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FOUR
“A Woman of His Class”
Contested Interma
iages
In Córdoba in 1798, doña Magdalena López requested that don José Lino, a priest em
oiled in an illicit a¤air with his concubine, Bernabela,
serve as a key witness for her court case. She objected to the choice that
her son, Ramón Romero, had made in ma
iage. She argued that María
Mercedes Fe
eyra, his wife- to- be, came from an inferior linage because
her deceased father was rumored to be a mulato from Chile. Don José Lino
obliged because he had known Mercedes Fe
eyra’s parents for some time.
He certi«ed that Mercedes Fe
eyra came from an “inferior extraction
and calidad.” He did not state she had African ancestry but instead refer-
enced her calidad as being inferior to Ramón Romero’s assumed Spanish
ancestry. Despite his own private a¤air with Bernabela, a woman noted
for “being the color of a Spanish woman,” and most likely because he
emained under the watchful eye of the bishop, he objected to the mar-
iage owing to the apparent inequality.1
In this case, don José Lino provided crucial testimony that proved
Mercedes Fe
eyra had inferior lineage, so the court upheld doña Mag-
dalena’s objection to their ma
iage. But sometimes «ancées accused of
having inferior lineage—most often associated with African heritage—
could convince the court that accusations of their inferiority were based
on a mistaken identity and that in fact they were Spanish or Indian. In
this chapter, I argue that women accused of having mala sangre worked
within the limits of the law to achieve whiteness by ma
ying Spanish
men. Furthermore, I examine their evasion of blackness through mar-
iage dissent cases.
In Córdoba, ma
iage dissent cases existed throughout the late eigh-
teenth century and into the nineteenth century, with one of the last cases
tried in 1850. A ma
iage dissent case came about after a parent or guard-
ian denied a betrothed couple the right to ma
y, which the Royal Prag-
matic of 1776, a Bou
on Reform policy continued in Córdoba two years
later, permitted, and as a result the couple sought to overturn their negated
ma
iage in court. The persistence of ma
iage dissent stemmed from
ecclesiastical and civil authorities who focused on maintaining social
contested interma
iages 67
hierarchy in a small city that had a majority casta population. Yet, the ver-
dicts of ma
iage dissent cases reveal a slightly higher rate in favor of the
etrothed’s ma
iage, 52 percent versus 48 percent, than against it.2 In
cases that ruled in favor of the couple, the couple often argued a case of
mistaken identity. The woman accused of having inferior lineage was in
fact a Spaniard or Indian. By claiming a Spanish or Indian identity, these
potential wives appropriated the ideal notions of a wife in Córdoba. In cases
in which the «ancée acknowledged her African ancestry and honor, mar-
iage dissent succeeded, mainly because civil authorities did not protect
African- descended women’s honor. By examining the two strategies put
forward, this chapter reveals that the ºuidity and ºexibility of calidad in
Córdoba provided women of African descent who were accused of African
ancestry in ma
iage dissent cases with a means to socially ascend within
the con«nes of the law. Ma
iage dissent cases also provide a crucial jux-
taposition with the previous chapter, which examined women of African
descent in cohabiting relationships who resorted to illegal measures, such
as wearing prohibited clothing and accessories, to secure privilege and sta-
tus. But a concubine was also a very precarious status; once caught, as in
the case of don José Lino and Bernabela, it could lead to excommunication
from the Church and a loss of social and economic inºuence in society.
Ma
iage, however, had more permanent social and political bene«ts and
clearly was an institution worth «ghting for.
INTERMARRIAGES BEFORE THE ROYAL PRAGMATIC OF 1776
During Córdoba’s colonial period before the enactment of the Royal Prag-
matic of 1776 ma
iage provided an avenue of social ascent for people of
African descent. Despite the small number of free and enslaved women
and Spanish men who ma
ied—6 out of 947 in the seventeenth cen-
tury and 25 out of 2,918 ma
iages in the eighteenth century and early
nineteenth century—these ma
iages often were the means for African-
descended women to provide a better life for their children and them-
selves.3 Interma
iages also provide insight into upward mobility among
castas. Ma
iages involving Indians and African descendants reveal the
extent to which these two groups comingled and lived together in the city
and the pampas. They also demonstrate that even when castas could not
achieve whiteness, they still found ways to better the lives of their children.
