Focusing on Mexico and Peru in the 16th and 17th centuries, this course studies the indigenous elites of the former Aztec and Inca empires under Spanish rule. It approaches native nobles as mediators between colonial and indigenous society and as creators of new narratives and cultural practices that sought to position indigenous peoples more advantageously in the colonial context.
How were native nobles able to meet the demands of colonial rulers without compromising the well-being of their communities and their own privileged status in them? How did they present themselves to indigenous and non-indigenous people? How did they reconcile indigenous tradition and identity with Catholicism and Spanish rule? Given that indigenous societies in Mexico and Peru had developed independently and in highly distinct ways, comparing the native elites of the two areas under colonial rule will be a constant concern.