Presented by Haley Schroer
Ph.D. Student, History Department 

“Scandalizing the Public” plots the rise of inquisitorial sumptuary trials in Mexico City between 1604 and 1617. Drawing from fifteen cases, this report analyzes how residents of New Spain utilized such trials to regulate the appearances of marginalized populations like convicted heretics and their descendants. Individuals provided 46 testimonies, targeting active penitents, former heretics successfully reconciled with the Catholic Church, and the descendants of convicted Jews. Grievances against active penitents centered on prohibited clothing and missing penitential garb. In contrast, statements against former heretics and relatives of religious prisoners expanded to include clothing as well as objects such as weaponry and horses. Informants thus defined these integrated religious outsiders through a more diverse set of factors and sought to limit social mobility by restricting access to material goods. Considered as a cohesive unit, these trials reveal key gendered conclusions. Despite substantial accusations against six women, authorities only brought two to formal trial. Instead, the Inquisition targeted men. Male apparel demonstrated greater potential for subversive power because it appealed to definitions of honor and reputation in public life. Overall, inquisitorial sumptuary cases demonstrate that New Spain inhabitants conceptualized appearance as a critical social boundary, consciously judging garments as markers of identity.