Asian Slaves in Colonial Mexico: From Chinos to IndiansDuring the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, countless slaves from culturally diverse communities in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia journeyed to Mexico on the ships of the Manila Galleon. Upon arrival in Mexico, they were grouped together and categorized as chinos. Their experience illustrates the interconnectedness of Spain's colonies and the reach of the crown, which brought people together from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe in a historically unprecedented way. In time, chinos in Mexico came to be treated under the law as Indians, becoming indigenous vassals of the Spanish crown after 1672. The implications of this legal change were enormous: as Indians, rather than chinos, they could no longer be held as slaves. Tatiana Seijas tracks chinos' complex journey from the slave market in Manila to the streets of Mexico City, and from bondage to liberty. In doing so, she challenges commonly held assumptions about the uniformity of the slave experience in the Americas. |
Contents
8 | |
The Diversity and Reach of the Manila Slave Market | 32 |
The Rise and Fall of the Transpacific Slave Trade | 73 |
Slave Labor and Liberty | 109 |
Free Filipinos | 143 |
The Church on Chino Slaves versus Indian Chinos | 175 |
The End of Chino Slavery | 212 |
Conclusion | 247 |
255 | |
273 | |
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Common terms and phrases
abolition Acapulco African descent African slaves AGI Filipinas AGI México AGN Historia AGN Indiferente AGN Indios AGN Inquisición AGN Matrimonios AGN Reales Cédulas allowed Antonio arrived Asia asiento holders Audiencia bondage branded captives categorized Chichimecas China Poblana chino slave named chino slaves Christian church claimed codified as book Colonial Mexico court Cruz Diego enslavement Francisco free chinos free Indians free natives freed hacienda History Iberian Union Indian slaves Indies indigenous slavery indigenous vassals individuals Inquisition inquisitor José Juan judge king Konetzke labor liberty licenses Madrid Manila Galleon manumission María masters Mexico City mulatos Muslims negros Nueva España obrajeros obrajes Pacific pesos petitioned Portuguese India Portuguese traders prohibited protection Puebla Ramos Reales Cédulas Duplicadas Republic of Indians royal decree servants seventeenth century ships slave owners slaves of African sold Spain Spaniards Spanish America Spanish colonists Spanish crown Spanish empire Spanish Philippines textile transcribed University Press Veracruz viceroy