Abstract
After independence, as Mexicans revised the legal structures inherited from Spain, they modified some provisions of family law in order to reduce the patriarchal dominance of the family, increase the rights of mothers and children, facilitate legal separations, and release family members from the traditional restrictions of inheritance law. This essay examines the major innovations in family law embodied in the Civil Codes of 1870 and 1884 and analyzes them as part of the overall changes taking place in the family because of the growth of the state, the expansion of the economy, and the spread of liberalism.