2. Unit one and chapter one~ Women in the Colony of
New Spain
• This unit presents and explains Spain’s successful acquisition of
land in the New World
• It examines the role of Native American women in New Spain, their
experience of the conquest and the merger of Europeans and
native people, and
• examines the social roles of women, their legal status, and the
ranking of diverse people into the Spanish colonial castas
• It also showcases some of the outstanding women who contributed
to the enduring settlement of New Spain and its institutions
3. Spain’s Conquest of the New World
“There are, in all districts of this great city, many temples or houses for their idols. They are all
very beautiful buildings .... Amongst these temples there is one , the principal one , whose
great size and magnificence no human tongue could describe, for it is so large that within the
precincts, which are surrounded by very high wall, a town of some five hundred inhabitants
could easily be built. All round inside this wall there are very elegant quarters with very large
rooms and corridors where their priests live. There are as many as forty towers, all of which
are so high that in the case of the largest there are fifty steps leading up to the main part of it
and the most important of these towers is higher than that of the cathedral of Seville ...
Hernan Cortez
“Gazing on such wonderful
sights, we did not know what to
say, or whether what appeared
before us was real, for on one
side, on the land, there were
great cities, and in the lake ever
so many more, and the lake
itself was crowded with canoes,
and in the Causeway were many
bridges at intervals, and in front
of us stood the great
City of Mexico, and we did not
even number four hundred
soldiers!”
-Bernal Diaz de Castillo-
conquistador, historian
4. The Spanish Conquer the New World
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1485 –1547)
Spanish conquistador
His expedition to the Aztec kingdom in 1519 –
1521 brought the fall of the Aztec empire and
Spanish claim to all of it in the early 16th
century. A man of lesser nobility, he chose to
pursue adventure and opportunity in the New
World. Cortés executed a successful strategy of
allying with some indigenous tribes against
others. He also used a native woman, Malinali (
Doña Marina), as interpreter; she would later
bear Cortés a son. When the Governor of Cuba
sent emissaries to arrest Cortés, he fought them
and won, using the extra troops as
reinforcements. Cortés wrote letters directly to
the king asking to be acknowledged for his
successes instead of punished for mutiny. After he
overthrew the Aztec empire, Cortés was awarded
the title of Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca,
5. The Role of Native Women in the
Spanish Conquest
One of the women Cortez was given, Malinali
proved a real asset to the Spanish expedition
She served as a scout, a spy and a translator
She saved the Spanish expedition on more than
one occasion by reporting to Cortez about plots
against his army . You will find her listed under
several names- Malinali, Malinche and her
Christian name, Dona Marina
She is remembered in the history of Mexico as a
traitor; someone who sold out to foreigners. She
bore Cortez a son, and is also regarded as the
mother of the Mestizo people.
6. The Spanish Borderlands
The Spanish establish
military outposts as far
north as Santa Fe and Alta
California, ruled by royal
governors
In 1690 the natives of
Northern New Mexico
Raised the pueblo revolt
W hich decimated the
Spanish settlements , it
would take another
century for the Spanish to
recoup their losses in this
region
7. The Encomienda System
An encomienda, a royal charter
was a land grant which
established the agricultural
economy of New Spain. Based on
the feudal system, where the
upper class are landed wealth and
recruit cheap or slave labor the
encomienda system became the
means to entice young men to
come to the New World through
government land grants.
The role of the Missions was then
to convert native Americans and
recruit them to work on these
estates ~ ranchos
8. Native Institutions
The Pueblo system -Natives had lived in
tight-knit villages or
communities known as
pueblos since the Ancient period
Many groups were Matriarchal systems
Taos pueblo near Santa Fe, New Mexico
has been a continuous residence for native people
for more than nine centuries .
9. Convivencia – the merger of two cultures
Majority of Spanish settlers are male
and cohabit with Native American
women
Customarily native women perform
all agricultural work, care for
family and home
maintain household and adobes.
They also render medical care
Spanish male settlers – as men of
property they perform no manual
labor
Anjoladores - Native women patching adobe homes
10. Sor Juana Inez De La Cruz *
She serves as a Lady-in-waiting At Royal Court in Mexico City
She avoids marriage and Chooses instead a Religious vocation
Her accomplishments would include
• Early Feminist
• Intellectual
• Author
• Scientist
• Archivist
• Astronomer
• Musician and composer
• Students please note You Tube has a film about Sor Juana and you can also listen
to the some of the sacred music she composed
• Read more about SOr Juana in Chapter 1 she she is featured as the Mother of
Invention
11. Social status for men and women in New Spain
Men- have Honor
Women- Verguenza
Genizaras – female slaves have the
lowest status they are sin verguenza
Society organized by Castas or caste
Read the ordering of a Mestizo population
in New Spain and Clio’s Corner to
understand how historians interpret the
merging of people in the New World
12. Legal Status for Women in New Spain
Women can ~
•own and inherit property
• maintain their own
business
• retain whatever wealth or
possessions they bring to the
marriage
•testify in a court of law, and testify
against their husband
• bring a law suit to court
• (when widowed_file for the military
pensions of their deceased
husband
13. But ~ there are Social restrictions on women
• The established church of New
Spain is Roman Catholic and will
not grant divorce to men or
women
• Women must live in the close
confines of their home
• A woman’s morals must be above
reproach
• She must be chaperoned in public
14. Study questions – from the presentation and readings
• How do we explain the phenomenal success of
Cortez ? In 1519 he makes contact with the
civilization of the Aztec Empire and in two years with
618 soldiers conquers this territory and claims it for
Spain. In less than a century the Spanish
Conquistadors reduced the size of the native
population of Mexico by 90%
• What explanation can you give for Cortez’ conquest of the New
World? In your reading of chapter 1, be listing some of the
reasons why and how this occurred
• Look up on the internet - the black legend in Spanish colonial
history, how is it relevant to this story and how is it a
distortion?
15. Review questions
What were some of the differences in socialization of the
Native American women whom the Spanish encountered
as compared with the women in Spain?
What effect did the Spanish practice of cohabiting with
native women have on the castas?
How did the Spanish legal system benefit the women of
New Spain?
How did social custom and religious beliefs put the women
of New Spain at a disadvantage?
What was convivencia and how did the social expectations
for native women and Spanish men fullfill this policy?
