Struggle and Survival in Colonial America

David G. Sweet, Gary B. Nash

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9780520045019
• eBook ISBN: 9780520343047
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Latin American & Caribbean History
• Index: History

Here are the fascinating stories of twenty-three little-known but remarkable inhabitants of the Spanish, English, and Portuguese colonies of the New World between the 16th and the 19th centuries. Women and men of all the races and classes of colonial society may be seen here dealing creatively and pragmatically (if often not successfully) with the challenges of a harsh social environment.

Such extraordinary "ordinary" people as the native priest Diego Vasicuio; the millwright Thomas Peters; the rebellious slave Gertrudis de Escobar; Squanto, the last of the Patuxets; and Micaela Angela Carillo, the pulque dealer, are presented in original essays. Works of serious scholarship, they are also written to catch the fancy and stimulate the historical imagination of readers. The stories should be of particular interest to students of the history of women, of Native Americans, and of Black people in the Americas.

The Editors' introduction points out the fundamental unities in the histories of colonial societies in the Americas, and the usefulness of examining ordinary individual human experiences as a means both of testing generalizations and of raising new questions for research.


Here are the fascinating stories of twenty-three little-known but remarkable inhabitants of the Spanish, English, and Portuguese colonies of the New World between the 16th and the 19th centuries. Women and men of all the races and classes of colonial soci

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• GARY B. NASH AND DAVID G. SWEET
• Introduction
• Opechancanough: Indian Resistance Leader
• Diego Vasicuio: Native Priest
• Red Shoes: Warrior and Diplomat
• Thomas Peters: Millwright and Deliverer
• Francisco Baquero: Shoemaker and Organizer
• Damiana da Cunha: Catechist and Sertanista
• Introduction
• Martín Ocelotl: Clandestine Cult Leader
• Antonio de Gouveia: Adventurer and Priest
• Juan de Morga and Gertrudis de Escobar: Rebellious Slaves
• Cristóbal Béquer: Wayward Prebend
• Introduction
• Isabel Moctezuma: Pioneer of Mestizaje
• Squanto: Last of the Patuxets
• Beatriz de Padilla: Mistress and Mother
• Catarina de Monte Sinay: Nun and Entrepreneur
• Francisca: Indian Slave
• Introduction
• Miguel Hernández: Master of Mule Trains
• Hernando de Valencia: Tax Promoter
• Enrico Martínez: Printer and Engineer
• Jacob Young: Indian Trader and Interpreter
• Micaela Angela Carrillo: Widow and Pulque Dealer
• Joseph Rachell and Rachael Pringle-Polgreen: Petty Entrepreneurs
• ILLUSTRATION CREDITS