COLONIAL TIMES IN MEXICO: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS, SOCIETY - HISTORY - 2025

The colonial era in Mexico is the period in Mexican history in which the country was part of the Spanish colonies. During this period, all the territory that today makes up the Central American country belonged to the colony of New Spain and was entirely controlled by the Spanish Crown.

The colony was officially established in 1521 and became a viceroyalty in 1535. The capital was in Mexico City, established by Hernán Cortés after the capture of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán. The Mexican territory covered a large part of the American South and almost all of Central America.

Origin

Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexican territory together with a group of soldiers in 1519. From their arrival, the Spanish were systematically conquering the entire Central American territory, until they ended the Aztec Empire (which occupied most of it) two years later, in 1521.

After the fall of the Aztecs, Cortés established Mexico City in the ancient capital city of the Empire. The Spanish Crown feared that the conquerors would become independent and form an independent nation, so they conferred encomiendas.

The encomiendas were title deeds to cities that were given to the conquerors to keep them happy. The indigenous population of these cities began to “owe” tribute to the encomenderos, who used them as slaves.

However, after the absolute conquest of the region, the Spanish Crown sent a minister appointed by the king to act as monarch of all of New Spain. This properly began the Mexican colonial period with the birth of the viceroyalty of New Spain.

General characteristics

Decline of the indigenous population

One of the main events that characterized the Mexican colonial era was the large number of indigenous deaths throughout the Central American region. This happened for two main reasons:

- The first was the massacre of the local tribes by the conquerors. The arrival of Cortés and his men to Mexican territory led to the death of millions of indigenous people who inhabited the region.

- The second was also related to the arrival of the Spanish, but it was an indirect and unplanned consequence. The Europeans brought with them a series of diseases to which they were immune, such as smallpox. The local natives did not have resistance to these diseases, which caused a large number of deaths.

It is estimated that during the Mexican colonial period 90% of the indigenous population died, between natural causes and human causes such as extermination.

Establishment development

Human settlements in the Mexican colonial era had a marked pattern. Villages, towns and cities were created in regional localities, where they flourished economically. The European population development occurred mainly in the Mesoamerican area that the Aztec Empire occupied.

On the other hand, the southern part was occupied by indigenous people from several smaller tribes, scattered throughout the region. The north of the colony was almost entirely taken over by hostile and nomadic tribes. This changed when precious metals were discovered in the area, and the Spanish rushed their colonization.

The expansive characteristics of the population of colonial Mexico have been the object of study thanks to their anthropological and sociological complexity.

Veracruz

The port of the city of Veracruz was the only viable route that New Spain had with Europe. It was the first establishment founded by the Spanish when they arrived in Mexico and was characterized as a fundamental source of trade for the development of the colonies.

Through the port of Veracruz all the wealth obtained from the local tribes and from mining was sent to Spain. The export of goods and trade between Europe and colonial Mexico made Spain one of the richest nations of the time.

Miscegenation and population

The phenomenon of miscegenation occurred widely throughout the American continent after the arrival of Europeans. However, Mexico was one of the first regions in which this phenomenon manifested itself.

Mestizaje occurred when the Spanish conquerors married or simply had children out of wedlock with local indigenous people. As a result of this, one of the most important cultural exchanges in the history of mankind was generated.

In addition to the mestizos, the Spanish colonization of Mexico also brought with it a large number of African inhabitants. These were "imported" as slaves, as they were immune to European diseases that were lethal to the local indigenous population.

Not all Africans lived their lives as slaves, so colonial Mexico had a significant amount of dark complexion living as free people.

Culture

In the colonial period, Mexico City became an American reference for European culture. The architectural works of the time were among the first buildings to be built on the continent by European colonizers. This made the architecture unique in America.

In addition, before the end of the 16th century, Mexico already had a printing press and various literary works had been published in the then colonial nation.

Society

Society in the Mexican colonial era was divided into various social classes (castes). The criterion for dividing these classes was not linked to the economic capacity of a family, but to the race to which it belonged. In fact, race was the main criterion used to divide Mexican colonial society.

The most privileged people were the so-called peninsulares, who were Spanish (born in Spain) but who inhabited Mexico. According to Spanish law, these were the only ones with the capacity to hold a real position in the government.

One step lower in the hierarchy were the Creoles, who were Spaniards born in Mexico. They had a series of privileges for being white, but they were not equal to the privileges of the peninsulares. This generated a series of significant social differences and conflicts that played a fundamental role in the future independence of Mexico.

Lower down the social ladder were mestizos, Indians, and black slaves. The only caste of these three that had few benefits were the half-bloods. The Indians had very few advantages, while the Negroes had no rights in New Spain society.