Children born from a ma
iage between Indian women and enslaved men
eveals this practice. Indian women provided a way for enslaved men to
guarantee that their children would be free and thus removed from the
stain of former enslavement.
chapter four68
In ma
iages in which enslaved women ma
ied Spanish men, six
slave women successfully achieved the coveted title of doña.4 In 1765,
casta ma
iage records listed Juan Bautista Fe
eyra, also known as José
Fe
eyra, who originated from Rio de Janeiro, and described as a free
pardo, as ma
ied to Teresa Sotelo, a slave. Thirteen years later, the cen-
sus of 1778 noted a meaningful change in their calidades. José Fe
eyra
transformed into a Spaniard and Teresa a mestiza. The census also noted
Teresa as the head of household, which consisted of José Fe
eyra, her hus-
and, their «ve girls, and a free negra named Theodora Romero.5 Teresa
Sotelo made her «nal transformation to doña after the death of her hus-
and. The widow then ma
ied don José Antonio Garcia in 1788. In 1811,
the census listed them as Spaniards in the Salcaste, a small provincial
town, and she had the title doña. Often ma
ied couples such as don José
and doña Teresa would leave the city and settle in places where they could
start new lives and assume new identities. In this case, Teresa started life
as a slave in the city, then transformed to a mestiza, and later became a
doña in another town.6 Her ascendancy revealed that physical mobility
enhanced the e¤ects of a ºuid and continuously evolving identity at the
end of the eighteenth century. Having moved with her new husband from
the city where she was known to have been a slave to a small town as a
doña, Teresa made the «nal transformation through the social networks
she shared with her husband.
Similarly, Ana Isabel Olmos also achieved the coveted title doña
ecause of her husband, don Joaquín , who had emigrated from Spain. In
1765, don Joaquín freed Ana, a parda, the same year of their ma
iage.7
Don Joaquín’s will showed that he
ought roughly 10,000 to 12,000 pesos
to the ma
iage, while Ana
ought “nothing.”8 When they ma
ied, both
don Joaquín and Ana already had children from other relationships. Don
Joaquín had a son named José Gavino and Ana had a daughter named
Teresa, and while ma
ied they had a son, José Andres. Don Joaquín’s
wealth, which came from his merchant activities, gave Ana, her daugh-
ter, Teresa, and their son, José Andres, a very comfortable lifestyle. While
ma
ied, Ana received various gifts such as colorful skirts, bodices, gold
ea
ings, and pearls, which assisted in her transformation from slave to
doña.9
Additionally, when Teresa ma
ied in 1773, before don Joaquín’s
death, her dowry included 265 pesos, clothing and adornments such as
petticoats, stockings, skirts, bodices, shirts, ri
ons, shoes, silver buck-
les, and gold ea
ings, and the more traditional objects such as bedding, a
mattress, sheets, pillows, blankets, and some merchandise for sale such as
contested interma
iages 69
ye
a, sugar, and honey. Their shared son, José Andres, received the farm,
various items in their rented home in the city, three slaves, and all of his
father’s clothes (which included French suits).10 Thirty years after their
ma
iage, the 1795 census described Ana as a forty- «ve- year- old widowed
doña living with two slaves, José Bernardo and Pedro Ignacio, whom she
inherited from don Joaquín, along with furniture, several domestic appli-
ances, salt and capers to sell, and silver objects.11 Because of their mar-
iage, Ana achieved a coveted whiteness and privileges that also extended
to her children, Teresa and José Andres.
