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Eric Van Young’s essay, Augustin Marroquin: The Sociopath as Rebel poses the question of Marroquin’s intentions for his numerous crimes and constant acts of defiance. Understanding Marroquin’s motives for each of his many crimes is impractical; however Marroquin’s pattern of crimes and behaviors strongly suggests that the foundation of his life as a bandit has significant foundations in his disapproval of the social structure of New Spain. There are several unanswered questions and unaccounted for time periods in Marroquin’s life which leaves much open to interpretation, however, Marroquin’s actions that can be indisputably accounted for prove that he was both an opportunist and a nationalist.
Marroquin’s life of crime prior to his participation in Hidalgo’s uprising lacks a dominating cause. The inconsistency of his crimes during this period suggests that there were several different motives for his criminal acts with his goal of infamy seeming to be most significant. The desire for infamy reflects his antisocial nature in conjunction with his narcissism. Marroquin was also a brilliant man who understood all too well the social inequality in New Mexico which his personality is unable to be oblivious to and his discontentment with the situation manifested itself through his aggressive and defiant behavior. Marroquin’s personality is the core reason for his violence, aggression, and innumerable crimes; however, the social and political situation in New Mexico provides an opportunity for Marroquin to both continue his criminal behavior and fight for a cause.
In 1810, when Father Hidalgo had Marroquin freed and eventually appointed captain the insurgent forces, Marroquin’s crimes began to be recognized as his participation in Hidalgo’s uprising in New Spain. While Marroquin made it very evident that he was very unhappy with the current situations in New Spain, he also made it equally evident that he was a criminal by nature. This proves that...