PERIOD / TIMELINE
- 1540 Spanish entry to “Pueblo” territories (southwest: NM, AZ)
- 1565 First North Amer. east coast colony (St. Augustine, FL)
- 1598 Spanish invasion of Pueblo lands
- 1680 Pueblo Revolt
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BIG IDEAS
- Encomienda: labor / land for conquistadors
- De Las Casas: Spanish priest wrote about cruelties v. Indians
- Sepulveda: Spanish humanist philosopher justified enslavement of Indians
- New Laws: Spanish reforms for better treatment of Indians
- Pueblo Revolt: Rebellion by Indians over maltreatment; led to New Laws reforms
- Asiento: deal for slave trade between Spanish and & nations (“assent")
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Notes & connections: details of issues, concepts, themes & events
BIG IDEAS:
- Spanish extraction & agriculture: need for labor
- Spanish goal to convert natives to Christianity
- Spanish abuses & reforms after native revolts & priestly criticism
- Development of slave trade
- Encomienda, 1490s-1542
- from Spanish encomendar “to entrust”
- land & labor grant to Spanish conquerors
- encomendero = holder of the land/labor grant
- were slave-labor mines or plantations for non-Christians
- Used across Spanish empire, in Morocco, Philippines, Americas
- Rewarded conquistadores w/ encomiendas, so incentive to conquer
- Designed to convert natives
- Abolished 1542, ended slave labor but made natives Spanish subjects
- Replaced by “repartimiento” system (“reparto” for “distribution” of workers) which regulated forced labor, technically no longer slavery, had some pay but not always, still forced, required native communities to contribute workers as a form of as tribute to Spanish king
- Bartolomé de las Casas
- Dominican priest/friar:
- In 1542: wrote about Spanish abuses in “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies”
- Used accounts of Antonio de Montesinos who had denounced cruelty in 1511 sermon
- >> led to “Black Legend” = series of anti-Spanish/ anti-Catholic propaganda, used as political weapons to denounce Spain, full of exaggerations and lies
- Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, 1489-1574
- Spanish humanist philosopher, proponent of Spanish conquest of Indians
- Was a court advisor to Spanish King
- Wrote “On Just Causes for War Against the Indians” (1544)
- Justified slavery of Indians based on Aristotelian (Aristotle) logic as inferior to Spaniards
- Saw natives as pre-civilization, no rights, no property, no laws
- Opposed Las Casas who wanted better treatment of Indians
- Source: https://www.college.columbia.edu/core/content/juan-gin%C3%A9s-de-sep%C3%BAlveda
- New Laws/Laws of 1542
- Preceded by Laws of Burgos of 1512, which were supposed to protect Natives, but were ignored
- Issued by Spanish King (also Holy Roman Emperor Charles V)
- Reforms, following Pueblo Revolt
- Ended encomienda system
- Outlawed hereditary rule of encomiendas
- Revolt by encomederos leaders, killed Spanish Viceroy of Peru who enforced the New Laws
- Set more direct rule by Spanish king
- enforced prior policies and forced the issue of ending encomienda system
- Pueblo Revolt (1680)
- Pueblo was Spanish term for Indian settlements in modern NM and AZ
- Prior Spanish treatment of native Indians “Acoma Massacre,” retaliation for a small revolt; Spanish cut off a foot of all men over 25
- Into 1600s, Spanish control, outlawed Indian religious practices, forced conversion to Christianity, required tribute via corn and textiles
- 1670s: drought, reduced agricultural output, attacks by Apaches, destabilization; Spanish clamped down, tried to contain discontent; persecuted Indian medicine men, including Papé, who was released after Pueblo objections
- 1680, Papé (also Popay) led revolt, killed 400 Spanish, pushed out Spanish
- Protest over resentment over Spanish policies, enforced Christianity, forced labor, cattle management, mining
- Papé led campaign to remove Spanish/Christian influence
- 1692 Spanish put down revolt (100s killed), but led to end of forced labor and religion
- Asiento, 1500s-1700s
- = “Asiento de Negros”
- Asiento = “contract”
- = agreement between Britain and Spain to set agreements for slave trade between Africa and Spanish colonies in Americas
- was source or revenue for Spanish crown
- Spain used the asiento to give or take back rights to slave trade to its colonies
- Reciprocity
- Native American concept of sharing of land, resources, and labor
- Was part of cultural misunderstanding between European and native populations over land and object ownership
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