Honour Among Woman in Colonial Latin America

In colonial Latin America, one aspect of life that was constantly under attack and had to be guarded at all costs was the ideal of one's Honour. Women in colonial Latin America had to especially be on their guard to protect their honour, as an unanswered attack to their honour could ruin a family's honour. But if a woman's honour was attacked there were ways for her to protect it. The honour women possessed at the time was said to be not as important as the honour of a man, but it is, in fact, more important then the man's. By using Richard Boyer's document Catarina Maria Complains That Juan Teioa Forcibly Deflowered Her and Sonya Lipsett-Rivera's document Scandal at the Church: Jose de Alfaro Accuses Dona Theresa Bravo and Others of Insulting and Beating His Castiza Wife, Josefa Cadena we will examine how important honour was for a woman and how they could go about restoring their honour. Boyer's article will show how an event against a female can affect her entire family and how an insult to her honour could be pursued in the judiciary system. Lipsett-Rivera's document reviews honour among women of different classes and how insults are handled in the judiciary system.

Honour among women in colonial Latin America was a very important part of a woman's life. The social standing of an individual was closely linked to honour. Women of upper class were born with honour, so thusly, by trying to protect their honour they were also safeguarding their social status in a community. Three main factors were bound to a woman's honour first to keep their virginity till marriage, second to remain loyal to their husband and to remain chaste as a widow. These factors if discarded or broken brought not only dishonour to the woman but to her father, brother, husband and ultimately her entire household. Sexual behavior had much to due with one'; reputation and honour. For the most part women were disgraced by accusations to sexual indiscretions. Commonly women were accused of rape, an illegitimate pregnancy or not being loyal to their husband. As mentioned honour was based, for women, mostly on the aspect of virginity and loyalty to the husband, so these accusations targeting directly that were very damaging to a woman's honour. For the most part a woman had to take slight indirections in stride but many did respond to these insults to their honour. Using their husbands and heads of the family a woman could use the judiciary system to regain her honour. Also they was the option of degrading their honour through forms of gossip and outright assault of the individual as is unbelievably common seeing as women tried to keep a professional face of properness in public.

Woman defended their in different ways but for the most part they used, for major incidents, the judiciary system. Fortunately the documents provided by the courts of the time are very helpful in delving in to colonial lives. In Richard Boyer's document, Catarina Maria Complains That Juan Teioa Forcibly Deflowered Her, it begins as Catarina tries to file a suit against Juan Teioa raped her. She demands that she should be repaid for the loss of her virginity. As the trial progresses Catarina's brothers come to her aid and bring the case before the General Indian Court, wanting to have Juan marry Catarina or pay for the loss of her virginity. The appeal by the brothers is accepted and trial commences. By the end of the trial it is clear that Juan Teioa was brought to Catarina out of Catarina's will, but Juan is to pay the legal expenses of the trial and Catarina is sentenced to not solicit Juan or any other person "Ð'...nor tempt them with provocative behavior" with the consequence of being placed in recogimiento. Another document where the court was used to repair an attack to a woman's honour is Sonya Lipsett-Rivera's document , Scandal at the Church: Jose de Alfaro Accuses Dona Theresa Bravo and Others of Insulting and Beating His Castiza Wife, Joesfa Cadena ,where the husband brings the case before the court. He claims that his wife was beaten and verbally harassed by Dona Theresa Bravo, her daughter, her sister and a woman deposited in her home, as well as Don Diego Fernandez "Ð'...in public and in the presence of a numerous crowdÐ'..." worsening the effect the beating had on Jose's and his family's honour. This claim is put forth to defend the honour of this woman and her family including the husband. On the other hand though from Dona Theresa's stand point she had to defend her honour as she was apparently was brushed against by this woman of lesser social standing then herself. Although unlike the last article there is no definite ending or declaration of who was at fault.

Boyer's article shows how a woman even a woman, even of Indian ethnicity, can take a claim to court, how the family comes in to play a role in the case and how the "deflowering" of Catarina could be rectified with a marriage between her and Juan. The courts dealt with many cases relatively the same as this one. It is shown in this case that the courts were very accessible to the population. Even Catarina, of Indian ethnicity, is