Mexico, Slavery, Freedom

"A welcome tome for the study of slavery and freedom in the African Diaspora. An extensive, and often difficult to access repository of documents has been made available in a bilingual edition that will richly benefit scholars and students alike to better understand the complexities of the Black experience in colonial and early national Mexico. Bridging normal historical chronologies, and featuring sweeping sets of documents ranging from politics, religion, economics, and social life, there is little ground left uncovered for providing windows and glimpses of the evolution of blackness in Mexico. Expertly curated, marvelously framed, and diligently translated, this is a jewel of a book for historians."
—Ben Vinson III, President of Howard University

"This is the first volume to provide, in dual-language format, selections from primary texts related to the experiences of enslaved Africans, Asians, and their descendants in colonial Mexico.
      “An invaluable collection of primary sources offering a comprehensive and detailed picture of the experiences of the enslaved people in Mexico. This is an excellent research and teaching resource for professors and students.”
—Cristina Soriano, The University of Texas at Austin

“Through its rich and fascinating collection of documents, Mexico, Slavery, Freedom offers a much-needed window into Mexico’s long history of slavery that will leave readers wanting to learn and discover more.
     “Sierra Silva brilliantly guides his readers through the maze of Mexican archival resources. Through his careful content curation, readers will discover how corruption and discrimination led to persistent enslavement of Indigenous Mesoamerican and transpacific peoples despite royal orders to abolish the practice.
     “The rich, detail-packed introductions—to the book in general and to each chapter—are nonetheless succinct and to the point. Sierra Silva’s editorial approach proves that information and interpretative points are better served in small portions. The documents themselves are the main course.
     “Sierra Silva also recognizes the importance of giving readers both English and Spanish versions of each document in the book. These bilingual transcriptions make Mexico, Slavery, Freedom an equally valuable resource for course instruction in predominantly English-speaking environments, bilingual classrooms, and Spanish-centered courses.”
—Mariana Dantas, Ohio University

“Sierra Silva has taken on the Herculean task of compiling, translating, and contextualizing 300 years of Black life, love, and labor in Mexico. This text is a must for anyone interested in AfroMexico and can be used in the classroom. . . . It is Sierra Silva’s hope that his ‘modest’ project will contribute to ‘the development of a memory of inclusion and empathy.’ I can attest it does that and so much more. This book reminds us that being Black and Mexican are not mutually exclusive, but instead an intertwined and integral reality that is the fabric of the Mexican nation.”
—Erika Denise Edwards, The University of Texas at El Paso

About the Author:

Pablo M. Sierra Silva is Associate Professor of History, University of Rochester.