Between defecto and estropeo: Physical impairment and (dis)ability in the early-modern Spanish Atlantic

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This article explores the experiences of disabled, white, Spanish men who served, or sought to serve, the Spanish Crown in the Americas. It seeks to understand how early-modern Spanish attitudes towards specific physical and sensorial impairments disabled individuals who, otherwise, enjoyed significant privilege and power in a highly racialized and gendered society. It argues that early-modern Spanish society distinguished between defecto—‘natural’ physical or sensorial impairment present from birth or developed gradually over time—and estropeo—impairment acquired at a specific point in time. Although the distinction was not always clear-cut, and the blurred boundaries between both categories could be manipulated, impairments construed as the result of estropeo posed less of an obstacle to professional aspirations, while still often forcing individuals to negotiate their disability in public, facing significant encumbrance, discomfort and humiliation. The article furthers our understanding of disability and impairment as historically and culturally determined categories. It invites further study of (dis)ability in building a broader and more inclusive understanding of the societies of the early-modern Hispanic world.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)277-298
Number of pages22
JournalColonial Latin American Review
Volume33
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2024
EventDisability in the Vast Early Americas - McKenna Hall, University of Notre Dame, South Ben, United States
Duration: 20 Oct 202321 Oct 2023

Keywords

  • Disability history
  • Alberto Bertodano
  • Antonio Benavides
  • Fernando de Rojas y Mendoza
  • limb difference
  • disabled veterans
  • royal officials
  • critical disability studies
  • Spain (history)
  • Latin America (history)

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