THE LIBRARY OF IBERIAN RESOURCES ONLINE

GUATEMALA VILLAGES OF THE 16TH CENTURY

Dan Stanislawski


Chapter Two

ENCOMIENDA DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA 

The encomienda, an organizational device to maintain a functioning relation between those who worked and those who profited by it had had a long history in Spain. It has been described by Lesley Simpson (1960, pp. 3-4):

"In the late Roman Empire, when the tax-collector had become the common enemy of society, the oppressed peasantry of Spain gained some relief by putting themselves under the protection of the more powerful nobles. By the commendatio the peasant undertook to cultivate the lands, or work the mines, or whatever, of his patron, in exchange for protection against his enemies. When the Romans withdrew from Spain in the fifth century the commendatio apparently became the basis for the feudal contract under the Goths, by which the peasant was bound to the soil (glebe-serfdom) and was bought and sold with it. This was the civil application of commendatio."

The religious application was equally ancient. By it the older Christians took new converts under their tutelage and endeavored to teach them to walk in the paths of righteousness. Both concepts were behind the encomienda of Granada by which the moslem communities were given in trust to their Spanish conquerors, with the responsibility of governing and converting the infidels, who, in exchange, worked the lands, mines, etc., of their overlords, or paid them tribute in money or kind. Queen Isabela, ..... in a cedula of December 20, 1503 instructed her newly appointed Governor of the Indies, Nicolás de Ovando, to transfer the institution to Española.

It is clear on the record that for two generations after the queen's instructions to Ovando the limits to greed were vague, and the size and distribution of rewards were determined by individual rivalries. It is also evident that some of the conquerors used the encomienda to make oppressive demands. That condition led to attempts by the Crown to change the New World encomienda from crass exploitation into a device that would still reward the conquerors, guarantee labor, introduce Christianity, but also would show some degree of humanity.

Marroquin comments - 1532

In 1532, Francisco Marroquin—then merely "lawyer", later, "bishop"—following instructions given by the Royal Audiencia in Mexico City reported on the tributes paid to encomenderos in the southwestern part of present El Salvador. The document gives us some understanding of early colonial conditions (Marroquin, 1968). The area covered by the report was essentially that of the "Pipil Kingdom" of Cuzcatlan (Fowler, '89, p. 139). It did not include the area known as "Los lzalcos"(the southwestern corner of present El Salvador, including much of the departments of Ahuachapan and Sonsonate) which had been appropriated by encomenderos and provincial authorities of Santiago de Guatemala, nor did it include - with some exceptions- towns north of the eastward flowing Lempa River, nor those to the east of its southward course. Those exclaves were described, somewhat vaguely as being "in the Chontales", an area whose Indians were reported by Pedro de Alvarado as being "perverse, bad, and bellicose", and by  other Spaniards who said "the Chontal Indians were cannibals who killed and robbed their peaceful neighbors". For these reasons the encomenderos sought permission from the Crown to enslave them. Also, "they lived in lands difficult of access" which made them difficult to pacify (Sherman, pp. 26, 217). The problem for the Spaniards was one of broken territory, difficulty of access, held by Indians who perversely resisted conquest.

These were "unreduced" areas, poorly known—or unknown to Spaniards—but from which there was hope of profit. For example, Sancho de Figueroa testified that he held part of a pueblo named Aganyla in the Chontales in his encomienda, but that he knew nothing about it. Alonso de Alvarado testified that he held two pueblos in the Chontales but that the number of houses was not known because they "were at war." Miguel Diaz testified similarly regarding a town that was in his encomienda.

The names of fifty-seven encomenderos appeared in the 1532 document but only twenty-seven of those appeared on the tribute list of 1548 (See supplement no. 7): that is to say, more than one half of those men had disappeared in the sixteen year period, most of them, it seems, without heirs. It may be assumed that the men were, for the most part, vigorous and young: life was short for most of the conquerors.

Of the twenty-seven whose names did appear, fifteen held larger encomiendas, ten had lost tributaries, and two controlled about the same numbers. Of the fifteen who gained, most had modest increases, but four men had gained considerably: Juan Garcia Matamoros acquired 370 more tributaries than he had held, mostly by the acquisition of the town of Potonico in modern Chalatenango province, a name that did not appear on the 1532 list. An increase almost as large—332--was that of Antonio Docampo. He had held a large number of tributaries in 1532 (600 putatively. The exact number was probably unknown). He had relinquished a laim to the town by the 1536-41 period in the acquisition of several other towns made available by the deaths of other encomenderos. Garcia de Alfaro also took over the properties of two deceased men. Juan de Medina gave up claim to two towns but acquired the very important town, Çacatecoluca, with 400 tributaries.

The ten decreases totalled slightly more than had the fifteen increases. Three decreases seem striking: the largest was that of Christoval Ceron, whose town of Apocopa may have been over-estimated in 1532, and the population of his town Aguachi, in unknown territory (Chontales) may have been mostly imagination. The large decrease may not have been real. Nuñez de Guzman's holdings of 1532 similarly may have been inflated and his loss less than appears. The case of Miguel Diaz is baffling. Why should he have given up his part of Xalocinagua to keep the remote town of Arcatao? It may have been a case of choosing the sole control of relatively prosperous town, even though it was remote.

Two encomenderos held about the same number of tributaries in 1548 as in 1532. In each case the original towns were materially diminished but additional tributaries were added from other towns.

