Mantuano
Mantuanois a denomination assigned, first inCaracasand later in the rest ofVenezuela,to theblancos criollos(white creole)belonging to the localaristocracy.[1][2]The term was in use from the 18th century until well into the 19th century.[1]Themantuanoshardly surpassed a hundred heads of family by the end of the 18th century.[1]
Themantuanoswere also called "grandes cacaos",because they became rich with the cultivation and commercialization ofcocoa.[2]They were also calledblancos criollos.[3]The nameblanco criolloonly indicates that a person was born in America and was a descendant of Spaniards, while the wordmantuanorefers to members of the local elite.[3]Other whites who also had the same birthplace andancestryof Spanish origin, such as theblancos de orilla,were not part of themantuanocircle.
Origin of the term
[edit]The first written appearance of the wordmantuanooccurred on January 5, 1752, in documents related to the insurrection ofJuan Francisco de León,according to philologistÁngel Rosenblat.[3][4]Mantuanoderives from the wordmanto(mantle), and was a reference to the exclusive use of this garment, to cover the head in religious services, by the ladies of the Caracas aristocrats.[3]Since 1571 there was a provision in theLaws of the Indiesthat prohibited other women, such asmulattoesand black women, from wearing the mantle.[5]
Position of theMantuanoin colonial society
[edit]The emergence of theMantuanosas a group dates back to the 16th century, as a consequence of thedecrees,laws and ordinances that granted rights and privileges to the descendants of the first Spanishconquistadoresand settlers in Venezuela.[6]TheMantuanosbecame owners of large cocoa and tobacco plantations andcattle ranches.[5]They also owned slaves.[2]Some of the prerogatives of theMantuanoswere: pews assigned to them in the churches, to be carried ingestatorial chairs,use of the title ofDon or Doña,to have theirescutcheonplaced in the front of their houses, use of canes, cloaks, chains, hats and sunshades.
Despite their economic power, theMantuanoscould only aspire to positions in thecolonialcabildo,while other political positions were forbidden to them.[3][5]Within thecolonial caste system,theMantuanoswere below the Crown officials and other Spaniards residing in Venezuela (the so-called peninsular whites). As a consequence, there was a rivalry between the peninsular whites and theMantuanosfor political power in the colony.[3][5]
TheMantuanoshad conflicting relations with other social groups such as the white shore people and thepardos.[3][5]TheMantuanosconsidered these groups as inferior.[3][5]In their turn, the whites of the shore and the pardos felt antipathy towards theMantuanos.[3]
Mantuanosin other areas of Venezuela
[edit]InMaracaibo,according to the authorKurt Nagel von Jess(in his worksAlgunas Familias Maracaiberas,1969, andLa Familia Lossada de Maracaibo,2007) there were famous manor houses ofMantuanofamilies such as the Lossada and Antúnez, located exactly behind the Cathedral and the Troconis, diagonal to it; all of them with their coats of arms carved in stone. There were also theMantuanohouses of the Casanova de Iturraspe, Cortez and Pineda, the Antúnez Pacheco, Ramírez Rus, Gutiérrez de Celis, Urdaneta, Andrade, Tubiñez Bocanegra, García de la Lastra, Pérez Luzardo, Padrón Del Villar and Osorio, among others. There were otherMantuanofamilies of great zeal and ancestry in regions still known for their large haciendas: inPerijá(such as the García, Romero and de la Vega families, among others); in La Cañada (such as the Rincón, Boscán and Urdaneta families); and in theAndean region(such as the Picón, Casanova de Iturraspe, Lares and Febres Cordero families), with their large coffee and sugar cane plantations. InFalcón,specifically in the city ofCoroand theParaguaná peninsula,the solid mansions of the Garcés, De la Colina Peredo, García de Quevedo, and Fernández de Lugo families are still standing.[7]
Representation of theMantuanosin Venezuelan Literature
[edit]- Las lanzas coloradas(1931): novel byArturo Uslar Pietri.It is set in the historical period of the "War to the Death".The main characters are Fernando Fonta (amantuanowho owns a sugar cane plantation) and Presentación Campos (Fernando Fonta's butler).
- Los amos del valle(1979): novel byFrancisco Herrera Luquenarrating the history of Venezuela from the conquest of theCaracas Valleyto the baptism of Simón Bolívar. The title of the work refers to the twentyMantuanasfamilies that ruled Caracas since the 17th century.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abc"Mantuanos".Empresas Polar(in Spanish). Archived fromthe originalon February 16, 2008.RetrievedMarch 27,2014.
- ^abc"Mantuanos".revista El desafío de la historia(in Spanish).RetrievedMarch 27,2014.
- ^abcdefghiCarrero Mora, Ricaurte (2011)."Los blancos en la sociedad colonial venezolana: Representaciones sociales e ideología".revista Paradigma(in Spanish).RetrievedMarch 27,2014.
- ^Rosenblat, Ángel (2002).El español de América(in Spanish). Caracas:Biblioteca Ayacucho.p. 263.RetrievedMarch 27,2014.
- ^abcdefViloria Vera, Enrique (April 19, 2012)."El 19 de abril: obra de los mantuanos caraqueños".Venezuela Analítica.com(in Spanish). Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2014.RetrievedMarch 27,2014.
- ^Rosenblat, Ángel (2002).El español de América(in Spanish). Caracas:Biblioteca Ayacucho.RetrievedMarch 27,2014.
- ^"mantuanas".TheFreeDictionary.com(in Spanish).RetrievedJuly 24,2018.