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Natural and Moral History of the Indies by José de Acosta (Content)
Spanish interaction with greenstuffs + vegetables of the Indies
Descriptions of types of plants + how they are locally grown
Focus on Balsam (plant with medical properties valuable to Spanish)
Natural and Moral History of the Indies by José de Acosta (Context)
José de Acosta grew up in Spain then joins Jesuits + sent to Peru/Mexico 1570-87 where he spends 17 years being tasked with setting up Jesuit network
On his return he writes 2 works which become extremely popular with his manual on how to preach becoming guideline around world
EMP sees increased interest in medical/natural research which expands to point where state decides it should be responsible for managing collection of knowledge
Means many european monarchies trained individuals who they sent out to newly discovered places + asked for reports
Centre of this empirical practice was to search for things that could bring profits in the Old World
Meant monarchy needed to control the human + natural resources of New World
Balsam old + celebrated classical medicine which was reportedly produced in small quantities in Judea + Egypt
Plants liquor most important as used for many ailments (e.g. for vision problems, to purge, heal wounds, provoke urine, antidote to poison)
But in high demand as production of Egyptian balsam stopped by early 15th century
So when Antonio de Villasante claimed to have found similar product in Hispaniola, crown supported his exploration
He transferred knowledge about plant from indigenous (through his wife) to the old world + performed tests on how best to extract it
In return crown granted Villasante, his heirs, + whomever else he deemed appropriate a complete monopoly on the Santo Domingo balsam
But debates over this new balsam with likes of Hispaniola physician Licenciado Barreda challenging Villasante's reports
Crown managed this by asking physiciansto experiment with balsam + show their reports to royal officials,
Meant crown able to effectively control production of knowledge about balsam
Natural and Moral History of the Indies by José de Acosta (Significance)
Some of José de Acosta works shows difficulty of religion trying to make sense of new natural knowledge (e.g. lineage of animal of Camels + Llama's in west Indies)
Antonio Barrera suggests balsam research demonstrates link between knowledge + political/economic controls in 16th century Spanish America (issues surrounding who would control production of knowledge - crown in collaboration with entrepreneurs such as Villasante, or physicians such as Barreda)
Interplay between production of new knowledge + the political/economic interests of the crown
Interplay between interests of crown + individual subjects created scientific practice based on empirical experimentation + collective articulation of resulting information
Economic possibilities of New World goods shaped research conducted on them
This research in turn shaped by empirical observation, professionals + experts collectively articulating knowledge + the crown arbitrating outcome of disputes about knowledge in light of its economic/political goals
‘Concerning Pineapples’ by Fernández de Oviedo (Content)
Describing the Pineapple
Where it is found, how it is grown, what it looks like, how it is eaten + what it tastes like
Explains struggles experienced when attempting to transport pineapple back to Spain
‘Concerning Pineapples’ by Fernández de Oviedo (Context)
Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo appointed by Spanish to collect + organize information regarding natural history of the New World
1514 he was made supervisor of gold smelting at Santo Domingo + on his return in 1523 he appointed Historian of the West Indies
14 September 1501 Diego de Lepe received royal license for trading in New World which included acknowledgment of possible unknown valuable plants + animals which could be traded
Royal license assumed presence of new entities with potential commercial value in European market
Experience gained in exploration + contact with other cultures increasingly displaced classical sources as authority for knowledge
Need to control brought together royal bureaucrats, merchants + cosmographers in effort to produce practical knowledge that could be used to govern new lands + profit from its resources
Throughout 16th century Spanish royal bureaucracy periodically requested information about natural world of Indies (began as general inquiries about nature but over years became very specific)
From late 1570s to early 1580s crown used these answers to gain exhaustive body of knowledge about Indies
By late 16th century international network of scholars (including Carolus Clusius + Antonio Recchi) studying American nature
Within span of 60 years, Spaniards moved from general understanding of natural world of the Indies to a complex + categorised understanding
‘Concerning Pineapples’ by Fernández de Oviedo (Significance)
