Colonial Period
Colonial Mexico saw a complex system of interrelationships between the native people of Mexico and its Spanish colonizers. New structures of rule and land ownership, hierarchies and subjugation were set forth and lasted roughly 300 years. A number of changes resulted in the demographics, economy and, culture of Mexico.
Seeking the riches and resources of their new territory, the Spanish conquistadors and their men were given grants of native tribute and labor, known as encomiendas. This early labor system enabled the Spanish colonizers to treat indigenous people as virtual slaves, putting them to work in fields and mines while also teaching them the Catholic faith. The fruits of their labor were then transported back to Spain through major ports like Veracruz, making New Spain the principal source of colonial income for the Spanish empire. In addition to forced labor, the native people also suffered from diseases brought by the Spanish settlers. It is estimated that the epidemics of smallpox, measles and typhus reduced an estimated 8 to 20 million of the original indigenous population to less than two million by the end of the 16th century. At the same time, a new ethnic group was forming out of the indigenous population and the Spanish colonizers. The mestizo population came from relationships between indigenous women and Spanish men. As black slaves were brought in to New Spain to replace the decimated native population, a more diverse mix of peoples emerged from more unions between different ethnic groups. Each different racial mix had a name and different positions in the social hierarchy. At the top were two different groups of whites (peninsulares, for those born in Spain and criollos, those born in the colonies), followed by mestizos, mulatos, unmixed natives, zambos (natives mixed with negro), and negros, respectively). Eventually, the encomienda system was replaced by the haciendas, large private estates, and the diverse population of Mexico would find itself filling different roles in the colony’s social, political, and economic hierarchies.
The Catholic faith played a significant role during this time of cultural transformation and exchange. There is no greater physical presence left behind by the colonial period than the Catholic Church. The intermingling between the native cultures, the colonists, and the missionaries brought on a layer of complexity to all factions involved. Conversion, economic gain, cultural tensions and exchange, and corruption resulted in multi-layered hierarchies that at once destroyed and subjugated while at the same time recognized and condemned injustices to the native people. Still, the act of conversion resulted in the widespread disappearance of many aspects of Mesoamerican culture. Pre-Columbian codices were destroyed, indigenous priests were persecuted, and temples and statues dedicated to native gods were torn down. In the following centuries, not only did a new culture developed that combined the remnants of native beliefs and Catholic teachings, but also a complex and multi-layered society would create a complex system of governance.