History Essay

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147 6724 Microsoft Office PowerPoint Widescreen 311 115 0 0 0 false Fonts Used 4 Theme 1 Slide Titles 115 Arial Trebuchet MS Wingdings Wingdings 3 Facet The Colonial Latin American Indigenous Experience Pt. 2-2 (The Final Lecture!) Outline (finishing up history of sedentary native cultures and tying loose ends): The Columbian Exchange (affected all Natives… and the world!) The separation of the Americas and Eurasia-Africa, meant that different plants, animals, and diseases evolved in each of these different “worlds” The diseases and domestic animals that Europeans brought with them were disastrous for Natives It’s important to note that colonial abuses also killed many natives. Regardless, disease was the biggest factor, sometimes wiping out whole communities before Spanish settlers even arrived Newly introduced cows, horses, pigs etc. provided food and work, but they grazed over Indian fields, destroying crops and starving communities Even so, sedentary populations were so huge (millions!) that they remained large after the epidemics Pre-Columbian Americas were lacking in domesticated animals, but abounded in plants that were more energy-rich, nutritious, and sometimes more addictive(!) than old world-counterparts The calorie-rich crops of the Americas, corn and potatoes, allowed the population of the Old World to soar The introduction of tasty or addictive Native plants like cacao (chocolate) and tobacco helped spur a rise in consumption Consumption had its start in the colonial era Europe c. 1500 started to consume addicting “new” exotic things like sugar, tea, and coffee brought by explorers Native tobacco and chocolate (drunk, not eaten!) sold like crazy in European coffee houses But where to grow these crops? And who to cultivate them? African slave labor was the “logical” choice (or rather the only choice)… but it had nothing to do with “race” Africa was no “shit hole” continent in the 1400s Most of medieval Africa was no more “primitive” than rural Europe like the Viking village on the right. Due to its major N-S axis, sedentary life and tech didn’t flow evenly, and many non- and sem-sedentary African societies survived (like in Americas) However, Africa was the only consistent source for strong, disease-proof, non-Christian males who could be forced to harvest crops (and easily identified by the color of their skin!) Iberians developed stereotypes about which African “tribes” were more fierce, obedient, or hard working No European country would colonize Africa for centuries, but Portugal got dibs on the best slave ports. Beginning in 1450, the Portuguese (with the permission of African leaders!) would build feitorias or slave forts along the coast. There they held slaves bought from other Africans, to be shipped across the sea It’s important to note that African kings and chiefs dictated the terms of the slave trade It’s also important to note that Iberians only turned to expensive African slaves when Indian slavery didn’t turn out so well Spain wasn’t as interested at first in growing sugar and export crops (they missed the boat on chocolate). They left it to the Portuguese, English, Dutch, and French. Spain did control slave trading rights, asientos, which it sold to other Europeans, mostly Portuguese at first, and later extensively to British Spain still imported many slaves early on, most of whom ended up doing work outside of plantations The first slaves in Spanish America, after all, were valuable, respected, armed conquistadors, like Juan Garrido Slaves in Latin America could gain their freedom more easily than in other empires, usually by saving enough money But colonial Latin America was no “racial democracy.” Slave were abused with abandon – house slaves only a little less so. Slaves even purposely got in trouble with the Inquisition by cursing God – a jail cell was better than being with a cruel master The huge numbers of palenques and quilombos (run away slave hideouts) and rebellions shows how awful slavery was Plantation slavery (esp. in Brazil) was a horror in itself. Slave were literally worked to death. The horrific journey to the Americas also consumed millions of slaves’ lives Slavery slowed down independence With independence and abolition, Africans, lacking the cohesiveness of indigenous communities, often assimilated The Columbian Exchange thus changed the Americas, Europe, and Africa But many things (As we’ve seen) remained the same in the face of all these changes… like sedentary indigenous government Spanish America’s division into viceroyalties makes it seem like they rearranged the place But the Viceroyalties of New Spain (Mexico and C. America) and Peru (Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador) were based on the Aztec and Inca Empires (with added territory) BTW, when I say “The Andes” or “Peru,” unless I am talking about the modern country, I am talking about The Viceroyalty of Peru comprised mostly of modern Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador (sedentary heartland of S. America) Many of the districts, provinces, and communities of New Spain and Peru were based on Aztec altepetls and Inca ayllus Many (if not most!) of the towns, neighborhoods, and municipalities of modern Mexico and the Andean nations were once altepetls or ayllus (hence all the indigenous place-names) The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan survived as an altepetl with four barrios surrounding the Spanish traza or core of Mexico City The Spanish center of Mexico city was built on top of the Aztec pyramids; the residential indigenous neighborhoods remained Spaniards created a few separate cities for themselves in the sedentary areas, like Puebla and Lima Racial mixing (mestizaje) soon confused the neat division of colonial society into a República de Españoles and a separate República de Indios. In practice, mestizo and sometimes mulato or pardo were the only terms used for castas Even with all the racial mixing, colonial Latin America had a racist hierarchy Spanish colonialism was built on top of pre-existing indigenous empires and communities. And it used existing indigenous authorities as well. The Viceroy and Audiencia (Senate/Supreme Court) were the highest Spanish authorities in each viceroyalty. These would hand down orders to indigenous governments Spaniards