Antonio Barrera suggests Spanish exploration meant experience gained new role in validating knowledge
Means the history of science + the history of the new world intimately related
Antonio Barrera-Osorio argues newly acquired knowledge depended not on traditional classical accounts of nature but on kinds of observation + information that developed in response to bureaucratic/commercial problem of long-distance management of natural resources
Transmission of knowledge across long distances delicate (e.g. descriptions of the bird of Paradise) so must be managed by the state to present curated knowledge formation
Meant Spanish crown took active role in managing the knowledge acquired about the new world
Abu'l Hasan Emperor Jahangir Embraces Shah Abbas c. 1618 (Content)
Jahangir, the Mughal emperor, hugs Shah Abbas, the Safavid ruler
They stand on top of the world, on the backs of a lion + a lamb
Abu'l Hasan Emperor Jahangir Embraces Shah Abbas c. 1618 (Context)
During period of uneasy relations with Shah Abbas, Jahangir dreamed they embraced despite them never meeting in reality
Lion + lamb together used to represent harmony suggesting the rulers are at peace
But to proclaim superiority of Jahangir, artist Abu’l Hasan manipulated symbols of sovereignty
Globe (represents earthly rule + alludes to Jahangir’s name, World Seizer) becomes stage for his disingenuous hug with the smaller, less opulently dressed shah
Emperors superior lion nudges shah’s inferior lamb into the Mediterranean
Jahangir’s lion covers geographical region of India + into Iran
Submissive posture of Shah Abbas shows that Jahangir is who stands on top of the world next to the secondary Shah Abbas
Abu'l Hasan Emperor Jahangir Embraces Shah Abbas c. 1618 (Significance)
Map accurate compared to europeans in terms of shapes, scale + notable features
Ebba Koch suggests that under Jahangir Mughal symbolic representation became major genre of imperial Mughal painting
Aimed to give abstract concepts or performed gestures of ideal kingship a pictorial expression
Emperor, his advisers + artists fully understood potential of manipulating cartography as symbol of territorial dominion
Emperors artists often related paintings to concepts of Jahangir as a world emperor with India appearing bigger + in middle of globes
Abū l-Ḥasan manipulated globe in 3 major ways - alienated it from original identity as European scientific instrument + made it player in Islamic cosmological concepts of universe; used globe to place India in centre of the world; populated globe with Mughal symbolic imagery (e.g. beast + its prey) which coexist peacefully as testimony to the Great Mughal’s justice + ideal kingship
Jahangir's manipulation of maps connected with Europe as many European rulers also portrayed themselves with globes in order to express their symbolic possession of the world (e.g. Charles V)
Represents how Jahangir protected his power + was connected to the Islamic + wider world
Abu’l Hasan Jahangir Standing on a Terrestrial Globe c. 1620 (Content)
Jahangir, the Mughal emperor, standing on terrestrial globe supported by the cosmic bull + the world fish
Shooting at the head of his enemy, the military leader Malik ‘Anbar
Abu’l Hasan Jahangir Standing on a Terrestrial Globe c. 1620 (Context)
Iconography of painting based on old Islamic cosmological concept of the world fish on which the earth rests through the intermediation of the cosmic bull
Globe he stands on has shape of terrestrial globes made in Antwerp around 1600, this sits on back of a naturalistic bovine with its head turned to viewer in a Europeanizing foreshortening + this stands on a fish which resembles manner of northern Italian or Flemish artists
Each element of the medieval image translated into Europeanizing pictorial language despite symbols being distinctively Mughal
Abu’l Hasan Jahangir Standing on a Terrestrial Globe c. 1620 (Significance)
Ebba Koch suggests that under Jahangir Mughal symbolic representation became a major genre of imperial Mughal painting
Aimed to give abstract concepts or performed gestures of ideal kingship a pictorial expression
Emperor, his advisers + artists fully understood potential of manipulating cartography as symbol of territorial dominion
Emperors artists often related paintings to concepts of Jahangir as a world emperor with India appearing bigger + in middle of globes
In painting northern shifted to the "west" (left side) which brings Indian subcontinent into full view
Manipulation puts globe entirely into Mughal service + literally under feet of Jahangir
Gives emperors own allegorical concept of universal rule more weight
Claim over world empire expressed with hybrid image - on the one hand, rationally assessed space through lens of European cartographical representation + on the other hand, overlay of symbolic Mughal representations of ideal rule
Represents how Jahangir protected his power + how this was connected to the wider world
'The Wonders of Creation', Süruri’s Ottoman translation of Qazwīnī’s ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt c.1595 (Content)
