New Books Network Martin Austin Nesvig, "The Women Who Threw Corn: Witchcraft and Inquisition in Sixteenth-Century Mexico" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Sep 14, 2025
Dr. Martin Austin Nesvig, a Professor at the University of Miami, delves into the stories of women accused of witchcraft in sixteenth-century Mexico. He explores how these women, from diverse backgrounds, blended Spanish and indigenous magic, leading to their persecution. Topics include cultural intersections, the unique legal frameworks of witchcraft, and the role of midwives in a hybrid community. Through vivid case studies, Nesvig uncovers the complexities of identity, power, and healing practices, revealing the vibrant yet precarious lives of these women.
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Reverse Acculturation Lens
- Nesvig reframes acculturation by asking how Native culture influenced non-Native colonists rather than the reverse.
- He uses early, difficult archival cases to show Spanish women adopted indigenous rituals rapidly.
Spanish Legal View Of Witchcraft
- Inquisitorial manuals treated folk magic as mostly superstition unless it invoked the devil directly.
- Mexico saw far fewer witch executions than northern Europe, and no Inquisition executions for witchcraft there.
Inquisition Priorities In Mexico
- Witchcraft prosecutions were low priority compared with hunting Judaizers and Lutherans in colonial Mexico.
- The centralized Mexican Holy Office (post-1571) increased caseloads but still rarely executed alleged witches.
