History Essay
alisong
review.pptxCourse Review
Commonalities of all Natives
Lack guns, germs, and steel at first. Disease hit all; non and semi-sedentaries hit hardest.
Have no concept of a united Indian race. Remain largely divided until end of colonial period. Non- and semi-sedentaries sometimes do unite in confederations when under stress.
Distrustful of all outsiders to their communities, black, mixed, Spanish or other Indians.
At the bottom of Spanish racial hierarchy (though non and semi-sedentaries often live outside mainstream Iberian society, so it doesn’t matter much to them).
Even so they keep a lot of collective power as nations that Africans, castas (mixed race), and sometimes even Spaniards don’t have.
characteristics
Non-sedentary
Small, mobile populations
Few resources that interest Iberians except the land they are on.
Hunt, gather, lack hierarchies and states.
Lack familiarity with concept of “work,” make poor slaves, though still occasionally taken by slavers.
Semi-sedentary
Small to moderate size populations.
Occasionally have some valuable resources like gold or pearls.
Some hierarchy, at least partly agricultural.
Iberians may turn to enslaving them, but their numbers can’t handle pressure of constant slavery.
Iberians moderately interested in exploiting them.
sedentary
Very large populations.
Several commercially viable resources.
Entirely agricultural.
Hierarchical, live in states and often empires.
Work-based society.
Rarely enslaved by Iberians, large populations exploitable through indirect rule makes slavery unnecessary.
First Contact
Non-sedentary
Nearly always violent from the first encounter (and often constant warfare until the end).
Iberians uninterested in them and leave them alone unless they are on valuable land (e.g. silver mines in N. Mexico)
Conquest is virtually impossible, Iberians settle away from them.
Semi-sedentary
Greatest variation. Sometimes peaceful first encounters (Taíno, Brazilians), other times not (Florida).
Iberians usu. interested in enslaving them or obtaining trade goods (brazil wood), but this is often quickly exhausted.
Conquest can take years. Iberians usually settle away from them.
sedentary
Military conquest is the normal Iberian response. Conquistadors will fight the dominant power and ally with their enemies.
Few large rebellions after defeat of the local imperial power.
Spaniards turn to exploiting their labor and wealth through non-slavery institutions.
Spaniards settle in large cities around their settlements.
Politics and society
Non-sedentary
Tribes, bands, clans etc. may go extinct from disease and warfare. Often unite to form powerful confederations (e.g. Comanche).
Retain traditional forms of leadership (e.g. chiefs) and political culture.
Remain independent and apart from colonial society except when Iberians
Lack of distinct social classes remains, sometimes adopt slavery, outsiders they take as captives assimilated or enslaved.
Semi-sedentary
May also go extinct, may also unite to form confederations (e.g. Seminoles)
May retain older structures and authorities, sometimes borrow Hispanic cabildo (council) and titles (e.g. Maya)
Villages and political units may remain independent from colonial society (Seminoles), or may be partly integrated into empire (e.g. Pueblos, Mayas)
Class stratification may increase, may also practice slavery or taking of captives
Sedentary
Mostly keep borders and territories intact, but as units of the viceroyalties.
Defy congregación or attempts to merge communities.
Native political units (altepetl, ayllu) survive with their leaders, but are integrated as semi-autonomous Hispanic-style provinces, districts, and towns into the república de indios (Indian jurisdiction of Spanish empire).
Leaders organized into cabildos (councils) and given Hispanic titles (gobernadores, etc.), though retain traditional duties.
Noble/commoner distinction persists. Preconquest noble lineages and dynasties survive.
Acculturation
Non-sedentary
Limited borrowing of Hispanic material culture, mostly technology, weapons, and livestock through trade or theft.
Retention of languages with little borrowing of Iberian words.
Keep family structures and kinship.
Religion mostly unaffected.
Semi-sedentary
Varied the most.
Often moderate borrowing of Hispanic material culture.
Often keep their languages but borrow some Iberian words.
Often keep family structures with some gradual shifts towards Iberian models.
Often borrow limited elements of Christianity (crosses, saints, etc.)
Individuals in missions or from groups nearly extinct frequently completely assimilated.
Sedentary
Heavy borrowing of Hispanic material culture, blending with elements of native material culture.
Borrow several Spanish words and phrases.
Family structure evolves towards nuclear family.
Accept Christianity, but tailor it to their customs.
Labor and Exploitation
Non-sedentary
Only few refugees and slaves work in Spanish empire.
Unwilling to work and opposed to coercion unless defeated.
Have no tribute to pay.
Semi-sedentary
Populations are often enslaved throughout the colonial period, though this declines with the rise of the African slave trade.
Encomiendas do not last long given small populations and disease.
Larger settlements pay some tribute.
Mission Indians, refugees, and naborías (outsider Indians) provide free or wage labor.
sedentary
Slavery only a desperate resort in the beginning, cannot be legally enslaved.
Large populations make encomienda a more feasible option, outlawed eventually though.
Unwilling/unsuited for sugar and other cash crop work, Africans and slaves used for this.
Pay tribute extensively.
Rights to labor transferred to crown as repartimiento, sometimes leased to private Spaniards. Used for mining and public works.
Haciendas employ indiv. Indians and naborías.
Resistance
Non-sedentary
Very fierce resistance throughout colonial period. Either dominate/expel Iberians through united guerilla warfare or die trying.
Semi-sedentary
Populations hardest hit by conquest and colonization will assimilate completely as refugees, never threaten Iberians.
Some mission Indians rebel.
Many form strong confederations and defeat or preserve independence from Europeans like the non-sedentaries (e.g. Mapuche* or some Maya).
Most partly accept Spanish rule after some resistance (e.g. most Maya) but will rise up when most threatened (Pueblos, see Pueblo Revolt)
*Mapuches can be considered non- or semi-sedentary for the purposes of your paper.
Sedentary
After conquest, usually do not threaten wide-scale anti-colonial revolts.
Exceptions are the Andean revolts of late 1700s (Tupac Amaru II, Juan Santos)
Small-scale local revolts over changes to law or corrupt officials are frequent but never threaten the big picture.
Resistance through other means: the courts, “foot-dragging,” playing dumb, or just not following orders etc.
Explanations
Non-sedentary
Limited contact with Iberians so less opportunities to culturally borrow
Hunter-gatherer lifestyle at odds with Iberian society. Conquest by Iberians would mean an end to their world so they resist as much as possible.
Semi-sedentary
Greatest range of contact/similarity with Iberians. Groups with less contact or similarities to Iberians (Mapuche or Floridans) could be prone to fierce resistance. Opposite for groups with more (Maya).
Sedentary
Extensive contact with Iberians who settle around them.
Already very similar to Spanish society and culture, so the changes are not traumatic.
Can retain much of their lifestyle so being conquered is not such a big deal, at least at first.
Have access to courts, local revolts can usually resolve the biggest problems.