Painting is conception of the world
Earth shouldered by an angel, who stands on a slab of gemstone, which is supported by bull (sometimes called Kuyuta)
Fish (monster referred to as Bahamut) carries the cosmic beast on its back + is suspended in water for stability
'The Wonders of Creation', Süruri’s Ottoman translation of Qazwīnī’s ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt c.1595 (Context)
Süruri’s Ottoman translation of the 13th century work literally titled the Marvels of things created and miraculous aspects of things existing or The Wonders of Creation
Original manuscript became very popular all over Islamic world, becoming known as the most famous Islamic cosmography
Many copies made of manuscript demonstrate that it was one of the most popular books in Islamic world
Iconography of painting based on old Islamic cosmological concept of the world fish on which the earth rests through the intermediation of the cosmic bull
This cosmography based on doctrine of the unity of God + the unity of the universe as divine creation
'The Wonders of Creation', Süruri’s Ottoman translation of Qazwīnī’s ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt c.1595 (Significnace)
Demonstrates the ordering of the world in relation to Islam
Predates the employment of this allegory by Mughal emperor Jahangir
He would go on to employ imagery alongside european cartography to strengthen his influence + power
As Ebba Koch argues, under this emperor, symbolic representation became a major genre of imperial Islamic painting, specially to the Mughals
Allegory would become something utilised by rulers in their art to express their own power within the ordering of the world
Represents how Islamic emperors protected their power + proclaimed there influences across the globe
The Trial of Janet Barker and Margaret Lauder at Edinburgh (1643) (Content)
Trial of Janet Barker + Margaret Lauder in Edinburgh on 28 of December 1643
Emphasis placed on sexual crimes these women committed with the devil
The Trial of Janet Barker and Margaret Lauder at Edinburgh (1643) (Context)
Case pursued at instance of Thomas Hope for crimes of sorcery/witchcraft + keeping company with Satan
Patrick Barrie decided women should be taken to Castle Hill, wired to a stake until they died + their bodies burnt to ashes
Magical beliefs/practices permeated early modern European society as widely believed that some could perform incredible acts by harnessing power of supernatural forces
Affected intellectuals + peasantry alike due to their understanding of how God + the devil operated in world
Sorcery or demonic magic became associated with witchcraft by end of Middle Ages as Church + demonologists increasingly attribute all magical acts to agency of the devil
Although belief predated early modern period, notable intensification in prosecutions occurred during century c.1560–1660
Witchcraft prosecutions in Scotland more numerous than England + claimed many more lives
Estimated total 80% of those accused of witchcraft women
Estimated that as few as 500 witches executed in England in comparison to as many as 1500 in Scotland
When Scottish trials conducted by local authorities on basis of commissions granted by Privy Council, more than 90% of those tried executed
Even when trials conducted in Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh, more than half of those accused executed
High rate of successful prosecution due to use of illegal torture at time of arrest + ability of Lord Advocate to bring charges against witches by his own authority, without approval of a grand jury
Large Scottish witch hunts promoted by charges that they worshipping devil collectively + engaging in sexual acts with him
James VI obsession of witchcraft caused trickle effect down into wider society (e.g. wrote Daemonologie 1597)
Despite this, early estimates of hundreds of thousands brought to trial across Europe exaggerated + not sustained by recent research
Because isolated trials + executions, although more frequent than before, continued to be norm in most countries
E.g. Salem actually only ‘big’ case in New England + for all its notoriety, only resulted in 19 executions in 1692
The Trial of Janet Barker and Margaret Lauder at Edinburgh (1643) (Significance)
Rise in prosecutions varied according to time + place
Some areas prone to mass trials, like parts of the Holy Roman Empire, while in other places this less common, as in France + England
Penny Roberts suggests differences in intensity of prosecution between countries has led some historians to misinterpret European-wide panic
Spain, Italy + Russia all experienced relatively brief + muted prosecutions
Such places enforced stricter legal systems which forbade use of torture + required high standards of proof for witchcraft accusations
Across Europe, estimated only 40-50% of those tried for witchcraft actually executed (does not suggest judgements driven by panic)
Leniency or caution of judges impressive in contrast to zeal we might expect to rid society of witches
