Algunas notas sobre la circulación de Utopía en América durante el siglo xvi

Abstract

Thomas More’s Utopia circulated widely in 16th-century Europe, where the work was printed up to eleven times. In addition to these Latin editions, which appeared in Louvain, Paris, Basel, Florence, Cologne and Wittenberg, we must add the vernacular translations of Utopia into German, Italian, French, English and Dutch, published during the 16th century. In peninsular Spain, where the text was not printed a single time in the 16th century, the circulation of Utopia seems to have been less intense than in other parts of Europe. Nevertheless, Utopia enjoyed considerable success in the American dominions of the Spanish Crown, especially in New Spain, where the work was read, translated, annotated and put into practice. This article analyses the impact of Utopia in sixteenth-century America and investigates the close relationship that existed between Thomas More’s work and the New World in the 16th century.