Mexican nobility

The Mexican nobility includes elite indigenous families from the pre-hispanic era; indigenous elites recognized as nobles in the colonial era (1521–1821); and hereditary nobles and economic elites who acquired noble titles in the colonial era; and the First Mexican Empire (1821–23), immediately after independence from Spain, and the Second Mexican Empire 1862–67. While some titles were granted in Mexico itself, other families brought with them their old titles from Europe.

The Political Constitution of Mexico has prohibited the state from granting any titles of nobility since 1917. The United Mexican States do not issue or recognize titles of nobility or hereditary prerogatives and honors.

The Aztecs and other Indigenous peoples in Mexico had a system of hereditary aristocracy in place when the Spanish arrived in Mexico. The Spaniards respected this system and added to it, resulting in many unions between Aztec and Spanish nobility. Descendents of the elites of pre-Columbian Mexico who received these distinctions included the heirs of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II; That family became known as the Condes de Moctezuma, and later, the Duques of Moctezuma de Tultengo. The holders of the title, who still reside in Spain, became part of the Spanish nobility in 1766 when they received a grandeza. A branch of their family, on the female side, continued to receive an annual payment from the Mexican government in the amount of some 500 gold ducats until 1938, as part of a contract signed in the 16th century granting Mexico City access to water and lumber on family property.

Some families of pure Amerindian ancestry, such as the Mixtec Villagómez family, were among the richest landowners in New Spain after the conquest of the Aztec empire. Despite being part of the colonial elite after the conquest, the Villagómez retained their Mixtec identity, speaking the Mixtec language and keeping a collection of Mixtec codices.

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