Urban preindustrial nuptiality and the limits on intermarriage: characteristics and evolution of marriage practices in Mexico City, 1700-1850

The author examines marriage patterns in Mexico City, Mexico, during the eighteenth century. The strongly female-oriented sex ratio and strict social and ethnic marriage customs, including racial endogamy, are cited as causes for the preponderance of unions between young women and older men. Sections are included on marriages among and within ethnic groups, second marriages, and the stiffening of restrictions on intermarriage over the period.