Join Dr. Jenny Guardado for a talk on “The Venal Origins of Underdevelopment in Spanish America,” based on her book.
Light refreshments provided at 3:45 pm.
Dr. Guardado's book, Venal Origins, is a historical journey to the root of spatial inequalities within Spanish American countries. Through the in-depth study of the 18th century practice of office-selling -- the exchange of colonial offices for money -- it guides readers through the institutional complexity of the Spanish Empire, while highlighting its large distributional effects and how these shaped the profile and motivations of colonial officials at the time. The book links Spanish colonialism to the marginalization of indigenous populations, authoritarian enclaves, recurrent conflict and public goods inequities.
Jenny Guardado is an assistant professor in the Center for Latin American Studies in the School of Foreign Service. She joined the Georgetown faculty in 2015 and was a member of the Latin America Initiative Faculty Committee (2016-17). Her research examines the political and economic mechanisms affecting armed conflict, corruption and economic development.
