Why read Life and Society in the Early Spanish Caribbean?

Book cover of Life and Society in the Early Spanish Caribbean: The Greater Antilles, 1493-1550

Book description

The half century of European activity in the Caribbean that followed Columbus's first voyages brought enormous demographic, economic, and social change to the region as Europeans, Indigenous people, and Africans whom Spaniards imported to provide skilled and unskilled labor came into extended contact for the first time. In Life and…

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Life and Society in the Early Spanish Caribbean as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Juan José Ponce Vázquez

Author

The historical evidence for the first 50 years of Spanish colonization (and beyond) is fragmentary and difficult, but Altman’s book is a feat of readability and thoroughness. If you want to learn the contours of early Spanish colonial society, this is probably the most comprehensive look at the topic we have had for many years.

From Juan's list on the Spanish Caribbean in the early colonial period.