Abstract

AGUIRRE SALVADOR, RODOLFO. Unwanted at the Royal University of Mexico: "Exposed" Spaniards, Indians and Mulattoes in the 18^th Century. Anu. colomb. hist. soc. cult. [online]. 2021, vol.48, n.1, pp.259-285.  Epub Jan 28, 2021. ISSN 0120-2456.  https://doi.org/10.15446/achsc.v48n1.91551.

The Royal University of Mexico was the most important space for teaching and obtaining academic degrees in New Spain. In the 18th century, its students came from different social strata. But this heterogeneity was not gratuitous, at a time when major studies were a privilege. This article studies a sector of students who had difficulties to be accepted in the courses or to graduate due to their social origins. However, Spaniards with irregular births, indians, and mulattoes insisted on pursuing an academic career, despite the rejection they were subjected to by other student and academic sectors. A paradigmatic case, whose analysis is addressed here, is that of the Ramírez de Arellano brothers, accused of being mulattoes and who in their defense questioned the validity of judging people for their skin color, slander, or faith of wrong baptism. Although they did not openly disqualify the university statute that prohibited accepting students of certain social qualities, they did defend that knowledge was more valuable than the lineage or the social quality of the people. This research thus seeks to make a contribution to a better understanding of the social history of university students in New Spain.

Keywords : indians; mulattoes; Royal University of Mexico; social origins; Spaniards; students.

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