History

Powers, K. V. (2005).  Women in the crucible of conquest The gendered genesis of Spanish American society, 1500-1600. New Mexico University of New Mexico Press.

    Books that are focused on the lives and participation of women in history are very limited in number. Among these few books is Karen Vieira Powers work entitled Women in the Crucible of Conquest The Gendered Genesis of Spanish American Society 1500-1600, a powerful and informative book that clearly documents the role and contributions of women during the Spanish rule in the New World. Published by the University of New Mexico Press in the year 2005, this 230-paged book includes essays on the social conditions of the Aztec and Inca women, the Latin American History, and the Spanish gender ideologies that determined the roles of women in the society. The book is centered on several different events on the lives of the women during the 16th century Spanish invasion of America. The author considers this era as an exciting and transformative period of the New World, and the Spanish rule in America resulted into great challenges and hardships for many natives (Powers, 2005, p. 1). Specifically, the lives of women changed drastically during this period of time. Powers (2005) documents the hardships, sufferings, and successes of the native women during the Spanish colonization of America in this very significant and historically meaningful book.

    Women in the Crucible of Conquest tackles the social issues that are significant to gender, race, and class. The author regards the indigenous women of America as the heart of this book not only because they experienced the worse sufferings during the Spanish colonization but also because they were numerically superior to all other women (Powers, 2005, p. 2). The issues focused on this book had a big impact on the activities and experiences of the native women. The author explains how the injustices and female discrimination were defended as a result of war as rape and sexual molestations were masked under the goal of achieving salvation. Thus, Powers (2005) effectively presents in her book how women were taken advantage of and given very little hope for justice.

    The book retells primarily the tale of the women during the Spanish American time and how they adapted to the patriarchal culture of the Spanish time. Native women, in particular, experienced profound discrimination in the society and were given diminished roles in race and class. Spanish conquerors caused the greatest pains of the women because their patriarchal beliefs and practices made every woman, regardless of race or class, treated subordinately by the male population. However, there were women who fought their way to resist the demotion and continue to have a place in the society. In order to keep or regain the equal status these women in their Native American cultures, they had to earn the respect of the other people and make established names for themselves. Hence, even if women had very little significant role in the military actions of this era, they fought twice harder for a fairer treatment in the society (Powers, 2005).

     Women in the Crucible of Conquest also includes a number of illustrations that make the book more informative. Sketches of people sowing the fields and portraits of the colonial families are just some of the illustrations shown in the book, depicting the basic activities that women practiced during the 16th century. Apart from these, the book also shows illustrations of an Andean woman being raped by Spanish men and the whipping of a female slave to portray the real experiences of the women during this era (Powers, 2005).

     Powers work is very definite in its goal of uncovering the role of the female gender in the social issues of the Spanish rule in the New World. The topics explored by the author are very significant to the history of America because they give a fresh and in-depth perspective of the womens experiences and sufferings during this chaotic and eventful period of time.  Women in the Crucible of Conquest presents how the native women of America succeeded in surpassing the discrimination and cruelty of the Spanish rule, affecting the whole colonization history of America. Thus, reading the book would be an enlightening experience for the readers as the author features ideas that are vital in explaining feminism and women empowerment, and she also presents other stories and experiences that are still significant in todays time.