NEW SPANISH SOCIETY: CHARACTERISTICS AND SOCIAL CLASSES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The New Spain society has its beginning after the domination of the Mexica Empire carried out by Hernán Cortés and with the subsequent establishment of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1535. Mexico City was established as capital, which occupied the place of the old Tenochtitlan and its The first ruler was Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco.

The Viceroyalty of New Spain came to occupy part of North America, Central America, parts of Asia and Oceania. This Viceroyalty was the first territorial entity of the Spaniards in the American continent and functioned as the initial base for the project of unification of languages, cultures, beliefs and religions of the pre-Hispanic peoples to create a Spanish Empire ruled by a single faith, a single language and a unique culture.

From the series The paintings of the miscegenation of Viceroy Amat.

From Anonymous - Ceres, Public Domain, The period of colonization extends over 300 years, from the 16th century to the 19th century. The discovery of Christopher Columbus meant for Spain a great opportunity for dominance. A large part of the colonization was also made up of peninsular Spaniards belonging to a low social stratum and who decided to travel to America in search of a change of life.

Characteristics of the New Spain society

Much of the Spanish ideal, after the arrival in America, was to reinforce the Empire through the domain of the new lands. For this, after the conquest of Cortés, the project of creating a unified society would begin under the same principles in terms of language, religion, culture and morals.

Composition of the company

- New Spanish society was composed of a type of centralized state, a form of government in which political decisions are made by a single central body.

- The viceroy had the function of representing the king of the Spanish Empire. If for any reason, the king left the government, the viceroy no longer had power functions.

- There were different laws for each subdivision of society and for the different activities carried out in society such as commerce, mining, religion, etc.

- The social stratification was composed of blacks, mulattoes, mestizos, Creoles and Spaniards. From this time on, the mestizos became the predominant race in Latin America.

Portrait of Hernán Cortés, conqueror of the Mexican Empire

Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando

Economy

- Mining and commerce were the two main economic activities of the viceroyalty. Some of the most important materials were gold, silver, copper, and iron. Many sectors of the population developed near the deposits and mining towns were created.

- Agricultural activities were developed and began to make routes for the transport of production. Corn and cocoa were two of the important products of the moment.

- Trade was limited to the possessions of the Spanish. The economic activities were of the mercantilist type, which means that the concept of wealth was directly related to the possession of precious metals.

- In general, the aboriginal natives were one of the social sectors most subjected to labor. A tax of 20%, called the "fifth real", was applied to withdrawals.

Religion and culture

- The Catholic Church had the predominance of education, religion, culture, health services and other social sectors. Among the highlights is the introduction of Catholic moral principles, in order to abolish the cultural and religious practices of native Indians. The latter which were very different from those handled by the Catholic religion.

The Catholic religion was one of the resources implemented for the unification of culture in America. Image by stempow from Pixabay

- The religious factor was also a driving force for the introduction of Spanish as a single language. In addition, some religious symbols such as the Virgin of Guadalupe, emerged at this time. This religious symbol, in particular, was one of the main influences in the evangelization of the indigenous and mestizos.

Architecture

- New Spain was the first center of cultural expansion of the Empire in America. The churches and government buildings were among the first constructions to be made. Today, the National Palace of Mexico is one of the sites preserved since that time.

- One of the predominant styles in construction was Baroque, especially between the 17th and 18th centuries.

Social classes in New Spanish society

The "caste system" was the social distribution that existed during the time of colonization. In principle the basic social groups were classified as whites, Indians and blacks. As a result of the mixing of the groups, the castes emerged, such as the mestizos, mulatos and criollos.

- Division of social classes

This social division was aimed at political domination, so it went beyond the issues of divisions by race, since the concept of "race" as it is known today was developed later, in the mid-nineteenth century.

- The whites. Conformed by the European Spanish. They were the dominant politically, economically and socially.

- The Indians. Native community of America. They were the base of the population because they were originally from the region. They had an important role in economic activity. The Indians worked and paid tributes destined for the crown.

- The blacks. Groups brought from Africa destined only for slave labor.

- Primary caste divisions

Creoles

Children of Spanish born in America. On the one hand, peninsular Spaniards, those born in Spain, enjoyed greater benefits and access to positions of power, education, commercial activities, property and more.

Meanwhile, the criollos, although they were also offered multiple facilities in their activities, sometimes did not have the priority to take up high positions in the church, the government or in commercial activities.

The mestizos

They had an intermediate position within society. They did not pay the tributes paid by the Indians, yet they did not enjoy the extensive benefits of the whites.

The mulattoes

Born from the union of a Spanish or Creole white person with a black person.

After this primary division of castes that come from the three main social groups (whites, Indians and blacks), multiple divisions emerged, the product of new mixtures. For example, the "Moriscos", born from the mixture of mulattoes and blacks, or the "castizos", product of the union of mestizos with Spaniards.

It is important to note that the caste divisions went beyond skin color, since even if a person received the surname of his white father, for example, he could be incorporated into the family and be recognized as white, regardless of the tone of his skin.

References

1. Brooks D (2017). Criollos, mestizos, mulatos or saltapatrás: how the division of castes arose during the Spanish rule in America. BBC World. Recovered from bbc.com
2. Roldán P. Mercantilism. Economipedia. Recovered from economipedia.com
3. Vidaurri J. The New Spanish society, some generalities. Virtual University of the State of Guanajuato. Recovered from roa.uveg.edu.mx
4. Terán J. The teaching of architecture in New Spain during the Baroque period. National Autonomous University of Mexico. Recovered from upo.es.
5. The Viceroyalty of New Spain. History classes. Digital magazine of history and social sciences. Recovered from classeshistoria.com
6. Viceroyalty of New Spain. Ministry of Culture and Sports, Government of Spain. Recovered from pares.mcu.es
7. Nes Spain. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from en. wikipedia.org