Lewis Hanke
Encyclopedia
Lewis Hanke is a preeminent North American historian of colonial Latin America, and is best known for his writings on the Spanish conquest of Latin America. Hanke, along with two others, Irving A. Leonard and John T. Lanning, presented a revisionist narrative of colonial history that focused on the role of Bartolomé de las Casas
, who famously advocated for the rights of Native Americans, and searched for just resolutions to the tensions between the conquistadores and the natives during the colonial period of Spanish rule. Hanke's writings documented Las Casas' work as a political activist, historian, political theorist, and anthropologist. His scholarship also uncovered evidence to support Hanke’s claim that Las Casas did not act as the sole voice of conscience during the colonial era, but actually constituted the head of what was a larger reform movement by a number of Spanish colonists to prevent "the destruction of the Indies.”
, Hanke received his B.S. and M.A. in history from Northwestern University
. He went on to complete his Ph.D from Harvard University
in 1936. He served as the first chief of the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress
, and headed the Hispanic Foundation until 1951. He began his teaching career at the University of Texas, then moved on to Columbia University
. Hanke later joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Amherst
in 1969, where he remained until his retirement in 1975.
To many, Hanke is considered the father of the field of Latin American studies in the United States. He created the Handbook of Latin American Studies, and that, along with his considerable historiographical achievements in Latin American history, continue to figure among the foundational works of Latin American studies research and library collections in both the U.S. and abroad.
Hanke edited the Guide to the Study of US History Outside the US, 1945-1980, and the year before his retirement, he served as the president of the American Historical Association
, where he oversaw the re-writing of the AHA’s charter. Hanke died in March, 1993.
, Hanke was appointed director of the Hispanic Foundation of the Library of Congress in 1939, where he served for 12 years. His most influential work, The Spanish Struggle (1949), argues that “… the Spanish conquest of America was far more than a remarkable military and political exploit; that it was also one of the greatest attempts the world has seen to make Christian precepts prevail in the relations between peoples." This underscores Hanke’s idealistic view of Las Casas, and cuts against the prevailing narrative, then and now, of the Spanish colonists as a uniformly exploitative, hostile force vis à vis the native Americans. Hanke went on to pen works that continued to explore the concept of "the Spanish struggle for justice", as well as on topics ranging from the city of Potosi
to the Good Neighbor policy.
Bartolomé de Las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas O.P. was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians"...
, who famously advocated for the rights of Native Americans, and searched for just resolutions to the tensions between the conquistadores and the natives during the colonial period of Spanish rule. Hanke's writings documented Las Casas' work as a political activist, historian, political theorist, and anthropologist. His scholarship also uncovered evidence to support Hanke’s claim that Las Casas did not act as the sole voice of conscience during the colonial era, but actually constituted the head of what was a larger reform movement by a number of Spanish colonists to prevent "the destruction of the Indies.”
Biography
Born in 1905 in Oregon City, OregonOregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
, Hanke received his B.S. and M.A. in history from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. He went on to complete his Ph.D from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1936. He served as the first chief of the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, and headed the Hispanic Foundation until 1951. He began his teaching career at the University of Texas, then moved on to Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Hanke later joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
in 1969, where he remained until his retirement in 1975.
To many, Hanke is considered the father of the field of Latin American studies in the United States. He created the Handbook of Latin American Studies, and that, along with his considerable historiographical achievements in Latin American history, continue to figure among the foundational works of Latin American studies research and library collections in both the U.S. and abroad.
Hanke edited the Guide to the Study of US History Outside the US, 1945-1980, and the year before his retirement, he served as the president of the American Historical Association
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...
, where he oversaw the re-writing of the AHA’s charter. Hanke died in March, 1993.
Career
At Harvard, Hanke studied under Clarence H. Haring. During that time, Hanke published the first of his works on Bartolomé de las Casas, Las teorias political de Bartolome de Las Casas and The First Social Experiments in America: A Study of the Development of Spanish Indian Policy in the Sixteenth Century. In 1936, Hanke graduated from Harvard with a degree in history. Unable to get a job during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Hanke was appointed director of the Hispanic Foundation of the Library of Congress in 1939, where he served for 12 years. His most influential work, The Spanish Struggle (1949), argues that “… the Spanish conquest of America was far more than a remarkable military and political exploit; that it was also one of the greatest attempts the world has seen to make Christian precepts prevail in the relations between peoples." This underscores Hanke’s idealistic view of Las Casas, and cuts against the prevailing narrative, then and now, of the Spanish colonists as a uniformly exploitative, hostile force vis à vis the native Americans. Hanke went on to pen works that continued to explore the concept of "the Spanish struggle for justice", as well as on topics ranging from the city of Potosi
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
to the Good Neighbor policy.
Awards and accolades
In1974, Hanke was elected President of the American Historical Association, the first Latin Americanist to hold the position. In 1989, Hanke received the Kalman Silvert Award from Latin American Studies Association, and in 1992, was honored with the Antonio de Nebrija Fifth Centenary Special Prize from the University of Salamanca.Major works
- The Spanish Struggle for Justice in the Conquest of America (1949)
- All Mankind Is One: A Study of the Disputation Between Bartolome De Las Casas and Juan Gines De Sepulveda in 1550 on the Religious and Intellectual Capacity of the American Indians(1974)
- People and Issues in Latin American History: From Independence to the Present (1990)
- Guide to the Study of United States History Outside the U.S., 1945-1980 (1985)
- Latin America, a Historical Reader (1974)
- People and Issues in Latin American History: The Colonial Experience (1993)
- Selected Writings of Lewis Hanke on the History of Latin America (1979)