Corruption is one of the most prominent issues in Latin American news cycles, with charges deciding the recent elections in Mexico, Brazil, and Guatemala. Despite the urgency of the matter, few recent historical studies on the topic exist, especially on Mexico. For this reason, Christoph Rosenmuller explores the enigma of historical corruption. By drawing upon thorough archival research and a multi-lingual collection of printed primary sources and secondary literature, Rosenmuller demonstrates how corruption in the past differed markedly from today. Corruption in Mexico's colonial period connoted the obstruction of justice; judges, for example, tortured prisoners to extract cash or accepted bribes to alter judicial verdicts. In addition, the concept evolved over time to include several forms of self-advantage in the bureaucracy. Rosenmuller embeds this important shift from judicial to administrative corruption within the changing Atlantic World, while also providing insightful perspectives from the lower social echelons of colonial Mexico.

Provides the first detailed analysis of the evolution of the concept of corruption in colonial Mexico.

About the Author
Christoph Rosenmuller is a professor at Middle Tennessee State University. His publications include the edited volumes Corruption in the Iberian Empires: Greed, Custom, and Colonial Networks (2017), 'Davidas, dones y dineros': aportes a una nueva historia de la corrupcion en America Latina desde el imperio espanol a la modernidad (2016), and the book Patrons, Partisans, and Palace Intrigues: The Court Society of Colonial Mexico, 1702-1710 (2008).

Reviews
'Infusing a field with deep new insight represents a major accomplishment. Christoph Rosenmuller injects three fields with significant new research outcomes ... Rosenmuller's book is a significant contribution to world history and, for years to come, a key text covering Spain and Colonial Spanish America.' Friedrich Schuler, Pacific Historical Review



Book Information
ISBN 9781108701938
Author Christoph Rosenmuller
Format Paperback
Page Count 361
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 750g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 153mm * 25mm