La fortaleza docta: Elite letrada y dominacion social en Mexico colonial (siglos XVI-XVII) (review)

This book considers important aspects of the formal scholarly world in Mexico during the first two centuries of the colonial period; it is the translation of a doctoral dissertation done at SUNY, Stony Brook, a decade ago. Unfortunately, it has not been updated in any systematic way, as is reflected in its somewhat dated bibliography. For sources, Chocano Mena relies heavily on the extensive secondary literature and on published writings from the period—everything from essays and sermons to relaciones de mérito—that are held in major archives and libraries in Mexico, Spain, Germany, and the United States.

Despite the title's reference to "Mexico," the author concentrates exclusively on the literary life of greater Mexico City. She ventures into the provinces only haphazardly, when so lured by well-noted and heavily documented episodes. For example, Chocano Mena considers Mérida only during the religious repression of Bishop Landa, and Puebla only because of the controversy between Bishop Palafox and the Jesuits. She likewise limits herself to the officially sponsored literary activities of the clergy educated in the colony's colegios, seminaries, and university. Thus she never examines the world of Sor Juana de la Cruz or the poetry she wrote. Lay persons of both sexes are excluded as well, despite the circulation of extensive published and unpublished writings among them, regardless of the Inquisition's efforts.

The first three of the book's nine chapters are devoted to Spanish views concerning the intellectual capacity of the Indians. This is a very traditional subject, and the author's lucid overview—based on the customary sources—breaks no new ground. The next four chapters consider the subject matter taught in the educational institutions, the dependence of the lettered elite on positions in the ecclesiastical and colonial administrations, the importance of public oratory in colonial culture, and the role of educated colonials in the justification and maintenance of the Spanish empire. The final two chapters examine several typical careers and some unusual cases.

Chocano Mena's study describes the framework within which the lettered elite of early colonial Mexico operated and the paths that most members followed as they ascended within it. However, it does not inform the reader of the issues that engaged the politically and culturally aware public or of the prevailing perspectives and worldviews held by that group. Nor does the author provide any sense of change through time, either in the character and size of the lettered elite or in the kinds of issues that they addressed. She never explains why she ends her study at the conclusion of the seventeenth century. Nothing is said, for instance, about possible differences between the emerging Bourbon era and the lengthy preceding Hapsburg one. This book is a useful and accurate description of its circumscribed subject. However, the author's failure to incorporate new documentation or fresh perspectives substantially limits its utility.