"In this exceptionally well-conceived volume, an array of established and
emerging scholars brilliantly interrogate the concept of resistance in the Iberian
Atlantic World and expertly examine various acts of resistance in a range of
temporal and geographic contexts. The outcome is a stimulating, notably
cohesive, and edifying book."
-Gabriel Paquette, University of Maine, USA
This book highlights the broad scope and span of resistance as a contentious
practice in the early modern Iberian world. In this context, from the late Middle
Ages onwards, resistance, rooted in the political and legal language of the 'old
regime' that provided agents with legitimacy and resources for their actions,
occurred mainly within the established jurisdictional system. These resources for
litigation and demand made resistance a widespread kind of contesting practice
related to wider protests.
The authors assess the wide array of actions developed by individuals and
communities to preserve their rights and identities, demonstrating how the
Portuguese and Hispanic polities and their colonial possessions experienced
resistance from below over a long period of change that marked the rise of more
complex communities and institutional systems. This book offers a comprehensive
overview of the variety of forms and expressions of resistance developed in
different social, cultural, and territorial contexts, thus shedding additional light
on the relationship between order and conflict within early modern European
empires.
Pablo Sánchez León is a researcher at the CHAM - Centro de Humanidades at
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa in Portugal. His research revolves around social
conflicts in the Spanish monarchy from the late Middle Ages through the early
modern period in comparative perspective.
Benita Herreros Cleret de Langavant is a Professor of Early Modern History at
the University of Cantabria in Spain. Her research delves into cross-cultural
interactions and Indigenous resistance in the frontiers of the Iberian empires,
focusing on northern Paraguay, Mato Grosso, and the Chaco regions.
Chapter 3 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.