Spanish Elite Research Articles

The Colonial Spanish-American City: Urban Life in the Age of Atlantic Capitalism

As Jay Kinsbruner’s title and subtitle suggest, the focus of his study is colonial Spanish American “urban life” in what he calls the “Age of Atlantic Capitalism.” According to the author’s implicit definition of this time period and the themes on which he concentrates, it seems that this age begins in the mid – eighteenth century, running up to and beyond the late colonial period. This period also coincides with the great majority of the author’s previous research on urban themes, including pulperos (small retail grocers), petty capitalism, and race relations in nineteenth-century Puerto Rico.In the opening chapters Kinsbruner briefly discusses the Iberian origins of Spanish American colonial cities, as well as pre-Columbian urbanism. He also provides some background on the founding of colonial cities and suggests (as with the founding of cities in the Iberian reconquista) that the conquistadors founded many Spanish American cities where they would be most useful to control particular regions, populations, or valuable natural resources. They were not spontaneous urban settlements established solely as a result of economic factors. Many survived over time and gradually evolved over the next two centuries into the eighteenth-century cities that Kinsbruner examines more closely.The author throws down the gauntlet to potential adversaries who may disagree with his assertion that “the colonial Spanish-American city evolved during the Age of Atlantic capitalism and was itself a circumstance of that capitalism.” This apparently “implies challenges to those who believe that the colonial economy was not essentially capitalist but one in which very few people owned the means of production” (p. xi). He states that it is wrong to believe “the rest of the people were the immiserated plebeians” (p. xi) and that there was almost nobody in between the elite and the plebe or underclass. The author is particularly incensed by the use of the term plebeian in colonial sources and its continued use among modern historians citing these same sources. He argues that, due to market forces and capitalism at work, “[i]n fact, if not in perception, many if not all of the people of urban colonial Spanish America were precisely in a lower-middle or a middle class” (pp. 96 – 97). The author thus appears to impose on late colonial Spanish American cities the misguided contemporary North American belief that almost everyone is part of a large, all-inclusive middle class. His belief, though certainly heartfelt, has not been convincingly demonstrated in this study.Leaving aside his opinions regarding the use of “plebeians” and the demographic dominance of the urban middle class, the author does marshal very illuminating examples of urban middle-sector and upper-class entrepreneurial activity. Especially noteworthy are the brief case studies of small-scale urban shopkeepers in the late colonial period. If these petty capitalists were as numerous as Kinsbruner shows them to have been, however, it raises one’s curiosity as to how this full-blown phenomenon evolved from the earlier centuries of Latin America’s colonial urban experience. What were the socioeconomic and political changes that created this fertile ground for the “age of Atlantic capitalism” to develop and become so prevalent in the late stages of the colonial period? The author relates the end of the story in detail and we are left wondering about the antecedents.Class is the prime focus of this study, while the importance of socio-racial differences in the urban setting is given relatively little attention. For example, the author discusses colonial urban centers’ relationships with their hinterlands from a Spanish-centric perspective, where “[i]n terms of political and social influence the lines between urban and rural early became indistinct” (p. 31). Regarding the Spanish elite, this is indeed valid, but what of the influence of Indian tribute, forced delivery by Indians of specific items to Spanish urban elites, and the varieties of forced native labor that inevitably flowed from rural areas to cities? Elsewhere Kinsbruner does consider regatones (Spaniards and their black slaves or free castas). Although he labels them “resourceful entrepreneurs” (p. 76), my experience with colonial Guatemalan sources suggests their role was more one of interloper and middleman. They often used force to shake down indigenous vendors bringing products to market.While this study might have benefited from looking more at class structure and the early and midcolonial antecedents of urban capitalism that evolved into the urban society depicted, there is much to praise. Kinsbruner is an assiduous collector of useful bibliography and makes excellent use of published late-colonial travel accounts and diaries. This work will be most useful to undergraduates, as they will find the author’s often controversial opinions thought-provoking.