The fractional amounts of tributaries shown for some encomenderos represented earlier divisions and were only approximations. For example, in 1532 Garcia de Alfaro held "one half" of the town of Coyo, with 100 tributaries; The other "half", with 120 tributaries, was held by Gines Muñoz. The 1548 tribute list showed Alfaro's "half" as including 108 tributaries. The "half" under Muñoz in 1532 had become, in 1548, part of the encomienda of Christoval de Campos. The number of tributaries was then shown to be 60.

As there were forty four encomenderos in 1548, seventeen newcomers had been granted encomiendas (see supplement no. 8). The names of a large proportion of them were not further recorded in history, and most had been granted moderate size encomiendas of towns whose earlier encomenderos had died, but a few names stand out. The most prominent is that of Hernan Perez, who had been one of the conquerors of Guatemala with Pedro de Alvarado . He was not in San Salvador province in 1532, but some time afterward he had acquired a large encomienda: by 1548 his minor sons had inherited one with 570 tributaries, including the town of Cuxutepeque with 400. In 1532 that town had been divided between three men: Puella, Rodrigo Diaz, and Sancho de Figueroa. The first two had died by 1548; Figueroa had been compensated by the allotment ot two other towns.

Also listed as having come to Guatemala at the time of the conquest (having come with Pedro de Portocarrero), was Louis Dubois. It seems that this man's French name looked or sounded like Luis Dibues to the Spanish scribes. He was thus listed - and with 260 tributaries ("Adiciones y aclaraciones" section of Tomo II of the 1883 Madrid edition of Fuentes y Guzman). Two others of the newcomers who were allotted more than the average number of tributaries were Bartolome Garcia and Lope Pardo.

In Marroquin's report of 1532, a few of the items of tribute were mentioned, but obviously not all; and amounts were not given. The inquiry basic to the report is indicative of early, stumbling attempts on the part of Crown officials to curb the excesses of the encomenderos; but the instructions were apparently vague, and the answers evasive and with an obvious belittling of the quality of the holdings; but it was the land that was disparaged, the number of tributaries held seem to be given fully, and perhaps even augmented, and claims of production probably were more hopeful than real. For example Alonso de Alvarado testified to holding two pueblos in the Chontales, named Cocoyagua and Tulua, "which were at war and it is said that their number of houses is not known"; but later he testified that the number would probably be 400 (p. 218). Cristoval Ceron testified that his town, Aguachi, had "come into peace a few days previously" and "they say there may be 400 houses". Miguel Diaz testified that he held the town of Xuzclan in the Chontales which was at war ("en guerra"). Under the circumstances it would seem that making a count of tributary families would be impossible, yet he gave the number 280. Perhaps encomenderos were trying to establish figures from which they could bargain with authorities regarding future grants.

Gomez de Alvarado, brother of the adelantado, testified as to his holding of the pueblo called Nunualco with "1,000 dwellings, more or less"; further, he testified that it was in hot, sterile, broken land and paid as tribute very little maize, chickens, salt, fish, chili, and cotton textiles. Its people were "very poor" (p. 205). (The question of the Nonualcos is vexed. See the consideration of all the towns of the 1548-49 tribute list. The town that Gomez de Alvarado held in 1532 may have been Zacatecoluca).

Sancho de Figueroa (misspelled Figueria) testified that he held parts of two towns, that the Indians of the towns made their planting of maize and beans (from which they paid his tribute), and they paid him "some" chickens and other products of the land in support of him, his house and horse. From one of the towns, the Indians paid both while and colored (striped?) textiles, honey, some chili, and olomina ( Fundulus guatemalensi), a prized small fish) from the lake. Apparently some sugar had been planted for him and some bananas and lemons. But then, in testimony similar to that of Gomez de Alvarado, the land was rocky, dry, and sterile. But one of the villages is near the sea and it was able to pay "some fish, salt, chickens and a very little cacao" and, at times, white textiles. He also held part of a pueblo named Aganyla in the Chontales about which he said he knew nothing (p.210).

Many towns listed in 1532 did not appear on the 1548-49 record. Absence from the later list could indicate destruction of the town, absorption by another (congregacion ), or being included for purposes of tribute as an annex of another town. More than one entry of the same town name indicates in a few cases more than one town with the same name; but in the majority of such cases it indicates the division of tributes of one town between more than one encomendero.

Some towns in 1548-49 listed higher population figures than did the same town in 1532. As the general population had diminished, the increase must have been by the addition of populations of towns that had been eliminated in the congregaciones.

The evidence of the tribute lists indicates that payments were vetted by the officials according to encomiendas. Town payments varied widely and, in many cases, had been omitted, whereas those made to encomenderos usually fell within expectable limits.

One view of the evolution of the encomienda in Central America may be seen in the record of a man listed as Antonio Docampo. Although little is known about him (Kramer, Lovell, and Lutz. 1986, n. 54), he may have been with Pedro de Alvarado in the conquest of San Salvador: at least he was of sufficient importance in the further exploitation of the region to be named as alcalde by Jorge de Alvarado in 1529 and confirmed by Pedro de Alvarado in the following year (Remesal, Vol. 11, pp. 273-74), He appears in the Marroquin document of 1532 (p. 228), and again in the reports regarding important encomenderos of 1536-'41 (Kramer, Lovell, and Lutz, 1986, pp. 367-69). In the tribute list of 1548, he is shown as holding the largest encomienda in the province of San Salvador, including the town of Ciguateoacan (present Santa Ana), which apparently was later sold by Docampo for a large sum of money to a relative of Cerrato (Sherman, '79, p. 169; Kramer, Lovell and Lutz '86, loc. cit.).

