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May 18th, 2023 (4:30pm – 6pm) | In Person & Via Zoom

RSVP: https://bit.ly/RSVP-Observatorio or info-observatory@fas.harvard.edu

Colonial settlement in the Americas at the end of the 16th and early 17th centuries was a struggle between two countries: Spain, an already consolidated colonial empire, and England, with nascent colonial and imperial aspirations. There is a vast corpus of works from both lands that voiced, supported, and criticized the many angles (military, economic, religious, etc.) of the conflict. This session will center mainly on a Puritan sermon delivered at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1610, as it serves as a cornerstone example of the propaganda that was mainly responsible for the birth of two legends in England: a ‘black’ one, directed mainly at showing the evil and illegitimate dealings of Spain–the main contender in the colonial struggle–, and a ‘white’ one, aimed at vindicating and legitimizing the English’s new efforts toward the establishment of settlements in North America and portraying England in full contrast with Spain’s ‘dark’ practices.

Juan Tazón is a specialist in the English Renaissance period, having lectured at the University of Oviedo (Spain), the Renaissance Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Brown University. He is the author of works like The Life and Times of Thomas Stukeley and The Diary of Felix Platter, the latter having been edited and translated from German. Now a retired lecturer, at present he directs his efforts at literary creation, having already published a trilogy of novels (Trilogía de las Sombras: Caballeros de las Sombras, Sabed que mi nombre se perdió and Las Manos de la Guerra) and a volume of short stories: Siete maneras de morir.

Language: English

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