An Irish Rebel in New Spain: The Tumultuous Life and Tragic Death of William Lamport

Andrea Martínez Baracs

Published by Penn State University Press 2021

An Irish Rebel in New Spain

The Tumultuous Life and Tragic Death of William Lamport

Andrea Martínez Baracs
Translated by: Hank Heifetz

Volume 17 in the series Latin American Originals

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780271092003

Overview
Contents

About this book

An Irish Rebel in New Spain recounts the story of the so-called Irish Zorro, who, in 1659, was burned at the stake for conspiring against the empire to make himself king of Mexico, restore the privileges of the indigenous people, end the persecution of the Jews, and free the African slaves.

William Lamport was an Irish rebel, a soldier, a poet, and a thinker. His Catholic family lost their land and their religious freedom after the English conquest of Ireland. In 1640, Lamport emigrated to New Spain, where he witnessed the abuses of the colonial system and later ran afoul of the Mexican Inquisition. Imprisoned in 1642, Lamport argued his own defense as well as that of the Jews who were in prison with him. Along with a concise biography, this volume provides an anthology of Lamport’s most representative writings: his detailed project for a Spanish-supported Irish insurrection; a manifesto and plan for a Mexican uprising against Spain; his self-defense, which he nailed to the doors of the cathedral when he managed to momentarily escape from prison; a selection of his poetry; and the court documents about the accusation that led him to the pyre.

This concise, compelling, and original reflection on the systems of (in)justice in seventeenth-century Mexico is designed for classes on early modern Spain, colonial Latin America, and the Inquisition. Those with an affinity for Irish history will also enjoy learning about the colorful life of William Lamport.

Author / Editor information

Martínez Baracs Andrea :

Andrea Martínez Baracs is Director of the Biblioteca Digital Mexicana. She is the author of Don Guillén de Lampart, hijo de sus hazañas and Un gobierno de indios: Tlaxcala, 1519–1750.

Reviews

“It is remarkable, as Andrea Martínez Baracs suggests, that such a high-ranking political player in the Spanish court, who argued forcefully for liberty, freedom, and self-rule a century before those ideas became associated with the Age of Revolutions, has been so thoroughly forgotten. This volume succeeds admirably in bringing William Lamport back into view, connecting him to historical relationships between Ireland and both Spain and Native America that are often overlooked.”
—Laura Matthew, author of Memories of Conquest: Becoming Mexicano in Colonial Guatemala

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	vi
Foreword Matthew Restall Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Document 1: Proposal to King Philip IV for the Liberation of Ireland Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
Document 2: Proclamation of Insurrection for the Kingdom of New Spain Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
Document 3: Proclamation of the Just Judgments of God: May He Punish Whoever Would Tear It Down Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
Document 4: Great Alcides Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
Document 5: Regium psalterium (Title Page and Twenty Poems) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	103
Document 6: Excerpt from the Report by Rodrigo Ruíz de Zepeda Martínez Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	131
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137

Language: English
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 160
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 6
- Images: 6
- Other: 6 illustrations
Keywords: Mexico; New Spain; Ireland; Seventeenth Century; Slavery; Jews; Mexican natives; Rebellions; Latin poetry; Early Modern thinkers

eBook

Published: November 19, 2021
ISBN: 9780271092003