The document of 1532 shows him as holding one town, "Tecoylata", but gives no figures as to tribute paid nor any suggestion of the importance of the town, except to note that it had 600 houses (i.e. heads of houses: tributaries), a figure that may be dubious as he reported that it had been about a year since he had visited the place. Furthermore, contradictions in his report may indicate that he really knew little—perhaps nothing— about it. For example, in one place he expressed the opinion that the area would probably be good for grazing animals; but later in the same report he suggested that it would not be because it was swampy in the rainy season; that maize did not grow well because the area was hot and the land sterile. Sugar cane had been planted but he could not say whether or not it would be satisfactory. Fowler (p. 175) points out the curious fact that he did not mention cotton-growing of which it was shown to be one of the most important producers in later reports. The Indians had built his house and planted crops from which the tribute was paid. Among the payments were salt, fish, textiles (ropa), and other supplies needed for the house, the encomendero and his horses. The Indians, he reported, exchanged salt and fish for maize.

That he deprecated the value of the property was made evident in 1536-'41 (Kramer, Lovell and Lutz, '86, pp.370-71) when it (Teculuca) was part of the encomienda of Cristoval  la Cueva, and in 1548 (Teculuca, #1) when, albeit under the Crown, its tributes suggest a large population and large production of several valuable products including 1500 lbs. of fish, 1,000 lbs. of cotton planted, and 2500 lbs. of salt. The town is not far from the Jiquilisco Lagoon and the Estero de Jaltepeque, both long important for salt production (Andrews, 1983, pp. 105-06).

Although its payments may have been considerable, Docampo saw more value in other places. By the 1536-'41 period he had relinquished it to Cristoval cie la Cueva and had acquired four other towns: Tonacatepeque, Xilopango, Cuyapango, and Ciguateguacan. The first three had been, in 1532, under Juan de Aguilar (although the name Cuyapango does not appear on the list), who had held an encomienda with 490 tributaries. By 1548 Aguilar had disappeared. Ciguateguacan was shown to be held by Diego Usagre, who also had disappeared by 1548.

The tribute reductions made by the Cerrato reforms of 1548 can be seen in a comparison of the payments made by the four towns in 1536-41 period with those of 1548.

The figures given below for maize, beans, cotton, and wheat signify fanegas of 100 lbs. each planted if there is no abbreviation after them. With "pl.g" after them the signification is "planting" but with no amount specified. Eggs are by dozens. Honey, given in cantaros , each of which is assumed to be an arroba of 25 lbs. Beeswax is given in panes, these, too, are assumed to be arrobas. The figures given below for these items signify pounds. Cacao is given in xiquipiles of 8,000 beans each. Figures for chilis, fruit, salt, olomina, and vinegar represent pounds. Fruit was paid "when in season." Figures for sandals (cutaras and alpargatas) represent pairs. Pottery, either pots (ollas), jugs (cantaros), or griddles (comales), which were of the same value, are given in pieces, as are mats (petates).

                  


Tonacatepeque       

Xilopango                                      

Cuyapango                      


Ciguateguacan            

   


'36-41    '48   

'36-41            '48

'36-41            '48
'36-41            '48

Beans
1 plg       200
---                  ---
1 plg              100
1 plg                ---

Beeswax
100         100
50                  50

50                  50               


250                  75

Cacao
---         ---
---                 ---
---                 ---
500                 350

Chia
                 1 pl






Chickens


208        156
104                48
---                60       


208              156



Chili
1 pl.        400
---                 ---
1 plg.            200
1 plg.           ---


Cotton
1 pl.2       500
1 plg.3            200
1 pl.4        


2                1pl.5


Eggs6
---           156
---                  52
---                104
---              208


Fish7
                416
                      408
250   


                   208


Fruit
(8)           50
(8)                 ---
---                 50
(8)               50


Honey
50            50
50                 25            

50                 25

125              75


Maize
20             16
8                   6
8                     7
30                 14


Salt
250





Sandals





Cutaras
80           50
40                     ---
30                  ---

100               50


Alpargatas
100         80
40                    50
40                   50
100                50


Servants9
6             4
3                       2
1                       2


10                  4


Herders10
               4
                          1
                          1
                      4


Sweet potatos
1pl.         --
---                     --
1 pl.                   ---
----               ---


Xicamas (Pachyrhizus angulatus Rich.)
1pl.        ---
---                    ---
1 pl.                   ---
----              ---




1. Salvia spp. One planting was made in the earlier period, a planting of two celemines, about seventeen pounds. None was planted at the other three towns in the period 1536-41. In 1548 two celemines were to be planted at the town of Tonacatepeque.

2. From which various textiles and clothes were to be paid: 40 toldillos, 20 pieces of cloth for jubones (garments reaching from shoulder to waist: Kramer et al, n. 57), 40 skirts (naguas), and 30 blouses (huipiles ).

In the tribute list of 1548, the various garments had been eliminated and the tax was 300 toldillos.

3. From which 40 toldillos, and 25 mens' shirts (camisas de onbre) were to be paid.  The 1548 tax was simply 96 toldillos.

4. From which 20 toldillos, 20 skirts (naguas), and 20 pieces of cloth for jubones were to be paid. The 1548 tax was simply 100 toldillos.

5. From which 50 skirts (naguas ), 60 blouses (guipiles ), and 25 sheets (savanas) were to be paid. The 1548 tax was simply 100 toldillos.

