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InHispanic America,criollo (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈkɾjoʎo]) is a term used originally to describe people of fullSpanish descent born in the New Worldviceroyalties, under the Spanish crown. In different Hispanic American countries, the word has come to have different meanings, mostly referring to the local-born majority. Beginning in the 16th century, especially in Mexico and Peru, they were asocial class near the top of the casta hierarchy of theoverseas realms, but belowpeninsular European-bornSpaniards, for whom the top administrative, clerical and political positions were reserved. They were locally born people — almost always ofSpanish ancestry, but also sometimes of otherEuropean ethnic backgrounds.[1][2]
In contemporarycolloquial speech in many regions, the word has come to be variously used as anadjective or an informaldemonym, mostly referring to what's "local", "folksy", or autochtonous to the region, as in-cocina criolla (local cuisine),música criolla (local music),viveza criolla,criollada.
Their identity was strengthened as a result of theBourbon reforms of 1700, which changed theSpanish Empire's policies toward its colonies and led to tensions betweencriollos andpeninsulares.[3] The growth of localcriollo political and economic strength in the separate colonies, coupled with their global geographic distribution, led them to each evolve separate (both from each other and Spain) organic national identities and viewpoints. During theSpanish American Wars of Independence, criollos likeMiguel Hidalgo y Costilla,Simón Bolívar andJosé de San Martín became the main supporters of independence from Spanish rule in their respective countries. The word is used today in some countries as an adjective defining something local or very typical of a particular Latin American country.[4]
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The wordcriollo and its Portuguese cognatecrioulo are believed by some scholars, including the eminent Mexican anthropologistGonzalo Aguirre Beltrán, to derive from the Spanish/Portuguese verbcriar, meaning 'to breed' or 'to raise'; however, no evidence supports this derivation in early Spanish literature discussing the origin of the word.[5] In Spanish colonies, anespañol criollo was an ethnic Spaniard who had been born in the colonies, as opposed to anespañol peninsular born in Spain.[6] Crioulo as a Portuguese term, however, differs in that it refers toBrazilians of African ancestry.[7]
Spaniards born in theSpanish East Indies were calledinsulares. Whites born in colonial Brazil, with both parents born in the Iberian Peninsula, were known asmazombos.
. In the 19th and 20th centuries millions of European and European-derived populations fromNorth andSouth America did immigrate to the region.[8] According to church and censal registers forAcatzingo in 1792, duringcolonial times, 73% of Spanish men married with Spanish women.[9] Ideological narratives have often portrayed criollos as a "pure Spanish" people, mostly men, who were all part of a small powerful elite. However, Spaniards were often the most numerous ethnic group in the colonial cities,[10][11] and there were menial workers and people in poverty who were of Spanish origin throughout all of Latin America.[9]
Thecriollos allowed a syncretism in their culture and gastronomy, and they, in general, felt more identified with the territory where they were born than with the Iberian peninsula.[citation needed] Evidence is their authorship of works demonstrating an attachment to and pride in the natives and their history. They sometimes criticized the crimes of theconquistadores, often denouncing and defending natives from abuse. In the colony's last two centuriescriollos rebelled in response to the harsh suppression of Indigenous uprisings. They allowed the natives and themestizos (indigenous/European mixed) to be schooled in theuniversities and art schools, and many natives and mestizos were actually notable painters and architects, mostly in the Andes, but also in Mexico.
