Gender and the Negotiation of Daily Life in Mexico, 1750-1856

Preface and Acknowledgments

This book is certainly not what I envisaged when I began the research . I started thinking about women and violence while going through packet after packet of documents simply classified by year in the Archivo Judicial de Puebla. Because there was no catalog I looked at a lot of documents that had no relevance to the project that I was finishing at the time. I encountered the case of a woman complaining of unjust imprisonment despite her husband’s violence. The story had all the elements of an eighteenth-century soap opera and I was hooked. I began discussing the connection between women and violence with Mexican friends and family. One theme came up over and over: that many Mexican women sought out this abuse because it was proof of their husbands’ or lovers’ affection. I was not convinced and the documents certainly do not corroborate this belief. In the many court cases that I read for this book, I found strong and resilient women who refused to conform to a societal model that would make them into these eager victims. In the end it was not this research question that remained front and center in the final product, but I hope that this message is not totally obscured. Preface and Acknowledgments Preface and Acknowledgments x Because I was finishing other projects, this monograph was long in gestation and it took twists and turns not contemplated when I first started it. There were several seminal moments that altered its course. First, while looking at an exhibition of western art in a Fort Worth gallery, Lyman Johnson and I conceived of the idea of a book on honor. The resulting anthology led me into honor studies and a perspective on colonial societies that altered my outlook considerably. It also allowed me to work with Lyman, a great friend and incredibly perceptive historian . The next moment occurred when Bill Beezley came to Carleton and talked to my class. He drew diagrams of a Mexican house and an American house and explained how the spatial configurations differed. It all made sense to me and I began to look at my material differently. Finally, when I read Pieter Spierenberg’s essay on eighteenth-century Amsterdam men and weapons I began to think about criminal documents in a totally different manner. These three moments of inspiration allowed me to forge a study that is very different from what I had first contemplated, but I hope it is more inspired than what I had originally planned. With generous support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada I began research in several Mexican and Spanish archives and libraries. The staffs in the Archivo General de la Nación in Mexico City and the Archivo Judicial de Puebla were particularly helpful and supportive. I cannot thank them enough for little kindnesses and big favors. The head judge of the Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior del Districto Federal gave me permission to examine the colonial and national documents in the court basement and it was one of the strangest and best experience of my research life. I also worked in Spain at the Biblioteca Nacional and the Archivo General de Indias, whose staffs were courteous and obliging. I spent a lot of time in Mexico City, always with my lovely Preface and Acknowledgments xi in-laws, Francisco Rivera Aguilar and the late Amalia Ayala Figueroa. They made me feel welcome, fed me delicious food, and told me many wonderful stories. I also want to thank all my brothers and sisters-in-law, who also made and continue to make any time I spend in Mexico more delightful. Fidel and Toña, Raul and Engracia, Jaime and Salome, Estela and Luis, Teresa and Jesús, as well as Marisela, Guadalupe, and all their wonderful children are indeed a kind and welcoming extended family. Sergio Rivera Ayala continues to be a good friend and his intellectual influence is definitely present in this work. In Puebla I often stayed with my good friends Rosalva Loreto López and Francisco Cervantes Bello, who not only shared their home with me but also their passion for history. Pilar Gonzalbo Aizpuru gave me many opportunities to present my burgeoning ideas at El Colegio de México—a chance for feedback that was invaluable. I have benefited from the friendship of many people in our field including Linda Curcio-Nagy, Anne...