The colonial Spanish-American city [[electronic resource] ] : urban life in the age of Atlantic capitalism / / by Jay Kinsbruner

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910825418303321
• Autore: Kinsbruner Jay
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Austin, : University of Texas Press, 2005
• ISBN: 0-292-79699-4
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (199 p.)
• Disciplina: 307.76/098
• Soggetti: Cities and towns - Latin America - History; City and town life - Latin America - History
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-171) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- A Note about the Terms ‘‘Town Council,’’ ‘‘Stores,’’ and ‘‘Shops’’ -- Chapter 1 The Colonial City by Definition and Origin -- Chapter 1 The Colonial City by Definition and Origin -- Chapter 3 The Colonial City Ordained and Structured -- Chapter 4 The Administration of the Colonial City -- Chapter 5 The City Visualized -- Chapter 6 The Urban Economy -- Chapter 7 Urban Society -- Chapter 8 Caste and Class in the Urban Context -- Chapter 9 The Urban Family -- Chapter 10 The Urban Dialogue -- Chapter 11 Conclusion: The Paradox -- Epilogue -- Appendix A Comparison of Key Elements in the Ordenanzas of 1573 and in Vitruvius -- Notes -- Glossary -- Index
• Sommario/riassunto: The colonial Spanish-American city, like its counterpart across the Atlantic, was an outgrowth of commercial enterprise. A center of entrepreneurial activity and wealth, it drew people seeking a better life, with more educational, occupational, commercial, bureaucratic, and marital possibilities than were available in the rural regions of the Spanish colonies. Indeed, the Spanish-American city represented hope and opportunity, although not for everyone. In this authoritative work, Jay Kinsbruner draws on many sources to offer the first history and interpretation in English of the colonial Spanish-American city. After an overview of pre-Columbian cities, he devotes chapters to many important aspects of the colonial city, including its governance and administrative structure, physical form, economy, and social and family ; life. Kinsbruner's overarching thesis is that the Spanish-American city evolved as a circumstance of trans-Atlantic capitalism. Underpinning this thesis is his view that there were no plebeians in the colonial city. He calls for a class interpretation, with an emphasis on the lower-middle class. His study also explores the active roles of women, many of them heads of households, in the colonial Spanish-American city.