Customer Reviews

The Spanish Frontier in North America (The Lamar Series in Western History)

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Finally a book that takes upon itself to find the truth about the real drive of the Spanish colonization of North America. After decades of mostly subscribing to the Black Legend (the claim that spaniards where just cruel exploiters in search of gold and little else) and partially romanticizing the Spanish presence in this land, a book that puts thing in perspective. The author pays attention to the evolution, not only of the spanish conquest itself but of the interpretations this conquest has had over time. The underlying thesis of the book, namely that the influence of Spain on the natives was reciprocal, not a single sided event is very appealling and well documented. The book is organized in chapters that deal with the spiritual, pollitical and commercial aspects of the settlement. It is by no means a mere account of dates and names; on the contrary, it gives the reader a good feel of the fabric of history: the decline of the spanish impulse that started with the "Reconquista" and the wars against the moors, the uprising commercial ideology that would hand this empire to a younger nation, the obsolescence and impracticality of the religious spanish agenda and conquest methods, the misconceptions about natives and the ambivalent relationship with them, sometimes as fellow citizens when converted, most times difficult and mortal. In general, I enjoyed the book a lot. I recommend it to any serious historian of the Spanish Empire indigested with partial accounts and uncritical acceptance of the myths of our times.

Frontiers, in the plural, might be better. While many of us may call to mind Santa Fe, or the Alamo, the Spaniards were settled in, or exploring or defending, many places in North America. Only tenuously connected to each other, these frontier areas included Florida, the Gulf Coast, Texas, New Mexico, California and Arizona.

While New Mexico was reachable from Chihuahua, the Llano Estacado separated it from Texas. The Sierra Madre, water supplies in Mexico and such, separated New Mexico from the late-settled California and the even more tenuous hold on Arizona, not to mention that it was easier to get to California by sailing from Mexico out into the Central Pacific then taking trade winds back ... even from the Philippines. Apaches and Yaquis separated Arizona from California.

Meanwhile, the Gulf Coast and Florida weren't settled or explored from Mexico and so the first pages of their Spanish history were different.

As with all the European powers, dealing with the various Indian tribes was a large part of colonization. Weber takes a careful look at this, shows how the interaction went both ways and how the Spanish at least come off better in many ways than the English. That is also to say they come off better than the English's Anglo-American descendants as well.

Weber shows how Spain was less exterministic and more flexible in dealing with Indians than Anglos were, while doing so on a shoestring.

None of the Spanish frontiers in today's United States had anywhere near the degree of colonization that the British colonies had; for that matter, the Spanish would have settled for the number of Frenchmen who went to Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. Meanwhile, outside of New Mexico and Florida, by the time the Spanish got into various parts of North America, the empire's administration, military prowess and economy were all on the decline.

Yet, Spain persevered.

Read how, and what it does, could and should mean for our country today, in this very informative book. Ironically, I bought it at Coronado National Memorial -- one of Spain's first crossings into today's United States.

Being from a part of the US that is fairly unique in celebrating its French and Catholic rather than Anglo-American heritage i thought this was a great, in depth look at the Catholic European colonization of North America before manifest destiny, an area that is not well covered nationally. Although there are many legacies of the four decade long Spanish period in Louisiana like New Iberia, Spanish Lake, and family names (e.g. Romero, Ortega, etc.) much of the architecture and infrastructure that is often called French is in actuality Spanish. Because of two major fires New Orleans architecture is mostly Spanish Colonial style, and it became a really major city during the Spanish era. The Spanish language survived in the Canariano community, the Isleños, to the present day but like Acadian French its usage is limited to a few isolated areas. In all the Spanish accomplished a lot in North America despite very little immigration from the peninsula (New Spain and South America were much more attractive destinations), and a stifling mercantilist system that only began to be modified in the late 18th century. Spain was seemingly on the verge of a major rebirth in political power and culture until the accession of the weak Carlos IV and his wife's favorite Godoy who terribly bungled the response to revolutionary and Imperial France. The chaos in Spain opened the door for Anglo expansion and the rest is history, but it is intriguing to think of what might have been.

This book is a thorough treatment of the Spanish colonies in what is now the United States, from Florida to Texas, New Mexico, and California. If you're looking for information on the first European colonies north of the Rio Grande, founded long before Jamestown and the Plymouth, read about St. Augustine and Santa Fe. I constantly refer to this book.

This is an excellent history of the Spanish colonial experience in North America. Like most of us, I grew up thinking of England when the word "colonial" comes around. The Spanish coolonial history is just as fascinating and far more romantic than their counterparts. Weber's history should be required reading in our universities. Anyone remotely interested in colonial history will find this a pleasant diversion.

This book was an amazing account of the Spanish in North America. Many of the themes that occur during this time period occur in almost every time period and place. Dealing with religious intolerence, slavery, econmoy, unification, and the influence of all people on one another this book captures everything. Themes this book expresses about this time period are even more evident in today's information age as more people from different backgrounds and heritages come together on the internet. This was a good book to read, and made it easy to see the flaws and benefits of the past showing what not to, and what to, repeat.

This is an excellent study of Spain in North America, well written and superbly organized.

VERY PROFOUND AND EXCELLENT HISTORY OF THE SPANIARDS IN NORTH AMERICA. AMAZING STORY !!! WORTH EVERY PENNY !

BUY AND FIND OUT !!