The Yaquis and the Empire

“This book ranks among the best histories of American borderlands, the always contested countries just beyond established power. Folsom’s brilliant study is a masterly integration of anthropological wisdom about the Yaqui into his own original, rich, wonderfully developed historical research. He illustrates the formation of the Yaqui people through centuries of complicated military, social, religious, economic, and political engagement with the Spanish empire, which claimed them but could never dominate them. It is excellent scholarship, a richly significant story, and a deeply impressive read.”—John Womack, Harvard University

~John Womack

“The Yaquis and the Empire is a textured, surprising, and engrossing narrative of colonial compromises in New Spain’s fraught northwestern borderland. Folsom builds honestly and intelligently on previous Yaqui scholarship. But in ways small and large he surpasses existing literature through his pioneering archival research, his shrewd analysis, and his gifted narrative prose. This book is indispensable for understanding the Spanish-Yaqui relationship, and a provocative meditation on the limits of early modern imperialism more generally.” — Brian DeLay, author of War of a Thousand Deserts: Indian Raids and the U.S.-Mexican War.

~Brian DeLay

"The Yaquis and the Empire details failed conquests, Jesuit visions, mission adaptations, and Bourbon assertions to reveal how Yaquis mixed war, diplomacy, and cultural innovation to remain dominant in northwestern New Spain under Spanish rule. An essential new vision." —John Tutino, Georgetown University

~John Tutino

"This richly documented history of Yaqui relations with colonists and Spanish imperial authorities over the course of three centuries is written with brio and an eye for subtleties and suggestive comparisons. Readers will find in Juan Calixto Ayamea, leader of the famous 1740 rebellion, a touchstone to all that engagement and agency could mean in this setting—alliance, diplomacy, silent collaboration, and resistance in its many forms."— William B. Taylor, University of California, Berkeley

~William B. Taylor

Winner of the 2015 Latin American Studies Association Social Science Book Award.

~Social Science Book Award, Latin American Studies Association, Mexico Section

"Folsom’s insights are profound. . .   After reading this book, one is no longer surprised that Yaquis appear so often in the historical record as both rebels and imperial soldiers.  Nor is one surprised that the Yaquis of the twentieth century could be first hated by the Porfirian regime and later favored by Cárdenas; enslaved and then emancipated; and reviled and finally redeemed in the eyes of the central state.  Folsom shows us that these more recent events belong to a much longer and deeper history of Yaqui pragmatism and survival.”—Sean McEnroe, The Americas.  

~Sean McEnroe, The Americas

Runner-up for the 2015 David J. Weber-Clements Prize given by the Western History Association.

~David J. Weber-Clements Prize, Western History Association

Winner of the 2016 Phi Alpha Theta Book Award for the Best Book on the American West, the award is jontly sponsored by the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young Uiversity and Phi Alpha Theta.

~Phi Alpha Theta Book Award, Phi Alpha Theta

Winner of the 2016 Border Regional Library Association's Southwest Book Award.

~Southwest Book Award, Border Regional Library Association