Los indios en la historia de México (review)

This useful volume is part of the Herramientas para la Historia series that offers brief surveys of historiography with lengthy bibliographies on key topics in Mexican history. Though the title suggests a broader treatment, Los indios en la historia de México is limited to works on the colonial period, except for a brief discussion of Indian landholding after Independence. The focus of Margarita Menegus' commentary is narrower still, devoted largely to sixteenth-century political economy, primarily local government, tribute, and labor, with an emphasis on the diversity of regional histories. Her bibliography, organized by subject in fifteen different categories with books and articles in Spanish and English, is more comprehensive and includes a good deal of material not discussed in her text.

This is neither an exercise in critical historiography nor an effort to identify and contribute to the debates that most engage colonial-period historians. Instead, the book provides a balanced overview of the literature on selected topics, singling out key works and outlining differing points-of-view without taking sides. The result is much more interesting than it may sound. Menegus is a skilled writer, adept at succinct, sharply focused, and intelligent summaries. Her discussions of familiar classics, coupled with introductions to newer scholarship, are fresh and useful. And her attention to new works in Spanish will be especially valuable to academics in the United States who find it a challenge keep up with publications in Mexico. Among the stronger commentaries are those regarding research on cacicazgos, the repartimientos de mercancías, and the alienation of Indian lands. There are some surprising omissions in the bibliography, but overall the lists of recommended readings are rich, thoughtful, and well-organized; they span a period from the late 1940s through 2005.

As part of a series conceived as "toolkits" for history, Los indios en la historia de México seems intended primarily for working academics. Graduate students preparing for comprehensive exams will find it tailor-made for many of their purposes. But this is not a book for general readers. Some of the most important and provocative topics regarding Indians in colonial Mexico are missing in Menegus' text, even though she touches on them in her bibliography. Readers will find no discussion of the significance of native language sources or the debates about sixteenth-century population losses; no exploration of ethnogenesis or the impact of mestizaje; no comment on the presence of Indians in colonial cities or their participation in the wars of Independence; and little on the methodologies and conceptual frameworks that have shaped the trajectory of historiography over time. Menegus candidly acknowledges the limited scope of her book in the Prologue, explaining that she confined her choices to works in which native peoples were the central focus and purposefully omitted scholarship that examined their histories in other contexts. Her rationale, pragmatic as it is, is not convincing on analytical grounds, and proponents of cultural history, in particular, will not be happy to have been left out of book with such a title.

Despite these shortcomings, Menegus has offered a valuable tool for social historians working on colonial Mexico. Nicely produced by the Fondo de Cultura Económica, the book fits in the hand like a sturdy little guidebook, sized for your pocket or a convenient corner on your desk, inviting hard usage.