We are delighted that our PhD student in History, Sandra Acocal, presented her paper “Rupturas en la Casa noble india del Centro de México en el siglo XVI. Mujeres indias que alegaron derechos desde el sistema legal español” at the Congreso Internacional Nuevas Historias held in the city of Murcia, Spain, from December 1 to 3, 2025.
Drawing on 16th-century indigenous language sources, Sandra explained the contradictions and adaptations of indigenous and Spanish cultural and legal forms in the process of land disputes among indigenous noblewomen who, on occasion, did not have the opportunity to aspire to be ladies of a noble house.
The insights shared in this presentation are part of the broader research Sandra is conducting for her dissertation, entitled The Indian Nobility of Tlaxcala in the Sixteenth Century: The Institution of the Noble House. Her dissertation is supervised by Professor Camilla Townsend.
Keep going, Sandra!