This was a fascinating perspective to come across. I've said before, throughout this semester, that there aren't nearly enough women in mainstream history, but I think that I've read more in depth about women and people of color in history just over the past few months than I think I ever have in my entire academic career. So, I say (rather repetitively now) how refreshing it truly is. And as we've had some women that are so limited by their environment over the past few weeks, it is interesting to see someone take such advantage of it. Especially being an indigenous slave. That, for me, was the most fascinating part. Her using her agency, and even her position to her advantage, was incredibly impressive.
As we've been saying that microhistories provides a sort of keyhole to the everyday life by looking at someone that is slightly off the beaten path, this is a perfect example. This gives an excellent look into what MesoAmerican women's day to day lives were like, and the lives of the MesoAmerican people in general, as well as the lives of the slaves and the people who oppressed them, to some degree. Giving the perspective of the oppressed is always something that interests me, and Townsend does it so deftly here, which I appreciated. The combination of sources was truly unique, and I was surprised that she had gotten so much out of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment