SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN THE NEW SPAIN - HISTORY - 2025

The social inequality in the New Spain was a constant throughout his life and caused serious social and political conflicts. The basis of this inequality was the origin of the citizens: at the top were the peninsular Spaniards, and below them were the Creoles, who were growing in number.

At the base of the social hierarchy were the Indians and blacks brought as slaves from Africa. The mestizos were situated between Creoles and natives, although certainly closer to the natives than to the criollos. In addition to this ethnic division, there were also very important power groups that dominated the society of the time.

For example, the Church had a great influence and, in addition, it owned a lot of farmland. Other guilds that achieved notoriety were the merchants, artisans and those responsible for the mines. These groups were called corporations and the legal rights that were acquired by their power were called fueros.

Faced with these privileged, at the other extreme were the hacienda workers, a system of land distribution and work very common in New Spain. The Indians and other peasants who worked there were more like feudal serfs than other types of labor relationship.

Social inequality in New Spain: historical and social context

During the seventeenth century, New Spain became the jewel in the Crown of the Spanish possessions. The wealth it provides has been increasing thanks to mining and trade. This generates a rise in population, as well as a great growth of cities.

At that time, in order not to lose control of the Colony, Spain promoted a great social hierarchy, favoring those who would like to maintain the situation. This causes those who remain outside the privileged circles to begin to feel discomfort and to protest.

Main social classes by origin and occupation

Peninsular Spaniards

The highest layer of society was made up of Spaniards from the peninsula. Although they were the fewest in number, they were the only ones who could hold the most responsible positions.

Not only did they occupy the civil command posts, but also the ecclesiastical ones, a very important issue given the power that the Church maintained in the territory. Little by little, this situation begins to generate great resentment among other sectors.

Creole

The second place in the hierarchy was occupied by the Creoles, already born in America but from Spanish families. These are beginning to grow a lot in number, but they are still not eligible for positions of power.

However, their economic situation improved greatly during the 17th and 18th centuries, as they began to own many farms or mining concessions. The contradiction between their economic and social position and their political marginalization makes them soon begin to complain, asking to obtain the same rights as the peninsulares.

What they do begin to do is fill intermediate positions in public administrations or in the Church; This means that little by little they acquire a certain political power.

Part of these Creole groups are influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment and it is not surprising that they were the leaders of the independence movement a few years later.

Natives

Legal recognition, promoted by orders such as that of the Jesuits, did not entail any type of social advantage for the country's indigenous people. Beyond being recognized as a community and having a special court, they were still among the most disadvantaged.

They were forced to pay tribute to the government and their work on the haciendas was the hardest and without any labor rights. They could barely get enough to survive and some ended up migrating to the city, where their situation did not improve either.

Mestizos or castes

The mestizos or castes were those born of the different racial combinations of their parents. They became a very large group, exceeding 20% ​​of the situation.

The lack of rights (less, even than the indigenous) led them to be protagonists of different political movements.

church

Owner of part of the arable land and with numerous social and economic privileges, the Catholic Church was one of the most important actors in New Spain.

The highest positions could only be reached by the Spanish. Starting with the Bourbon Reforms, the Crown seeks to take away part of their power.

Situation in cities

The idea of ​​the viceroyalty government was that the different communities lived separately, even physically. While in the countryside this was easier to control, in the cities it ended up being impossible.

At the end of the seventeenth century there had been a strong population increase in the cities, since the rural situation had become very hard. Emigration to the city led to the emergence of street commerce and other trades, but also an increase in crime.

In general, the less favored groups ended up living almost worse than in the countryside and this gradually gave rise to rebellions in search of social improvements. Throughout the century there were revolts of indigenous people, blacks (taken as slaves) and castes.

Situation in the field

The most common way in which rural possessions were divided were haciendas. Many of these belonged to the Church and to large landowners.

Most of the workers were indigenous, with working conditions close to feudalism. Furthermore, after the expulsion of the Jesuits these conditions became even worse.

During the 18th century the countryside experienced a crisis situation, with famines that affected the poor more. This causes some to emigrate to the cities.

Corporations and fueros

In addition to the aforementioned division by the origin of citizens, there was another depending on whether one was a member of a corporation or not.

Corporations

Corporations are the guilds formed by people who shared interests, forming pressure groups to obtain privileges.

Among the civil corporations, the most important were the merchants' consulate, the town councils, or the artisan unions. Most of the time, those in front were Spaniards appointed by the king.

In addition, religious orders and clergy also formed their own corporations, including even educational institutions.

Fueros

Related to corporations, fueros are the rights (especially moral, but also economic and political) that these groups have by their very nature.

The recognition of such fueros reinforced inequalities in New Spain, since there were different laws depending on whether they were had or not. It led to increasing corporate influence during the 17th century, until the Bourbons tried to reduce it.

18th century reforms

The new Spanish king, Carlos III, tried to apply a series of reforms that would end the powers of the privileged groups in New Spain.

Known for having more advanced ideas than his predecessors, he sought to modernize justice and reduce the power of corporations, the Church, and large landowners.

This caused great discomfort among those affected. For example, merchants in Mexico City lost their monopoly on the ports, prompting their complaints.

The Church also saw its power and wealth reduced, suffering the alienation of the real estate it owned. The reaction was quite violent.

Ultimately, the reforms led to the creation of an anti-Spanish breeding ground also in the upper classes, since the most disadvantaged had had complaints for much longer.

References

1. Doña Isabel. Religious and civil corporations in New Spain. Obtained from eldiariodechihuahua.mx
2. Slim, Gloria. History of Mexico, Volume 1. Recovered from books.google.es
3. Wikipedia. Bourbon reforms in New Spain. Obtained from es.wikipedia.org
4. Donn, Don. The Pre-Independence Mexican Indian Uprisings. Retrieved from k12west.mrdonn.org
5. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture.Caste And Class Structure In Colonial Spanish America. Retrieved from encyclopedia.com
6. Hana Layson, Charlotte Ross. Caste and Politics in the Struggle for Mexican Independence. Retrieved from dcc.newberry.org
7. gettysburg.edu. The Bourbon Reforms. Retrieved from gettysburg.edu.