Overview

The Coming of the Kingdom explores the experiences of the Indigenous Muisca peoples of the New Kingdom of Granada (Colombia) during the first century of Spanish colonial rule. Focusing on colonialism, religious reform, law, language, and historical writing, Juan F. Cobo Betancourt examines the introduction and development of Christianity among the Muisca, who from the 1530s found themselves at the center of the invaders' efforts to transform them into tribute-paying Catholic subjects of the Spanish crown. The book illustrates how successive generations of missionaries and administrators approached the task of drawing the Muisca peoples to Catholicism at a time when it was undergoing profound changes, and how successive generations of the Muisca interacted with the practices and ideas that the invaders attempted to impose, variously rejecting or adopting them, transforming and translating them, and ultimately making them their own. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

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9781009314039

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Reviews

'This book effectively explodes many of the preconceptions we have held regarding the administration of Indigenous people and their souls in the first century of Spanish rule in the New Kingdom of Granada. Taking a deep and critical dive into the archive, Juan Cobo Betancourt persuasively demonstrates the shortcomings of applying Peruvian and Mexican models for making sense of the vast and heterogeneous expanses of the Spanish empire.' Joanne Rappaport, Georgetown University 'Juan Cobo Betancourt unearths a fascinating story long buried in scattered archives. Exhaustively researched and beautifully written, this landmark work highlights how Indigenous peoples negotiated the terms of their Christianity at the margins of empire during the tumultuous first century of Spanish rule.' Yanna Yannakakis, Emory University 'In his fine new book, Juan Cobo Betancourt suggests that cultural ignorance, dogged conviction, hubris, and flagrant self-interest enacted by newly empowered ruling agents of a diverse geographic area led to the collapse of the extant social structures needed by those agents to impose political and religious change swiftly on the people living there. It is the story of how, over the sweep of the sixteenth through the eighteenth century, the Spanish New Kingdom of Granada - a region today encompassed within Colombia - came into being. …[The book is beautifully researched and written persuasively in accessible prose. It is in many ways the best kind of historical monograph: both synthetic and highly original.' Karen Cousins, Hispanic American Historical Review '… an important contribution to historical scholarship that will shape the study of the Catholic Church during the first century of Spanish colonization in America … It offers a bold new interpretation of colonialism and Christianization in one of the Spanish empire's so-called peripheries, emphasizing the negotiated, contingent, and contested nature of early modern religious and political life in the New Kingdom of Granada.' David Rex Galindo, Journal of Social History 'Cobo Betancourt's study is refreshing, innovative, and deeply revisionist. It corrects long-standing imprecisions regarding the pre-Hispanic past and the early colonization and governance of New Granada. The book offers a nuanced and dynamic account of Christianization in the region, portraying it as a shifting undertaking that Indigenous groups adapted to creatively in pursuit of their own interests. The narrative demonstrates their unique ability to navigate a changing world and withstand colonial pressures. The book is clearly organized, with cogent prose and extensive documentation. It would be a valuable resource for both undergraduate surveys and graduate seminars.' Victor M. Uribe-Uran, American Historical Review

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