CHAPTER 5 THE COLONIAL PERIOD IN MESOAMERICA 201(particularly when the woman came from a noble Indian family). But from the be-
ginning, mestizos were discriminated against: They were prohibited from holding
encomiendas,and they were not allowed to hold certain public offices. Generally, they
were not allowed to enter the priesthood. Although some mestizos—primarily those
descended from prominent conquistadors—held comfortable positions in colonial
society, the large majority were poor and uneducated.
Mulattoes, the offspring of Spanish and African parents, occupied a lower posi-
tion in colonial society than did mestizos. For many legal purposes, mulattoes occu-
pied the same position as did free Africans and so-called zambos,who were the
offspring of Africans and Indians.
Occupying the bottom rungs in society were the African slaves. The holding of
enslaved Africans remained legal in New Spain until independence from Spain was
won in 1820, although the slave trade diminished after the mid–seventeenth cen-
tury. Most Spanish and creole families throughout the colony had African slaves in
their households; large numbers were exploited as laborers in coastal plantation re-
gions and in mining areas.
Where Indians fit into this hierarchy is somewhat problematic. In some places and
times, they were treated even worse than slaves. For example, Indians were sometimes
worked to death in the mines, their lives being considered of no value; owners of slaves
would, at the very least, seek to protect their investment by keeping their workers alive.
For the most part, however, the status of black slaves was, indeed, lower. In fact, mem-
bers of the native nobility sometimes had African slaves in their households.
Although Indians had low social status and were looked down upon by anyone
who could claim at least some Spanish descent, they did have some legal rights and
protections not available to other residents of the colony. For example, they were
able to govern their own communities, they maintained community ownership of
land, and they were exempt from prosecution for religious crimes. They also were
obliged to pay tribute to the Crown, which other persons, though subject to Church
tithes and other taxes, did not have to do. Indians had a unique status in the colonies:
They were, in effect, wards of the Church and Crown, and as such were to be pro-
tected from unscrupulous colonists to the extent that this was possible.
Although all Indians were included in this single legal category, there were com-
plex internal divisions within native society. The Spaniards, coming from a hierar-
chical society themselves, were quick to recognize the existence of a native nobility.
Particularly in the early part of the Colonial period, the Spaniards relied heavily on
native elites to implement colonial policies. In return for their cooperation, members
of the native nobility were given special privileges that set them apart from the com-
mon people. They were granted coats of arms and were allowed to wear Spanish
dress, to carry firearms, and to ride horses.LIFE IN THE CORPORATE COMMUNITY
Under colonial rule, the Mesoamerican region remained culturally diverse, its native
people speaking many languages and pursuing a wide variety of local customs. Na-
tive communities were all subjected to similar influences from the Church and the