Refusing the Favor
The Spanish-Mexican Women of Santa Fe, 1820-1880
Published on 31. May 2001
Book
Paperback/Softback
308 pages
978-0-19-514594-6 (ISBN)
Description
Refusing the Favor tells the little-known story of the Spanish-Mexican women who saw their homeland become part of New Mexico. A corrective to traditional narratives of the period, it carefully and lucidly documents the effects of colonization, looking closely at how the women lived both before and after the United States took control of the region.
Focusing on Santa Fe, which was long one of the largest cities west of the Mississippi, Deena Gonzalez demonstrates that women's responses to the conquest were remarkably diverse and that their efforts to preserve their culture were complex and long-lasting. Drawing on a range of sources, from newspapers to wills, deeds, and court records, Gonzalez shows that the change to U.S. territorial status did little to enrich or empower the Spanish-Mexican inhabitants. The vast majority, in fact, found themselves quickly impoverished, and this trend toward low-paid labor, particularly for women, continues even today. Gonzalez both examines the long-term consequences of colonization and draws illuminating parallels with the experiences of other minorities.
Refusing the Favor also describes how and why Spanish-Mexican women have remained invisible in the histories of the region for so long. It avoids casting the story as simply "bad" Euro-American migrants and "good" local people by emphasizing the concrete details of how women lived. It covers every aspect of their experience, from their roles as businesswomen to the effects of intermarriage, and it provides an essential key to the history of New Mexico. Anyone with an interest in Western history, gender studies, Chicano/a studies, or the history of borderlands and colonization will find the book an invaluable resource and guide.
Focusing on Santa Fe, which was long one of the largest cities west of the Mississippi, Deena Gonzalez demonstrates that women's responses to the conquest were remarkably diverse and that their efforts to preserve their culture were complex and long-lasting. Drawing on a range of sources, from newspapers to wills, deeds, and court records, Gonzalez shows that the change to U.S. territorial status did little to enrich or empower the Spanish-Mexican inhabitants. The vast majority, in fact, found themselves quickly impoverished, and this trend toward low-paid labor, particularly for women, continues even today. Gonzalez both examines the long-term consequences of colonization and draws illuminating parallels with the experiences of other minorities.
Refusing the Favor also describes how and why Spanish-Mexican women have remained invisible in the histories of the region for so long. It avoids casting the story as simply "bad" Euro-American migrants and "good" local people by emphasizing the concrete details of how women lived. It covers every aspect of their experience, from their roles as businesswomen to the effects of intermarriage, and it provides an essential key to the history of New Mexico. Anyone with an interest in Western history, gender studies, Chicano/a studies, or the history of borderlands and colonization will find the book an invaluable resource and guide.
Reviews / Votes
Refusing the Favor will take its place as a classic among the invaluable new revisionist and feminist scholarship on the American West. Gonzalez's resolution of the methodological and narrative dilemmas of this genre is exemplary and her conclusions offer convincing evidence that a gendered perspective is essential for understanding the broader history of any region and its people, particularly in situations of conquest and colonisation. * Journal of Latin American Studies * Gonzalez harnesses the interpretive powers of the folklorist, the historian's sensibility to shifting contexts, and the evocative skills of the writer to portray women's lives within and against backdrops of economic dislocation. * Journal of Latin American Studies * ... a rich textural narrative of life in nineteenth-century New Mexico. * Journal of Latin American Studies * An eloquent exercise in micro-history ... The overall effect is a subtle picture which presents an essentially human history in all its eloquent and often contradictory detail. The idea of using the court records is exemplary, revealing much about women's social attitudes and status, their survival strategies and their ability and willingness to use the system to protect their rights. As a result, the research succeeds not just in rescuing a forgotten history, but also in challenging the accepted histories of the American West and the tendency to romanticize and generalize from the often badly used statistics ... micro-history at its best. * Bulletin of Spanish Studies * Eloquent and thought provoking ... One of the greatest strengths of Gonzalez's book is its rootedness in her personal history ... Another great strength of Gonzalez's book emerges in her last chapter, which analyzes recent trends in western American history. * The Journal of American History * This book is an engaging study that furthers knowledge of western history and women's lives in the West ... Recommended for undergraduates and general readers. * Choice *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
8 figures, 2 maps
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
324 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-514594-6 (9780195145946)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2001
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€64.49
Available for download
E-Book
11/1999
OUP eBook
€64.49
Available for download
Person
Content
Prologue ; 1. Women in the Courts: Conformity and Dissonance before the War, 1821-1846 ; 2. Women under Siege: Sexuality and the Gendered Economies of Colonization, 1840-1852 ; 3. Women's Survival Strategies: Gifts and Giving as Methods of Resistance, 1846-1880 ; 4. The Politics of Disidentification and Recuperation: Notations about the "New" Western American History ; Epilogue ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index