Review by Choice Review
A well-researched, readable account of three centuries of history on the northern frontier of New Spain. The maps are excellent (though one laments the absence of a topographical map in such mountainous terrain), as are the figures, charts, tables, and appendixes. Jones treats physical features and first inhabitants; exploration, conquest, and colonization; settlements and problems; and changes and events of the 17th and 18th centuries, including ecclesiastical reforms, the economy, and the Apache crisis, 1750-1790. Jones convinces the reader of the significance of Neuva Vizcaya as the "heart of the north," and the "mother" of provinces to the north. The enormity of the challenges (geographic, military, and economic) facing Spanish expansion beyond Mesoamerica into the "Great Chichimeca" branded the region and the US Southwest with a character distinguishing it from the more settled South. No one truly interested in Hispanic North America can afford to ignore this important new resource. Public and academic libraries, community college level up. -M. J. Mixco, University of Utah
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
