HIS 315K Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Philip Iii Of Spain, Encomienda, Embezzlement

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A. Reflection (20 Points)
I honestly was not very surprised when reading about the colonial labor systems.
While I did not know much about them before taking this course, they seemed similar to
the other labor and slavery systems I have studying before. I think the only things that
really surprised me was how the Spanish Crown attempted to regulate the harsh and
abusive conditions through laws and how slaves were assumed to be free unless the
owner had proof of his purchase.
With the help of Baroleme Las Casas and others who opposed the labor systems, the
Crown passed The Laws of Burgos and The New Laws within the same century.
1
I
appreciated that the royalty overseas listened to the complaints and attempted to fix it.
However, they probably had a motive different from just helping out; especially since
they got their money from the work of native laborers. Another thing that surprised me
and that I liked was how the colonial court system had a court with the purpose of
hearing native complaints.
2
Even though it was expensive and not super helpful and
although they deserved far more, it gave the natives some legal rights.
Even though the harsh conditions didn’t surprise me, I still found them disturbing.
It’s tough to read about slavery and forced labor and imagine people ever thinking that
it was okay.
B. Identification (40 points)
1. The Council of the Indies was created in 1524 by the King of Spain to advise him
on matters of the American colonies. The Overseas Council was created by the
King of Portugal in 1642 for a similar reason.
3
The Councils oversaw all
governmental activity in The Americas, regulated the Church and recommended
people for the high-ranking positions. The Council of the Indies’ positions were
originally filled with educated and experienced men but were later filled by King
Phillip III with men who had no credentials. This favoritism in appointees and
slow communication with Latin America, weakened the effectiveness of the
council.
4
2. Viceroys were responsible for administrative duties, including gathering and
sending taxes to Spain, keeping order, and supporting the church. The Viceroy
1
Matthew Restall and Kris Lane, Latin America in Colonial Times (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011),
134-137.
2
Mark A. Burkholder and Lyman L. Johnson, Colonial Latin America, 9th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2015), 142.
3
Burkholder and Johnson, 101.
4
Burkholder and Johnson, 94.
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was the King’s personal representative and held the most power in the colonies.
However, his power was checked by the other high-ranking officials, audiencias
and more who reported his actions to the Council of the Indies. Most viceroys
were raised in Spain and had a background of nobility.
5
The Governor-General
was a high-ranking official in Portuguese colonies who had similar responsibilities
as the Spanish viceroys. The Governor-generals were typically men with a
military or militia background and were unable to leave their captaincy without
royal permission.
6
Both the Governor-General and the Viceroy served term
appointments rather than having the position for a lifetime.
7
3. Cabildos were the town councils formed in Spanish colonies that oversaw the
“development and administration of the new community.”
8
For money, they
leased out town property and issued judicial fines. Alcaldes mayors and
corregidores were provincial administrators in Latin America. The positions were
created to expand the Crown’s power from just urban areas to more rural areas
and over the indigenous population. The men who held these positions typically
only served one term of around five years and had a military background.
9
After
entering bankruptcy in 1557, Philip II began to open and sell municipal positions
to raise money including cabildos, alcaldes mayors and corregidores.
10
4. The labor drafts to subsidize the drastic decline in the Indian population and
their unwillingness to provide labor needed to make colonists money, were
called repartimiento in Spanish America and mita in Peru. Indians were given
wage quotas to fill for a specified amount of time which was usually a few
months, and these laborers could then use their minimal earnings they got from
being drafted to pay tribute.
11
In some cases, Indians could get out of the draft if
they paid their share. Depending on where the colonies were located in Latin
America, these systems were used for centuries and in others for a lot less time.
Many were replaced eventually with Free Wage Labor.
12
5
Burkholder and Johnson, 95-96.
6
Burkholder and Johnson, 101.
7
Burkholder and Johnson, 96.
8
Burkholder and Johnson, 97.
9
Burkholder and Johnson, 99.
10
Burkholder and Johnson, 97.
11
Burkholder and Johnson, 137.
12
Burkholder and Johnson, 138.
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5. Sugar plantations and placer mining were established in the 1500’s using Indian
labor. The expansion of the sugar industry was expensive worsened an already
dwindling labor population as more and more Portuguese came to The
Americas.
13
However, Indians were replaced by African slaves in both the sugar
and mining industries in the early 1600’s when the African slave trade was
further developed. African slaves were pivotal in the gold and silver mines and
on sugar plantations as they brought much wealth to their owners. When
production slowed, the slaves could be sold for even more money to a wealthier
area that needed them.
14
Mining for gold was relatively inexpensive. However,
mining for silver required more equipment and eventually a cap was placed on
how much could be mined.
6. The Republic of Indians was the political category that Spaniards put Indian
villages in that governed themselves. Although they didn’t really make any high
up decisions, in the Indian pueblos, the natives got to elect their own cabildo and
make day-to-day decisions. These “republics” remained subordinate to the
Spanish but had their own separate cabildos and governor. Ironically, the
Spanish Community depended on the Republic of Indians to survive.
15
They also
got to maintain some of their original culture while embracing the Spanish ways
of life. Each community wore their own clothing styles and spoke their own
languages.
16
Some even adapted their own versions of Christianity, but this later
became a point of contension.
7. Encomienda-mitayas were a forced labor system into which conquered Indians
were sorted. Received as rewards for their success in Latin America, those who
owned encomiendas, known as encomenderos, represented the elite in the New
World. Encomienda Indians were occasionally moved to work elsewhere then
their original land and were almost indistinguishable from slaves in how they
were treated. Originally awarded by the crown to conquistadors, protests from
Spaniards concerned with how the indigenous peoples were being treated
caused Ferdinand to issue the Laws of Burgos (1512). These laws attempted to
regulate work conditions, food and water supplies given, and punishment to
Indians. However, these laws were unenforced and ineffective. The Indians in
encomiendas were still overworked and badly mistreated.
17
Once again, the
Spanish Crown tried to regulate the treatment of Native peoples with The New
13
Burkholder and Johnson, 159-161.
14
Burkholder and Johnson, 155-158.
15
Restall and Lane, 140.
16
Restall and Lane, 134-139.
17
Burkholder and Johnson, 134-135.
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Document Summary

I honestly was not very surprised when reading about the colonial labor systems. While i did not know much about them before taking this course, they seemed similar to the other labor and slavery systems i have studying before. With the help of baroleme las casas and others who opposed the labor systems, the. Crown passed the laws of burgos and the new laws within the same century. 1 i appreciated that the royalty overseas listened to the complaints and attempted to fix it. However, they probably had a motive different from just helping out; especially since they got their money from the work of native laborers. E(cid:448)e(cid:374) though the ha(cid:396)sh (cid:272)o(cid:374)ditio(cid:374)s did(cid:374)"t su(cid:396)p(cid:396)ise (cid:373)e, i still fou(cid:374)d the(cid:373) distu(cid:396)(cid:271)i(cid:374)g. King of portugal in 1642 for a similar reason. 3 the councils oversaw all governmental activity in the americas, regulated the church and recommended people for the high-ranking positions.

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