I know this is a bit of a weird question, but I'm trying to understand the way the casta was applied, particularly in Puerto Rico.
Take for example, me. My (legal) grandfather was mixed indigenous and African, thought I can't say what percentage of each. And from what I see on the casta charts, he could be anything from China cambuja, to Lobo, to Albarazado, to Barzino, or like five other things. My grandmother was blonde-haired and blue-eyed, which I take to either be Mestiza or Torna atras. My mother is completely white, though she has dark hair and dark eyes.
My father, on the other hand, is half-Italian and half-Polish. I know that the Casta was manipulated by people it ruled over by claiming to be one thing in one setting, and another in another setting (for tax or conscription benefits). If my grandparents had been born two or three centuries earlier, I'm sure they could have taken advantage of this (was that even possible in Puerto Rico?).
My question is about my European father. The casta charts all start with Españoles y Españolas. Were all Europeans subsumed under that title? Or were children of non-Spanish but European parentage something else in the casta system?
Generally, how strong was the casta system applied in Puerto Rico? The demographics of the island seems (to my cursory understanding of the island's colonial history) to change pretty dramatically, and pretty quickly. I know this is a bit of a weird question, but I find trying to understand the casta to be like trying to grab something slippery.
I would love to answer your question but first, did you just take a Colonial Latin America Course? The very specific terms you use like “Torna Atras” were often more idealized 17th-19th century terms than used in actuality. Phenotypically, it was often complicated to determine these types of ‘categories’.
After all, how easy is it to determine if someone is 1/4 Amerindian versus 1/8 African and 1/8 AmerIndian?
Although those “Casta Paintings” may make it seem like an exact science, it was actually fairly common to move in between ethnicities in ones lifetime. (I.e. you could start as an ‘India’ but through wealth and marriage you could acquire a better title like mestiza or doña.)
If I can assume that you are discussing your family’s history post-1900, you are looking more at a question of race/ethnicity than of ‘caste’. There is a fascinating history of race in Puerto Rico that I would be happy to elucidate on if that is what you are looking for.
I guess what I’m asking is, are these terms that your family used? or terms that you learned in a class? Both are equally interesting to historians but change how well I can answer your question.