About

Chris Woolley is a historian of Latin America, especially colonial Mexico.  He received a BA in history from Western Washington University, and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Florida.  His research has focused largely on the relationship between Spanish colonialism and the environment, as well as the history of Mexico’s indigenous populations.  Currently, he is working on two projects exploring deforestation in colonial central Mexico, and the transfer and transformation of Castilian communitarian ideals from Spain to the Indies.  His courses include the history of Mexico, the history of Latin America’s indigenous people, the history of epidemic diseases and natural disasters, environmental history, modern and colonial Latin America, and world civilizations.