AP World 19.3

Ágrarian Society

A society predominantly based on agriculture, where a large percentage of the population lives and works on the land.

Mining

The essential activity in Spanish America that formed the basis of Spain's rule, primarily focused on the extraction of precious metals.

Potosí

 Mine located in upper Peru (modern Bolivia); largest of New World silver mines; produced 80 percent of all Peruvian silver. 

Mita

A labor draft system in Peru established by 1572 that provided workers for the mining industry.

Amalgamation

A process used in silver mining that involves mixing mercury with ores to extract silver.

Hacienda

 Rural estates in Spanish colonies in New World; produced agricultural products for consumers in America; basis of wealth and power for local aristocracy. 

Treaty of Tordesillas

Signed in 1494 between Castile and Portugal; clarified spheres of influence and rights of possession in New World; reserved Brazil and all newly discovered lands east of Brazil to Portugal; granted all lands west of Brazil to Spain. 

Council of the Indies

Body within the Castilian government that issued all laws and advised king on all matters dealing with the Spanish colonies of the New World. 

Inquisition

A tribunal established to maintain orthodoxy and morality by prosecuting religious dissenters in Spanish America.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

A notable woman of the colonial period in Mexico, recognized for her contributions as a poet and intellectual.

Recopilación

Body of laws collected in 1681 for Spanish possessions in New World; basis of law in the Indies. 

Seville

The city that controlled nearly all commerce between Spain and its American colonies after the mid-16th century.

Galleons

Large, heavily armed ships used to carry silver from New World colonies to Spain; basis for convoy system utilized by Spain for transportation of bullion.

Viceroyalties

 Two major divisions of Spanish colonies in New World; one based in Lima; the other in Mexico City; direct representatives of the king

Encomienda

A system in the Spanish colonies that granted settlers the right to extract labor and tribute from local indigenous populations.

Spanish Commercial System

A trade system that required all trade with Spanish America to be conducted by Spaniards under strict regulations.

Huancavelica

Location of greatest deposit of mercury in South America; aided in American silver production; linked with Potosí. 

Consulado

Merchant guild of Seville; enjoyed virtual monopoly rights over goods shipped to America and handled much of the silver received in return.

Letrados

University-trained lawyers from Spain in the New World; juridical core of Spanish colonial bureaucracy; exercised both legislative and administrative functions. 

Viceroys

Senior government officials in Spanish America; ruled as direct representative of the king over the principal administrative units or viceroyalties; usually high-ranking Spanish nobles with previous military or governmental experience. The Portuguese also used viceroys who resided in Goa for their possessions in the Indian Ocean, and then after the mid Seventeenth century for their colony in Brazil.

Audiencia

Royal court of appeals established in Spanish colonies of New World; there were 16 throughout Spanish America; part of colonial administrative system; staffed by professional magistrates