But in places where prosecution more intense, such as Würzburg in Germany, mass trials did lead to conviction rate of around 90%
Most prominent explanations for rise in fear of witches encompass:
Religious fervour (in both Protestant + Catholic Reformations condemnation of witchcraft promoted as sin against God + Christian society)
Reactions to disaster/crises (increased accusations of ‘weather magic’ in Central Europe during period known as the ‘Little Ice Age’)
Refusal of charity (declining economic situation of period meant single women struggled to survive + become increasingly marginalized)
Changes in legal system (increased centralization of legal systems eased process of accusation + prosecution)
Heightened awareness of devil’s agency
Popular beliefs (advent of print assisted depiction of witches as enemies of society who needed to be destroyed due to their unspeakable acts)
Misogyny (predominantly female domestic roles of childrearing, treating sick + food preparation made them suspect when things went wrong)
Represents how these prosecutions occurred + what drove them
Inquisitorial Inquiries: Brief Lives of Secret Jews and Other Heretics (Content)
Trail of Elena/o by Spanish Inquisition
Accused of sodomy but argued in defence that they were a hermaphrodite
Case covers most of their life, trial + prosecution
Inquisitorial Inquiries: Brief Lives of Secret Jews and Other Heretics (Context)
Elena/o brought to trial after they married a women despite still being married to a man + previously presenting as female
During period women only tended to come before courts due to scandal caused by subverting natural order (e.g. by pretending to be a man)
Sexual ambiguity of hermaphrodites, who possessed both male + female genitalia, viewed as destabilizing if they did not adopt a single gender identity
Elena/o identity can be seen to confuse court during their case + may be a reason they are not prosecuted more harshly
Penny Roberts argues that all societies identify certain types of behaviour, appearances or lifestyle which differ from prevailing norms as suspect + threatening
This results in the associated individuals or groups becoming marginalized, ostracized or actively persecuted
Although these groups may be diverse in nature of their difference, some common stereotypes recur - predilection for acts of sexual depravity, criminality + other anti-social behaviour, accompanied by metaphors of pollution + disease
Whatever source of difference, sexual deviance always seen as a common characteristic (e.g. Lepers/Jews associated with lasciviousness, Muslims with perverse sexual practices, witches accused of sexual intercourse with the devil + vagrants of having many short-lived liaisons)
Therefore, such groups or individuals often believed to pose direct threat to respectable, law-abiding Christian society
Inquisitorial Inquiries: Brief Lives of Secret Jews and Other Heretics (Significance)
Case demonstrated level of concern of Spanish authorities about sexual ambivalence + social instability it caused
But much of official treatment of deviant or marginal groups in early modern period was matter of regulation + containment rather than destruction
This means that even heinous sins like sodomy more or less tolerated as long as it was kept within certain bounds + did not become notorious or disruptive
Seen in case of Elena/o - expect Spanish Inquisition to be harsh on crime of sodomy but instead, despite prosecution, they basically get away
Punishment does not isolate them from society + they not heavily monitored afterwards showing that authorities not necessarily threatened by them
Elena/o manages to eventually blend back into society which is characteristic for many outcasts
Tend to view deviants only through lens of prosecution + persecution, but marginal groups could also play important social or economic roles in society which allowed for daily interaction + acceptance within community’s
Court recording some of best evidence to determine attitudes of everyday people during a period
Many illiterate so court cases help to preserve information by gathering lots of information relevant to a case
Represents how Spanish Inquisition not actually overly concerned with harshly punishing the behaviour of marginal groups
Venice: A Documentary History (Content)
Covers 4 topics - Homosexual practices unpunished, 1509; The 'Geto at San Hieronimo', 1516; Licence for a Jewish Physician, 1589; Motives for Expelling the Marranos, 1550
First about prevalence of homosexuality among men of Venice which often goes ignored + unpunished by officials
Second + third about marginalised Jewish population of Venice
Fourth about religious minorities forced to convert to Christianity
Venice: A Documentary History (Context)
Homosexuality
Same-sex activity, although condemned in theory, often tolerated in practice
Acceptable if it did not outrage public decency
