The Role of Honor, Marriage, and Illegitimacy in Colonial Latin America
Honor, illegitimacy and sexuality were among the most contested issues especially in the colonial Spanish America (Lavrin 10). In colonial Latin America, the concept of personal honor was more of a mental construct that was expressed through a complex set of social and personal behavioral code that was a prerequisite for acceptance in any given social setting (Lavrin 10). Sexual conduct was referred to as the touchstone of honor because it restrained people from engaging in sexual behavior before marriage (Lavrin 10). Those who were most affected by these assertions were the female due to social consequences emanating from illegitimate children.
Apparently, these male-defined concepts and stringent regulations imposed heavier penalties for women than men because women were mandated with the heaviest burden of keeping their honor. Central to the concept of honor was a woman’s need to keep their virginity intact otherwise she would be ostracized by the society. A woman who preserved her virginity was held with honor and esteem because she proved superior to her peers (Lavrin 11). Virginity in itself was a highly esteem social quality worth keeping (Lavrin 11).
On the other hand, married men and women had to preserve their marriage state to preserve their honor and the honor of their families (Lavrin 11). A wife was required to be faithful and modest at the same time.
Women who gave birth to illegitimate children were required to legitimize their children through marriage (Lavrin 12). This form of legitimization was subject to the husband’s approval and request for honor. Illegitimacy was a pervasive aspect in the colonial cities especially in 17th and 18th cen...
... middle of paper ...
...as a strong influence for other slaves to seek independence and equality. Following the success of the Haitian Revolution, governments and abolitionists in Americas had to re-conceptualize Afro-Cuban experience within the context of transnational Black community. Although many scholars have tried to sensationalize the Haitian Revolution, its ability to create an interdisciplinary dialogue on cultural legacies is unparalleled. Spaniard in Cuba suppressed information on the success of the uprising in Saint-Domingue to avert similar uprising.
Works Cited
Lavrin, Asunci¢n. Sexuality and Marriage in Colonial Latin America: Latin American Studies Series. Latin America: U of Nebraska Press. 1992. Print.
Mirrer, Louise. Revolution! The Atlantic World Reborn: A Resource Guide for History Teachers of Grade 6-12. New York: Historical Society Museum & Library. 2012. Print.
In short, Hudarto first introduces the topic of Californian Indians’ sexuality. He goes over their most common practices when it comes to the varying types of relationships and the different ways they would practice sexual intercourse. Hudarto also discussed the way it would affect the harmony between tribes and their economic and social ranks. The author then goes on to describe the beliefs of the Spaniards, and he points out how a lot of the Indians’ common
Male homosexuality and transvestism is present in many if not most Native American societies to at least some degree, notably the DinZh, Lakota, Tohono Oâodham, and so on. In pre-Hispanic Mexico, homosexuals were common and respected in most area cultures. With the advent of the Spaniards, however, homosexuals and transvestites were pushed further and further to the margins of society, branded as deviants and persecuted under the influence of a rampant machismo. Only in a few places did homosexuality survive as a common and respected practice. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca state at the very south of Mexico, home to the Zapotec people, is one of these places. I was privileged to spend July and August of 2000 living among the Zapotec in the city of Juchit∫n. I was intrigued by the position of homosexuals in this culture, and following are some of my efforts to understand them.
Medieval Jewish society, like all traditional Jewish culture, was run by patriarchal hierarchy “Philosophical, medical, and religious views of the time all supported the view that men were superior to women both in nature and in deed” . Women’s position in society was secondary in comparison to that of men. They were characterized as lightheaded, weak, easily seduced, and linked to sorcery.
to decrease as female subordination was called into question. The legal authority in the household
Ulrich shows a progression of change in the way that women’s sexuality was viewed in New England. First, she starts with a society that depended on “external rather internal controls” and where many New Englanders responded more to shame than guilt (Ulrich 96). The courts were used to punish sexual misconducts such as adultery with fines, whippings, or sometimes even death. There were certain behaviors that “respectable” women were expected to follow and “sexual misbehavior” resulted in a serious decline of a woman’s reputation from even just one neighbor calling her names such as whore or bawd (Ulrich 97-98). Because the love between a man and his wife was compared to the bond between Christ and the Church, female modesty was an important ideal. “Within marriage, sexual attraction promoted consort; outside marriage, it led to heinous sins” (Ulrich 108). This modesty was expected to be upheld even as death approached and is seen with the example of Mary Mansfield in 1681. Ulrich describes Mary to have five neck cloths tucked into her bosom and eleven caps covering her hair. “A good wife was to be physically attractive…but she was not to expose her beauty to every eye”. Hence, even as she died, Mary was required to conceal her sexuality and beauty. However, at the end of the seventeenth century and throughout the
Gozalez-Lopez interviews people about their personal stories and how they dealth with situations similar to such. One of the people she interviews, Diego, talks about what he had to do to save his girlfriend from public shame because she had sex with him. “I married her because of honor. I had to come out and face the bull, to protect her image and her name” (Gonzalez-Lopez, 98). If a woman looses her virginity before marriage she can be seen as a whore, slut, or not properly raised. Many women are forced to marry men that they would never consider husband mate...
