The Limits of Racial Domination: Plebeian Society in Colonial Mexico City, 1660-1720

by R. Douglas Cope

Challenges the traditional view of castas (members of the caste system created by Spanish overlords) as alienated and dominated by a desire to improve their status. This text argues that instead, social control by the Spanish rested on patron-client networks.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, School, Race

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Chris Talbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An illuminating look at the regular people of Mexico City in the years after conquest by Cortez, as multiple cultures collide and combine. Helps brings the day to day life of this wondrous ancient city to life.

Professor Cope (RIP) taught me at Brown University in the early 90s and changed the course of my life, opening my mind to the fascinating unfolding drama of colonial Latin American history, which became my major. We are all still living the consequences of these cultures colliding and combining. I ended up majoring in the subject, not to be an historian, but as a storyteller totally captured with the power and relevance for today of these stories.

This book is probably not for the casual reader of history, who might devour a Ben Franklin bio, for instance. This is the nitty gritty of uncovering the lives of regular people who were (mostly) not literate and regardless left few written records. He was working on this book when I was his student, and it involved digging deep into parish archives and other primary sources in Mexico, examining wills, birth marriage and death records. Professor Cope somehow manages to make this data come alive and through it we can vividly imagine life for the working and poor people of Mexico City.

All of this is examined carefully through the lens of race, and without going into detail, he demonstrates that as much as the Spanish conquerors tried to impose a simple racial hierarchy (Indians, Spanish and Africans being the main groups), the way this plays out is in no way simple. He shows the inevitable mixing of races began immediately (beautiful horny people are beautiful horny people no matter the ideology...), and those on the receiving end of hierarchy never bought in, they simply learned to play the game.

I am grateful for Cope and all historians who take the less easy route, illuminating the lives of the many, instead of telling the reductive (yes, fun) "great man" version of history, as if George Washington and a handful of others sort of planned it all and BAM that's how it went. Don't get me wrong, those are useful and I read those too! But this kind of history is harder, and maybe more rewarding, and truly advances our knowledge of humans and human civilization. These are the books the popular historian will draw from and summarize for you.

Thank you Professor Cope for your contribution to history. I still remember and am grateful for your passion and commitment to this story, and for making its relevance today so clear. You were also kind, funny, attentive, supportive and available. I am certain your legacy lives in the minds and lives of thousands of students.

[Matt Shake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really illuminating to show the myriad ways that racial beliefs manifest themselves in many ways in different societies. Even as a teen, I wondered why many Hispanics I knew seemed to be of mixed blood between white and indigenous whereas Americans (until recently with the rapid growth of interracial marriage) seem to often be more "purely" white, black, or indigenous. This book explains why this is by showing the differences between Spanish racial ideology and English racial ideology (the latter the book doesn't talk about explicitly--I just compared the two in my head).

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time I've read this book, my first encounter was as a first-year undergrad in my first history class (Atlantic World) and I was completely fascinated by the idea of racial fluidity as well as the give and take of the process of conquest. 14 years later, while most of the information is no longer new, I still appreciate Cope's straightforward overview that calls into question Spanish dominance in colonial Latin America and highlighting the way that power, race, and class are all negotiated concepts.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. This historian uses a lot of number intense research which sometimes can be off putting. However, he took on a difficult issue with limited documentation. If you are interested in race in colonial latin america, take a peek at this book!

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look at the society of colonial Mexico. Certainly, not something for casual reading, but if you are interested in history or colonial Mexico you must add this to your shelf.

[Sean Mccarrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book about the racial, class, and labor structure among Plebeians in Mexico City between 1660-1720. However, I felt like the author fell short on real analysis of his data and any clear way of expressing his theory about a racial and labor scale that divided Mexico City's poor.