Racial Mixture

The social position of mixed-race individuals involved several factors, which changed over time. Initially, few of the parents of mixed-race children had married. These children were raised by either the Indian or Spanish parent. Later, as the number of mixed-race individuals increased, they intermarried and produced larger families than either Indians or Creoles. Racial status varied by region. In the north, with its meager Indian population, those of mixed race occupied a position near the bottom of the social scale and worked alongside the few remaining Indians. Thus, for example, in Nuevo Leon, by 1810, only 5.6 percent of the population was Indian, leaving those of mixed race as social inferiors to the 62.7 percent of the population considered Spanish. However, in areas such as Oaxaca, where 88.3 percent of the population was Indian, mixed race individuals enjoyed a higher social position.151

No single factor determined socio-racial status. Perceived ancestry comprised a key component. Those with light skin and more Caucasian features enjoyed higher status. They often insinuated themselves into the lower reaches of the priesthood and bureaucracy, worked as supervisors in mines and farms, or became small farmers, muleteers, petty merchants, and artisans. Similarly, greater wealth or marriage to someone of higher status would propel individuals upward. Close association with groups deemed African, European, or Indian would influence one’s own ascription. Mestizos who appeared more Indian generally performed manual and menial labor.152

The various elements within the social hierarchy had differing views of it. Those forming the elite viewed racial divisions as rigid. Those at the bottom saw them as categories one could move into and out of to change status as the opportunity arose. Despite the ability of individuals, families, and even communities to change categories, especially from Indian to mestizo, these barriers were important, especially before the eighteenth century. In addition to maintaining the elite status of Europeans, the system of racial classification divided the non-European population and thus inhibited united opposition to European rule.153

In the early colonial period, as many as sixteen terms, including pardo (black and Indian) and morisco (Spanish and mulatto), described racial mixtures. One category, the casta, eventually embraced all mixed bloods, including mestizos (Spanish and Indian), mulattos (Spanish and black), and zambos (black and Indian). The castas, who lacked the constraints of the relatively static Spanish and Indian cultures, became more independent, more mobile, more innovative, and forged much of modern Mexico’s distinctive culture.154