Romans in a New World
Subtitle: classical models in sixteenth-century Spanish America
By: David A. Lupher.
Series: History, languages, and cultures of the Spanish and Portuguese worlds
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Ann Arbor
Language: eng
Number of pages: 440
Subjects: Spaniards -- Mexico -- History -- 16th century.; Indians -- First contact with Europeans.; Romans -- Spain.; Iberians.; Mexico -- History -- Conquest, 1519-1540.; Spain -- History -- To 711.
Description: Romans in a New World shows how the ancient Romans haunted the Spanish conquest of the New World, more often than not as passionately rejected models. While the conquistadors themselves and their publicists challenged the reputations of the Romans for incomparable military genius and daring, Spanish critics of the conquest launched a concerted assault upon two other prominent uses of ancient Rome as a model: as an exemplar of imperialistic motives and behavior fit for Christians to follow, and as a yardstick against which to measure the cultural level of the natives of the New World.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 401-424) and indexes.