Colonial Society PDF

Printed by: [email protected]. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. Cl-tAPTER 11...

Printed by: [email protected]. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. Cl-tAPTER 11 COLONIAL SOCIETY Race, Eth nicity, Class, Gende r, an Ident ity o understand the sttucrurin of society in ew Sp in requir us to tab into consider- ation conceptS of race, ethnicity, gende.1; r,eJ.igi:on, and lineage. Race refers to dividing p pJ Imo oup b s don biol 1c-al and g c fa to whi- ethn a , signifi p ple who shar-e rultuntl traits. In Spain, the term ram was used, but by the sixteenth mry it came to ' e identified. with purl ofbJood impieza d san8JB) relating to rdigioIL lbo:54: who had unblemished o,ld Chdstian lin ag e of Jewim or MU$lim blo d) p. red limp- ieza de sa.ngre. It is impmta:nt ton e that th is designation was predicated.on maintaining conuol over Sp nish om ' to procr ate within this lin up. Th ,c one p rou]d be challen ed in ew Spam where the mixing of different biologicai.l groups or rares complicated the hicrarchi ordering of society by creating multip. ~thnic idenlities, baM?d on ltw:a.L nd co mi fa to The faa 1hat few e:onquistadors took their wives to , exko meant that from die b~gin- nin h free ly ·m femaJ n:ati and 1 t r blade Lav worn n produci:ns child~ of m~ blood (niestims or m lat,0s). B who were· theoretically me.stim did not cvnstftntt a uniform cat~.1:y. The children of Spanish and native parents could b "ngui h d by wh ther their thnici ( curaJ raits) deri d from th p nish o dian parent. Early on, thos e who were :raised i.n the h ousehold of the Spanish faihe:r took tedominand Sp rusll chMa.Cterist" , and could ·even b consid red criollos (Span- wrls bom in ew pain). But. in m.any of the unions betwi!'en paniards and Ind.um w-ere fleeting ( often the n-sult of ra J, their children assumed cultural identities that were primaril indi enous. Th tfspring of p nish-African unions w mu! to , ut th had lower status juridically because black blood was oft£D associated v.ith sJaw'}' in early m dem Europ Blood was seen as a means through which moral and spiritual qualities were passed on. Lat,cr unio ns of the mixed children thcmsclVl'S :resulted in additio~al clisti:nctions makin - for a confusin - t m ,o f t oriz tion with score of racial. and ethni d ign tions. EVl!rntuaUy mixed-race: groups were Jumped togerlier in the catch-all classification of ,i;asias. Jn a rapid]y changing milieu,. however, racial and eilinic identities did not remain 1H Printed by: [email protected]. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.  Gil.mini otiLrf 1 S9 ta.Li , n l.h sod.I hie: rchy h through ngiog legal lion.a! a w U li ~ experien Fa o d occupation could adlitat che 1bility of indi i n lnill. !I tried to order ty l r paoiards a di isi n n, Jn ,1 (rac in , load m odem fI r to features likes erce.ived to be inherent in the ZJ H t di as individuals to i rultural CX{let iena I ir ran mil - led thr ugh m b did n l alll·ays adhere to prescribro norms. The foU ti ·octions ' ithil'l qµnizing cal gori. w II s th a I lh evoluti 11 of. ss. SPANIA ·DS n th an r d1.m tv 1h 1; an in rs, th w fi J t.md born w' n t on ueror1 ilit en wcahh. Thcir option , reteosions 10 ente:d th ght ·na 1 n. Alt.em. - h in~. rable, but one's social :!, , e en n a f: in \o. hich attitu 1 ed l Jill s m the, ·m of them had 1rade. In rem educated and welJ c with legaJ training en- rl I\ d l LR a ~wh L mers had t d n th o ,. n tht: \ 1cr Ji · royal h im- migrants ere not of om: mind or loyaJ as th ,. with. them their regional and I.ii cu tom nd pt judice. r r qu who r instrum n1al in l oloni:z.1tion of n rthem exi s ,e thn i all_ di Linet r m and n up rio 10 other paniard. Printed by: [email protected]. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.  160 L l\"I C I 11' I! E q CEJtO'ii\L T1: \Vi.th lhe ph in , Ul or nqu t s ·t!c , lhe r~ i.nd ·r o the ol ni.al pen d \ oul!J be in cird n sent rron · i t, peninsula-the penin- ul l1upi1 $, im d ·rh,iv I b ti born in MCJC.i. The peni.nsulares held the civil and ecclesiastical bieran:hie:s for much mal p ri d. d, al n~ with ai llo. m 1h m l inen;, mer ti fa [. um wore on, emlgmnt p alth rd rm I id n l g th thre ~ , mturi s a r ~ undr d Lh u nd CRrl O LOS Th accru d Ill lln. uJJ oB\ 1.he ruO!iYI m ·urueed _.. as commonly b m ot,11 1 'th t th.n. bood fh tioo i th todominar ~ - l~th ch nd e: en a num. · e:r so · e. es distance in rain nd ·g1 dcml deg 1h colon tL1l ponuni. Yeatr Comments 15.21 15:29 penlnwlaras 1~0 20.,211 1570 57 ,000 1 b 1 '4,000--125,000 1no me,;,, 150,000 ma 1793 1,095.000 rm WHIT POPULAflON O ew SPAIN Printed by: [email protected]. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.  Gil.mini otiLrf 1 61 meiu o , ew pain's onom i elite as fuunulndn , or owners o large agTkul:tuml tates, min t, and merchants. Th ir domina nce in the ca- biklo.. bcn d lh ir mi u u 1.S. Th.l i I p ti n cl1 :d t I ndh ldin pro to confe:r upon prominent place in the social bierarchy. D r numb r.1, lh t f m would b roded in lh hm d ad th wi11:h Cat ul re uh ·MEST IZOS AND CASTAS _ ' C 0 ' lh for tl1cir men, nursed their wounds., earned Lhcir 1>£1 3D U U( th mrl ' en. 8 in d T f 0 ddm ds in.. m t ofth mmto kn.a · rag~ paoiards to ,. In i I nima hil d1 th illl ania ea -... 