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Using the categories of status, political power, and wealth, Robert W. Patch shows how Hispanic society in Mérida, Yucatán was stratified into upper, middle, and lower classes. Lacking any exportable resource except cotton textiles extracted from Maya people and exported to northern Mexico, the Hispanic community earned enough through those exports to import the material goods necessary to maintain a "Spanish" identity. The only productive economic activity of the Hispanic people was cattle ranching, and ownership of cattle was widespread, though some owned a lot more than others. Political participation was shared by the upper and middle classes, but a power elite dominated politics. Socially, people usually married within their social class and remained separate from the Maya population. The upper class, however, was not an endogamous caste descended from the conquistadors, but instead accepted wealthy people, including European immigrants, into their group. Basques, Cantabrians, and Canary Islanders tried to maintain their separate ethnicities but ultimately created a new "Spanish" identity, and many entered the upper class. Social mobility upward and downward was thus common in colonial Mérida. An Outpost of Colonialism illuminates this process of class formation and explains how the successful social reproduction of Hispanic society perpetuated the correlation between skin color (race) and social class.
"This important book is valuable for its historical reconstruction of the political, social, and economic elite of the colonial city of Mérida, Yucatán. Through an array of meticulously treated primary sources, Robert Patch tracks the ebb and flow of the city's elite and the social reproduction of Spanishness." —Eric Van Young, University of California, San Diego
"Meticulously researched and bolstered by numerous primary sources,An Outpost of Colonialismis a welcome addition to the history of Colonial Spanish America. Recommended." —M. D. Davis, Choice
"An Outpost of Colonialism more than fulfills its purpose of analyzing the complexities of Mérida's Hispanic society during an often overlooked period. The anecdotes and case studies embedded within its chapters bring myriad Spanish historical actors to life, from elite women whose wills betrayed their limited funds to disgruntled politicians denouncing the former governor." —Hannah R. Abrahamson, Journal of Arizona History
"Anyone working on Yucatan's history, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, regardless of topic, will want to read, annotate, and frequently consult An Outpost of Colonialism." —Matthew Restall, Hispanic American Historical Review
"This account vividly illustrates the power struggles that were occurring during this period." —Laura Machuca Gallegos, American Historical Review
2. The City: The Founding and Establishment of Mérida
3. Death: Dying, Love, and Catholic Culture
4. Life: Status, Relationships, and Children
5. Migration: People in Motion
6. Immigrants and Society: Social Lives and Behavior
7. Social Status: Class and Political Power
8. Class and Wealth: Ranchers and the Urban Market
9. Rival Factions: Political Conflict in Mérida
Conclusion. America, Yucatán, Mérida