Earlier this year, I told you about a project I’m working on for which the working title is Repent! (And Have It Notarized.) C’mon, that’s a way better dissertation title than “‘Ni un sólo maravedí que suyo sea’: the theology of restitution in New Spain,” right? Anyway, here’s a quick refresher: in 1552, Bartolomé de las Casas (then bishop of Chiapas, México) published guidelines for the confessors of Spaniards who participated in or profited from the conquest of the Americas, mandating that material restitution be made before a penitent’s sins could be pardoned. I was totally taken aback by this document when I came across it in our Special Collections database and had never seen anything like it. I was even more surprised to see so little research about it when I looked into it further. The text struck a chord with many of you, too, so I thought I’d give you a project update now that the semester has come to an end.
Cartas de América #15: if you want slavery abolished, you gotta do it yourself
Catherine L. Addington 