6. Tonacatepeque was instructed to pay eggs "if they wish".   For Xilopango the instruction was "as they wish". Cuyapango was not required to pay them. Ciguateguacan, like Xilopango, could pay "as they wish."

7. In 1536-'41, three towns paid fish "as they wish" or "if they wish." In Cuyapango they did not have to decide whether or not "they wished." In the 1548 tribute list, only Ciguateguacan paid - four lbs. per week.

8. "As they wish" or "if they wish".

9. Most of the servants reported in the 1536-'41 document, were used at the mines of Metapa: 6 from Tonacatepeque, 2 from Xilopango, and 10 from Ciguateoacan. The others: 1 from Xilopango, and 1 from Cuyapango served in San Salvador.

10. Either herding had not developed sufficiently by the late 1530s or interest was concentrated on mining. No herders were listed for the four towns in that period of time, but 10 were listed in 1548. Livestock and pigs were mentioned for Aviles in San Miguel and for Perez Dardon, apparently none at that time for Francisco de la Cueva. "Care for livestock" was mentioned for Cristobal de la Cueva. And in the case of Docampo, the servants not involved in mining were only two. Herding was apparently not important.

In addition to the above tributes, the following materials and services were to be supplied in 1536-41: From Tonacatepeque:  20,000 lbs. of supplies for the mines of Metapa.

An obvious requirement veiled by cant appears in the statement "If, when the bearers of the supplies are shown the necessity of repair of houses or construction of a "rancho" at the mines, they may do the work".

Also required was care of livestock, repair of the sheds and of the encomendero's dwelling.

From Xilopango: Aid in the delivery of 20,000 lbs. of supplies for the mines of Metapa, "conforming to possibility".

From Cuyapango:

All of the textiles could be exchanged - but for what and at what rate is not stated.

With sanctimony it is suggested that "the conscience of all pueblos is charged to provide the house with maize and other necessities, care for livestock and sheds, maintenance of the house........each pueblo according to its ability."

Also provisions of chili, beans, vegetables for the house and slaves were to be supplied.

If the Indians have a surplus of maize, they may exchange it for salt (as the Indians needed no instructions in trade, the statement must have meant an additional levy of salt).

Pottery and mats (petates) to be supplied as necessary.

Repair of ox carts.

Another suggestion of pious benevolence is that "if the Indians want to go—for pay—to Gracias a Dios with supplies for the house of the encomendero, he may send them."

The Indians are to supply products of hunting, and henequen for fetters, headstalls, and lead ropes (sueltas, xaquimas, and cabestros) .


From Ciguateguacan:

Make sheds to store grain, gather fodder for livestock.

Cacao, wax, honey, and pita (henequen) to be put either in San Salvador or in Acaxutla (i.e. for maritime trade. D. Stanislawski)

Maize, plaster if necessary, and wild game for the house.

The encomendero may exchange the textiles for other tribute.

30,000 lbs. of supplies for the mines.

Repairs of the house and other structures, including ox carts.

Food for the encomendero when he is in the pueblo.

"If they wish, the Indians may go, for pay, to bring supplies to the house in Gracias a Dios."

Henequen for fetters , headstalls and lead ropes.

Differences in Tribute Payments Between Those of 1536-41 and 1548-49

The first notable difference is in the absence of vagueness and casuistry in 1548-49, particularly with regard to Indian labor. In 1536-41 the Indians were apparently to work under the guidance of that gem of sophistry "theconscience of all pueblos is charged to provide the house with.............", or the Indians were to make "a planting" with no specification as to the quantity of seed to be planted. Also such phrases as "gather fodder", "repair the house, the sheds, the ox carts", etc. appeared without further elaboration. Others: "as they wish", "as they may wish", "materials for the house", "as necessary", appearing in 1536-41, all without precise figures, were replaced by exact figures and times in the 1548-49 tribute list which had specifics. In the latter, payments were generally reduced from one fifth to one half of those for which figures were stated in 1536-41.

Some information regarding the reductions made by the "Cerrato Reforms" appears in the document showing payments of 1530-31 by the town of Huehuetenango to its encomendero Juan de Espinar. The levy of textiles in 1530-31 was 800 mantas , 400 loincloths (masteles ), 400 jackets (xicoles ), 400 sleeveless blouses (guipiles ), 400 skirts (naguas ); also 400 sandals (cutaras ), 400 mats (petates ), and large numbers of male and female servants and slaves to work either in the town or in his gold mines (Kramer, Lovell, and Lutz, Washington, 1991).

In the tribute list of 1548-49, the clothing had all been eliminated, as had 400 mats, and the sandals. The mantas had been reduced to 200. Chickens had been reduced from 2268 to 144. The servants allotted were six.

More information regarding changes in the encomienda becomes apparent in a comparison of the document of 1536-41 which reported on the holdings of five encomenderos , with the document of 1548-49. By the time of the later document consolidations had for the most part been made. Of the five encomenderos, one, Antonio Docampo, had relinquished his one town but acquired four others. Christoval de la Cueva's encomienda (See pp. 22-27) had been expropriated by the Crown. But three of the encomenderos held the same towns in 1548-49 that they had held in 1536-41. Consideration of those three follows.

Francisco de la Cueva

Weighty reasons may have made it wise for the dour Cerrato not to inquire too closely into the encomienda of this man, son of Pedro de la Cueva, a nephew of the Duke of Alburquerque, and the cousin of the two sisters who were married to Pedro de Alvarado (The first died soon after her arrival in the New World, Palomo,  p. 35).

