Spanish Colonialism and Labor Institutions

Flashcards covering the arrival of Hernan Cortes, the establishment of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the encomienda labor system, and the colonial social hierarchies.

Hernan Cortes

The Spanish figure who arrived in Mexico in $1519$, landing on the Gulf Coast to begin a campaign against the Mexica Aztec empire.

De Tuslan

Mentioned alongside the conquest involving Hernan Cortes that laid the foundation for the colonial caste system.

Tenochtitlan

The Mexica Empire capital that fell in $1521$ to Spanish and indigenous allies, marking the beginning of Spanish colonial rule in Central Mexico.

Viceroyalty Of New Spain

Established in $1535$, this administrative organization of North American colonies eventually included present-day Mexico, the Southwest United States, Central America, and parts of The Caribbean.

encomienda system

An early colonial labor institution established in the $16th$ and early $17th$ centuries where the Spanish crown granted colonists the rights to indigenous labor and tribute.

encomenderos

Spanish settlers who held the right to collect labor, tribute, or goods from specific indigenous communities in exchange for protecting them and converting them to Christianity.

Indigenous Population Decline

A demographic reduction from an estimated $20,000,000$ to $2,000,000$ people caused by European diseases, warfare, and harsh labor conditions.

Early Labor Hierarchy

A system developed in the early $16th$ and $17th$ centuries comprised of three groups: Spanish settlers, indigenous peoples, and enslaved Africans.

Transatlantic slave trade

The system used to bring approximately $200,000$ Africans to New Spain to address labor shortages resulting from the decline of the indigenous population.

Bartolome de la de las Casas

A Catholic priest who denounced the violence and exploitation occurring within the encomienda system.

Tribute

Economic payments involving crops, textiles, precious metals, or other goods provided by indigenous communities to Spanish settlers.

Mestizaje

The process of racial mixing and miscegenation between Spanish, indigenous, and African populations that shaped Mexican and Chicana/Chicano identities.

Cistema de Castas

A racial classification or caste system developed by colonial authorities to organize a diverse society based on racial phenotypes and ancestry.

Afro Mexicanos

A population group often erased from larger Mexican history that became incorporated into the cultural geography through the transatlantic slave trade and labor systems.