José de Bustamante and Central American independence
Subtitle: colonial administration in an age of imperial crisis
By: Timothy Hawkins
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Tuscaloosa, Ala
Language: eng
Number of pages: 283
Subjects: Bustamante y Guerra, José de, -- 1759-1825; Guatemala. -- Audiencia -- History -- 19th century; Government, Resistance to -- Central America -- History -- 19th century; Self-determination, National -- Central America -- History; Central America -- History -- 19th century
Description: "Latin American independence histories of the last 150 years have tended to stereotype Captain General Bustamante, governor of the Spanish colony of Guatemala from 1811 to 1818, as a tyrannical archvillain who personified colonial oppression. Timothy Hawkins, in contrast, examines Bustamante and his administration within the context of preservation of empire, the effort by colonial officials and partisans to maintain the integrity of the Spanish empire in spite of internal and external unrest." "Based on extensive primary research in the archives of Guatemala, Mexico, and Spain, Hawkins's approach links the Central American experience to that of such areas as Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico that also responded equivocally and haphazardly to rebellious uprisings against colonial rule."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [265]-275) and index
Table of contents: title: The creation of a Spanish colonial official; title: The Kingdom of Guatemala on the eve of independence; title: The imperial crisis and colonial defense, 1798-1811; title: The preservation of empire, 1811; title: The counterinsurgency state, 1812; title: The challenge of the constitution, 1813-1814; title: The restoration of absolutism, 1815-1818