The mixed religious or secular music appears since the 16th century in Spanish and indigenous languages. Baroque music is imported from Spain but with European and African instruments (such asdrums andcongas) appears. The Spanish also introduce a wider musical scale than the indigenouspentatonic, and a melodic and poetic repertoire, transmitted by writings such as songbooks, common of it is the sung voice, common in the European baroque music, the mixed aesthetics are the fruit of diverse contributions indigenous, African and especially, Spanish and European. Instruments introduced by the Spanish are thechirimías,sackbuts,dulcians, orlos,bugles,violas,guitars,violins,harps,organs, etc., along withpercussions (that can be indigenous or African), everything converges on music heard by everyone. The DominicanDiego Durán in 1570 writes, "All the peoples have parties, and therefore it is unthinkable to remove them (because it is impossible and because it is not convenient either)", himself parade like the natives with a bouquet of flowers at a Christian party that coincides with the celebration ofTezcatlipoca in Mexico. TheJesuits develop with great success a "pedagogy of theatricality", with this the Society of Jesus attracts the natives and blacks to the church, where children learn to play European instruments. In Quito (1609): "there were many dances of tall and small Indigenous, and there was no lack of Moscas Indigenous who danced in the manner of the New Kingdom [European] (...) and dances of Spaniards and blacks and other dances of the Indigenous must dance before the Blessed Sacrament and in front of the Virgin Mary and the saints at parties and Easter, if they don't do it then they are punished". The well-knownZambra mora was commonly danced by blacks, to the sound ofcastanets and drums. The SpanishSarabande was danced by whites and blacks. Blacks also have their chiefs. In these local events, the brotherhoods of the Congos give rise to the Congadas (Brazil, Caribbean).[12]
Actually, there were no relevant black artists during the colony; also, one must consider the fact that many of the pure blacks wereslaves, but theLaw of Coartación or "slave law" was created since the 16th century,[13] reaching its maximum peak in the 18th century, which made the black slaves to buy their freedom, through periodic payments to their owner, which eventually led to freedom.[14][15] Others were freed and purchased by family members or allied whites.[13] It was a consuetudinary act in Spanish America; it allowed the appearance of a large population of free blacks in all of the territory. Freedom could also be obtained throughbaptism, with the white recognizing hisillegitimate children; his word was sufficient for the newborn child to be declared free.[13] Legal freedom was more common in the cities and towns than in the countryside.[13] From the late 16th to early 19th centuries, the Spanish encouraged fugitive slaves from theThirteen Colonies and United States to come toSpanish Florida as refuge;Charles II of Spain and his court issued aroyal decree in 1690 freeing all slaves who fled to Florida and converted to Catholicism;[16][17] most went to the area aroundSt. Augustine, but escaped slaves also reachedPensacola andCuba.[16] Also, a substantial number of blacks from the French colony ofSaint-Domingue arrived as refugees toSpanish Louisiana because of these greater freedoms.[18] The SpanishSanta Teresa de Mose (Florida) became the first legally sanctioned free black town in the present-day United States.[17] The popularity of the Law of coartación resulted in a large population of free black people in Spanish America.[19]
Also, Mexican historian Federico Navarrete comments: that "if they received the surname of the white father and incorporated them into their family, those children counted as American whites having the same rights, regardless of the race".[20] Also, a fact is in every marriage, including the most mixed, they are characterized, portrayed and named the caste product that was according to their ancestry, and if this can not, according to their appearance and color.[21]
Several documents mention that indigenous people called Criollos with the same name as one of their gods. For example,Juan Pablo Viscardo relates (1797) that the Indigenous (from Peru) call to the Criollos 'Viracocha';[22] also, he says that Criollos are born in the middle of the Indigenous, are respected, and also loved by many, that they speak the language of the natives (in addition to Spanish) and used to Indigenous customs.[22]
After suppressing theTúpac Amaru II Uprising of 1780 in theviceroyalty of Peru, evidence began against the criollos ill will from the Spanish Crown, especially for theOruro Rebellion prosecuted in Buenos Aires, and also for the lawsuit filed against Dr.Juan José Segovia, born inTacna, and ColonelIgnacio Flores, born inQuito, who had served as President of theReal Audiencia of Charcas and had been GovernorMayor of La Plata (Chuquisaca or Charcas, currentSucre).[23]
Until 1760, the Spanish colonies were ruled under laws designed by the SpanishHabsburgs, which granted the American provinces broad autonomy. That situation changed by theBourbon Reforms of 18th century during the reign ofCharles III. Spain needed to extract increasing wealth from its colonies to support the European and global wars it needed to maintain theSpanish Empire. The Crown expanded the privileges of thepeninsulares, who took over many administrative offices that had been filled by Criollos. At the same time, reforms by theCatholic Church reduced the roles and privileges of the lower ranks of the clergy, who were mostly Criollos.[citation needed] By the 19th century, this discriminatory policy of the Spanish Crown and the examples of theAmerican andFrench revolutions, led Criollo factions to rebel against thepeninsulares.[citation needed] With increasing support of the other castes, they engaged Spain in a fight for independence (1809–1826). The former Spanish Empire in the Americas separated into a number of independent republics.
