“Wall Neighbors,” Mothers-in-Law, and Comadres : Spousal Violence and Networks of Plebeian Female Intimacy and Solidarity in Urban Neighborhoods of Early to Mid-Colonial New Spain (1550–1670)

Abstract

Studying practices of plebeian female solidarity in early colonial New Spain (1550–1670), this chapter argues that women’s networks were central to contesting masculine violence in a context where neither ecclesiastical nor civil law could effectively combat it. Using petitions for ecclesiastical divorce and Inquisition records involving magic, the chapter further contends that masculine violence itself provided an impetus and a catalyst for the formation of female networks of affective solidarity, support, and the exchange of legal and magical information.