Traditional European families have long been presumed to be char
acterized by parental control over their children's choices of a marriage partner; a
control aided by the support of the Catholic church. This essay focuses on the
role of the Catholic church in family conflicts over marriage in the Spanish New
World colony of Mexico. It demonstrates that the Spanish Catholic church not
only failed to support parental authority over their offspring's marriages but that
it intervened decisively to prevent families from interfering in the young couple's
decision to marry. The Spanish Catholic church's actions stemmed from.a strong
commitment to traditional Catholic orthodox views on matrimonial freedom as
well as from a cultural heritage opposing marriages for social or economic gain.
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