This is a fascinating work largely unknown except by specialists of the period. Fee has written a very complete bibliographical essay—a very good introduction to the text and period.
The Americas: A Quarterly Review of Latin American History
Nancy Fee's translation of the bishop's treatise on Indians is timely and most welcome. . . . Missing from much of the scholarly literature is an assessment of Palafox y Mendoza's exercise of Episcopal power. To that end, Nancy Fee has edited a bilingual edition of what is perhaps the most important European account of Indians in central Mexico produced in the seventeenth century. . . . Fee provides readers with a competent biographical sketch of Palafox y Mendoza, drawing upon the relevant printed matter and archival sources that historians have used for years to reconstruct the life and career of the bishop.
Colonial Latin American Historical Review
The volume is handsomely edited and elegantly translated. . . . This is a splendid volume that colonial Latin Americanists will appreciate. The work should be assigned to upper-division undergraduates and graduate students in Latin American history courses. . . . The combination of historical and biographical context with the richness of this source will provide plenty for hungry students to chew on.
Hispanic American Historical Review
Superb. The nuanced translation provides a fascinating window into a major intellectual and policy maker of an often-neglected time period. Dr. Fee’s impressively researched introduction and biographical essay place Palafox and his work in historical and cultural context, allowing not only scholars but students to understand the important issues of seventeenth-century political and religious life. Essential reading for those interested in Latin American empires, colonialism, and ethnic relations.
Linda A. Curcio-Nagy, University of Nevada, Reno