Indig ppl Midterm

encomienda

grant of native tribute/labor to Spaniards in reward for their part of the conquest.

based on altepetl unit, under responsibility of tlatoani. 

cabildo officials organized labor and landholding 

provided foundation for spanish economic development, allowing Spaniards to amass wealth through Indig exploitation

encomenderos

Spanish colonizers who were granted Indig labor/tribute through the encomienda system. often subjected indigenous people to forced labor, harsh punishment, abuse, exploitation, leading to decline in indig population

effects of encomienda system

created racial/social hierarchy that disrupted trad indig ways of life, leading to a reliance on Spanish settlers

established framework that prioritized European interests, treating indig people as resource, setting the stage of subsequent labor exploitation

cabildo

town council, Spanish-style municipal government

cabildo co-opted existing Indigenous leaders, undermined native authority, replaced Indig roles with spanish gov that reported to crown. indig leaders bend to spanish will, force or coerce 

cabildo duties

judicial/legislative/administrative

• made local laws

• intermediaries

• oversee civil and criminal matters

• collect tribute

• manage natural resources

• witness legal transactions

church parish

indig labor/tribute directed towards maintaining religious establishments. depended on support from the encomienda

churches built on top of temples and indig religious sites, continuing to serve as ceremonial center

combined practices, overlapping rituals, led to new forms of Christianity

cultural destruction, forced conversion, appropriating sacred texts & sites

linguistic translation to make Christian concepts accessible

basic moral values not fundamentally changed

indig methods of landholding

household unit jointly owns and works land, pays tribute for that land, shares resources. land is kept/gained through inheritance. altepetl can redistribute uncultivated land

land loss

especially after 1620s, increased rental and sale of land to non-natives

legal manipulation

population loss from disease, etc made it harder to defend land

spaniards introduced crop/livestock/agricultural methods that led to displacement and environmental degradation 

land loss meant a holistic loss of wealth, loss of means of substinence 

mine labor

only benefited spaniards, was extremely physically & economically difficult on Indig ppl

intensity of exploitation blurred the line between encomienda and slavery, impoverishing communities

silver was motive for colonization

resistive adaptation

various means to become exempt from labor draft: refusing to send workers, hiding workers, claiming to be exempt (by being mestizo)

repartimiento

compulsory labor draft

smaller groups of laborers sent to work for larger numbers of Spaniards on short-term basis

continuation of labor exploitation while attempting to deal with the increasing demands on declining population

like encomienda, labor organized by cabildo officials 

repartimiento effects

reales allowed for individual material trade benefits

families and communities lost productive citizens, leading to debt. human resources were spread thin as many people were involved in multiple forms of tribute

tension between citizens, Indig gov, and Spaniards when there was a decline of workers. all were fighting for resources. corruption and coercion within town officials, who would bend to spaniards in order to potentially recieve benefits

brutal treatment/wage theft/punishment/physically taxing 

wage labor

after 1650 - informal arrangements between indig workers and business owners

continued impoverishment of native communities

dependence of spanish business

diminished wealth and status of nobles, they were no longer the ones controlling labor

hardships of Maya people according to petitions to colonial officials

unable to pay tribute due to poverty and excessive demand

decreasing population, increasing workload

fatigue, lack of resources

1950s+

capitalist transition. lots of state intervention. highways built 

the survival of ethnic identity depended on a group’s continuation of economic independence — this allowed for self-sufficiency and made it hard for state to impose capitalist lifestyles

developers attempted to ‘modernize’ which led to the disruption of indig relationships, traditional ways of life, and decreased environmental yield. imposed european ideas as they thought that was best for productivity

housing became scarce due to inflation, population growth, and environmentak degradation

Nahua altepetl

ethnic state, fixed territory 

• dynastic (hereditary) ruler: tlatoani

• tribute system that rotated duties among calpolli to the tlatoani and temple

• marketplace

• main temple

• definitive ethnic pride/identity

calpolli

separate, independent subunits of altepetl. cellularly organized, larger units made from smaller parts

each calpolli had their own lords

calpolli divided into subunits, ‘wards’

altepetl characteristics

they were not static, could grow and become complex altepetl or unify & collapse when there was population loss

altepetl remaoned intact during colonization but their flexibility was taken advantage of, first by competing ethnic groups and then by spaniards

spaniards could divide indig groups along existing lands

caciques

spanish term for tlatoanis, they were mediators between Indig people and Spaniards

spaniards often manipulated them to gain control of a population

Maya cah

ethnic state, fixed territory, size determined by geography

• dynastic ruler: batab

• tribute system: patan

• complex state: paired cahob.

• no subunits: cah was cah regardless of size 

• class based divisions between ruler and commoner 

• main plaza with religious & administrative center

• ethnic identity only focused on cah after spanish imposition when all maya labelled as enemy

congregación

forced relocation of entire Indigenous communities to denser, nucleated towns. consolidation of dispersed settlements. imposed european model of clustered towns

• disrupted social/political ties

• left farmers far from agriculture and their means of subsistence 

cahob-barrios

cah adopted as political unit recognized by Spain, seen by spaniards as a suburb of municipality

cabecera

“head-towns” established by Spaniards based on what they consider to be powerful area

cabildo officials

• viceroy (high ranking spanish ruler, connection to crown)

• gobernador (local ruler/tlatoani. eventual loss of status as hereditary ruler, problems with rotation, spaniards manipulate, may not allow governors to live out their term

• alcaldes (judges)

• audencia (high judges, supreme court)

• regidores (councilmen)