These biographies tell the story of how the elite criollo population used an Old World religious genre to create their own history and identity in a non-European context. . . . An important contribution to our store of stories about the colonial period and its peoples. Morgan writes in clear, jargon-free prose that appeals to general readers and offers extensive endnotes for students and scholars.


Supported by extensive research of the written sources on which he relies, and providing a close analysis of the historical setting of all hagiographers and each one of their subjects, this book belongs in the realm of intellectual history. The central point made by the author is that writing is embedded in a cultural tradition as well as in the social circumstances of the writers and their subjects. While the search for the formation of multiple colonial visions of the 'self' continues, an incursion into religious writing may pay high dividends for those interested in this topic. This work proves it.


Morgan employs a fascinating interdisciplinary approach to the understanding of criollo identity in Colonial Spanish America.