New from the University of Arizona Press:
: Remaking Honor, Law, and Liberalism in Venezuela, 1780-1850, by
Rueben Zahler (University of Oregon). A description from the Press:
Murder, street brawls, marital squabbles, infidelity, official
corruption, public insults, and rebellion are just a few of the social
layers Reuben Zahler investigates as he studies the dramatic
shifts in Venezuela as it transformed from a Spanish colony to a modern republic. His book Ambitious Rebels illuminates the enormous changes in honor, law, and political culture that occurred
and how ordinary men and women promoted or rejected those changes.
In a highly engaging style, Zahler examines gender and class against
the backdrop of Venezuelan institutions and culture
during the late colonial period through post-independence (known as the
"middle period"). His fine-grained analysis shows that liberal ideals
permeated the elite and popular classes to a substantial
degree while Venezuelan institutions enjoyed impressive levels of
success. Showing remarkable ambition, Venezuela's leaders aspired to
transform a colony that adhered to the king, the church, and
tradition into a liberal republic with minimal state intervention, a
capitalistic economy, freedom of expression and religion, and an
elected, representative government.
Subtle but
surprisingly profound changes of a liberal nature occurred, as evidenced
by evolving standards of honor, appropriate gender roles, class and
race relations, official conduct, courtroom evidence, press
coverage, economic behavior, and church-state relations. This analysis
of the philosophy of the elites and the daily lives of common men and
women reveals in particular the unwritten, unofficial norms
that lacked legal sanction but still greatly affected political
structures.
Relying on extensive archival resources, Zahler focuses on Venezuela
but provides a broader perspective on Latin
American history. His examination provides a comprehensive look at
intellectual exchange across the Atlantic, comparative conditions
throughout the Americas, and the tension between traditional norms
and new liberal standards in a postcolonial society.
More information is available
here.
