What lies at the center of the Mexican colonial experience? Should Mexican colonial society be construed as a theoretical monolith, capitalist from its inception, or was it essentially feudal, as traditional historiography viewed it? In this pathfinding study, Enrique Semo offers a fresh vision: that the conflicting social formations of capitalism, feudalism, and tributary despotism provided the basic dynamic of Mexico's social and economic development. Responding to questions raised by contemporary Mexican society, Semo sees the origin of both backwardness and development not in climate, race, or a heterogeneous set of unrelated traits, but rather in the historical interaction of each social formation. In his analysis, Mexico's history is conceived as a succession of socioeconomic formations, each growing within the "womb" of its predecessor. Semo sees the task of economic history to analyze each of these formations and to construct models that will help us understand the laws of its evolution. His premise is that economic history contributes to our understanding of the present not by formulating universal laws, but by studying the laws of development and progression of concrete economic systems. The History of Capitalism in Mexico opens with the Conquest and concludes with the onset of the profound socioeconomic transformation of the last fifty years of the colony, a period clearly representing the precapitalist phase of Mexican development. In the course of his discussion, Semo addresses the role of dependency—an important theoretical innovation—and introduces the concept of tributary despotism, relating it to the problems of Indian society and economy. He also provides a novel examination of the changing role of the church throughout Mexican colonial history. The result is a comprehensive picture, which offers a provocative alternative to the increasingly detailed and monographic approach that currently dominates the writing of history. Originally published as Historia del capitalismo en México in 1973, this classic work is now available for the first time in English. It will be of interest to specialists in Mexican colonial history, as well as to general readers.

La presente Versión 2000 es una nueva edición de la Historia general de México, preparada por el Centro de Estudios Históricos de El Colegio de México. En esta ocasión se incorporan, por primera vez desde la aparición original de la obra en 1976, varios cambios importantes, entre los que destacan la sustitución de algunos capítulos y la revisión y actualización de otros. Los capítulos sustituidos o renovados profundamente incluyen una amplia variedad de temas: las regiones de México, la prehistoria, el mundo mexica, el siglo XVI, el siglo XVIII, las primeras décadas del México independiente, la cultura mexicana del siglo XIX y la política y economía del México contemporáneo. Los capitulos correspondientes a estas temáticas han sido reescritos o modificados por autores que figuraban ya en la edición original: Bernardo García Martínez, José Luis Lorenzo, Pedro Carrasco, Enrique Florescano, Josefina Z. Vázquez, José Luis Martínez y Lorenzo Meyer.

Few developments in the history of the Spanish colonial system in Mexico have been more carelessly treated or more often misinterpreted than the attempt to establish constitutional government in New Spain under the Spanish monarchy during the 1809–1814 and 1820–1822 periods. Yet the broad outlines of the Mexican constitutional system were laid then, largely through the insistent efforts of the Mexican deputies to the Cortes, the Spanish legislative body. Some of the delegates also grasped this opportunity to inform their countrymen and train them in the effectiveness of parliamentary debate and resolution as a more intelligent road to democratic and representative government. The 70 Mexican deputies (of the 160 elected) who actively participated in the sessions of the Cortes either helped draw up the Constitution of 1812, which initiated provisions for many needed reforms relating to military, religious, economic, educational, judicial, and governmental affairs in Mexico, or contributed to the enabling acts consequent to these provisions. The prime reason for calling the Cortes, however, and especially for inviting the participation of the Mexicans, was to attempt to maintain New Spain’s loyalty to the mother country, an unrealized objective in the long run, although much constructive discussion of this goal was offered by the Mexican delegates. These eight essays trace the establishment and implementation of the Mexican electoral system, both national and municipal, and of reforms in the economic, journalistic, religious, and military systems. They serve as an informative introduction to the revolutionary role the Cortes of Spain played in Mexican history and as a record of the contribution of Mexican delegates to the beginning of liberal reform in their country.

Documentary history of Luis de Carvajal the younger and his family in Spain, their migration to Mexico, their life there, their persecution and deaths at the hands of the Inquisition.

In Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego, Eduardo Chávez presents the most important points of the Great Guadalupan Event: the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego, a recently converted indigenous man, in Mexico. Through a utilization of the numerous historical documents and investigations of this event, Chávez details the reality of what occurred in the cold winter of 1531. As described by Pope John Paul II, "The Guadalupan Event is the perfectly inculturated Evangelization model." Chávez's historical analysis not only represents strong scholarship, but also draws the reader closer to the spiritual power of the events. As the newest contribution to the series Celebrating Faith: Explorations in Latino Spirituality and Theology, this work is of course ideal for use in Latino Studies, but also appeals to wider audience more curious about the Guadalupan event and its meaning for contemporary Christianity.

Here is the complete history of the Indians of the Valley of Mexico, one of the two most important religious groups in the Spanish empire in America, from the Conquest to Independence in the early nineteenth century. Based upon ten years of research, this study focuses on the effect if Spanish institutions on Indian life at the local level.