Reference no: EM133307132

Assignment:

In Refusing the Favor: The Spanish-Mexican Women of Santa Fe, 1820-1880, Deena J. González examines the various ways Spanish and Mexican women navigated New Mexico as it shifted from a northern Mexican state to becoming part of the United States.

This book provides a rare window into the lives of Spanish and Mexican women who sought to preserve their rights and adapt to a changing society under Euro-American rule. You can only use the book to answer the questions below. Any use of outside sources will result in a zero.

To effectively answer the questions in each paragraph below, provide details from the book as well as two to three quotes from the book that analyze to support your responses to the question(s). Should not merely provide quotes, but rather, analyze these quotes and tell me how these quotes answer the question(s) in each paragraph.

1. How did Spanish and Mexican women survive the Euro-American take-over of New Mexico, a time when ethnic Mexicans were losing their land and status? In particular, how did Spanish and Mexican women use the courts to defend their rights? Also, what were the strengths and limitations of this survival tactic?

2. How did Spanish and Mexican women survive Euro-American take-over of New Mexico? In particular, how did Spanish and Mexican women, such as Gertudis Barceló, create businesses for the purpose of gaining economic status? Also, what were the strengths and limitations of this survival tactic?

3. How did Spanish and Mexican women survive Euro-American take-over of New Mexico? In particular, how did Spanish and Mexican women maintain cultural traditions? Also, what were the strengths and limitations of this survival tactic?

4. What parts of the book did you like the most, and why?

5. If you were a Spanish or Mexican women during the Euro-American take-over of New Mexico, what survival tactic would you have chosen, and why? In other words, would you have used the courts to defend your rights, would you have created a business, or would you have sought to maintain cultural traditions? You should make sure to provide details from the book as well as analyze two to three quotes when answering this question, as you did with the other four questions.