Resistance in the Iberian Worlds from Fifteenth to Eighteenth Century

“In this exceptionally well-conceived volume, an array of established andemerging scholars brilliantly interrogate the concept of resistance in the IberianAtlantic World and expertly examine various acts of resistance in a range oftemporal and geographic contexts. The outcome is a stimulating, notablycohesive, and edifying book.”—Gabriel Paquette, University of Maine, USA This book highlights the broad scope and span of resistance as a contentiouspractice in the early modern Iberian world. In this context, from the late MiddleAges onwards, resistance, rooted in the political and legal language of the ‘oldregime’ that provided agents with legitimacy and resources for their actions,occurred mainly within the established jurisdictional system. These resources forlitigation and demand made resistance a widespread kind of contesting practicerelated to wider protests. The authors assess the wide array of actions developed by individuals andcommunities to preserve their rights and identities, demonstrating how thePortuguese and Hispanic polities and their colonial possessions experiencedresistance from below over a long period of change that marked the rise of morecomplex communities and institutional systems. This book offers a comprehensiveoverview of the variety of forms and expressions of resistance developed indifferent social, cultural, and territorial contexts, thus shedding additional lighton the relationship between order and conflict within early modern Europeanempires. Pablo Sánchez León is a researcher at the CHAM - Centro de Humanidades atUniversidade NOVA de Lisboa in Portugal. His research revolves around socialconflicts in the Spanish monarchy from the late Middle Ages through the earlymodern period in comparative perspective.Benita Herreros Cleret de Langavant is a Professor of Early Modern History atthe University of Cantabria in Spain. Her research delves into cross-culturalinteractions and Indigenous resistance in the frontiers of the Iberian empires,focusing on northern Paraguay, Mato Grosso, and the Chaco regions. Chapter 3 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com. This book highlights the broad scope and span of resistance as a contentious practice in the early modern Iberian world. In this context, from the late Middle Ages onwards, resistance, rooted in the political and legal language of the ‘old regime’ that provided agents with legitimacy and resources for their actions, occurred mainly within the established jurisdictional system. These resources for litigation and demand made resistance a widespread kind of contesting practice related to wider protests. The authors assess the wide array of actions developed by individuals and communities to preserve their rights and identities, demonstrating how the Portuguese and Hispanic polities and their colonial possessions experienced resistance from below over a long period of change that marked the rise of more complex communities and institutional systems. This book offers a comprehensive overview of the variety of forms and expressions of resistance developed in different social, cultural, and territorial contexts, thus shedding additional light on the relationship between order and conflict within early modern European empires. Chapter 3 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.