The wordcriollo retains its original meaning in mostSpanish-speaking countries in the Americas. In some countries, however, the wordcriollo has over time come to have additional meanings, such as "local" or "home-grown". For instance,comida criolla inSpanish-speaking countries refers to "local cuisine", not "cuisine of the criollos". In Portuguese,crioulo is also a racist slang term referring to blacks.[24][25]
In some countries, the term was extended or changed over the years:
As early as the sixteenth century in the colonial period inNew Spain,criollos, or the "descendants of Spanish colonists,"[27] began to "distinguish themselves from the richer and more powerfulpeninsulares," whom they referred to asgachupines, as an insult. At the same time, Mexican-born Spaniards were referred to ascriollos, initially as a term that was meant to insult. However, over time, "those insulted who were referred to ascriollos began to reclaim the term as an identity for themselves.[28] In 1563, thecriollo sons of Spanish conquistadorHernán Cortés, attempted to remove Mexico from Spanish-born rule and placeMartín, their half-brother, in power. However, their plot failed. They, along with many others involved, were beheaded by the Spanish monarchy, which suppressed expressions of open resentment from thecriollos towardspeninsulares for a short period. By 1623,criollos were involved in open demonstrations and riots in Mexico in defiance of their second-class status. In response, a visiting Spaniard by the name of Martín Carrillo noted, "the hatred of the mother country's domination is deeply rooted, especially among thecriollos."[29]
Despite being descendants of Spanish colonizers, manycriollos in the period peculiarly "regarded the Aztecs as their ancestors and increasingly identified with the Indians out of a sense of shared suffering at the hands of the Spanish." Many felt that the story of theVirgin of Guadalupe, published bycriollo priestMiguel Sánchez inImagen de la Virgen María (Appearance of the Virgin Mary) in 1648, "meant that God had blessed both Mexico and particularlycriollos, as "God's new chosen people."[29] By the eighteenth century, although restricted from holding elite posts in the colonial government, thecriollos notably formed the "wealthy and influential" class of major agriculturalists, "miners, businessmen, physicians, lawyers, university professors, clerics, and military officers." Becausecriollos were not perceived as equals by the Spanishpeninsulares, "they felt they were unjustly treated and their relationship with their mother country was unstable and ambiguous:Spain was, and was not, their homeland," as noted by Mexican writerOctavio Paz.[27]
They [criollos] felt the same ambiguity in regard to their native land. It was difficult to consider themselves compatriots of the Indians and impossible to share their pre-Hispanic past. Even so, the best among them, if rather hazily, admired the past, even idealized it. It seemed to them that the ghost of theRoman empire had at times been embodied in theAztec empire. The criollo dream was the creation of a Mexican empire, and its archetypes wereRome andTenochtitlán. The criollos were aware of the bizarre nature of their situation, but, as happens in such cases, they were unable to transcend it — they were enmeshed in nets of their own weaving. Their situation was cause for pride and for scorn, for celebration and humiliation. The criollos adored and abhorred themselves. [...] They saw themselves as extraordinary, unique beings and were unsure whether to rejoice or weep before that self-image. They were bewitched by their own uniqueness.[27]
As early as 1799, open riots against the Spanish Crown’s rule were unfolding in Mexico City, foreshadowing the emergence of a fully-fledged independence movement. At theconspiración de los machetes, soldiers andcriollo traders attacked colonial properties "in the name of Mexico and the Virgen de Guadalupe." As news ofNapoleon I's armies occupying Spain reached Mexico, Spanish-born peninsulares such asGabriel de Yermo strongly opposedcriollo proposals of governance, deposed the viceroy, and assumed power. However, even though Spaniards maintained power in Mexico City, revolts in the countryside were quickly spreading.[30]
Ongoing resentment betweencriollos andpeninsulares erupted afterNapoleon I deposedCharles IV of Spain of power, which, "led a group ofpeninsulares to take charge inMexico City and arrest several officials, including criollos." This, in turn, motivatedcriollo priestMiguel Hidalgo y Costilla to begin a campaign for Mexican independence from illegitimate Bonapartist “Spanish” rule. Launched in Hidalgo's home city ofDolores,Guanajuato, in 1810, Hidalgo's campaign gained support among many "Amerindians and Mestizos, but despite seizing a number of cities," his forces failed to capture Mexico City. In the summer of 1811, Hidalgo was captured by the Spanish and executed. Despite being led by a criollo, manycriollos did not initially join the Mexican independence movement, and it was reported that "fewer than one hundredcriollos fought with Hidalgo," despite their shared caste status. While many criollos in the period resented their "second-class status" compared topeninsulares, they were "afraid that the overthrow of the Spanish might mean sharing power with Amerindians and Mestizos, whom they considered to be their inferiors." Additionally, due to their privilegedsocial class position, "manycriollos had prospered under Spanish rule and did not want to threaten their livelihoods."[29]
Criollos only undertook direct action in the Mexican independence movement when new Spanish colonial rulers threatened their property rights and church power, an act which was "deplored by mostcriollos" and therefore brought many of them into the Mexican independence movement.[29] Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821 under the coalitionary leadership of conservatives, former royalists, andcriollos, who detestedEmperor Ferdinand VII's adoption of a liberal constitution that threatened their power. This coalition created thePlan de Iguala, which concentrated power in the hands of the criollo elite as well as the church under the authority ofcriolloAgustín de Iturbide who became Emperor Agustín I of theMexican Empire.[31] Iturbide was the son of a "wealthy Spanish landowner and a Mexican (criolla) mother" who ascended through the ranks of the Spanish colonial army to become acolonel. Iturbide reportedly fought against "all the major Mexican independence leaders since 1810, including Hidalgo,José María Morelos y Pavón, andVicente Guerrero," and according to some historians, his "reasons for supporting independence had more to do with personal ambition than radical notions of equality and freedom."[29]
