Spanish Households and Afro-Maya Marriages in 16th Century Mérida

Despite the royal laws prohibiting Africans from residing in Indian towns and the laws encouraging endogamic marriages within the same indigenous group, Spanish households were sites of multiethnic coexistence, where ecclesiastic agreements to respect the will of the bride and groom, the interest of...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Campos García, Melchor
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:México
Institución:EL COLEGIO DE MÉXICO
Repositorio:Historia Mexicana
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:oai.historiamexicana.colmex.mx:article/3525
Acceso en línea:https://historiamexicana.colmex.mx/index.php/RHM/article/view/3525
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Mérida
interethnicity
africans
racial community
16th Century
interetnicidad
africanos
comunidad racial
siglo XVI
Descripción
Sumario:Despite the royal laws prohibiting Africans from residing in Indian towns and the laws encouraging endogamic marriages within the same indigenous group, Spanish households were sites of multiethnic coexistence, where ecclesiastic agreements to respect the will of the bride and groom, the interest of the masters in increasing their number of servants and attitudes towards Christian marriage combined to encourage Afro-Maya marriages. This article analyzes the ethnic composition of Yucatán families and the factors that influenced quantitative trends towards Afro-Maya marriages during the formative years of the city of Mérida. Uprooted Africans and women taken from their indigenous communities formed the basis for new interethnic networks in urban spaces, giving rise to a new, “mulatto” Afro-Maya urban community.