User:Isabellavrj/Polygamy in North America

Mexico[edit]
Prior to Spanish colonization, polygamy (polygyny) was widely accepted and practiced by the indigenous people of what is now Mexico. In contrast to Eurocentric views of marriage and property in which land and other belongings were perceived as being owned by individuals or couples, indigenous people regarded property in a more communal manner, facilitating the existance of polygamy. This practice was most commonly practiced amongst the elites of the Aztecs (pipiltin), whereas average members of the society (macehualtin) were more likely to keep to monogamous relationships. Because the amount of wives that one could marry was based off of the male's economic capacity, calpulli leaders and pipiltin were the only members of the community capable of maintaining multiple wives.

At the turn of the 16th century, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Queen Isabella I of Castille and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, began their imposition and conquest on indigenous peoples. Citing the Sixth Commandment of the Roman Catholic Bible as reason for prohibition of polygamy, the so called Laws of Toro (1505) were instituted. These gave the Roman Catholic Church exclusive control over the statues for legitimization of marriage, and declared monogamy to be the only legitimate form of marriage.

In 1876, anglosaxon Mormons from the United States fled to the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua after the prohibition of polygamy in the United States. Ten years later, the Book of Mormon was translated to Spanish by Meliton G. Trejo and Jamie Z. Stewart. In 1895, Mormonism in Mexico took root with its own colony in Ciudad Juárez. In 1937, Nauha-Mexican evangelist, Margarito Bautista, presented himself among the Third Convention, advocating for the reinstatement of plural marriage. However, Bautista's plead was quickly rejected and he was expelled from the movement.

Today, polygamy is illegal in Mexico and it's consequences are outlined in the 16th Title of the 2nd Volume of the Federal Penal Code, called "Against Civil Status and Bigamy" under Article 279. The marriage of more than one partner can result in up to a five year sentence in federal prison. However, some unofficial cases of polygamy remain present in the country.