Poverty and the Politics of Colonialism: “Poor Spaniards,” Their Petitions, and the Erosion of Privilege in Late Colonial Quito

Poverty and the Politics of Colonialism: “Poor Spaniards,” Their Petitions, and the Erosion of Privilege in Late Colonial Quito

Specific strength training of the flick in Field Hockey through over–weighted balls

The purpose of this study was to discover the effect of the specific strength training, using over ‐ weighted balls, on the start speed of the ball, and to verify that the increase is higher when technique and strength training are combined. A specific strength training cycle was carried out for four weeks using different resistance devices (standard, +5%, +10%, +15% and +20%), with two subjects who belong to the Spanish elite. On the other hand, the technical execution of each shooting was analysed by a qualitative observation of the technique with the aim of verifying the effects of this type of strength training on

Apolitical politics: GOP efforts to foster identification from Latinos, 1984–2000

The growth and youth of the U.S. Latino population at the close of the 20th century makes them a desired constituency for both major political parties. Intriguingly, the party organization which has long resisted the recognition of internal voting blocs—the GOP—allocated unprecedented resources between 1980 and 2000 to inspire identification from Latinos. This study investigates the nature of these invitations. Specifically, it reveals how a party, whose organizational identity opposes acknowledging individuals as ethnic group members, appeals to an ethnic group. By examining (a) English and Spanish language television advertisements and (b) elite interview data with Republican Latino strategists, we argue that these ads depict satisfied Latino citizens, emphasize Latino family connections, and eschew traditional political issues. These identification strategies are notable for they may have considerable effects on the American polity at the dawn of, and well into, the 21st century.

Dietary Habits and Fluid Intake of a Group of Elite Spanish Basketball Players: A Need for Professional Advice?

The aim of the present study was to analyse dietary habits and fluid intake of professional basketball players with consideration of dietary guidelines and sport nutrition recommendations. A dietary habit questionnaire including a 24 h recall was recorded by 55 elite basketball players of the first Spanish Basketball League. Energy consumption among these athletes was high 17.7 ±0.9 MJ · day –1 in comparison to other elite team sport athletes. Furthermore intakes of protein, fat, saturated fatty acids mineral and most vitamins exceed the current Daily Recommended Intakes (DRI’s) for these macronutrients whereas, intakes of carbohydrate and vitamin E failed to meet the guidelines. Daily fluid intake was 3126 ±1226ml. Water was the preferred beverage (1688±1032 ml), followed by milk (445 ±521 ml), commercial sport drinks (377 ±520 ml), carbonated beverages (307 ±492 ml), juices (150 ±208 ml), beer (67 ±189 ml), non-alcoholic (beer 49 ±158 ml) and wine (43 ±218 ml). Sixty-six percent of the participants reported to consume particular foods before competition and 10% stated to do this after competition. On average athletes consumed 646 ±352 ml · h –1 and 882 ±486 ml of liquids during training and competition session, respectively. Furthermore, 44 % of the participants recorded not to drink before getting thirsty and 3 athletes stated never to drink during training and 2 did so during competition. Results of the present study underline the need for professional advice from sport nutritionists for elite basketball players.

Sobre posesión y uso de la tierra entre la nobleza indígena de la Nueva España

The paper presents sources about the land ownership and land use among the indigenous nobles in Nueva España. The historical documents indicate that indigenous elites have been aware of economic activities related with Spanish elite status and wealth and engaged in such. The author tries to estimate how numerous those indigenous elites were and how rich they could have been.

Elite athletes’ image of retirement: the way to relocation in sport

Abstract Objectives: To add a prospective view of retirement to the existing research in career transition based on retrospective data. Methods: Using a grounded theory approach, 18 active athletes were interviewed and the data were content analysed. Results: Three different stages related to athletes’ view of retirement were conceptualised: (a) initiation/training stage; (b) maturity performance stage; and (c) anticipation of retirement stage. Our data suggest that active elite athletes gradually build an image of retirement from competitive sports during his/her sporting carrer. Conclusions: Systematic prospective studies on retirement contribute to a better picture of career transitions in sports and can assist in counselling top-level athletes. In our work, we have outlined that retirement is seen as much less problematic when it is planned as a process rather than an event. In the case of Spanish elite athletes, we would recommend that retirement from sport be viewed as a relocation in sport.

The prevalence of spondylolysis in the Spanish elite athlete.

The diagnosis of spondylolysis is a major cause of concern for patients and their families, especially when the patients are young athletes with promising futures in their sports. In this study, 3152 case histories of high-level athletes were evaluated to determine which sports had a higher prevalence of spondylolysis. The overall percentage of spondylolysis among athletes in this study (8.02%) was not very much higher than that among the general population, which varies between 3% and 7%. However, when each sport was considered separately we found much higher values for some sports, with the highest percentages occurring in throwing sports (26.67%), artistic gymnastics (16.96%), and rowing (16.88%). The analysis of the biomechanical movements involved in the sports with greater prevalence of spondylolysis has led us to include the element of torsion against resistance as another possible causative factor for spondylolysis that should be added to the already known causative mechanisms, lumbar hyperextension and rotation. We have divided the sports into three risk groups according to the prevalence of spondylolysis shown and the characteristics of the sample, and we recommend systematic radiological examination of the lumbar spine in athletes considered to be at greater risk of developing spondylolysis.