But it would seem that Cerrato did not yield entirely to discretion: the record of Cueva's encomienda offers additional information regarding the reduction of tribute payments. It appears in three entries of the 1548-49 tribute list for Santiago: Tacuba (#32), a town with 100 tributaries that paid eighty xiquipiles of cacao and nothing more; Jumaytepeque (#105), whose number of tributaries is not shown, but is estimated to have been seventy five; and Çacatepeque and Ostuncalco (#106), with 2,000 tributaries. The first two entries were of relatively unimportant towns in southeast of present Guatemala. The important part of the encomienda was the large territory and towns in the southwest, including Ostuncalco and Çacatepequel and towns subsidiary to them. (The town of Çacatepeque, present San Martin Sacatepéquez, is one of seven with that name. Three are in the area of the Cueva encomienda. Aside from the one named, two others: San Antonio, and San Pedro, of lesser importance were included without being specifically mentioned. The four other towns with the name were—two each— parts of the encomiendas of Bernal Diaz and Francisco de Monterroso respectively; they are west and northwest of present Guatemala City).

The east and north borders of the encomienda were approximately those of a line connecting the towns of present Retalhuleu, San Martin Sacatepéquez, Ostuncalco, Cabricán, Tejutla; and from there west to the Mexican border of Chiapas. In elevations it rose from sea level to more than 8,000 feet (Ostuncalco: 2502 meters: 8208 feet).

The holding was enormous and included upland territories supporting some of the most dense populations of Guatemala at the time of the Spanish arrival (MacBryde, 1971, pp. 3,6,10,14-16, 128). Also to the Spaniards-who were largely from the southwest of present Spain—the area would have been appealing because it was not dissimilar in climate from their homeland and it was promising for grazing European livestock (in 1549, fourteen herders are listed). Part of the area had been seized by the conqueror, Pedro de Alvarado for himself, and the important conqueror, Pedro de Portocarrero, a cousin of the count of Medellin, chose another part for his encomienda. Portocarrero's part apparently included most of the territory of early Otzoya which contained the highlands of San Marcos, Ostuncalco, Quezaltenango, part of the valley of Totonicapan, the mountains of Ixtlahuacan, and some of the plains of Xuchitepéquez. It was described thus in a Quiché document referring to Mam pueblos of the 1300s. (The original document, in Quiche, was in the hands of "an illustrious family of Totonicapan" and is printed as Titulos de la casa Ixcuin-Nihaib, 1941, pp. 244-252).

By 1549 Portocarrero's encomienda was in the hands of Francisco de la Cueva, who was not one of the conquerors. He came to the New World with Pedro de Alvarado upon the return of the conqueror from Spain in 1539; but Cueva was the nephew of the Duke of Alburquerque. That family connection gave him position. Of further importance was the inheritance of the woman he married: Leonor, Pedro de Alvarado's natural daughter by Luisa, the daughter of a Tlaxcalan cacique. Leonor had been married briefly to the old campaigner, Pedro de Portocarrero and had inherited his large encomienda. That holding came to Cueva.

His importance in the affairs of the New World was obvious. It was to him that the Spanish Crown gave authority in Guatemala during the absence of Alvarado; and he governed after the deaths of Alvarado and his widow, Beatrice, until March 1542 when Maldonado took authority as head of the Audiencia.

In spite of his obvious importance (perhaps because of it), the payments to him were changed by the Cerrato reforms. Tributes were still large but a comparison with those paid in the period 1536-41 show a material reduction.


Çacatepeque and Ostuncalco

                                1536-'41                                     1549

Maize                         —                                             80,000 lbs. (i.e. approx. 8 sown fanegas)

Beans                         —                                             3,000 lbs (i.e. approx. 3 sown fanegas)

Mantas                     2400 (presuming that the
                                statement 400 de setenta a
                                setenta dias should have read
                                each sixty days, i.e.
                                each two months                          1,600

                               
                  

Chickens.                 On occasional days,                     300
                                and during Lent

Eggs.                         Supply for the house.                 208 doz.

Honey.                     Ditto                                           250 lbs

Quail                        Ditto                                                  --

Cacao                     600 xiquipiles                             300 xiq.

                            (Again - presuming that the
                            statement "de setenta a setenta dias"
                            should have read "every sixty
                            days, or each two months.)

Salt                         72 cestos                                    900 lbs

                            (If each cesto was one arroba,
                            a reasonable assumption,
                            the total would have been 900 lbs.)

Chili                         —                                             1000 lbs.

Servants                  —                                              6

Herders                   —                                             14

Bedspreads             120                                           32

Paramentos             120                                           28

Fodder, including maize —                                       --
for the pigs, clothes for
the swineherds, and food
for the chief swineherd.


In addition to Ostuncalco and Çacatepeque, two other towns are listed as being part of Cueva's encomienda: Jumaytepaque and Tacuba.

Jumaytepeque 1549

Xumaytepeque Gloss: Jumaytepeque, #105/75 est.: (Text Zumaytepeque)

                            1536-41                                 1549

Maize                 "as usual"                           1.5 fanegas planted

Wheat                 " a planting"                        6  "            "

Chickens

(native)              52                                    --

(Castille)            52                                    36

Honey               "as needed"                        --

Wax                 "as needed"                         --

Sandals (Cutaras ) "some for the slaves"       --

 Servants             6 (in the city when not      4 (in the estancia near the pueblo....to be fed whiel there).
                           working wheat)         

     

The payments from a third town, Tacuba, were even more vague in 1536-41: "some" beans and chili were to be planted and Honey and Wax were to be paid according to "what they wish to give" (one can imagine that generosity was encouraged). Forty xiquipiles of cacao was to be acquired through exchange for their chili and beans in order to pay it in tribute. "Some" salt was to be paid. Soles and sandals (suelas y cutaras) for the slaves were to be supplied. Nine servants were to work in the city and also help in the wheat fields of Çumaytepeque and bring the wheat to the city in the dry season. Two items had precision: textiles were to include 100 toldillos, 100 masteles, and 60 "guipiles"; chickens to be paid were to be 156 local fowl and 104 Castilian.

