Being the Heart of the World
The Pacific and the Fashioning of the Self in New Spain, 1513–1641

Tells the story of New Spain's integration into the Pacific world and the impact it had on mobility and identity-making.

Nino Vallen (Author)

9781009322072, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 October 2023

268 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.3 cm, 0.55 kg

'Without a doubt, this is a vital work for understanding the development of merit perspectives in New Spain and the development of contacts with the Pacific and Asia.' José Miguel Herrera Reviriego, American Historical Review

In this timely book Nino Vallen tells the story of New Spain's gradual integration into the Pacific Basin and challenges established views about identity formation among the elites of colonial Mexico. It examines how discussions about the establishment and desirability of transpacific connections interacted with more general debates over why some people deserved certain benefits over others. As part of these struggles, New Spain's changing place at the crossroads of transatlantic and transpacific routes became a subject of contention between actors moved by competing notions of a deserving self: the learned councillor, the veteran, the discoverer, the meritorious, the creole and the merchant. Reassessing current historiographical narratives on creole identities and worldviews, Being the Heart of the World contributes to a broader understanding of the early modern self and the ways in which it was shaped by the mobilities of an increasingly globalized world.

Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Discoverer: Legal Struggles over the Pacific Northwest
2. The Veteran: Capitalizing on Knowledge of the Routes Between the Indies
3. The Meritorious: Rootedness and Mobility in the Pacific Basin
4. The Creole: Distributing Royal Patronage on the Western Religious Itinerary to Asia
5. The Merchant: Debating Transpacific Trade and the Functioning of the Economy of Favor
Glossary
Sources and bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: History of the Americas [HBJK]