"Pure and Noble Indians, Untainted by Inferior Idolatrous Races": Native Elites and the Discourse of Blood Purity in Late Colonial Mexico.

The article discusses the concept of limpieza de sangre, or blood purity, and examines how it played a role in shaping the narrative pasts of indigenous elites in Spanish colonial Mexico. Particular focus is paid to the social structure of Spanish colonies and ways in which the justification of one's membership into the elite class helped to define those who had power from those who did not. Other topics include the discourse associated with limpieza that was used to define racial and religious purity, native caciques in Mexico, and Spanish colonial law.