"In view of the breakthrough represented by the achievements of this book, strikingly heterodox and impressively persuasive interpretations of the 'dispute of the New World, ' it is of cardinal importance in several fields of history: Latin America, the Spanish monarchy, Enlightenment, historiography, and New World cultural encounters."--Felipe Fernández-Armesto, Oxford University
"Refreshes our understanding of the colonial past and of the origins of the independence movements in the New World. A masterpiece of scholarly ingenuity."--The Economist (Books of the Year)

Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra is Assistant Professor of History at SUNY-Buffalo.