ABSTRACT
Traditional European families have long been presumed to be characterized by parental control over their children’s choices of a marriage partner; a control aided by the support of the Catholic church. This essay focuses on the role of the Catholic church in family conflicts over marriage in the Spanish New World colony of Mexico. It demonstrates that the Spanish Catholic church not only failed to support parental authority over their offspring’s marriages but that it intervened decisively to prevent families from interfering in the young couple’s decision to marry. The Spanish Catholic church’s actions stemmed from a strong commitment to traditional Catholic orthodox views on matrimonial freedom as well as from a cultural heritage opposing marriages for social or economic gain.
