Drinking, Homicide, and Rebellion in Colonial Mexican Villages

Description

This study analyzes the impact of Spanish rule on Indian peasant identity in the late colonial period by investigating three areas of social behavior. Based on the criminal trial records and related documents from the regions of central Mexico and Oaxaca, it attempts to discover how peasants conceived of their role under Spanish rule, how they behaved under various kinds of street, and how they felt about their Spanish overlords. In examining the character of village uprisings, typical relationships between killers and the people they killed, and the drinking patterns of the late colonial period, the author finds no warrant for the familiar picture of sullen depredation and despair. Landed peasants of colonial Mexico drank moderately on the whole, and mostly on ritual occasions; they killed for personal and not political reasons. Only when new Spanish encroachments threatened their lands and livelihoods did their grievances flare up in rebellion, and these occasions were numerous but brief. The author bolsters his conclusions with illuminating comparisons with other peasant societies. Cover CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1. THE COLONIAL SETTING Social Organization Before the Conquest Early Colonial Developments The Peasant Village in the Eighteenth Century 2. DRINKING Pre-Hispanic Drinking Early Colonial Uses of Alcohol Drinking in the Late Colonial Period Some Conclusions, Comparisons, and Imponderables 3. HOMICIDE The Homicide Setting The Homicide Act The Offender-Victim Relationship Criminal Testimony and the Question of Motivation Sentencing Conclusion 4. REBELLION Peasants in Revolt: General Characteristics Apparent Causes and Results Conclusion CONCLUSION Peasant Villages The Colonial Order APPENDIXES A. Peasant Uprisings, 1680–1810 B. Incidence of Crime with Special Reference to Homicide NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z