Abstract

MORO, Raffaele. The multiple identities of José Agustín Saucedo (alias Santa María, alias Pedro Martínez) (1751-1792). Relac. Estud. hist. soc. [online]. 2014, vol.35, n.139, pp.93-126. ISSN 2448-7554.

The life of José Agustín Saucedo, reconstructed through the records of a legal process launched against him by the Tribunal of the Inquisition in 1784/1785, was strongly influenced by two phenomena fundamental to the second half of the 18^th century: migratory movements and processes of miscegenation (mestizaje). The wealth of individual data in the Inquisition's dossier allows us to appreciate that the experience of migration -a phenomenon usually studied from a macroscopic perspectiveó might be experienced in a radically different way by individuals belonging to the same family. In addition, the history of this individual, who over the course of his life was recognized variously as Indian, mulatto, and Spaniard (passing), leads us to reflect on how institutions and individuals were positioned with respect to the processes of miscegenation in Bourbon Mexico.

Keywords : life history; Mexican Inquisition (second half of the 18^th century); internal migrations (rural-urban); miscegenation processes; racial "passing".