Church and Society in Spanish America

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Van Ossa cultural history based on a semi-quantitative method. Adriaan C. Van Oss was a historian who, together with B. H. Slicher van Bath, developed this method to analyze cultural data. His major study, Catholic Colonialism: A Parish History of Guatemala, 1524-1821, was published after his sudden death in 1984 by the Cambridge University Press. It was recognized as an important work on the history of parish formation and composition, as well as on ecclesiastical imperialism in a peripheral area. His articles and manuscripts were directed to a much broader focus.In general, Van Oss rejected the traditional mercantilist views of colonial Spanish America that had emphasized long-distance trade and imperial connections. He suggested instead models of local self-sufficiency, unified by Church and various forms of cultural adaptation. The present collection is a selection of his work, some previously published, others not. The picture that emerges is of rapid expansion of colonial power, but slow change of cultural characteristics. The reconstruction of the features of New Spain and early Venezuela turned out to be historical geographies.