Mexican Nobility - Titles in Viceregal Mexico and The First Mexican Empire

Titles in Viceregal Mexico and The First Mexican Empire

Families who received a título de Castilla during the Colonial period were the first to be granted European noble titles in New Spain (Mexico). One of the first was the Conquistador Hernán Cortés, who was granted the title of the Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca. Approximately 130 such titles were held by Spaniards born or resident in New Spain. Main centers of population included Mexico City, Puebla, Querétaro, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Guadalajara, and Morelia (Valladolid).

At independence, a few princely dignities were accorded the Imperial family's relations and three titles of nobility—the latter already under application with the Spanish government—were recognized by the Congress of the First Mexican Empire, such as the Marqués de Samaniego del Castillo. Knighthoods were also created, most notably, of Guadalupe. Over the nineteenth century, others received pontifical titles of nobility, and through loopholes in Spanish law, had these titles recognized as títulos de Castilla; these are known as títulos negros and include the titles of the marqués de Barrón, conde de Subervielle, conde del Valle (Fernández del Valle family), duquesa de Mier, and others. Many of these families were part of the hidalgo class. Some families, after Mexican Independence, received títulos de Castilla from the Spanish monarch directly, such as the duque de Regla and the duquesa de Prim, or indirectly, through marriage to individuals holding these titles, such as the duque de Castroterreño or the Escandón family members who subsequently became duques de Montellano, marqueses de Villavieja.