Formation of the Miraflores Hacienda: Lands, Indians, and livestock in eastern New Spain at the end of the sixteenth century

Abstract

Although the literature on Mexican haciendas is abundant, those properties formed in the tropical lowlands are poorly known. Based on late 16th century archival information, this case study examines the origin and growth of large estates in the tropical Piedmont of the Mexico's Gulf Coastal Plain, in the Huasteca. The paper outlines the context for estate formation; next, it describes the details of the Miraflores Hacienda formation (land grants, sales, transfers, auctions, 'squatting' and usurpation), including four sketch maps; finally, the case material is applied to propose an explanatory model for the productive, agrarian, environmental and semantic transformations of the large estates.