Cochabamba, 1550-1900: Colonialism and Agrarian Transformation in Bolivia [Paperback]

Brooke Larson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 1998

Winner of the 1990 Best Book Award from the New England Council on Latin American Studies

This study of Bolivia uses Cochabamba as a laboratory to examine the long-term transformation of native Andean society into a vibrant Quechua-Spanish-mestizo region of haciendas and smallholdings, towns and villages, peasant markets and migratory networks caught in the web of Spanish imperial politics and economics. Combining economic, social, and ethnohistory, Brooke Larson shows how the contradictions of class and colonialism eventually gave rise to new peasant, artisan, and laboring groups that challenged the evolving structures of colonial domination. Originally published in 1988, this expanded edition includes a new final chapter that explores the book’s implications for understanding the formation of a distinctive peasant political culture in the Cochabamba valleys over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In light of the important reflections on the book by Roseberry and the author herself, and the quality and relevance of Cochabamba, 1550–1990, the decision to reissue it is clearly a good one.” - Colonial Latin American Historical Review

“This book makes it clear that the history of these valleys is unique, with its large forastero, cholo, and mestizo populations, who worked for the haciendas, supplied grain to the silver miners, and evolved into a commercially vibrant, bilingual people with a rich ethnic heritage.” - Agriculture and Human Values

“[A] magnificent work in social history. In terms of its historical scope, rich detail, and theoretical sophistication, [Larson’s] work represents a model for social historians.” - Erwin P. Grieshaber, The Americas

“[Cochabamba] stands as an impressive and theoretically engaging study in historical anthropology and the political economy of colonialism.” - Mark T. Berger, Latin American Research Review

"Larson’s work is a major study in the Latin American field . . . magnificent and original. . . . ‘Must’ reading for all agrarian and social historians of Latin America."—Steve J. Stern, University of Wisconsin

"[T]he work of a master historian, finding, analyzing, and interpreting archival sources with both discipline and insight."—William Roseberry, from the Foreword

About the Author

Brooke Larson is Professor of History and Director of Latin American Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook. She is the coeditor of Ethnicity, Markets, and Migration in the Andes, also published by Duke University Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press Books; Expanded edition (February 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822320886
• ISBN-13: 978-0822320883
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > History > Americas > South America > Bolivia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It was GREAT!, December 21, 1999

By 

Kyle (Huntington, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cochabamba, 1550-1900: Colonialism and Agrarian Transformation in Bolivia (Paperback)

Wow! I said when I read this book. It is descriptive and very well written. It's a page turner!