Changes made for this town, in 1549, eliminated all payments except two: 40 xiquipiles of cacao were increased to 80, and 20 Indians were to go twice each year to "Yumaytepeque" to work - four days each time to harvest wheat that had been planted by the encomendero. After that service they were return to their homes without obligation of any further service or payments. Nothing was said about feeding the Indians while away from their homes; perhaps because the Indians were to be free of other payments. The journey between their homes and "Yumaytepeque" —some two days journey each way— would be balanced by the freedom from further obligations.

Juan Pérez Dardón

This man was a prominent conqueror—among those who distinguished themselves in putting down the rebellion of Çacatepéquez of 1526 (Fuentes y Guzman, Vol. II, p. 79), and one-time lieutenant governor (Sherman, '79,p. 71).

A comparison of the tributes specified (inperfectly) by him in 1536-41 and those allowed in 1549, at the time of the Cerratro reforms, give further impressions both of the imprecision of the earlier procedures and the corrections made by the reforms. (The figures for 1536-'41 are those of Kramer, Lovell and Lutz, 1986, p. 367 and notes 49 and 50).

In the earlier period he held two towns in encomienda : "Omostenango" (present Momostenango) and Comalapa. The total payments of the two towns are shown below. For comparison, the total payments of the same towns in 1549 are given.



                                1536-'41                                                             1549

Maize                        300,000 lbs.                                                       200,000 lbs.

                                The minimum
                                to be paid regardless of harvest.

Wheat                         1 planting                                                         800 lbs. planted

Beans                           10,000 lbs.                                                      500 lbs. planted
                                                                                                            (At an expectable
                                                                                                            yield of 10 to 1
                                                                                                            the harvest would     
                                                                                                            be 5,000 lbs.)

Mantas                            400                                                               310

Chickens                         208 European fowl, local.                             360 either European or local.

Honey                              Some                                                          112.5 lbs.

Cacao                              120 xiq's                                                      120 xiq's

Salt                                  6500 lbs.                                                      1600 lbs.

Mats (petates)                  Some                                                            60

Pottery                             Some                                                           48 pieces

Chili                                 7600 lbs.                                                       1300 lbs.

Servants                           80                                                                37 (of whom 20 were exchanged for
                                                                                                            150 gold pesos, and 12 for 40 xiquipiles of cacao.)

 Limestone ("Cal")            15,000 lbs.                                                         --


In addition to the above, in 1536-41, the Indians were to supply an unstated amount of roof tiles, fodder for livestock, food for pigs, quail and other products of the hunt; and every two weeks, when they brought the chickens, they were to bring "other household necessities."

In 1549, he received the highest totals of the encomenderos of maize, and of servants; as high as any of beans and chickens. Twenty of his assigned servants were exchanged for the highest price in gold pesos; and twelve were exchanged for the highest price in cacao (of which, he received none directly as tribute). Moderate payments to him were made of wheat, honey, salt, chilis, and pottery. The payment to him of mantas was relatively low.

Cristoval de la Cueva

He was a man of "position". He was married to the daughter of Maldonado the first president of the high court and legislative body of Central America (the Audiencia de los Confines-1544-48). He was the royal factor for Guatemala and a former lieutenant of Pedro de Alvarado. He was cousin of Pedro de los Rios, the treasurer of Nicaragua and the son-in-law of Contreras its governor (Sherman, pp. 136-37).

Presumably, like Francisco de la Cueva, he was connected with the family of the Duke of Alburqueque and, because of that relationship, had authority among Spaniards in the New World even though the de la Cuevas were not among the original conquerors. Cristoval's name does not appear in the 1532 report of Marroquin. Three years later he was "principal captain" under Juan de Arevalo who had been sent by Jorge de Alvarado to attempt the conquest of Honduras (Cereceda, 1535, p.10). The document of 1536-41, discussed by Kramer, Lovell and Lutz (1986), lists him as holding an important encomienda in San Salvador; plus Utatlan, which had been Gumarcaah, the capital of the Quichés in Guatemala. That formerly important town had been allotted to him by Pedro de Alvarado in 1530 but later removed from his control to be put under the Crown (Kramer et al, n. 76, 77 on pp. 388, 389). The assignment by Alvarado was made before the provincial boundaries had been firmly established. Judging from the tributes demanded, he knew little about the town and asked little from it. No major crops, except for 60 xiquipiles of cacao, were listed in tribute. Cacao of course was cash, as were cotton textiles. Of the textiles he was to receive in tribute 120 mantles and 120 skirts (naguas). Also he was to be paid 240 European type chickens. Honey, salt, mats (petates ), and chilis were to be paid according to "that which the Indians care to give" He was to receive the services of ten servants.

The vagueness of the specifications, and the fact that the territory was at that date somewhat incognito justifies the belief that the suggested payments were more hopeful than accurate.

