{"product_id":"the-indian-militia-and-description-of-the-indies-paperback","title":"The Indian Militia and Description of the Indies - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eCaptain Bernardo De Vargas Machuca\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eKris Lane\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor), \u003cb\u003eTimothy F. Johnson\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSometimes referred to as the first published manual of guerrilla warfare, Bernardo de Vargas Machuca's \u003ci\u003eIndian Militia and Description of the Indies\u003c\/i\u003e is actually the first known manual of counterinsurgency, or anti-guerrilla warfare. Published in Madrid in 1599 by a Spanish-born soldier of fortune with long experience in the Americas, the book is a training manual for conquistadors. The Aztec and Inca Empires had long since fallen by 1599, but Vargas Machuca argued that many more Native American peoples remained to be conquered and converted to Roman Catholicism. What makes his often shrill and self-righteous treatise surprising is his consistent praise of indigenous resistance techniques and medicinal practices.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eContaining advice on curing rattlesnake bites with amethysts and making saltpeter for gunpowder from concentrated human urine, \u003ci\u003eThe Indian Militia\u003c\/i\u003e is a manual in four parts, the first of which outlines the ideal qualities of the militia commander. Addressing the organization and outfitting of conquest expeditions, Book Two includes extended discussions of arms and medicine. Book Three covers the proper behavior of soldiers, providing advice on marching through peaceful and bellicose territories, crossing rivers, bivouacking in foul weather, and carrying out night raids and ambushes. Book Four deals with peacemaking, town-founding, and the proper treatment of conquered peoples. Appended to these four sections is a brief geographical description of all of Spanish America, with special emphasis on the indigenous peoples of New Granada (roughly modern-day Colombia), followed by a short guide to the southern coasts and heavens. This first English-language edition of \u003ci\u003eThe Indian Militia\u003c\/i\u003e includes an extensive introduction, a posthumous report on Vargas Machuca's military service, and a selection from his unpublished attack on the writings of Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis volume is a wonderful addition to the English-language historiography of colonial Latin America.--J. Michael Francis, author of \"Invading Colombia: Spanish Accounts of the Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada Expedition of Conquest\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBernardo de Vargas Machuca (c. 1550-1622) was a soldier from Simancas, Spain, who served in Italty and in numerous South American pacification campaigns. Kris Lane is Associate Professor of History at the College of William \u0026amp; Mary. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eQuito, 1599: City and Colony in Transition \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Pillaging the Empire: Piracy in the Americas, 1500-1750\u003c\/i\u003e. Timothy F. Johnson is a teaching assistant in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Davis.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBernardo de Vargas Machuca (c. 1550-1622) was a soldier from Simancas, Spain, who served in Italty and in numerous South American pacification campaigns. Kris Lane is Associate Professor of History at the College of William \u0026amp; Mary. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eQuito, 1599: City and Colony in Transition \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Pillaging the Empire: Piracy in the Americas, 1500-1750\u003c\/i\u003e. Timothy F. Johnson is a teaching assistant in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Davis.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 368\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 9.2 x 6.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 19, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47380717863090,"sku":"9780822343141","price":64.73,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/a20c8d416c2ad81de5b85854d6b8c103.webp?v=1777791391","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/the-indian-militia-and-description-of-the-indies-paperback","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}