The Colonial Period

ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of MexicoKimberly Martin, Ph.D.

Goals of Colonizing

• Wealth for European Royalty• Land, wealth for colonizers• Wealth for the Catholic Church• Converts for the Catholic Church

New Spain• Mexico was part of what was called

New Spain

Two General Phases of Colonial Period

• Era of conquistadores– Spain did not have resources to politically or

militarily control colonies– Depended on conquistadores to provide money,

troops, ships, weapons for conquest– Only leaders got the rewards – regular

soldiers/sailors got little of what was promised– Conquistadores were rewarded with

• 1/5 of all riches found in colonized area• Complete political control of the area they conquered• Indian servants• Encomiendas• Land grants

Two General Phases of Colonial Period

• Era of Viceroyalties– Spain did not have resources to

politically or militarily control colonies– Depended on conquistadores to provide

money, troops, ships, weapons for conquest

Cortes• Ruled Mexico from 1521 – 1528• 1522 - Appointed Governor and Captain General of Nueva

Espana by Carlos V• Built Mexico City and other cities• Initiated the encomiendas• Worked on behalf of the Church• Developed mining, farming• Introduced new crops – sugar• Introduced African slaves to Mexico• Led an expedition to south as far as Honduras• Recalled to Spain in 1528• Returned to Mexico with title of Marquis of the Valley of

Oaxaca• Lived in Cuernavaca on huge hacienta • Returned to Spain again and died in 1547 • His remains were returned to Mexico for burial in Mexico

City.

Ruling Bodies in New Spain

• Cortes – Governor and Captain General of Nuevo Espana 1522 – 1528

• Council of the Indies - had power over all New World colonies 1524

• Audencia was a panel of judges who had a great deal of power/influence in the New World – led by corrupt Nuno de Guzman 1527

• 62 Viceroys over 275 years, the first being Antonio de Mendoza – 1535 - 1810

Indigenous Populations• Estimates of population decline after

conquest up to 90%– Disease– War– Hunger– Creation of clearly defined racial classes

• Forced Labor– Repartimiento/cuatequil – each adult male had

to contribute 45 days of labor per year– Debt Peonage – Indios were paid in advance for

labor at a rate that they could never repay – debt was inherited from one generation to another, binding laborers to haciendas/encomienderos

The Caste System• Peninsulares (Born in Spain)• Criollos (7/8 or more European)• Castizos (3/4 European)• Mestizos (1/2 European)• Indio• Negro (slaves of African ancestry

• Peninsulare + Indio = Mestizo• Peninsulare + Mestizo = Castizo• Peninsulare + Castizo = Criollo

Exports to Spain

• Silver - largest exporter of silver still along with Peru

• Cochineal - second largest export from the new world.

• Tobacco• Hides

(Olives and grapes were not allowed because of fear of competition for Spanish producers)

Global Trade

• Acapulco and Veracruz were the only ports allowed to operate

• Trade from the Spanish East Indies to Acapulco across the Pacific, overland to Veracruz, then across the Atlantic to Spain

Encomiendas• A system of ownership of indigenous people• Spaniards were given the rights over a certain

number of indigenous people– Right to demand labor and tribute from them– Responsibility to protect them from raiding

indigenous groups– Responsibility to convert them to Catholicism– Responsibility to teach them Spanish and

acculturate them to European culture.

• This did not include land directly, but indirectly control over the people meant control over their land

• Land without encomiendas was worthless

The Church in New Spain

• First priests came in 1523• Franciscans were the first missionaries• Dominicans, Augustinians followed• Orders established themselves

regionally with distinctive architecture, organization

• With the decimation of the populations, they abandoned many of their monasteries

• Two Phases of Church activity

Church as Enculturator• Missions were built across the less dense

parts of New Spain • Native codices/books burned• Religious rituals banned –especially human

sacrifice• Native priests and teachers persecuted• Temples, statues demolished and European

buildings and churches built on top of them with stone taken from indigenous sites

• Foods associated with religious ritual banned• Indigenous names replaced with Spanish

names

Phase One– 1519 until 1555: Missionaries had totally

independent power from Church• Indios considered heathens rather than

infidels• Were frequently advocates for indigenous

folk against secular powers• Conversion was more important than

orthodoxy • Studied and recorded indigenous languages• Translated religious teaching into indigenous

languages• Bernardino de Sahagun’s complete history

of life and religion in Mexico

La Virgin de Guadalupe

• Conversion was syncretized rather than full conversion.

• Virgin of Guadalupe 1531– http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=_k8E-f92sr0

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC0v9xZktEw&feature=fvst

Phase Two– After 1555: Church brought all under

the control of Bishops• In reaction to Protestant challenges in

Europe orthodoxy became the focus• Indios not considered capable of education

or of becoming priests • Spanish was substituted for native

languages• Focus on orthodox Catholic practices rather

than syncretism• However, syncretism was firmly established

by this time• Church obtained land grants, encomiendas

and wealth from its operations in New Spain

In the End . . . • Pensulares and Criollos controlled

virtually all the farmable land in haciendas/encomiendas.

• Tribute from others meant most resources were funneled to upper class

• Forced labor was in many cases almost like slave labor

• Wealth was siphoned off to Europeans in Mexico and to Spain.

• The Church was an extremely powerful, wealthy and influential force in New Spain