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Dissertation Information for Frank T. Proctor III

NAME:
- Frank T. Proctor III

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- History

SCHOOL:
- Emory University (USA) (2003)

ADVISORS:
- Susan Migden Socolow

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Peter J Bakewell
- BJ Barickman

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Slavery, identity, and culture: An Afro-Mexican counterpoint, 1640--1763

Abstract: This dissertation explores the families, communities, identities, and culture of slaves of African descent in New Spain (colonial Mexico), 1640-1763. The year 1640 represents a watershed in received understandings of slavery in colonial Mexico as it marked the end of the regular slave trade to the colony. Up to that point, New Spain was second largest importer of slaves in the Americas. Yet, in the eyes of most historians demand for slave labor declined after 1640 due to the growth of Indian and casta (racially mixed) populations after that point. The end of the slave trade accelerated the transition of the slave population from African-born to American-born (Creole) and shortly thereafter the free population of African descent in New Spain, the largest in the New World, exceeded the number of slaves.

Slavery did not experience the rapid decline in New Spain suggested in the historiography. Demand for slave labor in two key colonial industries--sugar and woolen textiles--actually grew after 1640 (Ch 1 & 2). That continued demand, coupled with the lack of external supply, prompted a reconsideration of the ability of slaves to grow naturally through reproduction. Thus, in Chapter Three, I argue that the Mexican slave population did not decrease as precipitously as assumed and hypothesize that the slaves may have experienced natural growth by the early eighteenth century.

"Slavery, Identity, and Culture" then considers the changing contours of the slave community over time. In Chapters Four and Seven, I employ marriage patterns, wedding witness selection patterns, and distinctive Afro-Mexican cultural practices--specifically medicinal and magical beliefs--to assert that the primary identity of slaves transitioned from African-based "diasporic ethnicity" to race following the end of the slave trade. Further, I argue that Afro-Mexicans, free and enslaved, created and maintained a cultural identity distinct from other colonial lower-class Mexicans. Lastly, chapters 5 and 6 approach masters-slave relations as a series of individualized relations of power. The gendered nature of manumission (Ch. 5) and the daily conflicts between masters and slaves evidenced in blasphemy and bigamy trials (Ch. 6) highlight the daily, continuous negotiation of both mastery and slavery.

MPACT Scores for Frank T. Proctor III

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calculated 2008-01-31 06:33:51

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Students under Frank T. Proctor III

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None