This groundbreaking new study examines the history of the Yaqui people and their interactions with the Spanish Empire from first contact through Mexican independence. The Yaquis and the Empire focuses on three ironies: the Yaquis both resisted and came to value their ties with empire; processes of violence and negotiation were ongoing and intertwined throughout the colonial period; and the empire, though weak in manpower and distant from its bases of military and financial strength, was surprisingly effective in its drive to transform the Mexican northwest.

Using extensive, newly unearthed documentation from archives in Mexico, Spain, the United States, and Italy, Folsom shines brilliant light on the dreams, struggles, and tragedies of all participants in the drama of encounter. This finely wrought portrait of the Yaqui people in colonial times shows in vivid detail how natives, Jesuits, settlers, and government officials together brought a distinctive borderlands society into existence.

Published in Cooperation with the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University