Bachelor's Degree studies of world history Keyterms Identifications

Mestizos were the interracial offspring of a European and American native couple. Case studies of mestizos can be found sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth century Mexican/Latin American material culture, as evident in Casta paintings ( http://faculty.smu.edu/bakewell/bakewell/thinksheets/castas.html ). Individuals categorized as mestizo, mulatto, coyote, etc. are evidence that colonial and indigenous peoples had sexual relations. Successful interracial unions were instrumental in facilitating economic and political relationships between metropole and colony. As discussed in lecture, studies of sex in colonial contexts provide insight into household structure and imperial concerns of domesticity (Laura Mitchell, 21B, “Sex and Global Economy,” 2/10/16). They also provide insight into gender and sexuality. By examining the Casta paintings we see that in the cases of unions between a European male and native female, women appropriated the culture of their male partner. This suggests that locals viewed European culture as superior, or at least politically and/or economically expedient. Moreover, an analysis of the children produced by these unions suggests that culture and whiteness followed similar trends (e.g. that the child would inherit the "superior" culture/genes). Children may have complicated imperial and national ideology by challenging racial and juridical boundaries.