Title The matter of empire : metaphysics and mining in colonial Peru / Orlando Bentancor

Published Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, [2017]

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Description 1 online resource (x, 404 pages) Series Illuminations : cultural formations of the Americas series Illuminations (Pittsburgh, Pa.) Contents Introduction: Imperium, Metaphysical Instrumentalism, and Potosi Mining -- Grounding the Empire : Francisco de Vitoria's Political Physics -- The Impasses of Instrumentalism : Revisiting the Polemics between Sepulveda and Las Casas -- Mastering Nature : Jose de Acosta's Pragmatic Instrumentalism -- From Imperial Reason to Instrumental Reason : The Ideology of the Circle of Toledo -- The Exhaustion of Natural Subordination : Solórzano Pereira and the Demise of Metaphysical Instrumentalism Summary "The Matter of Empire examines the philosophical principles invoked by apologists of the Spanish empire that laid the foundations for the material exploitation of the Andean region between 1520 and 1640. Centered on Potosí, Bolivia, Orlando Bentancor's original study ties the colonizers' attempts to justify the abuses wrought upon the environment and the Indigenous population to their larger ideology concerning mining, science, and the empire's rightful place in the global sphere. Bentancor points to the underlying principles of Scholasticism, particularly in the work off Thomas Aquinas, as the basis of the instrumentalist conception of matter and enslavement, despite the inherent contradictions to moral principles. Bentancor grounds this metaphysical framework in a close reading of sixteenth-century debates on Spanish sovereignty in the Americas and treatises on natural history and mining by theologians, humanists, missionaries, mine owners, jurists, and colonial officials. To Bentancor, their presuppositions were a major turning point for colonial expansion and paved the way to global mercantilism"--Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Print version record Subject Imperialism -- Philosophy -- History Instrumentalism (Philosophy) -- Political aspects -- Bolivia -- Potosí (Department) -- History Metaphysics -- Political aspects -- Bolivia -- Potosí (Department) -- History Environmental degradation -- Political aspects -- Bolivia -- Potosí (Department) -- History Mines and mineral resources -- Political aspects -- Bolivia -- Potosí (Department) -- History Indians of South America -- Colonization -- Bolivia -- Potosí (Department) -- History PHILOSOPHY -- Metaphysics. SCIENCE -- History. HISTORY -- Latin America -- South America. Imperialism -- Philosophy Colonization Environmental degradation -- Political aspects Indians of South America -- Colonization Mines and mineral resources -- Political aspects Spanish colonies Peru -- History -- 1548-1820. Spain -- Colonies -- America -- History Potosí (Bolivia : Department) -- Colonization -- History -- 17th century Potosí (Bolivia : Department) -- Colonization -- History -- 16th century America Bolivia -- Potosí (Department) Peru Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9780822981602 0822981602

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