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What was it like in the Spanish mit’a after the Spanish (after 1492)? What was it like in the Encomienda System & Hacienda System after Spanish (after 1492)?

What was it like in the Spanish mit’a after the Spanish (after 1492)? What was it like in the Encomienda System & Hacienda System after Spanish (after 1492)?

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What was it like in the Spanish mit’a after the Spanish (after 1492)? What was it like in the Encomienda System & Hacienda System after Spanish (after 1492)?
Section II- After the Spanish (1492) Conquest and Administration of New World Colonies Not long after Columbus set foot in the Caribbean in 1492, Europeans set about colonizing the "New World." Spanish conquistadores (conquerors) conquered the native Aztec and Inca empires. Their gunpowder weapons and horses gave them an extraordinary military advantage, their biggest advantage was an accidental one: disease. Native American peoples had never been exposed to Afro-Eurasian diseases like small pox and measles. Consequently, they had absolutely no immunity to such maladies. Germs brought over by the Spanish soldiers decimated native populations, paving the way for European domination. Similar processes took place in North America, as well, which was colonized by the British and French in the 1600s. With their dominance established, Europeans began building their maritime empires in the Americas. For the Iberian nations of Spain and Portugal, the government, who hoped New World discoveries would expand their global power, directly funded voyages across the Atlantic. Consequently, the crown exerted significant control over their American colonies. In New Spain, conquistadores were forced to give up power to an influx of bureaucrats, lawyers, tax collectors, and administrators. Spanish colonies were ruled by viceroys, who were the king's representatives in the colonies. Viceroys, in turn, were supervised by royally-appointed courts. Nevertheless, Spain's grip on its colonies could never be too tight because distance across the Atlantic and American geography (mountains, jungles) inhibited communication of imperial authority. 1. How was political control in the Spanish maritime empire organized? Economy of the Americas under the Spanish The Spanish and Portuguese set up various systems for deriving wealth from their New World colonies. In general, the goal was to extract resources from the colonies and ship them back to the "mother country" in Europe for profit. The economic foundation for this emerging colonial society lay in commercial agriculture, much of it on large rural estates, and in silver and gold mining. In both cases, native peoples, rather than African slaves or European workers, provided most of the labor, despite their much-diminished numbers. Almost everywhere it was forced labor, often directly required by colonial authorities. 2. Why did the Spanish want to establish control over labor structures in the Americas? Encomienda Labor System: Encomienda: The Plan and the Reality Under the encomienda system, the Spanish crown gave Spanish settlers land in America natives who lived on that land to work for them. This system was essentially the same as the feudal system that had been used back home in Europe: the landowner has the right to exploit the peasants who live on the The Spanish claimed that the encomienda system would benefit both settlers and Indians. didn't work out that way . land. Under encomienda, Native Americans were THE PLAN forced to mine for gold and do back-breaking agricultural work. Agricultural products and gold were then sent back to Spain. The Spanish king effectively ended the encomienda system in 1542 after Catholic Dominican friar and Spanish historian, Bartolomé de las Casas's wrote, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, in which he recorded the impact of the encomienda system on the Native Americans. After sending his book to the royals in Spain, the New Laws of 1542 were created. They Spanish setlers protect, care for and Christianlae Indians. Indians work portion of their time for Spanish settlers. THE REALITY Spanish settiers force long labor, don't pay ledian workers, fail to protect indians, and seize Indian lands Indians die from disease and hash living and working conditions Encomienda ends ater clergy protests and Indians revolt. Abuses continue under replacement repartimiento
Transcribed Image Text:Section II- After the Spanish (1492) Conquest and Administration of New World Colonies Not long after Columbus set foot in the Caribbean in 1492, Europeans set about colonizing the "New World." Spanish conquistadores (conquerors) conquered the native Aztec and Inca empires. Their gunpowder weapons and horses gave them an extraordinary military advantage, their biggest advantage was an accidental one: disease. Native American peoples had never been exposed to Afro-Eurasian diseases like small pox and measles. Consequently, they had absolutely no immunity to such maladies. Germs brought over by the Spanish soldiers decimated native populations, paving the way for European domination. Similar processes took place in North America, as well, which was colonized by the British and French in the 1600s. With their dominance established, Europeans began building their maritime empires in the Americas. For the Iberian nations of Spain and Portugal, the government, who hoped New World discoveries would expand their global power, directly funded voyages across the Atlantic. Consequently, the crown exerted significant control over their American colonies. In New Spain, conquistadores were forced to give up power to an influx of bureaucrats, lawyers, tax collectors, and administrators. Spanish colonies were ruled by viceroys, who were the king's representatives in the colonies. Viceroys, in turn, were supervised by royally-appointed courts. Nevertheless, Spain's grip on its colonies could never be too tight because distance across the Atlantic and American geography (mountains, jungles) inhibited communication of imperial authority. 1. How was political control in the Spanish maritime empire organized? Economy of the Americas under the Spanish The Spanish and Portuguese set up various systems for deriving wealth from their New World colonies. In general, the goal was to extract resources from the colonies and ship them back to the "mother country" in Europe for profit. The economic foundation for this emerging colonial society lay in commercial agriculture, much of it on large rural estates, and in silver and gold mining. In both cases, native peoples, rather than African slaves or European workers, provided most of the labor, despite their much-diminished numbers. Almost everywhere it was forced labor, often directly required by colonial authorities. 