Textiles and identity at the Presidio during Spanish colonial occupation: 1776-1822

Colonized by 30 settler-soldiers and their families in 1776, el Presidio de San Francisco was New Spain’s northwesternmost outpost. Despite their status as Spanish colonial subjects, the people who occupied the Presidio were of mixed Spanish, Mexican, and African descent. They belonged to the sistema de castas - a race-based caste system utilized by Spanish rulers to govern people of “unpure” blood throughout Spanish Empire. Phenotypical traits such as skin color and hair texture were important factors that determined one’s casta ranking, but perceived purity of blood, mannerisms, and most importantly, clothing, were vital to situating one’s social position within the Spanish Empire. Cuadros de castas, or casta paintings, were created for the Spanish ruling class, and offered idealized version of how members of each casta should dress. Clothing-related archaeological evidence indicates colonial subjects at the Presidio belonged to lower castas, and suggest settlers used clothing to shed their casta identities and form the nascent Californio ethnic group. Less is known about how casta paintings and clothing were used by Spanish elite and the colonial to signify identity and place in the Spanish colonial social hierarchy, and simultaneously uphold and subvert the sistema de castas. My research seeks to assess this research gap and shift the focus away from the narratives of Spanish institutions and high-ranking officials to the members of the lower castas and indigenous peoples. By comparing Cuadros de castas and textile-related archaeological evidence at the Presidio, I examine how colonial subjects used clothing to reshape and reinforce their identities at el Presidio de San Francisco and situate themselves within the Spanish Empire.