Marriage of Latin American Women

By Kayla Truong

December 12, 2019

Many stories told about victories of Latin America by Spaniards, mentioned mostly men and their world changing conquers. Not until in more recent years, have great women of colonial Latin America been added these stories once told by men. Latin American women, did not have the easiest time surviving and living from 1500s to 1800s, but over the years they strategized and were able to adapt to "Man's World". There are many significant Latin American woman that helped pursue and change the typical, "role of a women" during this time. Many of these Colonial women were assigned jobs by men, were mistreated by many of them, and taken to be used for men's own gain. As the years past, these Colonial women were slowly catching on to various techniques and skills that will signify their existence. Utilizing the advantages women had over men ultimately led to success for colonial Latin-American women that can be seen today. Even after the mistreatment of men, Colonial women always made sure their fortune that was earned, was upheld and passed on to their descendents or people who were less fortunate than themselves.

Isabel Moctezuma

Isabel Moctezuma, also known by her indigenous Tecuichpotzin, lived between 1520's through 1551. She was the daughter of the great leader Moctezuma. She was taken by Cortes after he first held her father captive, and then killed him took over Tenochtitlan . As Townsend argues, "Cortes was no fool. He knew that these two women [Isabel and Malintzin] were his most valuable assets; in the near term they were even more important than horses and steel."(1). Cortes kept Isabel alive in order to benefit himself. He knew her worth and by having her on his side during each invasion he could use her knowledge for the land and people. Cortes wanted to try to exploit her by using her status as well to marry her to other leaders and gain more resources . Little did Cortes know that this would back fire on himself and benefit Isabel.

Sources:

1) Camilla Townsend, Malintzin's Choices an Indian: Woman in the Conquest of Mexico, (Albuquerque, NM: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 2006), 108.

Source for picture

Cisneros, Stefany CisnerosStefany. “La Historia De Isabel Moctezuma: ¿La Última Princesa Azteca?” México Desconocido. México Desconocido, February 25, 2019. https://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/isabel-moctezuma-princesa-azteca.html.

Isabel Moctezuma was one of the earliest stories of women, utilizing her Femininity and used it for strategical purposes. In the book, Indian Women of Early Mexico, written by Susan Schroeder, Stephanie Wood, and Robert Hassket, they briefly explain the technique of marriage of Women. "The wealth, prestige, and influence over the larger, highly stratified Nahua community that elite women enjoyed and the possibilities in marriage for strategic alliances made them attractive to Spanish settlers. Native players manipulated such Spanish desires and shared with them schemes for strengthening wealth and influence"(2). She had married five men. Two Mexica and three were Spaniards. She was more of the elite intermarriages and used that to her advantage. She received one of the most expensive encomienda's through marriage. When she had past on, her great success that she had obtained was Passed down to her children. Her son, Juan de Andrada Moctezuma had been given her encomienda and her daughter , Dona leonor de Moctezuma received about 1/3 of land. If that wasn't generous enough, Isabel also requested for all the indigenous slaves to be freed and all her debts to be paid out to her servants.

Source

2) Susan Schroeder, Stephanie wood, Robert Haskett, "Rethinking Malinche" in Indian Women of Early Mexico, (Norman and London, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1997), 323.

Source for picture

Maria Del Carmen Ollague

Not all wives were as successful as Isabel Moctezuma. Many Colonial Latin American Women were still oppressed by their husbands and many of them felt stuck in marriages that they could not get out of. In the 1780's in Peru, many people who were once slaves were able to wed and it was becoming to be popular. In one case a woman by the name of Maria Del Carmen Ollague, an African American slave; had married Manuel Cosio, a former African American slave as well. She had many complaints of her long twelve years of marriage being brutal and the mistreatment from Manuel almost unbearable. Maria took her case of Excessive Cruelty from her husband to a Church in seeking freedom. During this time Church's were places that women under abuse or being mistreated could find safety in trying to leave their husband in a sort of "legal manner". Church's often decided the rules and punishments. They provided jurisdictions for public and private matters, or cases. When Maria had arrived at the church she stated in her case, "During the Prolonged period of our marriage, I have of course, been nominally his wife, but in reality I have only been treated as a slave, because, far from the sacred treatment owed a legitimate wife, his actions have been the kind that a bad servant deserves. Most illustrious Lord, I have spent my years promoting only his interests during which, absurdly, I found myself without the means to pay [even] a confraternity [fee]".(3)

Source

3) Del Carmen Ollague Marie, Afro-Latino Voices, ed. Kathryn Joy McKnight and Leo J. Garofalo (Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc, 2009), 293.

In that quote Maria explains to the church, she feels as if she is still a slave and Mario's treatment to her at this point is becoming unbearable. During this time Maria and Mario owned a pulperia (shop) together, but he forced her to work there . He beat her everyday of their marriage and she grew tired of the mistreatment, that she faced everyday during the marriage. She continues to explain in her case that her husband would kick her out and leave on the streets for people to harm her as well. With all this neglect, she was never able to leave him because he would become hostile and angry by not letting her leave. Ultimately, Maria was able to go to the church looking for a solution out of her marriage. Many of these females stuck in these type of marriages did not have churches or places they could go to before 1700s. Luckily for Maria she was able to voice her worries to the church for them to take action upon her husband. Churches provided women a safety net for marriages that were physically and mentally abusive. This was one protection women had against men. They utilized their community resources to save them from a life long regret or even death for some females.

