Treatise on Slavery: Selections from De Instauranda Aethiopum Salute

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In De instauranda Aethiopum salute (1627)the earliest known book-length study of African slavery in the colonial AmericasJesuit priest Alonso de Sandoval described dozens of African ethnicities, their languages, and their beliefs, and provided an expos of the abuse of slaves in the Americas. This collection of previously untranslated selections from Sandoval's book is an invaluable resource for understanding the history of the African diaspora, slavery in colonial Latin America, and the role of Christianity in the formation of the Spanish Empire; it also provides insights into early modern European concepts of race.

Reviews

Not only are the translations very well done; Von Germeten's notes and annotations are excellent, demonstrating a real sensibility for the African backgrounds of those to whom Sandoval ministered. . . she does a very fine job of addressing African histories and raising questions that emanate out of Africa, rather than seeing the enslaved simply as incipient Americans. Strongly recommended for Colonial Latin American surveys as well as for Atlantic History and African Diapora courses. --James Sweet, Department of History, University of Wisconsin
For scholars who wish to understand the African-European encounter in the early modern Atlantic world, Alonso de Sandoval's 1627 treatise on Jesuit ministries among African slaves in the New World is a must-read. . . . With Nicole von Germeten's new abridged translation, the first ever in English, this rich document is now available and intellectually more accessible to a wider Anglophone readership. . . . The translation itself is highly readable, free from the labored feel of translations marred by hyperliteralism. In helpful introductions to each book and chapter, as well as in periodic footnotes, von Germeten provides context and definitions essential to the general reader . . . this new translation of De instauranda Aethiopum salute will prove a rich resource. --Ronald J. Morgan, Abilene Christian University
By translating and explicating Sandoval, [Germeten] helps us appreciate his particular angles and empowers us to investigate and contemplate his influence. . . . Moreover, her elegant introduction, and her painstaking research as seen in her extensive notes and section briefings, make her work a must read. --Amanda Clark, Virginia Tech, for H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online

Author Bio

Nicole von Germeten is Assistant Professor of History, Oregon State University.