Cartagena

Much of the early colonial evidence about Indians’ behavior under the influence of alcohol comes from the reports of political officials and priests. The statements lean towards excessive drinking and general indictments of pulque and tepache as the cause of all sins and social problems, including idolatry, rebellion, poverty, illness, violent crime, infidelity, and incest. Spaniards generally thought of a Mediterranean ideal of drinking as being able to “hold” their liquor without losing control of their dignified demeanor and “natural reason.” From the history of Teposcolula, Spanish wine and the movement of non-Indians in the countryside exposed native peasants to certain models of drinking behavior, which at times were rejected. When a
In the seventeenth-century Cartagena, defending one’s personal and household honor led to public acts of violence and even homicide. Offenses against a man’s honor basically provoked anger and desire for an apology, but individuals and public authorities manipulated violations of the honor code. Self-protection on bureaucratic hierarchies was one of the most effective ways to manipulate justice in colonial Spanish America, even when men would use their horrifying acts as torture. The honor men had was taken very seriously against women because “It proves Maria Manuel who was a woman living in Cartagena in the early 1600s, suffered horrible physical abuse due to her master’s sexual jealousy.” Pg. 55 The defense of a male honor came from elite status and privilege in a combination with sexual jealousy, motivated Maria Manuel’s master to abuse her. The ordeals were taken into place because her tortures justified their violence with rhetoric of honor, and that proved the sexual dominance over women. A few years later, a nuncio for the Cartagena Holy Office named Juan Ramos Perez, bought Maria Manuel. Perez eventually abused Maria, and even though a baby was created between them two, she was not happy because of the physical abuse Maria Manuel experienced. After the relations with Perez, Maria found a young Spaniard named Juan De Soto who had made a promise to marry her in front of witnesses so she could no longer live with her master’s sins. Unfortunately, for Maria, Soto fled after hearing rumors that Perez was enraged. This issue caused Maria Manuel to fall back into Perez power. Perez punished Maria by hiding her in several homes in Cartagena, and afterwards sent her to live with a family, which Maria Manuel’s sexual relation with the familiar caused her to get pregnant which then prompted a horrific response from her master. Maria was then imprisoned so she can be hidden