Patriarchy and Private Property in Nicaragua, 1860–1920

Abstract Because patriarchy was initially perceived in Nicaragua as a concept that entails the systematic oppression of women by men, the notion was gradually abandoned since it failed to fulfill the expectations of many regarding how it could explain the oppression of women. In feminist studies that circulated during the period between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, one of the common themes was that of neglecting theories regarding patriarchy and accepting the notion that developing a theory of women's oppression would seemingly be impossible. This chapter attempts to make use of methodological frameworks in examining how patriarchy has undergone changing forms, particularly in the case wherein coffee expansion dominated rural Nicaragua in line with the social revolution between 1860 and 1920.