Cristoval de la Cueva was not vague about all of his demands from his tributaries in San Salvador, nor generous, one may judge by the totals of 1548 after the towns had been taken from him and put under the Crown.1


                                                    1536-41                                                                                          1548

Teculuca                                                                                                                                       Tecoyluca, No. 1 (As spelled in 1548
                                                                                                                                                     when it was under the Crown)

Tributaries                                     ?                                                                                                400 est.

Maize                                           30                                                                                               20

Beans                                         1500 lbs.                                                                                       1500 lbs.

Cotton                                 One planting from which
                                            1002 Mantas2, 49.5 X 66 inches each,                                                  1000 lbs. planted
                                            were to be made and 100 Toldillos3

Blouses (Huipiles)                  100                                                                                                      200                           

Breechcloths (Mastiles)          100                                                                                                --

Large wall-
mantas                                     10                                                                                                         6

Sheets (savanas)                        8                                                                                                          6

Skirts (Naguas)                      200                                                                                                      150

Chickens4                              468

Eggs                                      Some

Honey                                   150 lbs.                                                                                               125 lbs.

Wax                                       200 " (? "8 xicaras")                                                                          150 "

Salt5                                     5000 "                                                                                               2500 "

Fish                                      2500 "6                                                                                              1500 "

Chilis                                    1000 "                                                                                                 750 "

Servants                                      6                                                                                                     --

Sandals:

    Cutaras                                  80                                                                                                    --

    Alpargatas                              80

Wine                                         40 cantaros                                                                                         500 lbs. 7

Vinegar                                     40 "                                                                                                      500 lbs. 7

Fruit                                         Some                                                                                                                                   --

In addition: care for cattle, construction                                                                                                --
and maintenance of sheds, supply of
necessary things for the house

(1) The text regarding cacao, mantas, and skirts and chickens reads "que den en cada un año de cinquenta a cinquenta dias diez xiquipiles de cacao y veynte naguas y veynte mantas blancas y quarenta gallinas de Castilla." The numbers for mantas, skirts, and chickens have been calculated as if the period of payments were sixty days( i.e. two months) rather than fifty, because the latter seems unlikely and would produce unlikely totals.

(2) The size given was l-l/ 2 varas wide by 2 varas long - diminutive compared with tribute mantas elsewhere, e.g. in Yucatan.

(3) The size of toldillos was not stated.

(4) The word used was not "chickens", but "birds". It is assumed that chickens were meant. However, it might have meant other fowl.

(5) The town of Teculuca is not far north and northwest of the Jiquilisco Lagoon and the Estero de Jaltepeque, both long important for salt production (Andrews, 1983, pp. 105-06).

(6) Also "some" fresh fish was to be supplied.

(7) Twenty arrobas is the figure given. The payment to the Crown may have been less than that paid to Cueva. If the cantaros paid in 1536-41 were of twenty five lbs. each, a reasonable assumption, the payment of 1536-41 would have been of 1,000 lbs. which was reduced by one half in 1548.

                                        1536-41                                                                                1548

                                        Teculucelo                                                                Teculucelo  (under the Crown)                  

                                        Tributaries ?                                                                             300

 Maize                     3000 lbs. planted                                                                             1200 lbs. planted

From the harvest:            

3,000 lbs. to go to Metapa (mines)
2,000 lbs. to go to Alax
1,000 lbs. to go to Gracias a Dios
A supply to the encomendero when he was in San Salvador.

Wheat                            1200 lbs. planted                                                                        800 lbs. planted

Beans                             1000 lbs. planted

Cotton                                     ?                                                                                       400 lbs. planted

                                5000 lbs. of the encomendero's cotton to be spun.

Chickens4                         240                                                                                            144

Quail                                    240

Honey                                 750 lbs.                                                                                   500 lbs.

Wax                                    500 lbs                                                                                    250 lbs.

Servants                             31                                                                                               --

Cutaras                             1095 pairs                                                                                    --

Alpargatas                             --                                                                                           600 pairs

Soles for alpargatas             1095                                                                                          --

Liquidambar                       75 lbs.

--

If the Indians were rented out, they                                     The Indians were to spin
were to receive one third of the                                          5000 lbs. of cotton if the harvest
harvest.                                                                              were sufficient, (which assumed
                                                                                          a yield of 12 to 1).

                                                                               
                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                 

They were to maintain the house in San Salvador,
care for animals, maintain corrals and sheds.
They were to make halters (Xaquimas), lead ropes
(cabestros), and fetters (sueltas) for the horses
(see note 4 above).


Aviles de Sotomayor

This man held one of the largest encomiendas in the province of San Miguel (present El Salvador, east of the Lempa River). Yet the information about him is sparse. Kramer, Lovell and Lutz ( p. 391, n. 86) mention their surprise at that fact, because of the importance of his encomienda.

He was probably the "Captain Aviles, an official of the settlement for many years and according to Las Casas, 'a very powerful robber' whose encomienda, it was reputed, paid him more than 2,000 gold pesos per year. (Sherman, p. 169)

In the tribute list of 1549 nine entries of towns are shown, but two of those are duplicates. Presumably officials recognized the fact and did not double the payments made by those two towns. Eliminating the duplications, he held 410 tributaries. The payments recorded in 1536-41, and the reductions shown in 1549 substantiate the description by Las Casas.

                                        1536-'41                                                         1549


Maize                                52                                                                     35

Beans                                24                                                                     14

Cotton                               "plantings"                                                         3 + fanegas planted

Mantas                              514 (pieces of cloth)                                          334 mantas

Chickens                             1322+                                                             360                                                  

Honey                                 "as needed"                                                      162.5 lbs.
                                           "as they wish"
                                           "that they can give"

Wax                                    The same instructions as for honey                     225 lbs.

