Glossary

agave \ ah-GAH-vee\: a genus of succulent plants that include henequen and the century plant (maguey), different varieties of which produce pulque, mescal, and tequila

agiotista \ ah-ee-o-TEE-stah\: a private individual who lent money to the government at usurious rates

alcabala \ ahl-kah-BAH-lah\: a tax paid on the sale of goods and on moving goods from one tax zone into another

Anglo: in the U.S. Southwest, a non-Hispanic of European ancestry

audiencia \au-dee-EN-cee-ah\: a judicial body serving as a court of appeals and a consultative body

bracero \brah-SER-o\: a contract laborer from Mexico working legally in the U.S.

casta \kă-stă\: a person of mixed race

caudillo \kou-DEE-yo\: an individual who commanded private armies and held regional and even national power

chia \Chee-ah\: a plant cultivated by the Aztecs. Its seeds were used to make a refreshing beverage

chinampa \Chee-NAM-pah\: an intensively cultivated artificial island

científico \see-en-TEE-fee-ko\: one of President Díaz’s elite political and economic advisors

cofradía \ko-frah-DEE-ah\: a term often translated as brotherhood. Cofradías organized religious observances for such entities as indigenous villages and guilds. They maintained their own finances independent of the state and at times engaged in social welfare functions

composición \kom-po-sih-cee-ON\: the legalization of land titles by paying a fee

congregación \kon-greh-gah-cee-ON\: the forced resettlement of Indians into compact villages

Constitutionalist: a member of the forces led by Venustiano Carranza or a supporter of his faction

corregidor \ ko-reh-JEE-dohr\: the person in charge of an administrative area known as a corregimiento \ko-re-jee-mee-EN-to\

creole: a person of European ancestry born in the New World

curandero \kur-ahn-DER-o\: a practitioner of folk medicine

desafuero \des-ah-FUE-ro\: Congressional action that strips high office holders of their immunity from criminal prosecution

ejidatario \eh-jee-dah-TAR-ee-o\: a person who has received ejido land through the land reform

ejido \eh-JEE-do\: land, usually divided into plots for individuals to farm, which has been transferred as part of the land reform

empresario \em-preh-SAH-re-o\: the holder of a grant to bring foreign settlers to settle in Texas

encomendero \en-ko-men-DEH-ro\: the holder of an encomienda grant

encomienda \en-ko-mee-EN-dah\: a grant entitling its holder to collect tribute from the Indians in a certain area in exchange for Christianizing them

fuero \FUE-ro\: special legal status granted to clergy and the military which allowed them to be tried in separate court systems run by priests and military officers, respectively

hacendado \ah-sen-DAH-do\: the owner of a large estate known as a hacienda \ hah-sē-en-duh\

henequen: a fiber obtained from a plant of an agave plant of the same name, which was grown in Yucatán and which served to make twine

hunter-gatherer: a person whose main food sources are hunting and gathering wild plants

insurgents: the name given to members of the irregular forces supporting independence from Spain

land reform: a sweeping government-mandated change in land ownership to meet some official goal, such as raising production or lowering poverty

maguey \mah-GEH\: the agave that produces pulque

Manifest Destiny: the nineteenth-century belief that the United States was destined, even divinely ordained, to spread across North America

Maximato \max-ee-MAH-to\: the period during which Calles functioned as the power behind the throne

Mesoamerica: the area in Mexico and Central America where civilizations arose based on raising corn

mestizo \meh-STEE-so\: a person of mixed indigenous and European ancestry

Moors: the Moslem people of mixed Arab and Berber descent who invaded Spain in the eighth century

neoliberalism: an economic policy that assigns a reduced role to the state. In Mexico this policy was implemented by reducing tariffs, privatizing government-owned corporations, reducing the scope of government social programs, ending government industrial policy, and deregulating goods, service, labor, and capital markets

Northern Division (División del Norte): a member of the highly mobile military force led by Pancho Villa

Nueces River \noo-ES-es\: the river in president-day south Texas which during the Spanish colonial period served as the southern border of Texas

Nueva Galicia \Nu-EV-ah Gah-LEE-see-ah\: the Spanish colonial subdivision comprising present-day Jalisco and adjacent areas

plan: a call to revolt which typically lists justifications for revolt and then describes what rebels plan to do after taking power

Porfiriato \por-fee-ree-AH-to\: the period 1877–1911 during which Porfirio Díaz was president of Mexico

pulque \POOL-keh\: the alcoholic beverage produced by fermenting agave juice

Quetzalcoatl \Ketz-al-KO-ah-tool\: a pre-Columbian deity depicted as a plumed serpent

Reconquest: the prolonged process by which Christian forces expelled Moors from the Iberian Peninsula, concluding in 1492 with the fall of Granada

repartimiento \reh-par-ee-mee-EN-to\: a labor draft that obligated Indians to work for non-Indians

requerimiento \re-keh-REE-men-to\: a charge read to indigenous people directing them to accept Spanish rule and Christianity

Royalists: the name given to those supporting continued Spanish rule

rural (pl. rurales) \RU-rahl\ \RU-rah-lehs\: a member of the national police force that served during the Porfiriato

stela (pl. stelae): a carved stone commemorative monument

tribute: goods provided to dominant groups as a form of taxation in pre-monetary societies

viceroy: an administrative official in charge of a large area (a viceroyalty) as a representative of the king

Virgin of Guadalupe: a 1531 appearance of the Virgin Mary at Tepeyac Hill north of Mexico City. The appearance is also referred to as the Virgin of Tepeyac

wetback: an undocumented Mexican entrant into the U.S. The “wet” refers to the entrants having swum the Rio Grande. The term was widely used in the 1950s by the U.S. government, journalists, Hispanic, and Anglo academics, and by illegal entrants themselves

Zapatista \sah-pah-TEE-stah\: a member of the guerilla forces led by Emiliano Zapata who fought for immediate land reform in Morelos and adjacent states