The Language of the Conquerors

One of the most decisive and irreversible consequences of the Spanish conquest of the Americas was the alphabetic revolution which changed the forms of communication in indigenous societies. Writing, paper and books arrived in the Americas with the conquistadors and they were used as weapons by the Spanish to subjugate local populations and impose Christianity on them. The written word of the conquerors was a key medium of colonization: orders from the imperial metropole were written down, local resources and valuables were recorded and books conveyed knowledge coming from Europe. The children of indigenous elites, trained in humanist values, were soon more familiar with Latin and the Bible than with the beliefs of their ancestors, and the use of Latin instilled new modes of reasoning and thought. By imposing European languages and writing systems, the conquistadors also inculcated a belief in the superiority of the written word and even its holiness. And yet despite this, indigenous people were able to resist alphabetic colonization in other ways, thanks to their extraordinary creativity. By putting language, writing and printing at the centre of his analysis, Serge Gruzinski develops a fresh perspective on the colonization and conversion of the indigenous people of the Americas and enables us to observe in detail how ideas intermingle when two civilizations collide.

Introduction Part One: An Alphabetic Unleashing Chapter I. The "Aztec" Psalter Chapter II. An alphabetic unleashing Chapter III. The First Wave Part Two: Learning to Read, Write and Sing Chapter IV. The First Teachers Chapter V. The First Pupils Chapter VI. How the Apprenticeship Worked Chapter VII. Indigenous Musicians Part Three: What is Latin Good For? Chapter VIII. A University for Indigenous Scholars Chapter IX. A Prodigious Education Machine Chapter X. "Reverende pater, nato, cujus casus est?" The Indians' Latin Part Four: Novi homines, New Men Chapter XI. Three Lives Chapter XII. A Forest of Texts and Images Chapter XIII. Humanists, Philologists, Political Activists Chapter XIV. The Challenges of the First Globalized World Part Five: A Psalmody for the Indians Chapter XV. The Creators of the Psalmody Chapter XVI. The Alchemy of the Psalter Epilogue: "Dance, Dance or We Are Lost!" Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Bibliography Notes Index