to the debate on one of history's great watersheds.

A Past Revisited

The Philippines: A Past Revisited
by Renato Constantino

This book is Constantino's attempt at a major breakthrough in Philippine historiography: he looks at the oppression of the Filipino masses from earliest time to 1941 and the struggle of men like himself to crack through the stereotypes hitherto propagated by Spaniards and Americans about the Filipinos.

Noli Me Tangere

Noli Me Tangere
by José Rizal

In more than a century since its appearance, José Rizal's Noli Me Tangere has become widely known as the great novel of the Philippines. A passionate love story set against the ugly political backdrop of repression, torture, and murder, “The Noli,” as it is called in the Philippines, was the first major artistic manifestation of Asian resistance to European colonialism, and Rizal became a guiding conscience—and martyr—for the revolution that would subsequently rise up in the Spanish province.

Noli Me Tangere was Rizal's first novel. He was 26 years old at the time of its publication. The work was historically significant and was instrumental in the establishing of the Filipino sense of national identity. The book indirectly influenced a revolution although the author actually advocated direct representation to the Spanish government and a larger role for the Philippines within Spain's political affairs.
José Rizal (1861—1896) is known as the hero of the Philippines and the greatest champion of Filipino nationalism and independence. He angered the Spanish authorities with Noli Me Tangere and its sequel and was executed.

Clash of Spirits

Clash of Spirits: The History of Power and Sugar Planter Hegemony on a Visayan Island

by Filomeno V Aguilar, Jr.

This book, based on the author’s doctoral thesis at Cornell University, is a history of sugar planting in Negros, a Visayan island in the Philippine archipelago. The author, who is from the Philippines and until recently taught in Australia, identifies himself as a Roman Catholic, but offers a balanced, often critical, account of the historical forces, including the Roman Catholic Church in Spain, that have shaped power relations and hegemonic formations on the island.

Aguilar’s book is a wide-ranging study of the rise of sugar haciendas and the sugar-planter class from the Spanish through the American colonial periods. It is rich in detail that ranges from the anecdotal to the statistical, derived from archival materials in the Philippines, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom; from published scholarship; and from fieldwork involving key-informant interviews, observation of rituals, and documentation of folklore. The analysis is in two parts: the first a reconstruction of the history of the Visayan Islands under Spanish colonial rule from the late sixteenth century to 1855, when the sugar economy was established; and the second an eclectic and complex account of power and hegemonic formations surrounding the sugar-planter class since 1855. The rich material is organized around the author’s well-defined theoretical positions: that the social structure is essentially fluid; that political economy is intrinsically and dialectically intertwined with culture; and that the relationship between structure and agent is mutually determining and dialectical.

We read about indigenous indios, Chinese, Chinese mestizos, waves of Augustinian and then Franciscan friars, foreign merchants, and representatives of the colonial state, all intermingling in a complex society that cannot be straightforwardly explained in terms of simple power relations. In different situations and historical circumstances, each social category possesses and utilizes varying levels of economic, social, cultural, and symbolic capital. The study examines the transformation and shifting fortunes of each social category over time and in response to external circumstances. The mestizo sugar-planter class, for example, appears quite weak in relation to a scarce indio labor force under the “neutral” Spanish colonials, but during American colonialism becomes a powerful socio-economic force whose dominance is later subject to the influx of foreign capital and technology.

Aguilar employs the cockfight, a prominent feature in local cultural practice, as a dominant metaphor to shed light on fluid developments in the socio-economic structure. Around the cockpit, gamblers play a skilled and calculated game of manoeuvre, casting their bets on cocks that have, notionally, an equal chance of winning, but whose “inner strength” – that differentiating winners from losers – only a skillful gambler can detect. Social relations were similarly ambivalent, the site of complex and risky negotiations and manoeuvre. Individuals and classes that gambled skillfully rose in prestige and power, but could just as easily fall into decline as a result of misfortune or bad judgement.

Aguilar also explores the dialectical connections between myths and folk histories on the one hand and developments in social, economic, and political structure on the other. Indio shamans such as “Papa” Isio, whose grotesque imitation of Catholic signs and ritual was an effective mode of anti-colonial resistance, had supernatural powers that commanded the following of large numbers of indio plantation laborers who had broken their debt obligations to mestizo sugar-planters. Fantastic stories were spun around prominent mestizo leaders such as Juan Araneta, who communed with a powerful preternatural spirit, was invincible to bullets, and boldly committed acts sacrilegious to Catholicism. This story relates quite clearly to the celebration of anti-colonial heroism and the anti-Catholicism of Masonic capitalism that was on the rise. We read about Kanlaon, a volcano that is really an enchanted city with a centrifugal mill producing sugar for “America” and manned by engkantos or golden-haired, blue-eyed spirits of fair complexion.

Aguilar’s study is an ambitious and original attempt to reconstruct an important component of Philippine history, explaining historical dynamics in terms of local culture as a simultaneously determining and determined site of power and hegemony. Aguilar brings together a wide range of existing scholarship on Philippine history and anthropology, which he uses with concepts from cultural theory to analyze, often very convincingly, his own material obtained from archives and fieldwork. His writing is always clear and often vivid. Only its broad coverage may make it difficult for the reader to follow the central lines of argument. Strategically placed summary paragraphs and a concluding summary would not only help orient readers (as would a glossary of non-English terms), but would also integrate the material more effectively. On the other hand, this colorful and engaging book has many interesting accounts that make it accessible to a non-academic reader. Students would find in this book useful historical and ethnographic material illustrating the complex processes of negotiation under weaker forms of hegemony.

"Why Did Tupas Betray Dagami?"

"Why Did Tupas Betray Dagami?"

by William Henry Scott

The Dagami Revolt was a revolt against Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. It was led by the Chief Dagami of Gabi (now part of Cordova). The revolt actually began in 1565, but is sometimes dated as 1567, the year of Dagami's execution.

On May 22, 1565, a party of 16 led by Chief Dagami and four other chiefs hid themselves outside of the stockaded Spanish settlement in Cebu, intending to kill some Spaniards. At dawn of the following day, May 23, Pedro de Arana, a member of the personal company of Spanish Governor Miguel López de Legazpi, came out of the fort alone. As he walked along the beach near the war party, they speared him and cut off his head. They returned to Gabi and made a great celebration and feast with it. The murder went unsolved at the time, and Dagami continued as Chief of Gabi and continued to foment revolt.

In December of 1566, after two Spaniards were killed and three others nearly died inside the fort after drinking poisoned wine purchased from Cebuana wine-sellers, Legazpi sent for Rajah Tupas and his fellow datus, accusing that some of them were behind the killings. The chiefs protested their innocence , and Legazpi told them that their guilt could only be absolved by handing over the culprits. The following day, Tupas handed over two women who, under torture, implicated two others. Three of the four were sentenced to flogging and deportation, and the fourth sentenced to death. The condemned woman was executed and her body was drawn and quartered, with the pieces of the body displayed along the road between the Cebuano settlement and the Spanish fort. The following day, Tupas betrayed Dagami to Legazpi.

Dagami was condemned to be drawn and quartered the next day in the place where Pedro de Arana had been killed. Dagami's head was displayed on a pole in that place and the four quarters of his body were displayed on poled along the beach.After this was carried out, Tupas lauded Dagami as having been among proudest in the islands, ans said that when they were thinking of making peace with the Spaniards in 1565 had advised him not to make peace, had hindered him from doing that and that after the signing of the Treaty of Cebu, Dagami continued to be rebellious against the Spaniards and in favor of revolts and war, and that the governor had given him his just deserts.