Spanish and Portuguese expansion substantially altered the social, political, and economic contours of the modern world. In his book, Lyle McAlister provides a narrative and interpretive history of the exploration and settlement of the Americas by Spain and Portugal. McAlister divides this period (and the book) into three parts. First, he describes the formation of Old World societies with particular attention to those features that influenced the directions and forms of overseas expansion. Second, he traces the dynamic processes of conquest and colonization that between 1492 and about 1570 firmly established Spanish and Portuguese dominion in the New World. The third part deals with colonial growth and consolidation down to about 1700. McAlister's main themes are: the post-conquest territorial expansion that established the limits of what later came to be called Latin America, the emergence of distinctively Spanish and Portuguese American societies and economies, the formation of systems of imperial control and exploitation, and the ways in which conflicts between imperial and American interests were reconciled. This comprehensive history, with its extensive bibliographic essay and attention to historiographic issues, will be a standard reference for students and scholars of the period.

Whilst much scholarly work has been focused on Spain's American colonies, much less is known about Spanish colonization of the Pacific. As such, this book fills an important gap in our knowledge, directing attention both to Spain's wider imperial ambitions, and the specific situation within the Philippines. By structuring the book around the life of Hernando de los Ríos Coronel, many overlapping and complex threads are drawn out that cast light upon a diverse range of subjects. Soldier, priest, diplomat, explorer, naval pilot and scientist, de los Ríos was a fascinating figure who played a pivotal role in Spanish efforts to establish a thriving colony in the Philippines. In 1588, at the age of 29 he was sent to the Philippines as a soldier, and once there quickly established himself as a pillar of society, ultimately becoming a priest. Over 36 years, until his death sometime before the end of January 1624, he shuttled between the Philippines and Spain, in his role as Procurator General - the sole representative of the Philippines (both Spaniards and Indigenes) at the Spanish Court. As well as telling the story of an extraordinary individual, this book provides a fascinating introduction to the early history of the Spanish Philippines. By touching upon a broad range of topics, it also opens up numerous avenues for further research.

The Iberian World: 1450–1820 brings together, for the first time in English, the latest research in Iberian studies, providing in-depth analysis of fifteenth- to early nineteenth-century Portugal and Spain, their European possessions, and the African, Asian, and American peoples that were under their rule. Featuring innovative work from leading historians of the Iberian world, the book adopts a strong transnational and comparative approach, and offers the reader an interdisciplinary lens through which to view the interactions, entanglements, and conflicts between the many peoples that were part of it. The volume also analyses the relationships and mutual influences between the wide range of actors, polities, and centres of power within the Iberian monarchies, and draws on recent advances in the field to examine key aspects such as Iberian expansion, imperial ideologies, and the constitution of colonial societies. Divided into four parts and combining a chronological approach with a set of in-depth thematic studies, The Iberian World brings together previously disparate scholarly traditions surrounding the history of European empires and raises awareness of the global dimensions of Iberian history. It is essential reading for students and academics of early modern Spain and Portugal.

Explores the origins and evolution of the Spanish language, covering Hispania's Vulgar Latin of 800 AD, the language's development through the age of Queen Isabella and the rise of Spanish in the Americas.

Connections between what people eat and who they are--between cuisine and identity--reach deep into Mexican history, beginning with pre-Columbian inhabitants offering sacrifices of human flesh to maize gods in hope of securing plentiful crops. This cultural history of food in Mexico traces the influence of gender, race, and class on food preferences from Aztec times to the present and relates cuisine to the formation of national identity. The metate and mano, used by women for grinding corn and chiles since pre-Columbian times, remained essential to preparing such Mexican foods as tamales, tortillas, and mole poblano well into the twentieth century. Part of the ongoing effort by intellectuals and political leaders to Europeanize Mexico was an attempt to replace corn with wheat. But native foods and flavors persisted and became an essential part of indigenista ideology and what it meant to be authentically Mexican after 1940, when a growing urban middle class appropriated the popular native foods of the lower class and proclaimed them as national cuisine.