Mantuano is a denomination assigned, first inCaracas and later in the rest ofVenezuela, to theblancos criollos (white creole) belonging to the localaristocracy.[1][2] The term was in use from the 18th century until well into the 19th century.[1] Themantuanos hardly surpassed a hundred heads of family by the end of the 18th century.[1]
Themantuanos were also called "grandes cacaos", because they became rich with the cultivation and commercialization ofcocoa.[2] They were also calledblancos criollos.[3] The nameblanco criollo only indicates that a person was born in America and was a descendant of Spaniards, while the wordmantuano refers to members of the local elite.[3] Other whites who also had the same birthplace andancestry of Spanish origin, such as theblancos de orilla, were not part of themantuano circle.
The first written appearance of the wordmantuano occurred on January 5, 1752, in documents related to the insurrection ofJuan Francisco de León, according to philologistÁngel Rosenblat.[3][4]Mantuano derives from the wordmanto (mantle), and was a reference to the exclusive use of this garment, to cover the head in religious services, by the ladies of the Caracas aristocrats.[3] Since 1571 there was a provision in theLaws of the Indies that prohibited other women, such asmulattoes and black women, from wearing the mantle.[5]
The emergence of theMantuanos as a group dates back to the 16th century, as a consequence of thedecrees, laws and ordinances that granted rights and privileges to the descendants of the first Spanishconquistadores and settlers in Venezuela.[6] TheMantuanos became owners of large cocoa and tobacco plantations andcattle ranches.[5] They also owned slaves.[2] Some of the prerogatives of theMantuanos were: pews assigned to them in the churches, to be carried ingestatorial chairs, use of the title ofDon or Doña, to have theirescutcheon placed in the front of their houses, use of canes, cloaks, chains, hats and sunshades.
Despite their economic power, theMantuanos could only aspire to positions in thecolonialcabildo, while other political positions were forbidden to them.[3][5] Within thecolonial caste system, theMantuanos were below the Crown officials and other Spaniards residing in Venezuela (the so-called peninsular whites). As a consequence, there was a rivalry between the peninsular whites and theMantuanos for political power in the colony.[3][5]
TheMantuanos had conflicting relations with other social groups such as the white shore people and thepardos.[3][5] TheMantuanos considered these groups as inferior.[3][5] In their turn, the whites of the shore and the pardos felt antipathy towards theMantuanos.[3]
InMaracaibo, according to the authorKurt Nagel von Jess (in his worksAlgunas Familias Maracaiberas, 1969, andLa Familia Lossada de Maracaibo, 2007) there were famous manor houses ofMantuano families such as the Lossada and Antúnez, located exactly behind the Cathedral and the Troconis, diagonal to it; all of them with their coats of arms carved in stone. There were also theMantuano houses of the Casanova de Iturraspe, Cortez and Pineda, the Antúnez Pacheco, Ramírez Rus, Gutiérrez de Celis, Urdaneta, Andrade, Tubiñez Bocanegra, García de la Lastra, Pérez Luzardo, Padrón Del Villar and Osorio, among others. There were otherMantuano families of great zeal and ancestry in regions still known for their large haciendas: inPerijá (such as the García, Romero and de la Vega families, among others); in La Cañada (such as the Rincón, Boscán and Urdaneta families); and in theAndean region (such as the Picón, Casanova de Iturraspe, Lares and Febres Cordero families), with their large coffee and sugar cane plantations. InFalcón, specifically in the city ofCoro and theParaguaná peninsula, the solid mansions of the Garcés, De la Colina Peredo, García de Quevedo, and Fernández de Lugo families are still standing.[7]