The Great Families of Mexico: Elite Maintenance and Business Practices in Late Colonial Mexico City

Abstract

O UR conception of composition of elite in late colonial period, its modes of recruitment and replacement, and its business and marriage patterns, greatly influences our understanding of social, economic, and political processes of Latin America during Bourbon era. In this article, I wish to describe social and business behavior of pinnacle of Mexico City's society in era 1750-1821-of section of society I term the Great so as to differentiate them from other well-to-do and respectable families of city who, though members of a broader elite, could not normally compete with or marry into this exalted group. The distinctions that separated Great Families from other elements of upper class in Mexico City were their unparalleled wealth, diversity of their holdings and investments, success of their business practices, honors that they received, their ability to place their children in upper ranks of civil and ecclesiastical administrations, their close alliances with other leading political and clerical figures, their choice of marriage partners, and, as a culmination of all of these other factors, their longevity at summit of social hierarchy. The Great Families shared no corporate or institutional structure; they did not all belong to a single organization, nor did they collectively enjoy a distinctive title, form of address, or profession that distinguished them. They were defined by their social and economic behavior, their business and personal associations, and their success. The above characteristics differentiated this group from others in this society, but they should not be

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