By Mike Ashe

Spanish Immigration

Interestingly Spaniards did not emigrate to New Spain in great numbers; only about 20,000 made México their home.  In order to migrate Spaniards had to prove Roman Catholic purity; in other words, Jews and Muslims were excluded in the fear that they would taint New Spain’s religious order. In the late 16^th century, Spain and Portugal had the same monarchy (Iberian union) and many Portuguese Jews that nominally converted to Roman Catholicism resulted in “Crypto-Jews” immigration to New Spain, although in small numbers.

As an aside, not until the 19^th century were Non-Spanish Jews allowed to immigrate freely.  The Polanco section of México City where we lived was home to a large colony of Mexican Jews with European ancestry (Germans, French, British were the first to immigrate followed by Eastern European Jews at the end of the century).  The total Mexican Jewish Population is not large (about 50,000) but highly influential.

The Mexican Hacienda

The birth of the Hacienda economic system began immediately after the fall of the Aztec nation. When you think of the Hacienda you might picture courtyards, verandas, and sprawling land/acreage containing crops, cattle, and of course vaqueros on horseback.  There were of course many of them all over México, Texas, New México, and California.  Many of these still exist and in California they have been upscaled with the same colonial motif and occupied now by many of the wealthy Los Angelinos as well as throughout California.

The single most famous of all the Haciendas was awarded to Hernando Cortes which is now the State of Morelos. He built a fortress atop conquered Aztec ruins in Cuernavaca. Cuernavaca and surrounding areas (Valley of Morelos some 40 miles south of México City at an elevation of about 5,000 ft) were prized rich farm land with the most appealing climate of all of México.

My family would make many day trips to Cuernavaca, Cocoyoc, and other resorts in the area. The area at that time had some very nice swimming pools with very high platforms for diving. My two bothers and I would jump off them (never diving too high) for hours. In those days visiting these resorts was not too expensive and some did not charge to use their facilities, so we made the trip often.

These are all treasurers for the enjoyment of the Mexican people.

The Other Colonial Mexican Haciendas

Cortes gifted his soldiers with land grants along with tribute from the conquered indigenous people as forced labor. Much like the medieval feudal systems in Europe.

The term Hacienda included Silver Mines in Zacatecas and surrounding areas in the north, Cattle Ranches, farms, sugar plantations, textile mills, and factories. Most of the hacienda owners did not live in the haciendas but visited from their places in the cities. In modern México, this practice is very much the same.

In the Haciendas system most of the commerce was designed for export to Spain, including sugar, cocoa, silver, gold, textiles.  Hernando Cortes was the first to introduce domestic animals (cattle, goats, sheep) to México. He also introduced European edible plants to the New World, although some scholars credit this to Christopher Columbus’ second voyage.

The Spanish influence on North American culture included the raising of cattle and the Vaqueros (cowboys) with silver spurs and wide brim sombreros to supply mining towns and export the hides to Spain. Some of these family Hacienda were huge, with over 11 million acres.

Hacienda life attracted many Spanish Settlers which in some cases resulted in an increase in misery and death for the indigenous people. The church did champion the cause of the downtrodden and the crown introduced new laws that would grant freedom to them. These laws were not received well by the New World Spaniard’s and change was slow in coming but it did come eventually. 

[As explained by Robert Wayne Powell in Tree of Hate, part of the problem was that well-intentioned royal decrees were promulgated on the basis of Lascasian reports which oftentimes did not reflect realities on the ground and did not request nor consider input from the Spaniards working the lands in the New World — RMB]

Spanish Crown’s plan to extend Borders.

Spain’s plan was to 1) increase her own wealth and influence in México and 2) to promote Catholicism through conversion of the indigenous peoples. The agencies/systems included:

The Presidios or military garrisons. In Mexico they were used in the desert frontier to control rebellious indigenous tribes. The warriors were captured and enslaved in the presidios. The present-day Northern States included Baja California Sur, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, Durango, Chihuahua, and Coahuila.

They also extended as far as California to include San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco and Santa Barbara.  Many in Florida including Presidio San Miguel de Panzacola located in present-day downtown Pensacola.  Current-day states included South Carolina, Georgia. Louisiana, Texas, New México, and Arizona.

