The role of women in colonial Latin America was highly determined by the racial group and social class in which they were born. In his book The women of colonial Latin AmericaSusan Migden Socolow identifies additional factors that caused differences in women’s lives. These other factors include “demographics, cause of life, spatial variations, local economy, norm and reality, and change over time” (Socolow 1).
Socolow argues that among these additional variables, demographics were the most important. This is due to the fact that “the male to female ratio could improve or limit women’s choices” (Socolow 2). Women’s experiences also changed as they got older and assumed different roles in life, for example from childhood to marriage to widowhood. The economy of the area where the women lived had an effect on them as well, as women in a more affluent area (especially elite women) lived more comfortably than their counterparts in less affluent areas. Socolow argues that these women did not always follow the social ideal of women imposed by patriarchal society and, of course, there were different ideals for each race and class of women. And finally, these ideals of women, in some cases, changed over time.
The social ideal of Iberian women, in the Old and New Worlds, was strongly influenced by the Islamic tradition, which consisted of keeping women cloistered in the home. Female virginity at the time of marriage also affects the honor of the family and is strictly controlled. This was especially true in the case of women from the Spanish elite, although many women found ways to evade their companions to meet their lovers, as evidenced by the number of abandoned Spanish children. This cloistering of Iberian women was both a blessing and a curse; Although they did not have the freedom to move like lower-class women did, they escaped the social stigma associated with women appearing on the streets. Furthermore, these Iberian women were not expected to work, at least not outside the home. Elite women did not work at all, apart from supervising the work of domestic servants and slaves. Iberian women also benefited from laws such as marriage and inheritances that did not extend to other racial groups and social classes.
The role of women in preconquest Latin America varied according to the ethnic group to which they belonged, but many native societies “controlled female sexuality in ways strikingly similar to those in Spain” (Socolow 19). Unlike Spanish inheritance and property laws, “generally the land was in the hands of men,” but women could own movable property (Socolow 21). Also like the Spanish, the indigenous peoples had a strict sexual division of labor, although their views on what was the work of women and men differed from the Spanish, and even from one region to another.
After the arrival of the Spanish, the role of indigenous women changed dramatically. Elite indigenous women became attractive marriage candidates to non-elite Spanish men, because these women brought greater social status and wealth to marriage. Elite Spanish men (those who participated in the conquest) took elite indigenous women as concubines, but generally did not marry them. Women who did not belong to the elite went through more difficult times as they were sexually and economically abused by the Spanish conquerors.
Mestizo women (those born from Spanish-Indian unions) were also possible spouses, especially those “who inherited from their conquering parents” (Socolow 37). Socolow argues that the “wealth and perceived social status of mestizo women outweighed any possible problems associated with legitimacy and race” (Socolow 37). Many poor mestizos became concubines of the Spanish, until Iberian women became numerous in Latin America. As Latin America settled, mestizo women found “increasingly difficult their acceptance in Spanish society” (Socolow 38).
Unlike Iberian women, most indigenous and mestizo women were forced to work to survive and pay their tribute. Women who appeared in public frequently were suspected of being immoral and lacking in honor. Employment outside the home used to be an extension of female duties within the home; that is, women worked as domestic servants, midwives, “or laundresses, candle makers, laundresses, cleaners, seamstresses, weavers, embroiderers, nurses, and cooks” (Socolow 119).
Although indigenous women were sexually and economically exploited, they possessed some legal rights against abuse, which are denied to enslaved women, that is, African women. These women were considered property and, as such, had “even less power to resist the sexual advances of their masters than Indian women” (Socolow 134). Although there were laws to protect slaves from abuse, in the few cases in which a female slave filed a complaint, it was generally dismissed because the courts “prioritized the testimony of a white male” (Socolow 134).
However, enslaved women enjoyed some rights and privileges. In many circumstances, they were allowed to sell their work in the cities and keep part of their earnings. This gave them the opportunity to save money to buy their freedom. Other female slaves could achieve manumission by forming sexual ties with their owners. Because of these relationships, many enslaved women were heads of households, as the paternity of mulatto offspring was seldom recognized. The Spanish crown and the Catholic Church encouraged female slaves to marry, although most of their white owners objected to this, as it tended to make it difficult to sell the slave. However, some slaves did marry, but generally they were slaves of “people of higher social status” (Socolow 135).
The convents of Latin America offered some freedoms to Spanish women during the colonial era. Many elite women whose parents were unwilling or unable to provide her with a dowry were encouraged to become nuns. At this time, future nuns had to be white and have “purity of blood” (Socolow 94). The shod convents demanded that a dowry be given to the convent to support the woman; Poor Spanish women were “granted special licenses to beg in order to amass the necessary dowry of the white veil” (Socolow 96).
The convent was hierarchically structured, composed of black-veiled nuns (who were the elite women) and white-veiled nuns. Barefoot convents did not require dowries, but did require an “annual income to support the nun” (Socolow 97). Footwear convents also allowed property nuns to manage their property, which was generally not allowed in the outside community. The nuns were allowed to have slaves and servants in the convents with them. The convents also had educational opportunities for women that they were not encouraged to pursue in colonial society. The convents became a refuge for women and girls “in need of protection, shelter and support regardless of their marital status” (Socolow 103). In later times, convents designed for other races and classes were opened in Latin America, despite opposition from elite Spanish nuns.
Many changes occurred during the lives of these women, but the level of change was very much determined by race and class. During the Enlightenment period in Europe, women’s education became more popular. However, in colonial Latin America, this education was limited to elite women and only included education in domestic responsibilities with enough reading and writing for them to understand their religious studies. The lower classes remained largely illiterate.
Socolow, Susan Migden. The women of colonial Latin America. Cambridge University Press, 2000.