|
|
|
Notes and Documents
Women and Property across Colonial America: A Comparison of Legal Systems in New Mexico and New York
Deborah A. Rosen
|
L
AW
was one of the main determinants of women's experiences in colonial
America. Women throughout the colonies lived in patriarchal social
systems that limited their autonomy and power. But the specific
legal and cultural rules that set the boundaries in which women
were supposed to live varied among different regions. It mattered
if a woman lived in a colony controlled by a common law system
(as in England) or a civil law system (such as that of Spain).
When travelers from the United States later encountered Spanish-American
law, they scornfully dismissed it as inferior to Anglo-American
law. Yet civil law systems were far more protective of women's
property than the common law system was. This may not seem to
fit the common perception of Spanish law and culture as being
particularly patriarchal; it may seem contrary to the assumption
that Spanish men expected to exert authority over wives and continued
to control children until marriage. And it may not seem consistent
with the perception of English law as being more individualistic
than Continental European legal systems. Nevertheless, a comparison
of women's lives under two different colonial legal regimes shows
that women gained tangible benefits from civil law systems that
they did not enjoy under common law. |
1 |
|
New Mexico provides a good example
of the impact of Spanish law on colonial women, while New York
provides a more complex example of a civil law system (Dutch)
giving way to a common law (English) system. Spaniards arrived
in what later became New Mexico in 1540, conquered the Pueblo
Indians by the end of the century, established a settlement in
1598, founded their first lasting town (Santa Fe) in 1610, lost
control in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, and regained control in
the military campaign of 1693–1694. Spain continued to control
the territory until it became part of the independent Republic
of Mexico in 1821. New York's colonial period was somewhat shorter.
The Dutch arrived in the region in 1609, established settlements
there in 1624, and continued to control the area until the English
took over in 1664. England briefly lost New York to the Dutch
in 1673, regained it in 1674, and began to anglicize the colony
more aggressively in 1691 in the wake of Leisler's Rebellion.
England then controlled the colony until the American Revolution.
1
Since both Spain and England secured long-term control of their
respective colonies during the last two decades of the seventeenth
century, that is where this study begins. Comparing New Mexico
and New York allows us to explain the differences in laws governing
women and property in those colonies and also to explore the practical
effects of those laws on women.
2
In wills, probate inventories, deeds, and court records from the
late seventeenth to the late eighteenth century, we can find evidence
of how the different laws worked in practice and how the civil
and common law regimes affected women's control over property
and economic opportunities.
3
|
. . . |
There are about 12481 more words in this article.
Please log in (or, if you are not yet an
authorized user, please go to the
User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
|