[For those interested in the Presidio system and its truly amazing successes — far more successful than the post-Civil War North American forts system– I recommend Philip Wayne Powell’s Mexico’s Miguel Caldera. His work is objective and shows that Spain’s efforts in Mexico were often highly laudable — RMB]

Pueblos, were civilian towns sometimes clustered around presidios for protection in the north.

Missions Roman Catholic priests came to Mexico to spread the word of Jesus Christ and to convert the indigenous people. Early missionaries won over the people and championed their cause. They learned the native languages and helped record native history. The indigenous peopled learned Latin so well that they taught it to the Spanish settlers. The Florentine Codes were compiled which enabled the writing of Nahuatl using the Roman alphabet. This later served to preserve the history of Mesoamerica.

Spanish Architecture

Stunning is the only way to describe it and mostly still standing.

Spanish Inquisition

The friars were replaced by materialistic clergy and many of the efforts by Zumarraga (Mexico’s first bishop) were overturned.  The new clergy were dependent on settlers and not the church, which became a secular institution.  The Spanish Inquisition was a dark chapter in Spanish rule in Spain and in New Spain. The inquisition lasted for 250 years and claimed about 50 people (many Crypto-Jews) who were burned at the stake. The Inquisition was used in the later years of Spanish rule to stamp down political dissent.

Independence from Spain is brewing

A forerunner of the fight for Independence from Spain was William Lamport, an Irish nobleman. He was one of the inspirations for Zorro and was arrested and spent 17 years in prison for instigating rebellion against the crown.

Also contributing to the unrest against Spain were the religious disputes against the Jesuits who had accumulated substantial wealth in Mexico. In 1804 the crown decreed that church’s funds for charitable works were taken by the state and the Jesuits expelled. This was a severe blow to the poor of Mexico who were dependent on credit and charity in bad times.

A caste system existed in Mexico at the end of the 18^th Century which was enforced by law.

On top were the white rulers, numbering about 1 million. The top of that group were the Spanish from Spain most of them returned to Spain post-Independence.

Next in the hierarchy were the Spanish born in Mexico. They could not hold royal office. Only whites were allowed to wear fine silk cloths and gentlemen were called caballeros and the ladies damas.

The rest or majority were of mixed races.

The people of Mexico like those of the 13 North American colonies were exploited by Spain and England. Many of the colonists from both wanted to make their wealth and return to Europe.

It’s interesting that the China trade arrived from the Philippines that included silks, ceramics, tea, and spices which arrived in Acapulco and were transported across Mexico to Vera Cruz and sent to Spain along with the Silver from mines in the North.

It’s also interesting that pirates preyed on shipments leaving Vera Cruz bound with these rich cargos.

In 1808 Spain was invaded by Napoleon which forced the abdication of King Ferdinand in favor of Napoleon’s brother Joseph Bonaparte. This created a split in Mexico with some supporting Ferdinand and others wanting independence from Spain. A Jesuit priest, Miguel Hidalgo Costilla, in 1803 assumed the duties of parish priest in Dolores in present-day Dolores Hidalgo in Guanajuato. He was a passionate supporter of independence.

Independence from Spain Ends Colonial Rule

On September 16, 1810 (celebrated today as Mexican Independence Day) father Hidalgo rang the church bells to call his parishioners to an announcement of revolution against the Spanish, racial equality, and redistribution of land. It became the Grito de Dolores. His rebellion was suppressed outside of Guadalajara and Hidalgo fled north, was later captured, and shot by firing squad as a rebel.

Jose Morelos y Pavon, also a parish priest turned military leader, fought for independence until he was captured and executed in 1815 (the now State of Morelos bears his name). Another priest, Mariano Matamoros, became one of Morelos’ generals and was also captured and executed in 1814. The seed however was sown by these priests and in 1821 Augustin de Iturbide led troops into Mexico City and declared the country’s independence.

The treaty of Cordoba established Mexico as an independent constitutional monarchy under Augustin de Iturbide.  This was accepted by the Spanish viceroy Juan de O’Donnju.

Other noteworthy revolutionary leaders included Vicente Guerrero, Juan Almonte, Josepha Ortiz de Dominguez, Guadalupe Victoria (First President of Mexico) Ignacio Lopez Rayon, Juana Marian Guadalupe Perez Pavon, Nichols Bravo, Leona Vicario.

Next: Independence