Castas

The term used to describe persons of racially mixed background in colonial Latin America and who often had distinct legal, social, and economic status within the colonial system.

Originally, there were three broad ethnic groups present in colonial Latin America: Europeans, Africans, and indigenous peoples. In the name of “good order,” the royal governments of Spain, Portugal, and the church encouraged people to marry members “of their own kind.” They hoped to promote the ideal of equality within a marriage, in which both spouses had similar social, political, and economic standing. In reality, the conquest and settlement of the Americas made this ideal difficult to achieve. In the first place, at the beginning of the colonial period the overwhelming majority of European colonists were male. Lacking potential European wives, many chose to have more casual sexual unions with local women, creating a new generation of children with mixed ancestry. This process, known as mestizaje, accelerated throughout the colonial period.

The largest castas group was the MESTiZOs, who had a European-indigenous ancestry. Unions between these groups began early in the colonial period. Many of the CONQUiSTADORes took concubines over the course of the conquest, including Hernan CORTES, who had a son by his mistress Malinche before marrying her off to one of his lieutenants. Others settled down in the aftermath of the conquest with one or more Native concubines from their encomiendas. At times Europeans married indigenous noblewomen to gain land and social standing among the local population, and children of these unions had a relatively high social status within the colonial system, yet within a generation of the conquest the practice died out. In later years Spanish fathers did not always legitimize their mestizo children, leaving their legal status somewhat nebulous. As a result many colonists associated mestizos with illegitimacy and dishonor, even if the mestizo was a legitimate child. Crown officials from New Spain to Peru complained that mestizos were naturally inclined toward crime and public disorder. Still, many mestizos held important positions within colonial society. A substantial number earned a respectable living as artisans, while those with better connections secured low-level jobs in the Church or royal bureaucracy.

The second important castas group was the mulattoes, the children of African-European unions. By the 1550s Europeans began bringing African slaves to the New World in substantial numbers; by 1560 the African population was larger than the European population of New Spain. Over time many slave owners entered into sexual unions with their female slaves, at times elevating them to a quasiofficial status as a mistress. Out of a sense of obligation, many slave owners freed the children of these unions, giving them a somewhat elevated status relative to the slaves, although like the mestizos the mulattoes frequently carried a social stigma of illegitimacy that blocked their social mobility. Mulattoes often played a vital role in the colonial economy. They frequently accepted menial jobs as transporters, street cleaners, and in food production vital to feed the residents of cities. Many mulattoes were able to earn a substantial living by performing these vital, if sometimes unpleasant, tasks. In Brazil, for example, mulatto mule drivers were critical in moving goods to and from the highland city of Sao Paulo. By capitalizing on this economic power, they were able to become wealthy and influential in the region.

The third important castas group was the ZAMBOs, who were of African and Native descent. This was the smallest group within Latin America, as well as the group with the lowest social status. Many Europeans thought of such a union as being unspeakable, creating a child of two “inferior” races that combined the worst elements of each. In much of Latin America, there were relatively few opportunities for Africans and Natives to produce offspring, but ample chances existed for such unions on larger plantations where the landowner possessed both African and indigenous slaves (or servants). Most unions between these two groups occurred when African slaves escaped and formed runaway communities in remote areas such as northern Mexico or the Amazon, where substantial numbers of Natives continued to live.

In theory, the castas formed a distinct subgroup of colonial society that had its own set of legal rights and responsibilities. Royal officials developed a complex nomenclature to distinguish the exact composition of a person’s ethnic background. For example, a mestizo who married a European would not produce a mestizo, but a castizo. Paintings depicting ethnically mixed families (with helpful labels provided) became popular in many areas of Latin America, particularly New Spain. In practice, the castas were highly fluid categories that defied easy definition. For the most part, a person’s status as a mestizo, zambo, or mulatto was not based on ethnicity but on appearance, language, customs, and even dress. In this way, the categories were social categories rather than racial ones. For example, the cash-starved royal government was usually happy to sell certificates proclaiming “purity of blood” to those castas who could afford them. With such a certificate a mestizo could legally become “European” and thus gain access to better jobs or receive a reduction of taxes. Also, many indigenous people successfully avoided paying Native tribute to the Crown by moving to a new location, dressing as Europeans, and proclaiming themselves to be “mestizos.” As long as they could provide witnesses to testify on their behalf, royal officials would usually accept these arguments. Although many colonists associated castas with illegitimacy and dishonor, the castas played an important role in the New World, often functioning as a vigorous middle class that produced vital goods and services for their colonies.

Further reading: Mark A. Burkholder and Lyman L. Johnson, Colonial Latin America, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994); Lyle N. McAlister, Spain and Portugal in the New World, 1492-1700 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1984); Magnus Morner, Race Mixture in the History of Latin America (Boston: Little, Brown, 1967).

—Scott Chamberlain