Sofia Paiva de Araujo
LTAM 6251
Dr. Erika Edwards
November 6th, 2017
Book review
Uribe-Uran, Victor. Fatal Love: Spousal Killers, Law, and Punishment in the Late Colonial Spanish Atlantic. Stanford University Press, 2015. Stanford Scholarship Online, 2016. doi: 10.11126/stanford/9780804794633.001.0001.
This study investigates spousal murders in Spain and two of its colonies in the Atlantic, New Spain and New Granada, during the late colonial period (1740s-1820s). It explores how these crimes were tried and punished, and how this adjudication was often related to matters of gender, ethnicity, religion and social class. The book discusses how the colonial, patriarchal and Catholic worlds intersected and royal law, as well as customary and …show more content…
In chapter 1, the author argues that royal justice was a means to assure the monarch’s hegemony over its Empire and colonies; besides, as knowledge of laws and procedures was widely spread, colonial individuals engaged with the legal system, and played it for their benefit, for instance requiring reduction of the sentence, claiming “mitigating factors” (p.85), or asking for shelter in religious institutions, as he explains later in the book. In chapter 2, the author explores the ethnic dimensions of crime, as he unveiled the causes and circumstances behind 87 cases of spousal murder in New Spain. The majority of the crimes analyzed were committed by Indians, who comprised the most of the colony’s population, and seem to have enjoyed a more lenient treatment than other ethnic groups. In chapter 3, the author discusses royal forgiveness and argues that it was a mechanism to maintain the image and legitimacy of the Crown and reaffirm the monarch’s control over society. Similarly, in chapter 5 the author explores the role of the Catholic church in shaping (alleviating) punishment, and the mechanisms used for this purpose, e.g. providing sanctuary (asilo) to individuals who had committed crimes. Uribe-Uran argues that this enhanced the legitimacy and hegemony of the Church as well. Because these chapters are so similar, the latter is a better follow up to the former than chapter 4, in which the author explores honor and …show more content…
The book fits well within other readings assigned for this course which demonstrated how women defied the restrictions imposed on them by colonial, religious and patriarchal rules. Overall, it is a well-written book and provides for a pleasant reading. The author’s writing style is engaging, and the drama and tragedy inherent to the primary sources make the reader curious to know what is coming next. Besides that, the author does good use of visual aids, as tables and charts, to present the data, which make the reading accessible to students at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Widely interdisciplinary and comprehensive, this book appeals for a wide audience, such as historians of law, religion, gender and the colonial period. I would highly recommend this book to my peers in the Latin American Studies
LTAM 6251
Dr. Erika Edwards
November 6th, 2017
Book review
Uribe-Uran, Victor. Fatal Love: Spousal Killers, Law, and Punishment in the Late Colonial Spanish Atlantic. Stanford University Press, 2015. Stanford Scholarship Online, 2016. doi: 10.11126/stanford/9780804794633.001.0001.
This study investigates spousal murders in Spain and two of its colonies in the Atlantic, New Spain and New Granada, during the late colonial period (1740s-1820s). It explores how these crimes were tried and punished, and how this adjudication was often related to matters of gender, ethnicity, religion and social class. The book discusses how the colonial, patriarchal and Catholic worlds intersected and royal law, as well as customary and …show more content…
In chapter 1, the author argues that royal justice was a means to assure the monarch’s hegemony over its Empire and colonies; besides, as knowledge of laws and procedures was widely spread, colonial individuals engaged with the legal system, and played it for their benefit, for instance requiring reduction of the sentence, claiming “mitigating factors” (p.85), or asking for shelter in religious institutions, as he explains later in the book. In chapter 2, the author explores the ethnic dimensions of crime, as he unveiled the causes and circumstances behind 87 cases of spousal murder in New Spain. The majority of the crimes analyzed were committed by Indians, who comprised the most of the colony’s population, and seem to have enjoyed a more lenient treatment than other ethnic groups. In chapter 3, the author discusses royal forgiveness and argues that it was a mechanism to maintain the image and legitimacy of the Crown and reaffirm the monarch’s control over society. Similarly, in chapter 5 the author explores the role of the Catholic church in shaping (alleviating) punishment, and the mechanisms used for this purpose, e.g. providing sanctuary (asilo) to individuals who had committed crimes. Uribe-Uran argues that this enhanced the legitimacy and hegemony of the Church as well. Because these chapters are so similar, the latter is a better follow up to the former than chapter 4, in which the author explores honor and …show more content…
The book fits well within other readings assigned for this course which demonstrated how women defied the restrictions imposed on them by colonial, religious and patriarchal rules. Overall, it is a well-written book and provides for a pleasant reading. The author’s writing style is engaging, and the drama and tragedy inherent to the primary sources make the reader curious to know what is coming next. Besides that, the author does good use of visual aids, as tables and charts, to present the data, which make the reading accessible to students at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Widely interdisciplinary and comprehensive, this book appeals for a wide audience, such as historians of law, religion, gender and the colonial period. I would highly recommend this book to my peers in the Latin American Studies