Ana Juana

As for Ana Juana, she fell in between Elite and Non-elite marriages. Her husband was not the best pick from the crops, but she managed to support her family. Her relationship with her husband was not the best and he can be best described as a dead beat. She owned quite a bit of land through her other two marriages and this is not including her third husband's land, that she had earned through strategical marriage. Ana knew that she wanted to pass on her land to her son Juan Fransisco. She wrote a testament stating, "And here is what I say concerning my husband named Gabriel Itzmalli who is a great villain. Let him never bother my son' nor accuse him of anything. I do not know how many debts he has. He never gave me anything at all not money nor telling me 'poor you,' as did the three who died, two of whom were my spouses, we worked together for a living. But this one, if he went to collect fruit or if he went to get maize, he would sell it himself without showing how much he bought".(4) In this quote Maria is letting the reader know that her fortune that she so graciously earned will not go to her current husband at all because he had no contribution to her earning this land. She makes it clear that her son, will receive all of her wealth when she has passed. Maria a smart Meso-American woman makes sure to document her wealth so it does not get taken from a man who did not help her earn it. She does not have an elite marriage but, knows to protect her property from a manipulative man. This is just one case where colonial women had the advantage of documenting what is their own and how they would like to use their earnings.

Sources

4) Juana Ana, MesoAmerican Voices, ed. Matthew Restall, Lisa Sousa, and Kevin Terracino, (Cambridge Univ. Press,2005).

Property for Woman

Ana Juana was a clear case of the power woman have over property . This case wasn't just for her , but many others. Females and male siblings inherited land from their parents for the most part, equally. Property for women wasn't always earned through marriage, but given as well. Their ownership of land was primarily given from inheritance of rights as daughters and sisters. Whether woman gained access to property through marriage or inheritance, they were still able to act somewhat independently from their husbands. For example, women who had already received property, could keep that separate from their husband's land prior to marriage. They did not need or have to share property. It was simply the woman's choice. This gave an advantage to women by giving them space within a domestic house structure and they were able to uphold their own labor or jobs. That property gave woman a source of economic independence.

Source for picture

The last Mexica princess (1). Accessed December 12, 2019. https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/moctezuma/last-mexica-princess-1.

Marriage to a Mayan Women

In the earliest times of the sevententh century, noble Maya women would make an alliance with Spaniards. Most of these Spaniards were just lower social status commoners compared to the conquistadors and first settlers. Marriages between Mayan women and Spaniards had an advantage to each other but, the women kept their advantage hidden. The lower class Spaniards usually married a wealthier Indian women to enter into trade or by their position into society. For women the marriage with Spaniards meant an introduction into the "Spanish New World". Indian women often took that to their advantage to look into the Spanish power structure. How this process played out for the women was, that she would let her husband use her funds to get a higher title, or become a well known trader, or harvester. Then once he has the title and has risen himself from poverty to a working class, the wife would be given an encomienda, property, money, or items from the husband. She would build her status based off the wealth of her husband. Then once she has the social status she needs, she will move on to her next husband, after her first husband had died and she would be a widow. During this time divorce and remarriage were not allowed. The wives would gain more wealth with what she has already gained. Many Indian women married multiple men to climb the Spanish power structure. The process was to gain as much as a women can before leaving the husband by will or if he passed.

Source:

Schroeder, Wood, Haskett, "Indian Spanish Marriages", in Indian Women of Early Mexico, 89-91.

The power of women in Marriage

Most of the stories told about conquest and conquer had been written by men and explained by men. They left a important factor about the Colonial times during pre and post conquest era. They left out that the Indian women had a lot to do with the strategical and successful advantages during this time. Colonial Indian women used marriages as a key strategy and fought men silently but, swiftly. Men look for ways to take what women had as their own, but going through the stories from the Isabel Moctezuma, Ana Juana, and Maria Del Carmen Ollague proved that wealth or status did not matter and the colonial women were always able to use their own mind to get what they wanted out of men. These women were used by men, but were able to out smart what men could not think of during Colonial times in Meso America.

Bibliography

Del Carmen Ollague Maria, Afro-Latino Voices. Edited by Kathryn Joy McKnight and Leo J. Garofalo, Indianapolis and Cambridge, IN: Hackett Publishing Company Inc, 2009.

Juana Ana, MesoAmerican Voices. Edited and trans. by Matthew Restall, Lisa Sousa, and Kevin Terraciano, London: Univ. of Cambridge Press, 2005.

Schroeder, Susan, Stephanie Wood, and Robert Haskett. Indian Women of Early Mexico. Norman and London, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1997.

Townsend, Camilla. Malintzins Choices an Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico. , Albuquerque, NM: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 2006.