0 c fa~st ,encomienda ' ll Ill 1am h an died. ""' tedumU 1551 ·. oo pans of her b. d some I daught wh J r, d a ers, and th. number o mes. conqms o after that tim iud r en llo n rried Indian m n [· 1mm r1 nt m marri.ag ; a wo lll.ln o ro bad. a decided f:ten lO 1h Jus i n of certain olh r quaJ ities. widow or n roe m nd ·, fi idom J mained unmarried \I Printed by: [email protected]. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.  162 Ll \fl NC 1. rne V ICE.ROYALTl" long. If she happened to b~ an Indian or mestiza, she might wcll be more amaaive to a poor Spaniard than a pmniless Spanish woman. If an rncome:ndero died leaving no soa or -.ridow to inh _·this Indian viU th encomienda passed to his cld t daughter: If "ng1 he was required to marry with.in a year in order to keep the encomienda As time, rent on, howevei; it was mu: h 1- likely thal :non p ni h worn would po · - s. such high statu.· The proportion of mestizos and o ther mixed~h ood castaS· inc:mased. rapidly in Mexico, sur~ passmg che num.ba of Spaniards in the seventeenth c.e.nnny. l t is difficult to generalize about their status. which va:ri d a:ordin to tim nd place, infl c by _ ors _ physical charncrerisrics, grndcr, the ability to acquire skills or property. and ru1tural identity. The mes- uzo children who w legitlrnizedbyth·'rconqui d rfath cheb hn tennsofrank. To take a notable ms Don Martin Cones wa:S the son of the ptain and Dom , Marina. Tedrnically he was a mestizo, but !illch was the standing of - fathN that he wa& considered to a pan d. F mando o ok h m tiz.o son with h to pain. h r, Man n made. a knight of the prestigious Order of antiago and a age to the prin.ce (lata: Philip H). Proto deAlvarado' mestizo daughter also had highs-0dalstatus; sh man:ieid a mu.sin of the duh of Albu.rque:rque. one of p n's mo powe:dul n l s. The JilaJOri ty of the mestizos, hmvevu, could n ,aspire to high status. high percentage er illqi,timate (n t infrequ mfy th resul o rap ) and th term mestizo s synonymous with bastard fo r much o th.e colomal eriod. Informal liaisons bt!nveen pan:ish m n an , casta or Indian women continued to cotnmo11plaC£.. exim (as elsewhere i panish Am rlca) h a hlgh ra iU a b nhs ao 1, l group in ur an-va.s. At th same time. Indians in rural zones cl the highest ratio oflegitimate births. ·sw (along with o poo paniards) c.ould b found in a wid v.lrl ty of occup · tions, worldng as dom c.servants, appfll!lltiC£s, artisall!i, petty preneurs and traders,. muletem, and common r Being lower on me social scale did no necessarily trans- l te into d , :re.n th reco i replete with , am ndividua1 who cbalJ n their subordination byp:rotes~g unfair treannent in the mum ; by occasionally attempting to p s to a dlffetent ethnic category in a5Serti:Qg a con. on ding occupational. or cuJtund ide-ntl , by ve ally and physically abusing superio ,. ¥ lling on magic to bring retribuw no n agairuroppressors; or by ~waring to other resforu. t DIA S, Central Me:rico alone (roughly~,,..,........, ize of ranee) may hav ha, ! a pre-,conquest population as high as 25 million, an,d for many decades the Indians of exko vastly out- num· d 11 olh rad.al group in N p m. Th n th numbers dedin d wtropb.i- cally. Waves of devastating epidemics swept ova- the land, and after a century of Spanish occ:upatio11, during whl ch many died from overwork and maltreatment. only about a miJ- lion natives remain d. From their lowest number around 16 0 the indi _mow population began to Uicrease slowly. By the end of the colonial period the Indians \\tie still the largest ethni group, but not by so va tap r ntq As a conquered people the natives were exploited by the victms. At first Spanimds used lhe Indi:an nobility to do their bidding. and noble cadques c.ouJd maintain highcr status Printed by: [email protected]. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.  Gil.mini otiBf 163 'rea~ Indian - la9ue YeaJ5. Ccmment:5 ,s1, 5,200,000 1S20 smallpo,c I 29 I 1S32 16.800,000 I ~ 15"1.8 o.300,000 1Sbli 2,650,000 1576 1S80 1.900.000 159 I 75,000 160S l,075,IJIXI 162 5Q 1,000,000 V 5.,, qu..,. :S..i:e!lq,. 1961:). Thei, ax., osim id·n.-d 11t m ' 11). m-. te- ' In S}'filem allowed Lndians to pursue ,J I - da m l (I Indios) or in oth r tri un le asters 1 , eg ep an vo- - _ in rhem lo _ r _ t d lo land, Lbor, tivc lli ·r r hi , and local go'i'i!.mam::e. ep nd d u n th la or th 111 rms, Lh ds. Bm lh hardly o \\rith total - panish colonialism were d d5 to dd'y Printed by: [email protected]. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.  16 4 L l\' I C I 11' I! E q CEJtO'ii\L T1: t~ori ti n, bu.t. the r onse,..w iv ommoc.1 int.t?nl\\ 10 d1 wa in harp l3 """' c.ur,m, M;agall M. lmaglnjng l~IILtJ m Nr11 Spam: liau. Lmcag,, an,~ Cn/011/