Indigenous Subjecthood: Visions of Freedom and Society in Tehuantepec

Spring 2023 GGR Recipient

Hector Duenes (History)

My project focuses on analyzing indigenous subjecthood in the Spanish Empire through examination of the Tehuantepec rebellion of 1660-1661. I argue that the analysis of Indigenous subjecthood can reveal the colonial structure of the Spanish Empire. Through my analysis, I find that the Spanish Empire was not heading toward capitalism or “modernity,” but was on its own path of development, with Indigenous subjects at the vanguard. I thus present a new framework for global history that moves away from a linear narrative and instead toward a history containing plural paths of development.