The colour of bread. Mulatas of La Plata: Practices, representations and materialities in early colonial times
Abstract
This article aims to examine the socio-economic role of mulatto women in the city of La Plata (Sucre) during colonial times, a social group little explored in Latin American historiography. Using documentary sources from the National Archive of Bolivia, it reconstructs their social practices, labour occupations and identity relations in the context of the colonial system. Based on the inventories of goods, last wills and dowries between 1575 and 1635, this paper analyses how these women, especially the bakers, managed to insert themselves into the urban economy, generate capital and redefine their social status. The study shows how two mulatto women, Catalina de Ceballos and María de Pedro López, both bakers, negotiated and settled their position in a society marked by ethnic division, merging elements of indigenous and European cultures in their everyday life and attire. Through their material choices, such as clothing and household objects, Catalina and María expressed their hybrid identity and their belonging to a newly emerging social class. The text concludes that, despite colonial restrictions, mulatas were able to climb the social hierarchy and contribute to the construction of a more intricate and dynamic colonial order, which went beyond the traditional categories of Spaniards and Indians.
[Note editorial team: Dr Ana María Presta (1953-2024) said, in a message to the general editor dated 24 January 2024, that she would ‘meditate on the subject of mulatxs in order to offer you something in the near future’. Although she was unable to carry out this proposal, she left the task of sending the text of the present publication to Autoctonía. We thank Ariel Morrone and Guillermina Oliveto for taking on this task].
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