'The people from Heaven'? : reading indigenous responses to Europeans during moments of early encounter in the Caribbean and Mesoamerica, 1492-c.1585
This study examines how indigenous groups and individuals responded to and identified Europeans in moments of early encounter in the Caribbean and Mesoamerica, in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Whilst the narrow issue of whether Mesoamericans viewed the arriving Europeans as âWhite Godsâ has dominated scholarship considering indigenous views of Europeans during first encounter, this study departs from this simplistic âgodâ/ânot godâ binary. Instead, it explores the wide and complex spectrum of indigenous responses to these newcomers â from flight to fight, trade and exchange to provision of aid â and asks how such responses reflected the nature and stability of cross-cultural relations. By exploring TaiÌno and Nahua worldviews, this study highlights the multiple and diverse categories of identity into which indigenous groups may have placed the Christian strangers. In telling multiple, smaller stories of these early meetings â from multiple perspectives â the intricacy, fluidity, and fragility of the contact situation emerges. In the following reading of European accounts and indigenous-authored pictorial texts â the âpurestâ sources for Nahua perspectives â
Rogers, Claudia Jane
'The people from Heaven'? : reading indigenous responses to Europeans during moments of early encounter in the Caribbean and Mesoamerica, 1492-c.1585. This study examines how indigenous groups and individuals responded to and identified Europeans in moments of early encounter in the Caribbean and Mesoamerica, in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Whilst the narrow issue of whether Mesoamericans viewed the arriving Europeans as âWhite Godsâ has dominated scholarship considering indigenous views of Europeans during first encounter, this study departs from this simplistic âgodâ/ânot godâ binary. Instead, it explores the wide and complex spectrum of indigenous responses to these newcomers â from flight to fight, trade and exchange to provision of aid â and asks how such responses reflected the nature and stability of cross-cultural relations. By exploring TaiÌno and Nahua worldviews, this study highlights the multiple and diverse categories of identity into which indigenous groups may have placed the Christian strangers. In telling multiple, smaller stories of these early meetings â from multiple perspectives â the intricacy, fluidity, and fragility of the contact situation emerges. In the following reading of European accounts and indigenous-authored pictorial texts â the âpurestâ sources for Nahua perspectives â
the people heaven reading indigenous response europeans moment early encounter caribbean study_examines indigenous group_individual respond identified europeans moment early encounter caribbean whilst narrow issue whether view arrive europeans white gods dominate scholarship consider indigenous view europeans first encounter study departs simplistic god_god binary instead explores wide complex spectrum indigenous response newcomer flight fight trade_exchange provision aid ask response reflect nature stability cross_cultural relation explore worldviews study_highlight multiple diverse category identity indigenous group may place christian stranger tell multiple small story early meeting multiple perspective intricacy fluidity fragility contact_situation emerge follow read european account indigenous authored pictorial text source perspective