• A. Tribute system well know and accepted by Amerindians
• B. Spaniards already had a ready-made tribute system - Encomienda
• C. Encomienda defined
  • 1. Semi-feudalistic
  • 2. Tribute paying groups under authority of encomendero
  • 3. Encomenderos supposed to give military service to Crown
  • 4. Useful as a method of control over new lands, Amerindians
  • 5. Provided the military might needed to keep control
  • 6. Gave conquistadores position, wealth source they craved
  • 7. Crown did not like its feudal nature -- undermined Royal authority
  • 8. Theoretically did not include land ownership, but....
• D. Tribute under encomienda
  • 1. In kind or in labor or both
  • 2. Based on negotiation with cacique
  • 3. Encomendero rarely lived on land, so cacique was vital
  • 4. Villages sometimes sold land to pay tribute, allowing Spaniards to get it
• E. Slavery
  • 1. Many Amerindians enslaved as a result of warfare
  • 2. Had advantage of detaching labor from land, somthing alien to Amerindians
  • 3. Requerimiento - enabled enslavement of those who "rebelled" against Crown, Christianity
  • 4. Amerindian labor pool couldn't keep up with Spanish demands
    • a. 25 million Amerindians in 1519; about 5 million by 1550
    • b. First permit to import African slaves to New World in 1518
    • c. But Spain had no presence in Africa - depended on foreigners
    • d. Slow trickle, but a significant presence by 1540

• A. Spaniards hungry for land - essential for joining the aristocracy
• B. Loss of land by Amerindians was gradual, varied by region
• C. Aztec land
  • 1. Cortes took the vast personal holdings of the Emperor
  • 2. Land of Aztec nobles taken as a right of conquest
  • 3. Land supporting Aztec institutions went to the Crown
• D. Communal lands not just taken by force
  • 1. Spaniards highly legalistic, wanted defendable titles
  • 2. Spanish authorities generally recognized the legitimacy of Amerindian precedent
  • 3. Crown offered some protection to Amerindian lands
  • 4. Amerindians outnumbered Spaniards, would not accept pure force
  • 5. Spaniards needed legalistic, more subtle ways to take land
    • a. payment for encomienda debt
    • b. Using ranching rights to usurp control of land
    • c. swapping less valuable land
    • d. Suing Amerindians into poverty
  • 6. But Amerindians fought back
    • a. quickly understood the importance of titles, Spanish courts
    • b. more than willing to go to court to protect rights

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