Defiance and Deference in Mexico's Colonial North : Indians Under Spanish Rule in Nueva Vizcaya

"This is a major contribution to the theoretical literature on identity and to the history of northern Mexico and Latin America in general." --William L. Merrill, Curator of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution In their efforts to impose colonial rule on Nueva Vizcaya from the sixteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth, Spaniards established missions among the principal Indian groups of present-day eastern Sinaloa, northern Durango, and southern Chihuahua, Mexico--the Xiximes, Acaxees, Conchos, Tepehuanes, and Tarahumaras. Yet, when the colonial era ended two centuries later, only the Tepehuanes and Tarahumaras remained as distinct peoples, the other groups having disappeared or blended into the emerging mestizo culture of the northern frontier. Why were these two indigenous peoples able to maintain their group identity under conditions of conquest, while the others could not? In this book, Susan Deeds constructs authoritative ethnohistories of the Xiximes, Acaxees, Conchos, Tepehuanes, and Tarahumaras to explain why only two of the five groups successfully resisted Spanish conquest and colonization. Drawing on extensive research in colonial-era archives, Deeds provides a multifaceted analysis of each group's past from the time the Spaniards first attempted to settle them in missions up to the middle of the eighteenth century, when secular pressures had wrought momentous changes. Her masterful explanations of how ethnic identities, subsistence patterns, cultural beliefs, and gender relations were forged and changed over time on Mexico's northern frontier offer important new ways of understanding the struggle between resistance and adaptation in which Mexico's indigenous peoples are still engaged, five centuries after the "Spanish Conquest." Thomas F. McGann Memorial Prize, Rocky Mountain Council on Latin American Studies, 2004 Southwest Book Award, Border Regional Library Association, 2003 In their efforts to impose colonial rule on Nueva Vizcaya from the sixteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth, Spaniards established missions among the principal Indian groups of present-day eastern Sinaloa, northern Durango, and southern Chihuahua, Mexico—the Xiximes, Acaxees, Conchos, Tepehuanes, and Tarahumaras. Yet, when the colonial era ended two centuries later, only the Tepehuanes and Tarahumaras remained as distinct peoples, the other groups having disappeared or blended into the emerging mestizo culture of the northern frontier. Why were these two indigenous peoples able to maintain their group identity under conditions of conquest, while the others could not? In this book, Susan Deeds constructs authoritative ethnohistories of the Xiximes, Acaxees, Conchos, Tepehuanes, and Tarahumaras to explain why only two of the five groups successfully resisted Spanish conquest and colonization. Drawing on extensive research in colonial-era archives, Deeds provides a multifaceted analysis of each group's past from the time the Spaniards first attempted to settle them in missions up to the middle of the eighteenth century, when secular pressures had wrought momentous changes. Her masterful explanations of how ethnic identities, subsistence patterns, cultural beliefs, and gender relations were forged and changed over time on Mexico's northern frontier offer important new ways of understanding the struggle between resistance and adaptation in which Mexico's indigenous peoples are still engaged, five centuries after the "Spanish Conquest." Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 18 ONE: Spanish Entradas and Indigenous Responses in Topia and Tepehuana, 1560–1620......Page 29 TWO: Environment and Culture......Page 56 THREE: A Counterfeit Peace, 1620–1690......Page 73 FOUR: Crises of the 1690s: Rebellion, Famine, and Disease......Page 103 FIVE: Defiance and Deference in Transitional Spaces, 1700–1730s......Page 121 SIX: Jesuits Take Stock: Cosmic Intent and Local Coincidence......Page 148 SEVEN: "Stuck Together with Pins": The Unraveling of the Mission Fabric......Page 170 EIGHT: Rendering unto Caesar at the Crossroads of Ethnicity and Identity......Page 189 Conclusions......Page 207 Introduction......Page 220 1. Spanish Entradas and Indigenous Responses in Topia and Tepehuana, 1560–1620......Page 225 2. Environment and Culture......Page 234 3. A Counterfeit Peace, 1620–1690......Page 240 4. Crises of the 1690s......Page 250 5. Defiance and Deference in Transitional Spaces, 1700–1730s......Page 255 6. Jesuits Take Stock......Page 262 7. "Stuck Together with Pins"......Page 269 8. Rendering unto Caesar at the Crossroads of Ethnicity and Identity......Page 273 Conclusions......Page 279 Glossary......Page 280 Archival Abbreviations......Page 286 Bibliography......Page 288 Index......Page 306 Why some Indian groups were assimiliated into Mexican culture while others remained distinct. Susan M. Deeds. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [271]-287) And Index.