In cities of Venice + Florence, distinctions made between young men for whom such acts seen as passing phase prior to more ‘natural’ outlet of marriage + those older men indulging in pederasty
Despite this, many powerful men engaged in such activity + were not prosecuted due to their status
Was seen as wrong if you were common but acceptable if you were powerful
Much concern with who took active (therefore male) + passive (therefore female) role in these sexual relationships
So-called molly houses of 18th century London suggest that by end of period, at least in larger metropolis, there was distinctive homosexual culture
While railed against by moralists, behaviour of notorious libertines such as Earl of Rochester + Marquis de Sade made them celebrities
Middle Ages prostitutes frequently taxed according to trade like any other workers + many cities established official bordellos/bath-houses but attitudes changed by mid-16th century, with prostitutes having to operate with more discretion
Prostitution largely driven underground as part of wider moral agenda during early modern period
Jews in Venice
Jews + Muslims largest non-Christian groups with whom Europeans came into immediate contact
Henry J. Cohn suggests these minorities represented 'other' against whom people defined + distinguished themselves
Because of persecution/expulsions, members of these faiths experienced large-scale migration
While Jews often lived in separate quarters in towns (as did many crafts) only in 16th century (beginning with Venice in 1516) did ghettos behind walls emerge + become common
Means points of contact between Jewish + general populations included ubiquitous peddlers, Jewish physicians, crafts + money lending
Papal policy allowed Jews to practise their religion, but restricted their dress + behaviour to separate them from Christians
While ghettos may have produced overcrowding + increased poverty, they also afforded Jews greater protection + helped foster their communal solidarity
But society still produced rabble-rousing sermons, folk tales, mystery plays + print spreading grotesque false charges against Jews
Late medieval period saw increased discontent towards Jewish populations which led to antisemitic pogroms in Castile + other Spanish kingdoms from late 14th century which forced mass conversions
The conversos (jew converted to Christianity) important intermediaries between Christian + Jewish society
Venice: A Documentary History (Significance)
Differences in toleration to different people + practises which opposed traditional Christian beliefs of period
Societies who we perceived as intolerant actually had system of tolerance (created specific areas where differences could survive)
Even though Jew in Venice segregated, they still allowed to be part of society which would not have occurred in earlier history + other places
Interaction of state power in levels of tolerance with rich Venetian men not being punished for homosexuality as they deemed too important to be prosecuted
But still, large towns in Europe that contained foreigners + refugees often used these communities as convenient scapegoat at times of crisis
So, spectrum of marginalization + active persecution varied according to relative threat which such groups believed to pose, in a given place at a given time, to society in which they lived
Represents how marginalisation occurred in Christian society in comparison to prosecution
William Harrison, The Description of England (Content)
Overview of the English social ranks
People commonly divided into 4 sorts - gentlemen, citizens, yeomen + artificers
Discuses their role in society
William Harrison, The Description of England (Context)
William Harrison cleric + historian writing in Elizabethan England
The Description of England written as contribution to Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles, first published in 1577
Early modern period had broad range of social conditions associated with recognisable roles in society
In many communities periodic efforts made to create status distinctions between these sectors of society so that each group knew role it was supposed to play
Means there was structure to social organisation which governed relationships between effective equals (e.g. neighbours) + superior/inferior (e.g. tenant + landlord)
While former operated mostly on benefit of mutual aid, latter conducted largely on terms the relative superior
This means a gentleman or substantial farmer might give certain favoured clients regular employment, help find places in service for their children or supply character references
Could also give more commonplace gifts of money, Christmas treats, old clothes or fuel to needy dependants
Such relationships were based upon recognition of social obligations that came with certain social positions
Moralistic preachers + pamphleteers constantly reminded rich of their duties, while stressing duty of inferiors to obey those placed in authority over them by God
As result, there existed networks of patronage + clientage extending across England