Symbol and Ritual in the New Spain: The Transition to Democracy after Franco

This is a book about the role of culture in social change and the Spanish transition to democracy after Franco. Laura Desfor Edles takes a distinctively culturalist approach to the 'strategy of consensus' deployed by the Spanish elite and uses systematic textual interpretation (with a particular focus on Spanish newspapers) to show how a new symbolic framework emerged in post-Franco Spain which enabled the resolution of specific events critical to the success of the transition. In addition to uncovering underlying processes of symbolization, she shows that politico-historical transitions can themselves be understood as ritual processes, involving as they do phases and symbols of separation, liminality and re-aggregation.

The Structure of the Hacendado Class in Late Eighteenth-Century Alto Perú: The Intendencia de La Paz

Tmn aim of this article is to provide a preliminary estimation of the size, distribution, relative wealth, and composition of the Spanish landed elite, or hacendados, in a representative region of the Andean world. I have selected for this survey the late eighteenth-century province (or intendencia) of La Paz. By the last two decades of the eighteenth century, the province was organized into seven districts: six core Andean areas and a newly created seventh frontier zone of recently missionized lowland Indians.' Within the six Andean districts of Larecaja, Omasuyos, Sicasica, Pacajes, and Chulumani and the three rural parishes of the city of La Paz, there were over 200,000 Indians. The province was thus the single most important center of rural Amerindian life in the Andes, containing the largest number of Indian peasants in any province of Upper or Lower Peru at this time.2 Some of its Indians were also among the wealthiest in both Perus and thus produced the largest amount of tribute of any Peruvian province. It

The fatigue strength of the lumbar neural arch in spondylolysis.

Spondylolysis is a fracture of the bone in one or both sides of the narrow regions of the neural arch, the partes interarticulares. The fifth lumbar vertebra is the most commonly affected. Although spondylolysis is not considered to be of congenital origin (Rowe and Roche 1953; Newman and Stone 1 963), genetic factors may predispose the individual to it (Baker and McHollick 1956; Saha et al. 1970; Wiltse, Widell and Jackson 1975). There are also racial differences, the Eskimos having an unusually high incidence of the defect (Stewart 1953; Lester and Shapiro 1968; Kettelkamp and Wright 1971). The most generally favoured theory, however, is that spondylolysis is a fracture caused by mechanical stress and that the mode of failure is fatigue (Pfeil 1 97 1 ; Wiltse et al. 1975). This theory was enhanced by experiments to determine the bending strength of the lumbar neural arch (Cyron, Hutton and Troup 1976). In order to achieve a fracture, an increasing force was applied to the inferior articular facets of a lumbar vertebra and the neural arch was bent away from the vertebral body by about 0.5 centimetre. This relative movement would be difficult to accomplish in vivo, except possibly itt hyperexte nsion. When a static force acts on a material, stress is generated within the material. As the applied force increases the material will eventually fail when the stress reaches a certain value, the “ ultimate stress” . However, the material will also fail when it is subjected to cyclic repetitive stresses which never reach the ultimate stress. This mode of failure is known as fatigue failure. The fatigue life, defined as the number of cycles to failure, is dependent on the amplitude of the cyclic stresses and the method by which they are imposed. It is relatively easy to determine the fatigue life of inert materials such as metal. In bone, however, a fatigue fracture will only develop in vivo when the cellular mechanism of repair fails to keep pace with the microscopic damage caused by the repetitive force. It has been suggested that this occurs in “shin soreness” (Devas 1958). It is thought to be caused by prolonged periods of unac.customed or strenuous activities such as running. Walking with a heavy pack on the back and working in the fully flexed posture are activities that produce cyclic stresses within the partes articulares of lumbar vertebrae. If the stress generated during these activities reaches a critical value and a sufficient number of cycles is accumulated, the neural arch may fracture. This has already been considered as a likely explanation of the occurrence of spondylolysis (Stewart 1 953 ; Newman and Stone 1963). There is little published information on the fatigue properties of the lumbar neural arch. Pfeil (1971) reported on fractures resembling spondylolysis. He subjected lumbar spines from children to repetitive impact loads, but he did not measure the applied force or the number of cycles to failure. This paper describes experimental work carried out on cadaveric lumbar vertebrae to determine the fatigue life of the lumbar neural arch when subjected to forces comparable with those encountered in vivo.