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Caterina Pizzigoni describes the important economic factors of indigenous Central Mexico in the most boring way imaginable. It seems that by scouring wills, funeral practices, lawsuits, and estate documentation belonging to the inhabitants of the Toluca Valley during the colonial period, Pizzigoni has unraveled the economic pursuits and resources of the typical Central Mexican household of the time. In chapter 5, she highlights the integral role indigenous women played in the economic activities of maguey cultivation, pulque manufacture, and even money lending, once again proving that society and situation dictate responses to circumstance, as I alluded to in my last post. Additionally, she categorizes the commodities of maguey, pigs, land, and currency as factors of trade, the basic activity that brought colonial-era households together in the pursuit of profit, and opened the Toluca Valley to the Atlantic scene. (Pizzigoni, 163) As a result, Spanish influence infiltrated indigenous households, establishing its mark on the economy. According to Pizzigoni, Spanish influence is most apparent in the matters of hocking, selling, and renting, ideas not necessarily new to colonial Mexico, but changed by the inevitable encroachment of Iberian domination. (Pizzigoni, 163)
As Diana points out, the day-to-day activities of raising livestock (a Spanish gift) and trading in clothing were additional income producing enterprises in the Toluca Valley. They allowed for some independence and individuality among the indigenous people during Spanish colonization. Moreover, the cultivation of the maguey and manufacture of pulque afforded them a little break from reality every so often despite the additional tax placed on alcoholic beverages by the Spanish. Speaking of booze, I need a drink after reading this chapter. Wow. No words.