At last available in paperback, the twenty-five essays collected here re-create everyday activities of the Hispanic people of colonial northern New Mexico. What people wore, when they shopped, how they amused themselves these are but a few of the commonplace activities considered here.
In reconstructing the daily routines of domestic life and work habits Simmons captures the precariousness of lives threatened by drought, crop failure, Apache raids, and accidents. Simmons's essays permit us to imagine what people long ago thought and felt, which is a considerable accomplishment. But he doesn't stop there: the final section of this volume offers a glimpse of the historian at work. Entitled "Reading History," these essays introduce three late eighteenth-century documents and provide readers with a primer in understanding economic and social problems of the past.
- ISBN13 9780826317025
- Publish Date 1 November 1996
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 23 March 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of New Mexico Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 195
- Language English