Time as a Spanish Colony

A complex cast system was developed during the Spanish control of Mexico that made it unique.

While Cortes was conquering the Aztec capital, no one in Spain was aware of it since Cortes conquest was without any official recognition. With little preparation, Spain found itself a ruler a faraway land many times larger than itself and much more populated.[i] Spain had to control and convert such a land that was over two months away by sea, so they used to Caste system to maintain control. So the Spanish developed a caste system based on race, which was used to determine a person's importance in society.

Mestizo, persons with one peninsular parent and one native parent. Castizo, persons with one mestizo parent and one criollo parent. Cholos, persons with one native parent and one mestizo parent. Mulatos, persons of mixed peninsular and African descent. They were sometimes made into slaves. Zambos, persons who were mixed indio and African. Euromestizos, Spanish Indian mixture with Spanish characteristics predominating. Indomestizos, Spanish Indian mixture with Spanish characteristics predominating.[ii] The largest class was the Natives, which were the wards of the church and the Crown. Over the years, the number of African slaves diminished over the years from 20,000 in the 16th century to 6,000 by 1800.[iii]

General racial groupings had their own set of privileges and restrictions, both legal and customary. Persons of mixed race were collectively referred to as "castas". Long lists of different terms, used to identify types of people with specific racial or ethnic heritages, were developed by the late 17th century. By the end of the colonial period in 1821, over one hundred categories of possible variations of mixture existed. The terms for the more complex racial mixtures tended to vary in meaning and use afrom region to region. Overall the Cast system was quite effective, it kept Spain in complete control until they finally become independent. [iv]

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[i] Benson, Elizabeth P. The Maya World. California: Los Angela’s, 1834.

[ii] Hernando Cortés (1485-1547) http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cortes_hernan.shtml

[iii] Smith, Michael E. The Aztecs. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers Inc., 1996.

[iv] Benson, Elizabeth P. The Maya World. California: Los Angela’s, 1834.