Between 1720 and 1779, both Indian men and women tended to
ma
y slaves.12 These ma
iages did not directly bene«t the spouses, but
they did guarantee a better future for their children. Because the Royal
Provision of 1542 prohibited Indian enslavement, enslaved men sought
Indian and free women of African descent to ensure their children’s free-
dom, because their children inherited their mother’s free status.13 In
turn, Indian women sought enslaved men because their children would
e exempt from paying tribute. This practice took place as early as the
seventeenth century in the Río de la Plata, where, according to historian
Daisy Rípodas Ardanaz, Indian women often enjoyed certain freedoms
after leaving their pueblos to be with African descendants, because their
children would be exempted from paying tribute, while enslaved men
knew their children would be free.14 Most likely the trend continued in the
eighteenth century and explains why there was such a high rate of mar-
iage between Indian women and enslaved men as the eighteenth century
progressed.15
Ma
iages between enslaved women and Indian men also provided
upward mobility but not to the same extent as ma
iages between Indian
women and enslaved men. Because a child inherited their mother’s sta-
tus, the children resulting from these relationships would become slaves.
However, they would no longer have to pay tribute in Córdoba. Addition-
ally, Indian men who ma
ied enslaved women moved to the residence of
their enslaved wives, which meant they were no longer subject to paying
tribute but would be subject to the discipline of the wife’s household.16 For
instance, Thomas Paragaui, whose last name suggests that he had origi-
nated from the Jesuit missions located in Paraguay, ma
ied a slave. He
lived on the same Jesuit ranch, Jesús María, located in the province of Cór-
doba, as his wife under the “same conditions.”17 Even though ma
iages
etween Indian men and enslaved women did not produce the same
freedoms, the tendency for Indian men to ma
y enslaved women in the
eighteenth century suggests that social mobility did occur. Social mobility
chapter four70
among castas must be emphasized, because despite how ecclesiastical and
governing authorities viewed and categorized castas, among themselves,
castas had their own quali«cations and hierarchies.
THE ROYAL PRAGMATIC OF 1776 AND ITS SUBSEQUENT
DECREES: THE REINFORCEMENT OF SOCIAL HIERARCHY
The Royal Pragmatic of 1776 speci«cally targeted potential ma
iages that
were deemed a threat to social order. Charles III enacted this decree as
part of a series of policies known as the Bou
on Reforms to reinforce
social hierarchy and order throughout the kingdom. Under the Bou
on
Reforms, the Spanish Indies increased revenue, challenged the Church
y removing the Jesuits, reorganized political jurisdictions, and strength-
ened the military. Various policies targeted free castas by controlling their
movements, ensuring they had a steady income, and instilling socially
and morally co
ect behavior. These reforms not only governed the public
sphere but also addressed the interworkings of the family. The family rep-
esented a microcosm of the larger empire; thus, by extension, the King
epresented the supreme father «gure. In his role as the Father King, he
safeguarded the social order and hierarchy. He authorized the Royal Prag-
matic to guarantee that at the most basic level, ma
iage would remain an
institution that protected the elites’ interests.
To ensure that children did not make a mistake in choosing a mar-
iage partner, the Crown reinforced the usurpation of the family’s interest
over rash individual choices.18 According to the Royal Pragmatic, chil-
dren, often inºuenced by emotion, contracted ma
iages with “unequals”
without waiting for parental consent or guidance.19 Their rash decision
esulted in “the pertu
ation of good order . . . [and] continuous discord
and prejudices in the families.”20 Charles III’s decree protected the fam-
ily and by extension social order. It required sons and daughters younger
than twenty- «ve to receive permission from their parents (or those in
their place) to ma
y. Sons and daughters younger than twenty- «ve were
elieved to base their opinions on emotion rather than logic, and of course,
according to the King, they lacked the experience necessary to “reºect on
the consequence and anticipate in time the [possible] troublesome results,
prejudicial to the families and the public.”21 Those older than twenty- «ve
were also required to obtain parental consent; however, if the parents did
not approve, the ma
iage would still be valid, although the parents could
disinherit their son or