Empire of Eloquence: The Classical Rhetorical Tradition in Colonial Latin America and the Iberian World (Ideas in Context)

The global reach of the Spanish and Portuguese empires prompted a remarkable flourishing of the classical rhetorical tradition in various parts of the early modern world. Empire of Eloquence is the first study to examine this tradition as part of a wider global renaissance in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa, with a particular focus on the Iberian world. Spanning the sixteenth to the early nineteenth centuries, the book argues that the classical rhetorical tradition contributed to the ideological coherence and equilibrium of this early modern Iberian world, providing important occasions for persuasion, legitimation and eventual (and perhaps inevitable) confrontation. Drawing on archival collections in thirteen countries, Stuart M. McManus places these developments in the context of civic, religious and institutional rituals attended by the multi-ethnic population of the Iberian world and beyond, and shows how they influenced public speaking in non-European languages, such as Konkani and Chinese. Across the Hispanic Monarchy (the patchwork global polity often erroneously referred to as the "Spanish Empire") rhetoric was taught in colleges and universities. This, in turn, influenced the secular and sacred public speaking that resounded in churches, cathedrals, gubernatorial palaces, plazas and university halls, through which orators sought to unite listeners in the pursuit of shared societal goals. At the same time, classicizing rhetoric and oratory did more than just follow the flag. They also spilled out into areas which were not under the direct control of any Iberian monarch, but were touched by the outward migration of Iberian merchants and missionaries. Black-robed Jesuit humanists carried the classical rhetorical tradition with them to Japan and China as tools to evangelize and instruct native populations, while native Christians also quickly embraced the tradition to bolster their newfound faith. All this had the effect that the classical rhetorical tradition, as part of what we might call a "Global Renaissance," became one of the first intellectual currents to traverse the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, where it contributed in tangible ways to the stability and longevity of the patchwork of societies that made up the Iberian World. The classical rhetorical tradition, Empire of Eloquence argues, contributed to the ideological coherence and equilibrium of the early modern Iberian World, providing important occasions for persuasion, legitimation and eventual (and perhaps inevitable) confrontation."-- Provided by publisher El alcance global de los imperios español y portugués provocó un notable florecimiento de la tradición retórica clásica en varias partes del mundo moderno temprano. Empire of Eloquence es el primer estudio en examinar esta tradición como parte de un renacimiento global más amplio en Europa, América, Asia y África, con especial atención al Mundo ibérico.[Editor]