Jacob Faust His 344 Mr.

Cotelo September 10 2012 Hall of Mirrors Since the beginning of time, power, and the use of it has shaped the course of history and the way we study it throughout the world. Power has many demotions such as who holds it, who wants it, how much of it can be obtained, and who desires it. In colonial Mexico, power was a broad term introduced in many ways, by many people, and often times changed hands and was manipulated to be obtained by the ones who desired it most. In Laura Lewis book, Hall of Mirrors, power was an ever changing position held not only by the Spanish elite, but the low class Indians as well; using witchcraft, and most importantly the colonial caste system the Indians shifted the power from the Spanish elite to themselves, the sonorant class, and gained the underline control in New Spain. Throughout the book, the power struggle between the Spanish to control Indians relied heavily on the roles of the mestizo, mulatto, and blacks as a sort of middleman. Lewis explains as the power struggle went on, the Spanish judicial power somewhat mirrored the supernatural power possessed by the Indians, creating a hall of mirrors in colonial Mexico. This paper will underline the power struggles in Laura Lewis book Hall of Mirrors, the ways in which the Indians obtained it from the Spanish and the hall of mirrors it created in New Spain. In her book Hall of Mirrors Laura Lewis explains in great detail the colonial caste system that was developed in New Spain and the ethnic divisions it formed. The colonial caste system created was the first step set up by the Spanish elite to establish the power. Lewis explained this system created the social hierarchy pyramid in which the Spanish were at the top, in the middle

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were the mestizos (a mixture between Spanish and Indians), mulattoes (a mixture between blacks and Indians or Spanish), and the blacks, then finally, the Indians were at the bottom. Lewis wrote in much detail about the complex colonial caste system in New Spain by examining the difference between casta (leatinage) and raza (race). In this book, casta was said to be blood, ancestry, and color of a person and raza was said the be the good or non pure aspects one may of inherited in their blood. The aspects of casta and raza were very important to the colonial caste system due in large part to the mixed races played in the struggle by the Indians to obtain the power. The colonial caste system was first set up by the Spanish to help control the Indians. The Spanish used the blacks, mulattoes, and the mestizos as a mediator group between the two groups to show their power over the Indians. Through many turns of events, especially through witchcraft and other unknown illegal acts such as the Indians hiding runaway slaves, the middlemen groups shifted their favor toward the Indians and in turn, the power shifted as well. As a result, Lewis explained that the colonial caste system was turned upside down putting the Indians on top to control the Spanish. The Spanish elite set up the colonial caste system as a way to establish their power over the Indians, the Indians used this caste system as a power tool as well as creating a shift in power and which somewhat mirrored the ways the Spanish tried to control them, setting forth the hall of minors theory in New Spain. As mentioned before, the power shift from the Spanish elite to the Indians was due in large part from the manipulation of the caste system set up in New Spain, but also by illegal acts such as witchcraft. In New Spain neither women nor Indians had any rights and both were at the bottom of the social pyramid. As a result, witchcraft became prominent throughout New Spain. Lewis took her readers through the world of witchcraft and ways Indians turned to it to establish

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the desired power. As Lewis wrote on page 109 witchcraft helped free people from their sanctioned places in the colonial social hierarchy while bringing others under their social control. Throughout the book, one began to see the power witchcraft had over the Spanish as Lewis wrote, even though many Spanish strongly opposed it, many respected its power. Even some Spanish priests were at the mercy of this evil worship as some was said to of been healed from a curse by an Indian woman who practiced witchcraft. Lewis writes extensively about the legal proceedings the Spanish used in order to obtain power over the Indians by making it very difficult to defend themselves in a courtroom. In turn, the Indians were driven to witchcraft in their desire for power. Lewis explained to her readers that the Spanish had to keep the Indians and middle groups somewhat happy in fear of revolt. Instead, the Indians manipulated the colonial caste system and turned to witchcraft in order to obtain the power in New Spain and in turn mirroring the ways the Spanish tried to obtain power in New Spains hall of mirrors. As Lewis explains in her book Hall of Mirrors the race relations in New Spain was much more complex than what appeared. It was not just the simple case of the Spanish elite having a desire to control their subordinate group the Indians, but a much more complex social hierarchy pyramid as the blacks, mulattoes, and the mestizos were also included to help the Spanish achieve one major goal, power. After reading the book, Lewis seemed to have raised the question who really held the power in New Spain? The goal of this paper was to show the desire for power displayed in the book Hall of Mirrors by the Spanish and the Indians but most importantly, underline the ways in which the Indians obtained that power. Using witchcraft, and most importantly the colonial caste system the Indians shifted the power from the Spanish elite to themselves, the sonorant class, and gained the underline control in New Spain. As New Spain became a land of power struggle, it also became a hall, a hall of mirrors.

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