Bearing Arms for His MajestyThis study uses the participation of free colored men, whether mulatos, pardos, or morenos (i. e., Afro Spaniards, Afro Indians, or "pure blacks"), in New Spain's militias as a prism for examining race relations, racial identity, racial categorization, and issues of social mobility for racially stigmatized groups in colonial Mexico. By 1793, nearly 10 percent of New Spain's population was made up of people who could trace some African ancestrypeople