Underground World of Secret Jews and Africans: Two Tales of Sex,Magic,and Survival in Colonia Cartagena and Mexico City

by Jonathan Schorsch

The Spanish Colonial society was divided into a race and religion based caste system, Castas. Slaves were the lowest one. To survive it many slaves turn to African magic, while for children of Jewish fathers and African women accepted the Judaism, to close the gap in social status that separated them. The inquisitional tribunals, became increasingly zealous to arrest the perceived threat the colony faced from multicultural witchcraft and sorcery as well as people who were allegedly secret Jews. The two tales illustrate these strategies In the 17th century Cartagena des Indes, a mulato surgeon and his lover both were famous for their magic powers resulting in an indictment for practicing multicultural witchcraft and sorcery. The city s inquisitional tribunal, increasingly zealous to arrest the perceived threat the colony faced from multicultural witchcraft and sorcery as well as from wealthy merchants who were allegedly secret Jews indited him. To bargain for his freedom, in turn denounced his wealthier colleague Blase de Pinto of secretly practicing Judaism Blasio de Pinto was arrested and tried by the inquisition tribunal where he confessed after on-going torture. About the same time, Esperanza Rodríguez, a mulatta resident (widow) in of Mexico, was tried as a judaizer by the Mexican Inquisition in the mid-1640s. Esperanza Rodríguez s story is both remarkable and typical for an age of incipient globalization and ethnic-racial intermingling. Esperanza Rodríguez had been a slave of Doña Catalina Enríquez, a New Christian, in Seville. Through her Esperanza was introduced to Judaism at age 13 and granted freedom at age17. Accepting the Judaism closed a gap in social status that separated her from them. The richness documented two cases paints a dramatic and colorful panorama of the interracial acquaintanceship and relationships of these two underground societies.

248 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 2021