The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003 Page: 312
675 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
tion. At all other times, however, the masters of the larger plantations near New
Orleans (and occasionally at places like Pointe Coupee) exploited their bonds-
people without concern for their welfare and without significant interference
from the authorities to enforce even the weak protections that the French slave
code (code noir) and colonial custom afforded slaves.
Din next shows that the first three Spanish governors (who married into the
planter elite) did little to moderate this attitude but did resist planter efforts to
replace Spanish slave law (imposed in 1769) with the code noir. That would
have deprived slaves of rights (notably to protest bad treatment and obtain free-
dom through self purchase) they enjoyed under the somewhat more humane
Spanish code and the colony's traditions derived from the 1731-1751 period.
The later Spanish governors (who did not marry into the planter elite) not only
resisted the planters, they also tried to see that slaves were treated equitably with-
in the institution and enforced slave rights under Spanish law. But Spanish offi-
cials did reduce maroonage (flight) by military means and did repress slave
conspiracies, notably in 1795.
In sum, Din has written the best book on slavery in Spanish Louisiana. It de-
servedly received the Williams Prize from the Louisiana Historical Association
and the Lelia and Kemper Williams Foundation. All future discussion of this top-
ic and period must begin with this book. There is nothing about Texas.
Louisiana State Unwverszty, Baton Rouge Paul E. Hoffman
From Savages to Subjects: Misszons zn the History of the American Southwest. By Robert
H. Jackson. (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharp, 2000. Pp. xvii+151. Tables, figures,
maps, mission plans, photographs, bibliographic essay, index. ISBN 0-7656-
0597-X. $48.95, cloth.)
The "Latin American Realities" series to which this volume belongs seeks to
view history from the vantage point of the poor and marginalized. This mono-
graph conforms to that objective, as Jackson presents the Spanish missions from
the perspective of the indigenous peoples, too often ignored in "triumphal
church self-history" (p. xi).
The various chapters are dedicated to solid comparative analyses of key
themes. Jackson explains the difference in mission economies and labor be-
tween the Alta California missions, committed to supplying the presidios, and
those in other areas which were largely geared toward self-sufficiency. He points
out the social implications of architectural design and church placement in the
building of the missions. Although early on he asserts that the missionaries "en-
joyed control over all aspects of the lives of the indigenous converts" (p. xiii), he
later acknowledges various degrees of independence by native groups in several
mission areas. He offers a well-rounded discussion of how this and other factors
impeded the missionaries' goal of radical cultural and religious change, and out-
lines the various missionary responses including severe corporal punishment in
some areas. He presents a good summary of shifting population dynamics, native
motivations for joining the missions, and racial categorizations. The final chap-October
312
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003, periodical, 2003; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101223/m1/364/?rotate=270: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.