The Darker Side of the Renaissance: Literacy, Territoriality, and Colonization is a long-awaited contribution to colonial studies, destined to be influential across a range of disciplines. This broad and ambitious work examines the role of language in the colonization of the New World by weaving together literature, semiotics, history, historiography, cartography, geography, and cultural theory. The Darker Side of the Renaissance significantly challenges our understanding of New World history. It will stimulate Renaissance and New World scholarship, speak to debates in current anthropology, augment our understanding of linguistics, and provide models for colonial and postcolonial scholarship.