Charity for and by the Poor: Franciscan-Indigenous Confraternities in Mexico, 1527–1700 (2020) (original) (raw)

2020, Academy of American Franciscan History and University of Oklahoma Press

Franciscan confraternities were indispensable charitable institutions in early colonial Mexico. Confraternities encouraged Indigenous self-governance within Catholic spheres, and, most notably, they built social structures where the poor were not only recipients of assistance but also, through their voluntary participation, providers of community care. While the Franciscans saw the potential of confraternities as a vehicle for evangelization, indigenous people themselves used them as a tool for their own protection and survival. Whether it be in their hospital work or economic transactions, Indigenous people ultimately became advocates of their own hybrid forms of Christianity to advance their social status and power, and to negotiate their community positions. Based on a long tradition of confraternities in Europe, Franciscan missionaries built an extensive network of indigenous confraternities in early colonial Mexico (Chapter 1: The Context of Confraternal Charity). Laura Dierksmeier investigates these confraternities within the religious context of their founders’ goals and strategies (Chapter 2: Franciscan Missionary Strategies), through an analysis of their constitutions, finances, and record books, as well as lawsuits, last wills, missionary correspondence, catechisms, visitor reports, and parish records. As confraternities were largely self-run, they provided opportunities of inclusion, voluntary participation, and self-governance (Chapter 3: Confraternity Aims, Self-governance, and Operations). Despite attempts by Church authorities to control confraternal life, especially following the Council of Trent, indigenous customs were by no means completely eradicated, and evidence of hybrid practices can be seen in confraternal activities (Chapter 4: Religious Autonomy and Local Religion in Confraternities). Throughout colonial Mexico, confraternities established an extensive network of hospitals and orphanages to protect, aid, and comfort the growing number of people affected by epidemics (Chapter 5: Confraternal Hospital Care). Confraternities also contributed to the ‘moral economy,’ providing small loans for times of adversity and aiding people imprisoned for the inability to pay off debts by paying for their release via confraternity funds (Chapter 6: Cofrades and the Moral Economy). This book ends with conclusions on the role of indigenous confraternities for colonial Mexican society at large, in addition to providing extensive suggestions for future research.