Slavery in Mexico has a long, complex history, beginning before the Spanish conquest and ending legally in the early 19th century, though coercive labor persisted afterward.wikipedia+1
Many Mesoamerican societies (including the Mexica/Aztecs) practiced forms of slavery or bondage, usually as a result of war captivity, debt, or criminal punishment.theeyehuatulco+1
Enslaved people in these societies could sometimes marry, own property, or even buy back their freedom, making the institution different from later chattel slavery.academic.oup
Enslavement was often tied to warfare and sacrifice; some captives were kept for labor while others were destined for ritual killing.academic.oup
With the Spanish conquest (1519–1521), conquistadors began to enslave Indigenous people on a large scale to work in mines, fields, and households.indigenousmexico+1
Spanish authorities used systems such as encomienda and repartimiento, which, while not always legally defined as slavery, often amounted to forced, unpaid or underpaid labor with high mortality.mexconnect+1
Emperor Charles V’s New Laws of 1542 formally abolished Indian slavery in Spanish America, but harsh coercive labor systems continued under new legal names.indigenousmexico+1
Epidemics and brutal conditions devastated the Indigenous population, creating a severe labor shortage in the 16th century.wikipedia+1
Spanish officials and entrepreneurs increasingly turned to enslaved Africans, whom they considered more “suitable” for hard labor in mines, mills, and plantations.smithsonianeducation+1
Importation of Africans into New Spain (colonial Mexico) began in the early 1500s and expanded significantly after Indigenous slavery was curtailed.wikipedia+1
Historians estimate roughly 120,000 to about 200,000 African-born slaves were brought to Mexico between the 16th century and abolition in the early 19th century.theeyehuatulco+2
New Spain likely had more enslaved Africans than any other single colony in the Americas during parts of the 16th century.smithsonianeducation
Enslaved Africans worked in silver mines, sugar plantations in Veracruz and other coastal areas, cattle and sheep ranches, textile workshops (obrajes), and urban domestic service.theeyehuatulco+2
Slavery in Mexico involved extreme physical labor, long hours, and frequent beatings, torture, and sexual abuse, with high mortality rates.smithsonianeducation+1
Psychological torment was also intense; records mention suicides and infanticide by enslaved mothers who preferred death for their children over a life in bondage.theeyehuatulco
Enslaved people resisted through flight, day‑to‑day sabotage, revolts, and formation of maroon communities (cimarrones) in remote regions like the mountains of Veracruz.wikipedia+2
The Catholic Church sometimes criticized abuses; figures like Bartolomé de las Casas condemned Indigenous slavery but initially proposed substituting African slaves, a stance later widely criticized.mexconnect
Spanish monarchs issued repeated decrees against enslaving Indians, while explicitly permitting the enslavement of Africans, embedding racial hierarchy in law.indigenousmexico+1
Colonial officials occasionally regulated slave treatment, but enforcement was weak and economic interests usually prevailed.mexconnect
By the 18th century, slavery persisted but free Black and mixed‑race populations grew through manumission, intermarriage, and birth, complicating racial categories.indigenousmexico+1
Enlightenment ideas and growing anticolonial sentiment helped to delegitimize slavery, especially among insurgent leaders.wikipedia+1
The demographic importance of slavery in Mexico was smaller than in the Caribbean or Brazil, but it remained vital to specific sectors like sugar and mining.academic.oup+1
Priest‑revolutionary Miguel Hidalgo, regarded as a father of Mexican independence, issued a decree abolishing slavery in 1810 in insurgent-controlled areas.theeyehuatulco+1
Other insurgent leaders, including José María Morelos and Ignacio López Rayón, reaffirmed abolition in their political programs between 1812 and 1813.wikipedia
After independence, presidents Guadalupe Victoria and Vicente Guerrero ratified abolition; Guerrero’s decree of 1829 is often cited as the final legal end of slavery in Mexico (with limited exceptions in Texas until secession).aaihs+2
Even after formal abolition, systems of peonage, debt servitude, and forced labor on haciendas kept many Indigenous and mixed‑race peasants in conditions resembling slavery.mexconnect+1
Mexico’s early abolition later made it a destination for enslaved African Americans fleeing the United States, since Mexican law granted freedom once they crossed the border and refused to return runaways.today.usc+1
The Afro‑Mexican population, shaped by centuries of slavery and mixing, remained marginalized and was only officially recognized in Mexico’s national census in the 21st century.indigenousmexico
If you like, a follow‑up can focus just on Afro‑Mexican communities or on Mexico’s role as a refuge for runaways from the U.S. South.