The Theologian and the Empire: A Biography of José de Acosta (1540-1600)

Although Jesuit contributions to European expansion in the early modern period have attracted considerable scholarly interest, the legacy of José de Acosta (1540–1600) is still defined by his contributions to natural history. The Theologian and the Empire presents a new biography of Acosta, focused on his participation in colonial and imperial politics. The most important Jesuit active in the Americas in the sixteenth century, Acosta was fundamentally a political operator. His actions on both sides of the Atlantic informed both Peruvian colonial life and the Jesuit order at the dawn of the seventeenth century. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1 The Formative Years 1 The Making of a Jesuit (1540–57) 1 The Acosta Family 2 An Early Vocation 3 The Formation of a Jesuit 4 A Writer in the Making 2 The Young Scholar (1557–71) 1 Valladolid and the 1558 Lutheran Repression 2 Acosta the Theologian 3 The College Years 4 The Overseas Vocation Part 2 Peru 3 A Theologian for the New World (1572–74) 1 A Troubled Province 2 Acosta’s First Tour of the Andes 4 The Trial of Francisco de la Cruz (1574–76) 1 Angels, Demons, and a New American Church 2 The Politics of the Inquisition 3 De la Cruz and the Evangelization of Native Andeans 4 Rethinking Accommodation 5 The Visitor and the Viceroy (1575–78) 1 The Problem of the Doctrinas 2 An Inquiry into the Spanish Rights to Peru 3 Between Idealism and Pragmatism 4 De procuranda indorum salute and the Colonial Project 5 Juli 6 Labors and Tribulations (1577–81) 1 The Provincial at Work 2 Plotting the Expansion of the Jesuit Province 3 Acosta’s Last Trip through the Andes 4 The Battle for San Pablo 5 Stamping out Lascasismo 7 The Third Lima Council (1582–85) 1 The Banning of Mestizos 2 Valera, Acosta, and Accommodation 3 Acosta and the Third Council of Lima 4 Evangelization and the Creation of a Colonial Self Part 3 Between Spain and Rome 8 Writing the Historia natural y moral de las Indias (1584–89) 1 Acosta’s Last Years in the Americas 2 Sánchez, Acosta, and Iberian Imperialism in Asia 3 From De natura novi orbis to the Historia natural y moral de las Indias 4 The Historia natural y moral and the De auxiliis Controversy 9 The Memorialista Crisis (1588–91) 1 A Shifting Political Landscape 2 The Politics of the Spanish Inquisition 3 Acosta and Sánchez in the Court of Philip II 4 Acosta’s First Trip to Rome 5 Acosta, Visitor 10 The Fifth General Congregation (1591–1600) 1 The Acosta Brothers’ Gambit 2 The Fifth General Congregation 3 The Final Years Epilogue Bibliography Index A new biography of the most important Jesuit active in the Americas in the sixteenth century. This book clarifies the deep connections between Acosta's work in missions and natural history and Spain's imperial expansion.