But disorder between social groups also permanent aspect of social conduct - reflection of stresses + dysfunctions in a usually stabilised society
At local level it could be provoked by problems in fabric of traditional social relationships + at a national level, it reflected conflicting aspirations of status groups
Protest was normal + therefore frequent - accepted feature of relations between nobility + their subjects
William Harrison, The Description of England (Significance)
Gives insights into characteristics of Tudor England
Various subdivisions of English society (the village, the parish, the county, the town) all had their own integrity as social units
Social organization highly flexible + even individualistic, but still far from unstructured
Keith Wrightson suggests contact vital for maintenance of relationships upon which local social order rested, but effective only when conducted according to certain conventions
Local communities held together by relationships of neighbourliness between effective equals + ties of patronage/clientage between persons of differing status, wealth + power
Settlements of 16th + 17th centuries had constant process of accommodation serving to maintain balance between co-operation + conflict and identification + differentiation
But while classes relatively segregated, their still systems by which whole community was bound
Generally all neighbours expected to live peaceably + harmoniously, recognizing obligations + placing no unreasonable burden upon tolerance of community
'Honour’ or 'good reputation' was desired + considered to be important quality of all men, no matter their social distinction
If these things disregarded than exclusion or violence could be the result
Represents how complex relations between different social ranks existed in early modern period
The Swallowfield Articles of 1596 (Content)
Set of 26 resolutions
Seek to regulate social + moral conduct within community as a whole
The Swallowfield Articles of 1596 (Context)
Drawn up in December 1596 during meeting of chief inhabitants who were provoked by perceived social + moral crisis to create new forum of governance
Swallowfield not technically parish in 16th century - merely chapelry of neighbouring Shinfield located at western end of Windsor Forest, on borders of Berkshire + Hampshire
‘Chief inhabitants’ of Swallowfield drawn from tithings of Great and Little Sheepbridge, Farley Hill + Diddenham
The Compton Census of 1676 notes that Swallowfield had 635 ‘inhabitants’
Meeting had its roots in medieval system of frankpledge whereby groups of 10 households were responsible for the good conduct of each member
Authors justified their constitution by their remoteness from circuits of secular justice, their desire to create a community of Christian worship embodying charity/neighbourliness + their hope to execute more efficiently the public responsibilities which crown had delegated to them
Resolutions drawn up at time of severe social/economic dislocation, in winter of 3rd consecutive dearth year + in middle of series of expensive military campaigns
Allusions made in articles imply that inhabitants a aware of threat posed to social order by economic dislocation
Preliminary orders (nos. 1–7) regulating conduct within meetings + encouraging harmony among members hint that Swallowfield had been scene of social conflict in years up to 1596
Emphasis on pacification, mediation + arbitration (nos. 4–7) entirely typical of local community terrified of social + economic consequences of unrests
But unsure of who 'Chief Inhabitants' were, whether articles were effective in promoting harmony + how they ended up among papers of Lord Chancellor Ellesmere
The Swallowfield Articles of 1596 (Significance)
Steve Hindle suggests articles demonstrate extent to which growth of governance (especially public responsibilities delegated to small knots of reliable men in localities) over course of 16th century effectively served to narrow meaning of ‘community’
Assembly acted as primitive form of parish vestry or ‘town meeting’
Shows how political impulse was expressed in extraordinary vividness/detail in many late 16th + early 17th century rural communities
Show practical significance of an ethos of participation in public office in early modern England
Sense of duty powerfully expressed in preamble which epitomizes tradition of communalism characteristic of 16th century rural parishes
Gives insights into nature + origins of campaign for the ‘reformation of manners’ in Elizabethan + early Stuart England
Although overall tone of document seems predominantly secular, article actually saturated with traditional Christian notions of charity + harmony
Comments on demands of Elizabethan regime show extent to which interests of such ruling groups intersected with centralized policies of church + state
Therefore, resolutions illustrate myriad of ways in which hierarchy/community overlapped + intersected in the Elizabethan parish, along with extent to which middling groups had emerged as agents of social/political transformation by turn of 16th century
