Reading recommendations on Spanish rule in mexico

by en_cal404

Hello, am looking for any books that cover the period in Mexican history from Spanish control of mexico ( specifically post conquering of mexico and the beginnings of Spanish settlements and towns in mexico) up to independence of mexico from spain.

Thanks in advance

drylaw

Sure! Sounds like you're looking more for a general overview? One good book on this whole period is "The Forging of the Cosmic Race" by MacLachlan/Rodriguez. It gives an overview but is also quite detailed for different topics (society, religion...). Another one is "Gerhard, Peter: A guide to the historical geography of New Spain. Cambridge 1972". The introduction goes into the administration and political organisation, how the "Viceroayalty of New Spain" was organized. It's followed by many maps of New Spain which has been very helpful to me.

I've also put together a list of some readings on my profile page. It also includes answers I wrote on the topic with some more recs.

For more specific topics: The book by Gruzinski on my list is quite readable. The focus lies more on religious conversions by the church and orders. One more book that I like is by María Elena Martínez: Genealogical Fictions. In it she looks at the influence of the Spanish limpieza de sangre edicts on the casta system in Mexico. More generally, it's a great overview of race relations and discrimination in colonial Mexico.​

Hope that helps, for anything more specific let me know.

en_cal404

Thanks I'll definitely check these out