Towards an Eighteenth-Century Transatlantic Critical Race Theory

A critical race theory that examines Anglo and Hispanic contexts, and stretches from Western Europe to the Americas, remains a desideratum. However, by teaching and studying Anglo critical race theory alongside Hispanic critical race theory, critical race theorists of colonial and postcolonial situations would find their own assumptions and preconceptions challenged, and come to recognize differences among those situations. Spanish-English dictionaries published before the nineteenth century provided a jumping-off point for scholars and students interested in the pre-history of race. John Stevens' New Spanish and English Dictionary (1706) and Pedro Pineda's largely derivative New Dictionary, Spanish and English (1740) are signal works that offer insights into the caste system in 18th-century Spanish America. How the taxonomy of caste developed in Spain and Spanish America and how it was disseminated are questions that are rarely posed. Bilingual dictionaries no less than natural history and related discourses (alchemy, books of secrets, husbandry) will perhaps suggest some answers and at the same time encourage critical race theorists to study social hierarchy from a transatlantic perspective.