Before Mestizaje - The Frontiers of Race and Caste in Colonial Mexico

This book deepens our understanding of race and the implications of racial mixture by examining the history of caste in colonial Mexico.

List of contents

1. Wayward mixture: the problem of race in the colonies; 2. Mestizaje 1.0: the moment mixture had modern meaning; 3. 'Castagenesis' and the moment of castizaje; 4. The jungle of extremes (Castas); 5. Extreme mixture in a theater of numbers; 6. Betrothed: marrying into the extremes; 7. Betrothed: identity's riddle; 8. Betrayed; 9. Colonial bequests; Coda; Appendix A. Core records consulted from the Archivo General de la Nación; Appendix B. Place of origin of the extreme castas in Mexico City's marriage cases, 1605-1783; Appendix C. Extreme caste slave sales, from Mexico City Notarial Archive, seventeeth century; Appendix D. Identity reconsidered: factoring lineage into declarations of casta.

About the author

Ben Vinson, III is the Dean of Arts and Sciences at the George Washington University, Washington, DC. He was formerly the director of the Center of Africana Studies at The Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of numerous books, including Bearing Arms for His Majesty: The Free-Colored Militia in Colonial Mexico (2002) and African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean (2007). He is the editor-in-chief of The Americas: A Quarterly Review of Latin American History.

Summary

Using the case of Mexico, this book examines how the concept of caste evolved by studying the most extreme racial mixtures in society. By arguing that the experiences of these individuals laid important foundations for the future, this book will be of interest to readers studying race, race relations, caste, racial mixture, mestizaje, Mexico, and colonial Latin America.

Product details

• Authors: Ben Vinson, Ben Vinson Iii
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.09.2017
• EAN: 9781107026438
• ISBN: 978-1-107-02643-8
• No. of pages: 304
• Series: Cambridge Latin American Studies; Cambridge Latin American Studi; Cambridge Latin American Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Mexico, Ethnic Studies, HISTORY / Latin America / General, c 1500 onwards to present day, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, 17th century, c 1600 to c 1699, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, Latin America – Mexico, Central America, South America, History of the Americas, History and Archaeology, 16th century, c 1500 to c 1599, c 1500 to c 1600, C 1600 To C 1700, C 1700 To C 1800, Ethnic studies / Ethnicity