The material, symbolic and social forces that colonists and certain indigenous groups selectively reinforced manipulated and reshaped ethnic identity in New Spain. Examining pre-conquest and post-conquest perceptions of the maguey (or American agave) and pulque, the maguey's alcoholic by-product, underscores how race, ethnicity and food influenced social change after Cortes marched on Mexico. The socio-political discourse and food cultures that engulfed pulque and the maguey developed under combustible contexts. Paternalistic Spanish ideologies combined with prevailing indigenous elite strategies to create identity membership categories that defined the major negative influences in colonial culture. The deeply seated, and often misunderstood, pre-conquest symbolism inherent in the sacred maguey and pulque spearheaded many Spaniards' attacks on Indian culture. Pulque initially differentiated Indian from Spaniard and \"good\" Indian from \"bad\" Indian. However, once de facto domination progressed into the middle colonial period the pulque identities that \"pulque politics\" produced collapsed additional ethnic groups into a singular concept. This M.A. thesis will examine the limited historiography, translated codices, and numerous contemporary accounts that address pulque during the colonial period. Cross-examining these sources will detangle the complex forces that influenced not only \"pulque politics\" and its resulting identities, but also the whole gamut of ethnic identities that New Spain came to represent.
","abstract_html":"<p>The material, symbolic and social forces that colonists and certain indigenous groups selectively reinforced manipulated and reshaped ethnic identity in New Spain. Examining pre-conquest and post-conquest perceptions of the maguey (or American agave) and pulque, the maguey's alcoholic by-product, underscores how race, ethnicity and food influenced social change after Cortes marched on Mexico. The socio-political discourse and food cultures that engulfed pulque and the maguey developed under combustible contexts. Paternalistic Spanish ideologies combined with prevailing indigenous elite strategies to create identity membership categories that defined the major negative influences in colonial culture. The deeply seated, and often misunderstood, pre-conquest symbolism inherent in the sacred maguey and pulque spearheaded many Spaniards' attacks on Indian culture. Pulque initially differentiated Indian from Spaniard and "good" Indian from "bad" Indian. However, once de facto domination progressed into the middle colonial period the pulque identities that "pulque politics" produced collapsed additional ethnic groups into a singular concept. This M.A. thesis will examine the limited historiography, translated codices, and numerous contemporary accounts that address pulque during the colonial period. Cross-examining these sources will detangle the complex forces that influenced not only "pulque politics" and its resulting identities, but also the whole gamut of ethnic identities that New Spain came to represent. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kasiak, Neil Robert"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:13Z","subjects":["colonial politics and society","indigenous identity","las castas","maguey","pulque","pulque riot","Ethnic Studies","Latin American History"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2012 Neil Robert Kasiak"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/68","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kasiak, Neil Robert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["colonial politics and society","indigenous identity","las castas","maguey","pulque","pulque riot","Ethnic Studies","Latin American History"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2012 Neil Robert Kasiak"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/68"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The material, symbolic and social forces that colonists and certain indigenous groups selectively reinforced manipulated and reshaped ethnic identity in New Spain. Examining pre-conquest and post-conquest perceptions of the maguey (or American agave) and pulque, the maguey's alcoholic by-product, underscores how race, ethnicity and food influenced social change after Cortes marched on Mexico. The socio-political discourse and food cultures that engulfed pulque and the maguey developed under combustible contexts. Paternalistic Spanish ideologies combined with prevailing indigenous elite strategies to create identity membership categories that defined the major negative influences in colonial culture. The deeply seated, and often misunderstood, pre-conquest symbolism inherent in the sacred maguey and pulque spearheaded many Spaniards' attacks on Indian culture. Pulque initially differentiated Indian from Spaniard and \"good\" Indian from \"bad\" Indian. However, once de facto domination progressed into the middle colonial period the pulque identities that \"pulque politics\" produced collapsed additional ethnic groups into a singular concept. This M.A. thesis will examine the limited historiography, translated codices, and numerous contemporary accounts that address pulque during the colonial period. Cross-examining these sources will detangle the complex forces that influenced not only \"pulque politics\" and its resulting identities, but also the whole gamut of ethnic identities that New Spain came to represent.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Fermenting Identities: Race and Pulque Politics in Mexico City between 1519 and 1754"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Kasiak, Neil Robert"],"dc:description.abstract":["The material, symbolic and social forces that colonists and certain indigenous groups selectively reinforced manipulated and reshaped ethnic identity in New Spain. Examining pre-conquest and post-conquest perceptions of the maguey (or American agave) and pulque, the maguey's alcoholic by-product, underscores how race, ethnicity and food influenced social change after Cortes marched on Mexico. The socio-political discourse and food cultures that engulfed pulque and the maguey developed under combustible contexts. Paternalistic Spanish ideologies combined with prevailing indigenous elite strategies to create identity membership categories that defined the major negative influences in colonial culture. The deeply seated, and often misunderstood, pre-conquest symbolism inherent in the sacred maguey and pulque spearheaded many Spaniards' attacks on Indian culture. Pulque initially differentiated Indian from Spaniard and \"good\" Indian from \"bad\" Indian. However, once de facto domination progressed into the middle colonial period the pulque identities that \"pulque politics\" produced collapsed additional ethnic groups into a singular concept. This M.A. thesis will examine the limited historiography, translated codices, and numerous contemporary accounts that address pulque during the colonial period. Cross-examining these sources will detangle the complex forces that influenced not only \"pulque politics\" and its resulting identities, but also the whole gamut of ethnic identities that New Spain came to represent.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/68"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2012 Neil Robert Kasiak"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["colonial politics and society","indigenous identity","las castas","maguey","pulque","pulque riot","Ethnic Studies","Latin American History"],"dc:title":["Fermenting Identities: Race and Pulque Politics in Mexico City between 1519 and 1754"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:13Z"}