Hidalgo

Hidalgo, a Spanish term that originally meant "son of some means" (hijo d'algo) and over time became shortened to "hidalgo." As its origin suggests, the term indicated a person of some means, but not an heir to a great fortune or nobility. The term applied to some of the leaders of expeditions of the Conquest who were members of the lesser nobility seeking their fortune in the Americas.

In the sixteenth century, Spanish hidalgos were identified by the title "Don," as in Don Hernán Cortés, and women were identified by the feminine "Doña." Spanish leaders also flattered native elites who collaborated with them by addressing them as "Don." In the conquest of Mexico, the lord of Tetzcoco, who provided critical support against the Nahuas, was called Don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl. Cortés's female companion and interpreter was called "Doña Marina." After the Conquest, Spaniards continued to use "Don" in addressing native political leaders.

Over the course of the colonial era, the European identification of "Don" or "Doña" with the lesser Spanish nobility ended, and it became a general term of respect used for an older person, a master craftsman, an employer, or someone in a position of authority.

See alsoCaste and Class Structure in Colonial Spanish America .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lyle McAlister, "Social Structure and Social Change in New Spain," Hispanic American Historical Review 43, no. 3 (1963): 349-370.

Additional Bibliography

Hamnett, Brian R. Social Structure and Regional Elites in Late Colonial Mexico, 1750–1824. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 1984.

Henríquez Ayin, Narda. El hechizo de las imágenes: Estatus social, género y etnicidad en la historia peruana. Lima: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2001.

Pérez Toledo, Sonia, and Herbert S Klein. Población y estructura social de la Ciudad de México, 1790–1842. Mexico City: Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa, 2004.

Ruiz, Teofilo F. Spanish Society, 1400–1600. New York: Longman, 2001.

Silverblatt, Irene Marsha. Moon, Sun, and Witches: Gender Ideologies and Class in Inca and Colonial Peru. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987.

                                            Patricia Seed