The legacy of slavery and the legacy of systematic racial discrimination imposed on Afro-Cubans are grim realities that are imbedded in Cuban societal and cultural fibers. Despite the abolition of slavery in 1886 and its gaining of independence in 1902 Cuban society, politics, and ideology have been haunted with the specter of the ‘race issue.’ According to Aline Helg, "the myth of Cuban racial equality has proved remarkably enduring, even since the revolution of 1959" (p. 247). Thus, in order to comprehend the current political and social conditions in Cuba as well as the conditions that led to the revolution in 1959 one must examine the afro-Cuban struggle for equality that emerged at the turn of the 20th century.
Early in the nineteenth century rebellion against European authority broke out in Latin America. First, slaves on the island of Haiti revolted against their French masters. Led by former slave Toussaint L'Overture the Haitians defeated France making Haiti the...
Early America was sexually active. One third of the brides were pregnant on their wedding day. Sexual relations were a part of courtship. “Bundling was the custom that allowed couples to sleep on the same bed without undressing.” “Erastus Worthington, a local historian, noticed the custom in 1828, of females admitting young men to their beds, who sought their company in marriage.” In large cities, prostitution became more common and was priced according to location.
Throughout history, revolutions have started because of new ideas that change thinking and disrupt what has come to be considered normal. During 1700s, the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions were no exception. The Enlightenment ideas that were spreading around this time lead people of these three nations to question their ruling elites, and to begin considering breaking free. Of these three, though, no one revolt can be seen as more radical when compared to the other two. Each was faced with the challenging task of successfully separating from the oppression that had been brought upon them by to powerful empires and monarchies who had lost sight of what the American, French, and Haitian people alike considered important, as well as being some of the first revolts to use radical Enlightenment ideas to justify each of their rebellions. They considered these rebellions their one shot at being able to break free.
In this chapter, Appiah begins by using a Western example of a satirical comedy in order to prime the reader for dialogue about the notion of honor as it relates to marriage and specifically women in South Asia and the Middle East. He uses the example of penal codes in Italy which placed worth on chastity and disproportionately punished women for crimes that weren’t their fault and allowed marriage to invalidate any previous crimes committed. This social and legal code is also exemplified by the story he tells of a real woman who rebelled against honor convention, to great personal threat. By using both a satirical example and a true story of defiance to show the decline of the absurd Sicilian honor system, he seems to attempt to set the practice we would
The San Domingo revolution led to the abolition of slavery, independence of Haiti from France and the proclamation of a black republic. However, unlike many historians, CLR James in his work, The Black Jacobins, does not depict the struggle for independence as merely a slave revolt which happened to come after the French Revolution. He goes beyond providing only a recount of historical events and offers an intimate look at those who primarily precipitated the fall of French rule, namely the black slaves themselves. In doing so, James offers a perspective of black history which empowers the black people, for they are shown to actually have done something, and not merely be the subject of actions and attitudes of others.
In the night of August 22, 1791, which initiated the Haitian Revolution, Dutty Boukman, a slave and religious leader gathered a gang of slaves and uttered one of the most important prayers in the Black Atlantic religious thought.1 The prayer embodies the historical tyranny of oppression and suffering, and the collective cry for justice, freedom, and human dignity of the enslaved Africans at Saint-Domingue. The Guy who is not happy with the situation tha...
Showing such major differences between these two cultures with little overlap between the two strongly suggests that the differences in sexuality are due to cultural constructions. Seeing the immense differences and encountering difficulty trying to find similarities between these two cultures, it is clear that all human beings come into this world via the same process: sexual intercourse. It is also clear that, commonly, men are larger and stronger than women. These traits exist everywhere in the world. However, the physical violence of the machismo is not observed globally, nor is the extreme suppression of women observed everywhere. These ideals exist alone, in their separate cultures. Human sexuality may have some biological influences, but it is largely and almost completely a construction of culture.
Concepts of virginity can been seen in all aspects of life, from movies, to books, to even religion. This wide-reaching topic has created many controversies and opinions worldwide. So what exactly is virginity? A person, whether a male or female, is believed to be a virgin, when he or she has not engaged in coitus. However, the value of one’s virginity differs depending on location and a culture’s religion. The perception of virginity also differs depending on gender. In females, virginity has been associated with purity, honor, and worth, whereas virginity in males is often pictured as a “conquest”. Virginity is a subject filled with issues of morality, religion, culture, and gender stereotypes.