Colonial Mexico Final

Sumptuary law

Any law used to restict lower and middle classes of personal luxury or extravagence

Jesuits

Last major religious order to evangelize colonial latin america

Limpieza de Sange

means “clean/pure blood”, ideology to discriminate based on lineage and skin color

Miscegenation

marriage between people of two different castas or lineages

Manila Galleon 

Spanish trading ships that sailed between manila and acapulco.

The Bourbon Reforms

reforms made to modernize new Spain

Creole

People born in the Americas but with full European lineage

The Inquisition

Colonial institutions in New Spain focused on orthodoxy and maintaining social/political and religious order

Casta paintings

paintings that depicted the casta system and family outcomes of racial intermixings

 Cimarrónes/Maroons

enslaved africans that escaped captivity and created thier own free communities/settlements

Pulquerias

taverns that served fermented agave plant

 Titulos Primordiales

Indigenous language meso-american manuscripts

José María Morelos

Led second major uprising in the war of independence, executed after

 Cofradia/Confraternity

lay catholic brotherhood

Council of Trent

Meetings between leaders of the catholic church in the city Trent to issue the what the core teachings of the catholic church are

“On Chocolate”:

• written by a European man in the Americas

• European Audience

• advertising and educating Europeans about chocolate

• author explains the ways in which chocolate can be used and eaten, as well as its skin and health benefits.

• tone: informative

• “I shall set down here the method’ shows that he is trying to educate his audience. 

“The 1692 Mexico City Revolt”:

• Author: well-educated Jesuit

• Tone: judgmental, passive-aggressive, annoyed

• The tone is judgmental because he is very outraged that people other than the “indians are involved with the revolt, and calls them all derogatory names as a result

• his judgmental tone is evident in the first sentence when he says, “ nearly missed what happened this past afternoon because I was at home with my books”, alluding that because he is an educated person, it is as if he is too good to be involved in the revolt,

“Edict of the Faith”

• written by the office of the Inquisition

•  tone is authoritative and straightforward

• contains a list of what class of things are classified as heretical acts

• denouncing idolatry

• An example of the authoritative tone is the fact that the document includes “we declare…”.

• “if some person has married for the second or more times while his or her first wife or husband is still living,”is example of the office of inquisition giving a specific example of what they find to be heretical depravity and apostasy.

“Sentiments of the Nation”: 

• document Jose Maria Morales presented in front of Congress following independence

• The tone is progressive

• includes all José María Morelos ' visions and wishes for an independent Mexico

• an example of the strictness is when he states, “there will be no tolerance for any other”.

• An example of a more progressive nation than the one the Spanish had is, “everyone shall be equal”, which is quite a change from the very discriminatory caste system.

What did casta paintings usually depict, who was the intended audience for the paintings, and how do they reflect eighteenth-century Mexico’s changing society?

Casta paintings usually depicted family unions of New Spain; for example, many paintings showed a husband of African descent and a Spanish wife and their mixed child, an indigenous husband and a Spanish wife and their child, a fully Spanish couple, etc. A troubled household was depicted if there was a caste parent and a Spanish parent, but a peaceful household if two Spanish parents. Aggression towards Spanish was also depicted.

The intended audience for these paintings was Spanish women, to warn them what could happen if they married someone of another caste, to see what their households would look like if they did not marry a Spanish man. Other common audiences included wealthy Europeans and Peninsulares, as purchasing these paintings was a major sign of wealth. Casta paintings reflect Mexico's changing society because it shows how society is becoming more mixed, mestizo, creole, and mexican, regardless of people trying to avoid mixed families

What are two examples of Bourbon Reforms enacted during the 1700s, and why was the reaction to the reforms often negative in colonial Mexico?

One example of the enactment of the Bourbon Reforms was the new restrictions and regulations on theater behavior. For example, they specifically declared that actors should be properly dressed to set an example for the audience. That the Theatre was always cleaned, no pulque was served. That actors are not present as any public figures, and for the audience not to react loudly to performances, like yelling, whistling, shouting, etc. They even limited the number of times women were allowed to leave. Theaters began to be regularly surveilled to make sure social order was being maintained. 

Another example of the bourbon reforms was instilling tidiness among the poor. Citizen participation was required to maintain tidiness in towns, neighborhoods, and homes. At 7 o'clock, daily citizens were told to sweep their porches for many months of the year, and at 6 o'clock the remaining months. Citizens were even surveilled on how they swept to make sure they were not “ruining” the cobblestone. This is an example of the cultural divide between elite and lower-class citizens.

These reforms faced negative reactions because they attempted to impose European behavioral norms, regulate bodily autonomy, and reduce the influence of local elites.

How did the creole population in colonial Latin America contribute to the move towards

Independence?

Creoles fueled Latin America's drive for independence primarily to reclaim political and economic power. They led the Latin American independence movements They were heavily impacted by the ⁠Bourbon Reforms because they alienated the Creole population, contributing to increasing sentiments for independence. They were restricted from higher-ranked positions. These locally born elites were marginalized from top administrative positions despite possessing immense wealth and localized social influence. Although they have Spanish ancestry, they have fewer ties to Spain. 

Driven by their European education, Creoles successfully mobilized the lower, mixed-race casta classes to build massive revolutionary armies. They seized upon the instability of Spain to establish autonomy.

What were some of the reasons there was an increase in Inquisition trials during the 1600s in and who was often targeted by accusations of sorcery?

The increase in Inquisition trials during the 1600s was partly due to witchcraft being viewed as a form of religious failure and superstition. Catholic leaders in Colonial Mexico often saw sorcery as a result of ignorance rather than a direct attack on Christianity, and the Inquisition used these trials to reinforce religious and social order.

Women working in marginalized jobs, such as midwives and healers, were disproportionately accused of sorcery, as their necessary community presence and specialized medical knowledge made them easy targets. Colonial institutions like the Inquisition targeted non-elite women, particularly casta, indigenous, and African-descended practitioners, in an attempt to suppress unsanctioned rituals.