Mexican independence from Spain in 1821 resulted in the beginning ofcriollo rule in Mexico as they became "firmly in control of the newly independent state." Although direct Spanish rule was now gone, "by and large, Mexicans of primarily European descent governed the nation."[32] The period was also marked by the expulsion of thepeninsulares from Mexico, of which a substantial source of "criollo pro-expulsionist sentiment wasmercantile rivalry between Mexicans and Spaniards during a period of severe economic decline," internal political turmoil, and substantial loss of territory.[33] Leadership "changed hands 48 times between 1825 and 1855" alone, "and the period witnessed both theMexican-American War and the loss of Mexico's northern territories to the United States in theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and theGadsden Purchase." Some credit the "criollos' inexperience in government" and leadership as a cause for this turmoil. It was only "under the rule of noncriollos such as the IndianBenito Juárez and the castizoPorfiro Díaz" that Mexico "experienced relative [periods of] calm."[29]
By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, thecriollo identity "began to disappear," with the institution of mestizaje andIndigenismo policies by the national government, which stressed a uniform homogenization of the Mexican population under the Mestizo identity. As a result, "although some Mexicans are closer to the ethnicity of criollos than others" in contemporary Mexico, "the distinction is rarely made." During theChicano movement, when leaders promoted the ideology of the "ancient homeland ofAztlán as a symbol of unity forMexican Americans, leaders of the 1960s Chicano movement argued that virtually all modern Mexicans are Mestizos."[29]
The first great wave of Spanish settlers to Central American lands occurred after the conquest of Tenochtitlan when they began to reach the soil of what is todayGuatemala and the coasts ofHonduras. Creoles in metropolitan America would quickly begin to take advantage of local mining, agricultural, and livestock production. The latter was very good in regions such as Honduras andNicaragua. The towns where this population was settled enjoyed the construction of largecolonial buildings that today continue to be heritage of the Central American nations.[34][35]
For the following centuries of Spanish domination, many Criollos in Central America owned large areas of land and agricultural businesses. There are several records of Spanish families in Central America with enormous fortunes who managed to obtain noble titles from the crown. Cities likeSantiago de los Caballeros andComayagua were political centers where many of them had properties and some of their economic activities were concentrated.[36]
Unlike other peoples of thespanish caste system of central america they had greater access to higher education. Many of them could receive a formal education, both in local schools and in universities in the colonial metropolis,Spain, or in other parts of America. This allowed them to have knowledge in law, administration and philosophy. In theCatholic church, many Criollos functioned as general officials of the church in America, such as bishops.
Although many Central Americans who were part of the elite or were respectedlandowners used to be Criollos, there were also those who were poor, since they were children of thoseSpaniards who migrated as laborers in the construction of churches and palaces in the general captaincy of Guatemala. It is also known that not all descendants of Spaniards in Central America had access to land, education or wealth.
In some cases, Criollo families who were unable to prosper in the colonial economy or who lost their property due to debt or conflict found themselves in situations of poverty. In the same way, a Spanish immigrant and his descendants had certain facilities in climbing the social ladder, since their condition of purity of blood meant that they had greater opportunities to prosper in America than manymestizos,indigenous people, andpeople of African descent.[37]
Although they enjoyed a privileged economic situation, they faced limitations in accessing the high administrative positions that the Spanish empire reserved for the peninsular. This is how, after theindependence of the United States and theFrench Revolution, among the enlightened Criollo elite, the spirit of independence from the Spanish Empire arose from the general captaincy of Guatemala.
This would be consolidated by 1821 although time later the conservative elites would vote to form part of the newMexican empire, although this union would be ephemeral and by 1823 Central America would be an independent republic. At first it would be a conservative federal republic, although the liberal faction would come to take power under the command of GeneralFrancisco Morazan, who was a supporter of a liberal institution that challenged several aspects of the Central American status quo, which in the following years began acivil war. Finally the Federation falls in 1841.
In the middle of the 19th century the term "Criollos" would begin to disappear, this thanks to the fact that after the fall of the federation these republics would little by little begin to stop cataloging people by their origin orracial mix, thus the term Criollo would become only "White" although the term white in Central American countries can be broad since it includes populations that in other contexts are not classified as such. In the same way, it is known that there is still an important ethnic minority population descended from the Spanish in these countries.
As the United Statesexpanded westward, it annexed lands with a long-established population of Spanish-speaking settlers. This group became known asHispanos. Prior to incorporation into the United States (and briefly, intoIndependent Texas), Hispanos had enjoyed a privileged status in the society ofNew Spain, and later in post-colonial Mexico.[citation needed]
Regional subgroups of Hispanos were named for their geographic location in theso-called "internal provinces" of New Spain:
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