Economy

The stage of colonization in Mexico opened a huge door of commerce for Spain. The amount of territory conquered in America was incredibly rich in natural resources, especially precious metals such as gold and silver.

In the first century of the colony, Mexico became one of the main silver exporters worldwide. The Spanish colonies could generate income from various activities, but silver mining was undoubtedly what generated the economic boom of New Spain.

In addition to all the silver exported to Europe, this mineral was also used for internal trade in the country. It was one of the main sources of exchange between the provinces and the internal markets of New Spain, since they used to be handled with this mineral. The growth of silver mines flourished throughout the 16th century.

The Spanish Crown imposed a series of trade restrictions to control trade in New Spain. Only three provinces could trade with Europe and all imports had to pass through the port of Seville. This generated the emergence of commercial relations between merchants from that city and from Veracruz.

Silver decay

During the second half of the 17th century, silver mining suffered a severe blow when silver lost value. Mining costs rose during this century and silver production was critical to the New Spain economy.

The Mexican mines were incredibly productive until 1630. In fact, New Spain produced much more money than the viceroyalty of Peru. Silver influenced the price of food in cities that were not related to mining, since this mineral had become a reference in the domestic market.

However, the deaths of many indigenous people caused a large number of workers to be lost in the mines, which slowed down silver mining. In addition, black market merchants traded the silver with other sellers in the Philippines. This not only caused less silver to be produced, but it also lost its value.

Advances in mining technology made the mineral regain its value, but significant changes were seen only in the late 17th century.

Economic awakening and Bourbon reforms

The Mexican economy, still recovering from the shock of the fall in silver, did not experience growth again until the second half of the 18th century. The Bourbon reforms had sought to establish control over the economy to stabilize it, but political, economic, social, and cultural growth occurred naturally.

This growth had the benefit of increasing scientific activity in New Spain. In addition, the Spanish Crown allowed the opening of new commercial ports to negotiate with America.

By this time, Mexico was already trading with the other local colonials and had quite extensive exchange systems, particularly with the viceroyalty of Peru.

Controls

In general, all trade was controlled by Spain on the orders of the king. All products had to be approved by the Crown and trading without permission was considered a crime against Spain.

When trade was beginning (in the second half of the 16th century) trade controls were also established for merchants. These had to travel accompanied by battleships to protect them against piracy.

In addition, other European nations such as France attacked New Spain and made the Crown have to impose stricter security controls on the colonies. In turn, guilds arose in Mexico that controlled the quality and price of each product that was created in New Spain.

Although a large part of the economy was part of the Spanish monopoly, local merchants also had some level of control over their products. However, they had to pay taxes to the Spanish Crown, a policy that generated great discontent among local Mexican producers.

Other products

The awakening of the mining industry in Mexico at the end of the 16th century brought with it growth in many other areas of the country's economy. Agriculture and cattle raising benefited mainly, since the products of these activities were paid for with silver from the mines.

This growth also meant that more slaves could be imported from Africa when the indigenous population declined significantly; it also supported the ever-growing Creole population.

Education

Education in the Mexican colonial era was carried out mainly by the various friars and priests sent from Spain. Since Charles V was a Catholic king with special permits from the Roman Church, he sent missionaries to Mexico to convert local populations to Catholicism.

The creation of Creole cultures was also used to incorporate indigenous populations into the colony. A series of schools were created throughout the territory of the colony to educate the indigenous people and convert them to the Catholic religion.

Institutions were also created to educate whites. One of the first was the Royal Pontifical University of Mexico, in which young people were educated to be lawyers, doctors and priests.

The educational institutions were located in urban centers, although priests were also educated in other provinces through seminaries organized by the Church.

Mestizos had few educational opportunities, and at no time in colonial times was the education of girls given priority; the general population was illiterate and of little knowledge. However, some girls were brought up in convents to later become nuns.

References

1. Religion and society in New Spain: Mexico's Colonial era, Dale Hoyt Palfrey, November 1, 1998. Taken from mexconnect.com
2. The economy of colonial Mexico, Gettysburg College Archives, (nd). Taken from Gettysburg.edu
3. Colonial Mexico, Mexican History Online, (nd). Taken from mexicanhistory.org
4. Viceroyalty of New Spain, Gale Encyclopedia of US Economic History, 2000. Taken from encyclopedia.com
5. Viceroyalty of New Spain, Encyclopaedia Britannica, (nd). Taken from Britannica.com
6. New Spain, Wikipedia in English, April 16, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org
7. Education in Mexico, Wikipedia in English, April 9, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org