By Rebecca A. Earle The Return of the Native: Indians and Myth-Making in Spanish America, 1810ƒ??1930

by Rebecca Earle

Why does Argentina’s national anthem describe its citizens as sons of the Inca? Why did patriots in nineteenth-century Chile name a battleship after the Aztec emperor Montezuma? Answers to both questions lie in the tangled knot of ideas that constituted the creole imagination in nineteenth-century Spanish America. Rebecca Earle examines the place of preconquest peoples such as the Aztecs and the Incas within the sense of identity—both personal and national—expressed by Spanish American elites in the first century after independence, a time of intense focus on nation-building.Starting with the anti-Spanish wars of independence in the early nineteenth century, Earle charts the changing importance elite nationalists ascribed to the pre-Columbian past through an analysis of a wide range of sources, including historical writings, poems and novels, postage stamps, constitutions, and public sculpture. This eclectic archive illuminates the nationalist vision of creole elites throughout Spanish America, who in different ways sought to construct meaningful national myths and histories. Traces of these efforts are scattered across nineteenth-century culture; Earle maps the significance of those traces. She also underlines the similarities in the development of nineteenth-century elite nationalism across Spanish America. By offering a comparative study focused on Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Ecuador, The Return of the Native illustrates both the common features of elite nation-building and some of the significant variations. The book ends with a consideration of the pro-indigenous indigenista movements that developed in various parts of Spanish America in the early twentieth century.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Indigenous

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Isaac Gradl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Earle provides a really thorough account of Latin American nationalisms and the formation of Latin American national identities from the period of independence to the 1930s. Her analysis brings together a combination of sources: writings from intellectuals during the time, museums, statues, etc. (even things like stamps) to show how perceptions of indigenous peoples and colonial rule shifted during this time frame.

[galaxypox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Admittedly there were chunks I skimmed but that is mostly for me and timing rather than the book itself. Earle discusses how Native culture, pre-Columbus, was factored into nation building and nationalism after various countries separated from Spain. She highlights how there was a distinction of the great nations of the past (the Inca, Maya, Aztecs, etc.) versus the contemporary Indigenous, and how Spanish American elites focused on mythicizing the Native past rather than incorporating contemporary Native peoples.

Overall, I found it an informative read. The author wrote well but I almost wonder if this was her dissertation with how some of it is formatted/worded (not a diss to her, just reads as one at some points.)

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressively broad survey of how elite Spanish American nationalism incorporated elements of the pre-conquest past during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Earle argues that certain broad trends - an upsurge of "indianesque" nationalism during the independence era, followed by elite disavowal of symbolic indian heritage; the inclusion of the pre-conquest period in history texts and museums as a precursor to the modern nation, and the sharp distinctions drawn between past and contemporary indigenous peoples - can be traced throughout the societies of mainland Spanish America. While the book does not offer in-depth accounts of nationalism within particular countries, its region-wide insights and far-reaching base of sources make The Return of the Native a valuable addition to the literature on cultural state formation.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an existing interest in indigenismo and so I appreciated Earle's presentation of the historical development of indigenismo within a regional context of independence and nation-state building. Her choice to analyze state symbols such as coins, stamps, and even theater also helped make the book more interesting.