Drinking, Homicide, and Rebellion in Colonial Mexican Villages

by William B. Taylor

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.

Genres: History, Read For School, Nonfiction, Latin American History

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1979

Reviews

[Louie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was required to read this for class and hated just about every page. I found it hard to read at times and boring the rest, with some outdated wording and terminology sprinkled in for flavor. For being from the late 70's it's still a good account of the information it's talking about and it is very informative, but it's simply not interesting. If you actually enjoy this genre I'm sure it'll be much more entertaining, if it was assigned to you for class gods speed.

[Christopher Roberdeaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly not a bad read for the most part. My big issue is that author William B. Taylor really does not do too much in the later chapters to keep the reader interested.

[Charles Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic in old school Mexican archival work!

Rigorous examination and analysis of hundreds of (mostly) eighteenth century sources (centered on cases of drinking, homicide, and rebellion) from the Basin of Mexico (Mexico City and surrounding Indian villages), Mixteca Alta (in Oaxaca) and the Valley of Oaxaca renders the conclusion that European colonization did notbring about sweeping changes in densely settled Indian pueblos nor transform Indians into abject desultory vagrants or peons. In fact, the isolation of Indian villages preserved and protected regional and village autonomy and culture. Instances of drinking, homicide, and rebellion that made their way to the bureaucratic, ecclesiastical, or mostly judicial archives, were often the results of outsiders, or the villages reaction to, outside events or people.

One sees in Taylor's early work the nascent DEAN of colonial Mexican social history!

PROVECHO!

[Joey Dallow · Rating 3 out of 5]

ended up having to skim for time and sanity. many questions whenever i pulled this out in public. interesting conclusion

[Andrew Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well researched and referenced. It reads like a textbook. It's not as fun or entertaining for the casual reader as the title suggests, but it's full of great information, insight, and details.

[Calista Cleveland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read for class😆

[Marlene Rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, Drinking, Homicide, and Rebellion in Colonial Mexican Villages, is well organized and straight to the point, the introductory chapter tries to explain what was the colonial life in Mexico life. The title introduces the three behaviors Taylor primarily focuses on, on the behavior of the natives of colonial Mexico are the proceeding chapters. Taylor concludes that drinking did become more frequent between the natives. He suggests that the pressures of the colonizers may have led for the natives to drink to relieve off societal pressures. Homicide appears to have also increased because of the differences between societies, native and spanish. Also, because of the different native groups it may have also caused conflict.Lastly, the chapter on rebellion showed that in comparison the level of rebellion between rural and urban colonial Mexico was about the same. By using documents of the colonial Mexico time era, as well as court trial documents Taylor used primary sources, however the book also used other sources which were secondary sources. The secondary sources included other academic publications about colonial Mexico. The primary sources are mostly archived documents from the Archivo General de la Nacion, which is the national archives of Mexico. However Taylor uses the documents for the Central Mexico and the Valley of Oaxaca, limiting the amount of research done in this study. However, using these sources of criminal trial records and documents, might not have been the most efficient way to examine the behaviors of natives. Spanish court system at that time was not the most progressive or organized. Many of the trials held were not fair trials, and did not have many procedures that led to fair trials. This was the same for the trials in Mexico because of the Spanish ruling. Having this study be based on such documents, may raise the question of: how legitimate or accurate is this study Taylor is presenting? Overall, the book brings up a personal perspective of the colonial times in Mexico by examining the natives behavior during this time period. The book might be an insightful for those interested in colonial Latin America, Mexico in particular. Also, the book might be a good reference for those interested in more specific topics such as drinking, homicide, and rebellion in Colonial Latin America. The book presented good documents, and archived information that represent documents that gave insight of the native everyday life.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taylor's book is a true insight and a revision of history to explain the social demisions of Native peoples of Mexico under Spanish Colonial rule. Being more of a social history, the revision refutes the common assumption in certain histories of Native Mexican peoples as drunks. Taylor also sets out to prove that even though the social traits of the Native peoples is different from Colonial Government, they did adapt and rebel. An interesting read that has some real good first hand accounts of Natives dealing with the Mexican Colonial Government.

[Brad Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title was recommended to me by a noted Latin American historian. Being more familiar with 17th- and 18th-century Indian-European relations in British North America and New France, I was eager to explore the communities of colonial Mexico. The book provided some fascinating insights and the historiography is commendable. The prose is solid, but probably geared a bit too much for an academic audience to make the book widely accessible to casual readers.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may have shouted "Give me Narrative or Give me Death!!" at multiple points while plowing through Taylor's work. God bless him and other social historians for their concrete contributions to the field, but I challenge someone to find less engaging way to discuss 3 generally lively topics.