Explores the history of the postmortem cesarean operation, which was performed in order to extract the fetus and save its soul through baptism. Examines accounts of the operation from across the Spanish empire in the eighteenth century.
Focusing on the early public health campaigns in Guatemala, southern Mexico, and Central America, the book explores the significant role of Indigenous Mesoamerican medical traditions. Martha Few highlights how these cultures shaped regional health initiatives in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, ultimately impacting broader medical practices across the New World. The examination reveals the interplay between Indigenous knowledge and colonial health strategies, shedding light on the evolution of public health in the region.
Documents the lives and practices of mixed-race, Black, Spanish, and Maya women sorcerers, spell-casters, magical healers, and midwives in the social relations of power in Santiago de Guatemala, the capital of colonial Central America.