To be called Hacendado in Colonial Mexico was to be recognized as someone of high social rank and influence. The title meant that you or one of your ancestors had been awarded a few hundred acres of land, complete with peons to work it, for some vital service to the Crown. That the land sometimes provided a princely income was usually of lesser importance to a proud Spanish Hidalgo than high social status. Since the true Spanish Grandees had little incentive to seek their fortunes in the New World, most of these new landowners were minor nobles or younger sons of the great houses eager for status.

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