Being the Heart of the World
The Pacific and the Fashioning of the Self in New Spain, 1513–1641

In this timely book Nino Vallen tells the story of New Spain's gradual integration into the Pacific Basin and challenges established views about identity formation among the elites of colonial Mexico. It examines how discussions about the establishment and desirability of transpacific connections interacted with more general debates over why some people deserved certain benefits over others. As part of these struggles, New Spain's changing place at the crossroads of transatlantic and transpacific routes became a subject of contention between actors moved by competing notions of a deserving self: the learned councillor, the veteran, the discoverer, the meritorious, the creole and the merchant. Reassessing current historiographical narratives on creole identities and worldviews, Being the Heart of the World contributes to a broader understanding of the early modern self and the ways in which it was shaped by the mobilities of an increasingly globalized world.

Reviews & endorsements

'Nino Vallen has written an indispensable study about how the Spanish transpacific expansion into Asia from New Spain radically impacted the fashioning of socially mobile identities. Well-sourced, convincingly argued, and nuanced, it reveals that the rise of the notion of the colonial 'deserving self' is intrinsically tied to conflicting ideas of the literal and figurative place of Mexico as 'the heart of the world'.' Christina Hyo-Jung Lee, Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Princeton University

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Product details

• Date Published: October 2023
• format: Hardback
• isbn: 9781009322072
• length: 384 pages

• dimensions: 235 x 158 x 23 mm
• weight: 0.55kg
• availability: Available