The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 21, July 1917 - April, 1918 Page: 329
434 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Book Reviews
may be concealed in a legajo-list, and any scholar who desires to
verify a statement or follow a lead indicated in this book will
have to search through fifty legajos at least. F or this technical
reason alone the. book will fail to convince. It is avowedly an
attempt at historical scholarship, composed without the necessary
tools, and written in popular style, wherein Cuba is referred to
as "a lemon little worth -of squeezingP' (p. 212), Mazariegos is
characterized as "the man for the job" (p. 245) and Gallegos got
a "ducking in the bay," being "doused" (p.. 274) repeatedly.
The most serious defect of the book lies in its lack of perspec-
tive. While the repartimiento may have been a pestilence in
Cuba, there is no inkling of the author's appreciation of its bene-
fits in Cuba or elsewhere. The Church, the Inquisition and Span-
ish bigotry are all characterized as if for the first time, when, as
a matter of fact, only the old-fashioned or extremely superficial
historical writer harps on that chord any more. It seems strange
that more than a year of research in the best colonial archive in
Spain could not be productive of a more enlightening and sym-
pathetic treatment of Spain's early colonial institutions, which
were a hundred years in advance of those of any other colonizing
nation. A very summary review of the obvious phases of Eng-
lish and French history will reveal that Spain was not alone in
religious bigotry. The same may be said with regard to Spain's
lust for gold, the blood-hound hunts and other cruelties so, ma-
liciously perpetrated. (Compare New England cruelties in
Pequod and King Philip's Wars.) Unfavorable comment abounds
in this volume relative to Spain's restrictive commercial policy,
with contrasts to, that of England and France. The author misses
the splendid opportunity to recognize that Spain was a. pioneer
in the upbuilding of a commercial and colonial system and that
her errors were but little more extensive than those of her com-
petitors, during the early period. History does not justify the
depiction of Drake and the other freebooters of his nation and
time in the rl1e of angels of righteousness and deliverance (see
pages 28-36, 195-196, 211-212, 243-244, 271, 272.) However
accurate may be the statements which Miss Wright makes, there
is an undue and disproportionate emphasis on the, defects and too
little reference to the constructive work of Spain which was to329
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 21, July 1917 - April, 1918, periodical, 1918; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101073/m1/335/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.