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. Cover Half-title Series information Title page Copyright information Dedication Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: An Empire of Eloquence in a Global Renaissance Cultural History: Building Empires Intellectual History: A Treasure-Trove of Ideas Historical Meta-Geography: Defining the Iberian World The Classical Rhetorical Tradition Chapter Outlines Chapter 1 The Foundations of the Empire of Eloquence Humanism in Renaissance Iberia Rhetoric across the Pre-/Post-conquest Divide Rhetorical Theory and Practice in the Iberian World The ''Nuts and Bolts'' of the Classical Rhetorical Tradition Looking Out at the Iberian World from Mexico City Conclusion Chapter 2 Philip IV's Global Empire of Eloquence Late Humanism in the Hispanic Monarchy ''Virtue Politics'' and Good Government in Royal Exequias Neo-stoicism and Anti-Machiavellian ''Virtue Politics'' Lineage, Education and Virtue Politics Virtue Politics As a Technology of ''Negotiation'' The Language of Virtue beyond the Exequias Colonialism and the Limits of ''Virtue Politics'' ''Virtue Politics'' in the Indigenous Republic Virtue Politics and Non-imperial Spaces Conclusion Chapter 3 A Japanese Cicero Redivivus Humanism at the Arima Seminary Humanism on Deck Humanist Education in Renaissance Japan Jesuit Eloquence in Europe Homeward Bound Jesuit Eloquence in East Asian Languages Jesuit Eloquence in Early Modern China Christian Japan and the Iberian World Conclusion Chapter 4 Indo-Humanist Eloquence Evangelization and Indo-Humanist Grammar in Goa and Salcete How a Jesuit Missionary Read His Mahabharata Konkani Sacred Oratory ''Orators in the Audience'': Connecting Caste and Erudition Conclusion Chapter 5 Centers, Peripheries and Identities in the Empire of Eloquence The Making of a Late Humanist Orator Tradition and Innovation in Campos' 1745 Oration Prosopopoeia and Patriotism Defining Citizenship in the ''Mexican'' Branch of the Republic of Letters The Meta-Geography of the Mexicani Conclusion Chapter 6 The Republic of Eloquence Defining ''Post-Humanism'' ''Post-Humanist'' Eloquence in the Hispanic Economic Societies Neoclassicism and Republican Nationalism in the September Orations Conclusion Bibliography Archival Sources Mexico Peru Chile United States of America Spain Portugal Italy India Philippines Japan Primary Sources Secondary Sources Index 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