My research is centered on the experiences of enslaved people, mostly Africans, South Asians and their descendants, in the cities of colonial Mexico (New Spain) during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Through their interactions with colonizing Europeans and local indigenous populations, I find that Africans (especially Angolans) impacted the delicate balance of power in a viceroyalty fearful of Black rebellion yet ever more dependent on slave labor. I am particularly interested in decentering traditional master-slave narratives by studying afro-indigenous interactions in the urban centers of Central Mexico. My research also addresses the experiences of enslaved South Asians (commonly mislabeled as chinos) in elite households, textile mills and churches
