Abstract

FERNANDEZ CANTERO, Juan. The rise of Creole and the construction of Mexican Independence: a genealogical approach. Rev. hist. Am. [online]. 2019, n.157, pp.87-105.  Epub Feb 28, 2022. ISSN 2663-371X.  https://doi.org/10.35424/rha.157.2019.70.

This essay analyzes two letters written by Ambrosio Eugenio Melgarejo de Santaella addressed to the Viceroy of New Spain, the Count of Aranda, and the King of Spain, Carlos III, respectively. In such correspondence, Melgarejo requested royal favors to have their children “lustrosamente establecidos” [prestigiously established]. Foucault's theory of genealogy, will shed some light about the meaning of regal concessions within the colonial context in New Spain, and the importance of lineage in the establishment of a creole identity. In the study of Ambrosio’s manuscripts there is a representation of symbolic elements that are key to Mexico’s independence. In addition, it is possible to study Ambrosio Eugenio’s letters as the starting point of some of the practices that afflict Hispanic societies today, such as the lack of transparency of public institutions, or the social, and economic inequalities among different ethnic groups.

Keywords : Rise of Creole; royal favors; genealogy; Creole identity; lineage.