The Fabric of Resistance: Textile Workshops and the Rise of Rebellious Landscapes in Colonial Peru.

This monograph examines the textile workshop (obraje) in Pomacocha, Ayacucho, Peru, as a central site of colonial labor, resistance, and identity formation from its founding in 1689 through the early nineteenth century. It highlights how the obraje operated within colonial systems of debt slavery, forced labor, and racialized hierarchies, while also serving as a hub for intercaste and interethnic alliances that fostered Andean cosmopolitanism and coordinated social movements leading up to independence struggles. The study emphasizes everyday acts of resistance, migration, and cultural exchange among textile workers and their communities, revealing how these dynamics shaped social cohesion and political solidarity in the colonial Andes. The work situates these developments within broader historical processes, including Inca imperial legacies and Bourbon reforms, underscoring the obraje’s role in both reinforcing and challenging colonial rule.