Imagining Native Consent and Native Resistance in Europe’s Overseas Expansion

This talk will examine how Spaniards imagined native consent and how they described native right to resist colonialism. It will show that the idea that indigenous peoples consented to Spanish presence and willfully subjected themselves to Spaniards was ubiquitous in colonial documentation and that, according to contemporary understanding, consent could be explicit –by arriving at agreements or treaties-- or implicit – learned from the lack of resistance. It could also be truly free or coerced. The type of consent imagined was important because each gave rise to a distinct assessment of indigenous people’s right to resist. But, regardless of these discussions, as often happens, rather than protecting the indigenous, what was identified as “consent” facilitated their dispossession. This talk is part of a larger collaborative quest to historicize consent and understand its multiple meanings and the different ways by which it was practiced over time.

This event is organized by IHR European History 1500-1800, in conjunction with Medicine and the Making of Race, 1440-1720 (KCL).

Please note that the talk is taking place at University College London, and not at the Institute of Historical Research (Senate House).

Please note that registration for this seminar will close 24 hours in advance. Details about how to join the seminar will be circulated via email to registered attendees 24 hours in advance.