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Practices and Strategies of Godparenthood in the Life of a Mexican Neighborhood in the Eighteenth Century
| Based on 4 492 baptisms of legitimate, natural and abandoned children of the parish of El Santo Ángel Custodio known as Analco of the city of Puebla in Mexico during two periods in the eighteenth century –from 1720 to 1726 and from 1783 to 1792–, the practices, strategies of selection of godparents and possible long-term transformations of catholic godparenthood in the New World are analyzed by ethnic group: Spaniards, persons of mixed race, and Indians, as well as the different attitudes of society facing the “quality” of children in terms of their legitimacy or not. The study also approaches the dissimilarities according to the genre of the newborn children.
This paper attempts to be a first step to undertake a longer term study beginning around mid-seventeenth century when the parochial registry of baptisms formalized in New Spain. It will also allow a comparison with European countries
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