Who are the “trigueños” (wheat coloured). Analysis of an interstitial racial category (1810-1830)

Abstract

The term trigueño is an interstitial and ambiguous category into which a significant percentage of soldiers and recruits in freedom condition was classified as of 1810. The following research has a dual purpose: first, to examine the historical content of the expression trigueño -wheat coloured- through the affiliation sheets in relation to recruits enlisted between 1810-1830 where the racial dimension will be articulated with other equally relevant factors such as origin, way of life and education. The second objective will be to emphasize the mestizo possibility this expression implies, since it moderates the idea that statistically African population were classified into this category, which inevitably leads to the study of colonial miscegenation and racial mixed race categories. The dialogue between documentary corpus from the early republicanism allows a greater understanding of the classification logics as they reveal -or are an indication of- the policies that created those instruments as well as those who designed them.