2. Why did the Spanish want to establish control over labor structures in the Americas? Encomienda Labor System: Encomienda: The Plan and the Reality Under the encomienda system, the Spanish crown gave Spanish settlers land in America natives who lived on that land to work for them. This system was essentially the same as the feudal system that had been used back home in Europe: the landowner has the right to exploit the peasants who live on the The Spanish claimed that the encomienda system would benefit both settlers and Indians. didn't work out that way . land. Under encomienda, Native Americans were THE PLAN forced to mine for gold and do back-breaking agricultural work. Agricultural products and gold were then sent back to Spain. The Spanish king effectively ended the encomienda system in 1542 after Catholic Dominican friar and Spanish historian, Bartolomé de las Casas's wrote, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, in which he recorded the impact of the encomienda system on the Native Americans. After sending his book to the royals in Spain, the New Laws of 1542 were created. They Spanish setlers protect, care for and Christianlae Indians. Indians work portion of their time for Spanish settlers. THE REALITY Spanish settiers force long labor, don't pay ledian workers, fail to protect indians, and seize Indian lands Indians die from disease and hash living and working conditions Encomienda ends ater clergy protests and Indians revolt. Abuses continue under replacement repartimiento
effectively ended the encomienda system in the Americas (though not its abuses). Hacienda System...a later replacement of the encomienda system: As the encomienda system went out of use, Spanish landowners resorted to a system of debt peonage (similar to indentured servitude), to recruit labor for their haciendas (large estates, owned by the Spanish in the Americas). Under this system, landowners advanced loans to native peoples so that they could buy seeds, tools, and supplies. The debtors then repaid the loans with labor, but wages were so low that they were never able to pay off their debts. Because legal restrictions often prevented debtors from fleeing and escaping their obligations, landowners had in effect a captive labor force to work their estates. Simultaneously in the Andean region the mit'a was used: In the Spanish colonies in the area now known as Peru and Bolivia, the Spanish took advantage of a system of coerced labor that had already been used by the Inca: mit'a. Under the mit'a system, one seventh of the native population was forced to work for four months at a time in silver mines. The Spanish had discovered a vast amount of silver in Potosí (see image embedded), and this silver was an enormous source of wealth for the Spanish Empire. However, mining the silver was incredibly dangerous work. Death rates in the mines were so high that many men sought to evade the mit'a system by feeling to distant villages or even deliberately breaking an arm or leg so that they could not work. During the Inca period people had to work four months, then they returned home. During the Spanish regimes the number of months required to work in mines remained the same, but working conditions changed dramatically, which made it impossible for them to come back home. While they worked in the mines they had to spend money on buying food and paying taxes. Earnings were so low that they were always in debt. Now the rule was that a miner could not leave the mine until he paid his debts. If a man died then his children had to work in the mines to pay his debts. These labor systems disrupted independent peasant agriculture for Native Americans. The Spanish mit'a acted as a method for the Spanish state to extract wealth for its own interests: shipping silver for trade in Europe or East Asia, or financing wars with other European states to expand Spanish power.
Transcribed Image Text:effectively ended the encomienda system in the Americas (though not its abuses). Hacienda System...a later replacement of the encomienda system: As the encomienda system went out of use, Spanish landowners resorted to a system of debt peonage (similar to indentured servitude), to recruit labor for their haciendas (large estates, owned by the Spanish in the Americas). Under this system, landowners advanced loans to native peoples so that they could buy seeds, tools, and supplies. The debtors then repaid the loans with labor, but wages were so low that they were never able to pay off their debts. Because legal restrictions often prevented debtors from fleeing and escaping their obligations, landowners had in effect a captive labor force to work their estates. Simultaneously in the Andean region the mit'a was used: In the Spanish colonies in the area now known as Peru and Bolivia, the Spanish took advantage of a system of coerced labor that had already been used by the Inca: mit'a. Under the mit'a system, one seventh of the native population was forced to work for four months at a time in silver mines. The Spanish had discovered a vast amount of silver in Potosí (see image embedded), and this silver was an enormous source of wealth for the Spanish Empire. However, mining the silver was incredibly dangerous work. Death rates in the mines were so high that many men sought to evade the mit'a system by feeling to distant villages or even deliberately breaking an arm or leg so that they could not work. During the Inca period people had to work four months, then they returned home. During the Spanish regimes the number of months required to work in mines remained the same, but working conditions changed dramatically, which made it impossible for them to come back home. While they worked in the mines they had to spend money on buying food and paying taxes. Earnings were so low that they were always in debt. Now the rule was that a miner could not leave the mine until he paid his debts. If a man died then his children had to work in the mines to pay his debts. These labor systems disrupted independent peasant agriculture for Native Americans. The Spanish mit'a acted as a method for the Spanish state to extract wealth for its own interests: shipping silver for trade in Europe or East Asia, or financing wars with other European states to expand Spanish power.
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