The Dominicans in the Americas and the Philippines (C. 1500-C. 1820): Devotional Life, Catholic Literary Culture, and Models of Holiness

The Dominicans in the Americas and the Philippines (c. 1500-c. 1820) is part of a renewal of interest in the global history of the Dominican Order. Many of the essays were carefully selected among some of the papers presented at the III International Conference on the History of the Order of Preachers in the Americas, a gathering that stands in continuity with the conferences of Mexico (2013) and Bogotá (2016).

This book, the contributors of which are active researchers specializing in the history of the Order of Preachers in Latin America, is organized in four parts: Women and the Order of Preachers; ＂Benditos Bienes＂ Libraries and Material Patrimony; Missions, Devotional, and Daily Life; and The Order of Preachers and Their Writings. Contributions deal with different subfields including art history, gender studies, history of the book, and intellectual history more broadly. Additionally, it contains a chapter examining the historiography of the Order of Preachers in Latin America.

Covering the time range from 1510 to the early nineteenth century, the book fills a gap in the historiography of the Order of Preachers in the Americas, especially in English-language scholarly literature. Students of Latin American history, the history of Christianity, and the history of global Catholicism will surely find the volume to be of great interest.

David Orique, O.P., PhD, is Professor of History at Providence College. His publications include To Heaven or to Hell: Bartolomé de Las Casas’s Confesionario (2018) and The Unheard Voice of Law from the Often-heard Text: A New Rendition of Bartolomé de Las Casas’s Brevísima relación de la destruición de las Indias (2021).

Rady Roldán-Figueroa, ThD, is Associate Professor of the History of Christianity at Boston University. His publications include The Ascetic Spirituality of Juan de Avila (1499-1569) (2010) and The Martyrs of Japan: Publication History and Catholic Missions in the Spanish World (Spain, New Spain, and the Philippines, 1597-1700) (2021).

Cynthia Folquer, O.P., PhD, is professor of history at the Catholic University of Argentina and Director of the Revista Itinerantes, de Historia y Religión. She has published books on religious history and is a founding member of networks and associations for the study of the Order of Preachers.