In the port city of Veracruz in 1791, African descendants represented thirty-five percent of the population whose race was identified and roughly twenty-five percent of the overall population according to the census of 1791. Employing the census of 1791, this presentation goes beyond the numeric representation of African descendants in the port city of Veracruz. Instead, it demonstrates how the 1791 census affords an opportunity for a complex analysis of African descendants in Veracruz in terms of race, occupation and marital status (among other aspects). This presentation engages these characteristics to view the position of African descendants in a late-colonial urban context in Mexico and details how the methodological use of census records has broader implications for other regions and time periods.

Beau D.J. Gaitors is an assistant professor of history in the Department of History, Politics, & Social Justice at Winston-Salem State University. His research focuses on the African diaspora with a particular emphasis on the social, political, and economic contributions of African descendants during the transition to independence in Mexico. He received his PhD from Tulane University (2017) in the Department of History. He received his M.A. in History from Purdue University (2010). Dr. Gaitors holds a B.A. in International Relations and a B.A. in Africana Studies from Brown University (2008). He received a Fulbright fellowship (COMEXUS 2013-2014) to conduct archival research for his current book project on African descendants in nineteenth-century Mexico and served as a postdoctoral fellow through the Consortium for Faculty Diversity. His current manuscript project engages the position of African descendants in the port city of Veracruz through the lens of mobility, citizenship, and belonging in the nascent nation.