ordered each altepetl or ayllu to make a Spanish-style town council or cabildo, which reported to the colonial government A Spanish Corregidor Mayor (usually corrupt and abusive) would stop by to make sure they were following orders and collect tribute But while they may have had Spanish titles, they ruled like the community leaders before the conquest… and even came from the same dynasties! The cabildos and governors of Altepetls and ayllus even ruled from the same palaces Actually, it probably looked like this: After the conquest, the Aztec imperial palace or tecpan was rebuilt (but now way smaller) and the Native governor of colonial Tenochtitlan ruled from there (bottom left, negotiating with the viceroy). Indigenous nobility and class differences also survived amongst the sedentary peoples As with language and religion, Native governments and communities did not totally disappear in the sedentary areas Milking the Americas for cash and labor was the whole point of Spanish colonialism. Colonial Spanish America revolved around its economy, fueled by the wealth and labor extracted from sedentaries. PowerPoint Presentation But his chin, the result of Hapsburg inbreeding, was pretty imposing! Charles V and Spain were probably the most hated (and in debt!) kingdom in Europe at the time. The big bonanza came when they struck silver, in the most convenient places Conveniently, the two big silver areas were right next door to the sedentaries now “freed” from encomiendas Repartimiento was a labor draft for sending (Free!) sedentary Natives to the silver mines Repartimiento labor was also used to build all those pretty colonial buildings repartimiento was used for the desagüe, the infamous (and never totally successful) drainage of the Mexican lakes From 1607 to the 1800s (!) authorities brought in foreign engineers and local Indian workers to drain the lakes (and drown in the process) They went from this wet, verdant, island teeming with 200k people To a swampy, muddy mess, never fully drained, a fraction of the size It took a Mexican president Porfirio Díaz (in office 1884 – 1911) to finish the job Today, this is all that remains of the turquoise blue Aztec lakes The environmental impact was disastrous, and Mexico City is sinking into the former lake bed All the silver from the colonies only made Spain spend more on pointless wars Inheriting a bankrupt empire, Phillip II’s reign suffered a horrible setback when England destroyed the Spanish Armada or navy (1588) Phillip II needed even more money, and where would he get it from? Tribute, from Mexican and Peruvian natives. Paying tribute was a tremendous burden on the sedentaries leaving every community in debt by the end of the colonial period. Brazil had no sedentaries (or silver), Native slaves died off, so they turned to sugar and export crops and Africans for most of the colonial period Future sugar growing areas and “banana republics” in Spanish America were used for defense and support instead The silver coins taken from sedentary Indian hands and labor became the world’s currency Even the Chinese used Spanish silver pesos (from Philippine trade) as their national currency Spanish coins were the first currency of the independent USA There were some plantations in mainland colonial Spanish America, these were called haciendas Spain still couldn’t break even by the reign of the last Hapsburg king, Charles II (1661 – 1700) The penny-pinching Bourbon dynasty took the Spanish throne, determined to squeeze every cent out of the Americas The Bourbon kings enacted the Bourbon reforms (1700 – independence) aiming to maximize the money taken from Spanish America Resistance and Independence movements amongst the sedentaries As we have seen, sedentaries put up with a great deal of abuse… or did they? Their main form of resistance was legal action Indians of Huejotzinco famously won a case against abusive encomendero Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán in 1531, lowering their tribute Indians poured into Mexico City to file lawsuits, creating an industry of inns and pulquerías (indigenous bars) to accommodate the visiting litigants Reliance on the Spanish courts reinforced patriarchal European marriage and nuclear family structures. But how did a colonial system based on exploiting them allow Indians to win sometimes? Indians could never sue the king and gain total freedom from tribute and labor demands… but there were other ways to resist Congregación (forced resettlement) completely fails amongst the sedentaries because they just don’t obey it Few Indians lead the independence struggles against Spain Historians now think that Napoleon’s invasion of Spain triggered Latin American independence, not the oppressive Bourbon reforms The result was a wave of liberated Latin American countries in the first few decades of the 1800s Because of the “horror” of the Haitian revolution (1791 – 1804), slave-owning areas take longer to become independent Most Independent nations of mainland Latin America quickly and peacefully abolish slavery, however. Brazilian independence was a very unique case Why didn’t sedentaries rise up and start independence? Why did the non/semi-sedentaries rebel more? Late colonial Peru and the Andes was a major exception Tupac came darn near close to re-establishing indigenous rule in Peru and the Andes. Small, local village revolts were actually quite common in Mexico and Peru The biggest of these local revolts was the tumulto of Mexico City’s Indians in 1692 Why were revolts local, short-lived, and small amongst the sedentaries? Why not overthrow Spanish rule completely and get rid of its abuses for good? The main reason was that enough stayed the same in Mexico and Peru. Even with all the changes, indigenous society retained its core. As awful as colonial tribute and repartimiento were, these weren’t new things for the sedentaries. Spanish colonialism was often a harsh experience full of abuse and exploitation. But the most important thing to remember is, for all the abuses of the Spanish, Indians never sunk into hopeless depression and despair Ironically, things would get worse with independence Modern Mexico has always celebrated the ancient Aztecs and its mestizo heritage, but has looked down on living Indians But many of these truly resilient cultures survived and survive to this day false false false 16.0000