The hummingbird and the hawk; conquest and sovereignty in the valley of Mexico, 1503-1541, by R. C. Padden

Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1967. First Edition. Hardcover. Good/Fair. NOT ex-library. Unpriceclipped DJ. Red cloth boards with a black field bearing a gilt symbol on front and gilt titling on spine. Edgeworn DJ repaired with tape on inside by previous owner. Binding is sound. Interior is unmarked. 8vo. Photos depict actual book offered for sale. Books are carefully packaged by hand and shipped from our family-owned bookshop in the US. BOOK INFO: In this vivid account of the complex phenomena of cultural change as they occurred in the Valley of Mexico in the sixteenth century, Mr. Padden discovers two distinct processes of change functioning simultaneously throughout the period. The first process was governed by evolutionary forces that had shaped Aztec society since formation of the Triple Alliance and whose influence survived the Spanish conquest and continued well into the post-conquest period. The second and more apparent process of change was governed by the revolutionary imposition of Spanish sovereignty. After comprehensive examination of the nature and exercise of Aztec sovereignty and its relation to culture during the course of its evolution in preconquest society, the autho turns to consideration of the Spanish exercise of sovereignty during the conquest and of the climactic struggle betwen Cortes and Montezuma II for control of sovereignty and its awesome power of enablement. In both episodes Mr. Padden finds sovereignty inextricably associated with religion in the minds of both Spaniards and Indians; and it is his understanding of sovereignty as constituting, in this association, a most dynamic cultural determinant that enables him to delineate the ultimate influence and significance of these two contending forces in shaping the society that obtained in the two decades following Spanish victory. Within its narrative of violence and brutality, of human pathos and tragedy, this work opens a new discussion of pre- and post-conquest Mexican history and points a new direction in the ethnohistory of Mesoamerica. Includes Bibliography: p. 302-308 and subject index. xvi, 319 p. illus., facsim., maps. 23 cm.