Cacao                                 590 xiquipiles                                                    320

Salt                                     1250 lbs.                                                          1500 lbs.

Fish                                    as needed from four towns,                                2000 lbs.
                                          and 5000 lbs. from one (Taminalco)

Olomina                            1200 lbs.                                                            300 lbs.
                    

Wine (apparently               "as needed", "some"                                             8 jugs (cantaros)
plum wine)

Vinegar                                     ditto                                                             10 "

Servants                                     32+                                                             7

Herders                                     —                                                             2 pig guards

Chili                                     "as needed"                                                         --

Fruit                                         ditto                                                                --

Pottery                                       "                                                                 36 pieces

Pita (presumably henequen)  2750 lbs                                                              --


In 1536-41, various services were exacted: to clean the cacao and mulberry groves, carry necessities to, and work in, the mines, bring wood, water, stones, and mortar to construction sites, maize, fodder, and wood to the villa for the encomendero. Indians from several of the villages to go to the town of Taminalco to bring back salt and fish. Food for pigs to be supplied. Irrigation of one planting of 6 fanegas of beans. Supply labor to sow and care for wheat which may include the services of ten Indians to go to San Salvador, Comayagua, or wherever necessary. Maintain buildings.

Encomenderos in the mid-sixteenth century

Some encomenderos by the mid-century had looked into their futures and the limitations of profit from martial exploits, and pictured themselves as becoming comfortable country squires. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, the old soldier who had come early to the Spanish Main and served with many captains including Cortes in Mexico, was settled in Guatemala with an encomienda including more than 700 tributaries. His relations with the Indians in his charge is shown in the record of a series of legal plaints and rebuttals. The case involved promoters trying to acquire Indians' lands in order to plant indigo and build an indigo factory. They stated, fraudulently, that the Indians had no use for the land. The Indians turned to Bernal Diaz for protection, and gave him their proxy. For two years—when he was nearly ninety years of age—he wrote briefs and went to court to block the suggested project. In the papers of the court, two conditions are made apparent: the Indians looked to him as their protector; and he accepted the obligation: that, of course, is the way the encomienda was intended to function: and in this case, it did. (Simpson. 1937).

The lesson to be learned from a review of the events of the conquests of Guatemala and Nicaragua seems to be that when conquerors, or other prehensile individuals are loose in the land it is good luck not to have—or be—easily appropriable wealth. Many areas of Indian culture in Mexico, Central, and South America are highlands whose surfaces are constituted largely by young, basic, volcanic materials that are without mineralization. Other valuable deficiencies were broken terrain, some degree of cold, and a limited growing season. The chill of nights and winters precludes most high-value export crops. And for an Indian wanting to escape into the forest, a pointed stick, some grain, the clothes being worn, and a blanket are all that is immediately needed. In Guatemala, much of the slope-land of the open, parklike forest is, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, still productive under digging-stick cultivation by Indians.

Territorial choices made by the early conquerors

In most cases, the conquerors were daring and ignorant men whose first concern was quick plunder. Later, after settlement, the focus was on a stable base of income: tributaries; and, if possible profitable products.

Mostly these men had little or no knowledge of agriculture and, in some case, demanded crops to be planted that were ill-suited to the environment. Many Spaniards of importance in the conquest chose upland territories for their encomiendas: because that was where the bulk of the population lived. The numerous natives served the encomenderos as tributaries and the elevation of the highlands was suitable for wheat, the grain to which the Spaniards were accustomed. But the product of greatest pecuniary importance was cacao, one of the forms of cash; and it could be grown only in the lowlands. So, it was desirable to hold lands in both environments. Furthermore an example had been established for the newcomers to follow: the rulers of the native peoples had controlled properties both in upland areas as well as in the lowlands (Orellana, pp. 82-83, 131, 159). Those practices were congenial to Spaniards, accustomed to feudal organization.

The following conquerors (or their heirs) are examples of those holding widely separated holdings:

The son of Gaspar Arias held Chichicastenango, a town at 2071 meters (6795 feet) elevation, with 400 tributaries. Although it was not an area suitable for cacao, its citizens were obligated to trade their products for 200 xiquipiles to pay Arias. Also he held Suchitepéques (Santo Domingo S.) with 286 tributaries. It was in the cacao zone and paid 450 xiquipiles.

The son of Sancho de Barahona held one half of Atitan (Santiago Atitlan) which is too high for cacao groves, but was on a major trading route from the cacao lowlands to the interior. The only item of tribute was 1200 xiquipiles of cacao which was divided between the son of Barahona and the Crown (originally Pedro de Alvarado held the half that was taken under the Crown).

Juan de Celada held #95, Chiquimula (present Chiquimulilla), with 150 tributaries who paid him—among other things—250 xiquipiles of cacao. He also held the town #85, Aguacatlan with 200 tributaries, which paid relatively modest tributes. The two towns were about 170 kilometers (104 miles) apart by direct flight.

Juan de Chaves held two towns: #94, Xilotepeque (present San Martíin Jilotepeque), with 500 tributaries, and Çacapa (Zacapa) with 80 tributaries, in the Motagua River drainage, 140 kilometers (85 miles) away. Çacapa was a lowland town (185 meters elevation —607 feet), but its dry climate excluded cacao. Its tributaries did, however, plant 600 lbs. of cotton which yielded a sufficient harvest for the 336 mantas and 60 skirts (naguas) included in the tribute list plus a surplus for the encomendero to put on the market. As an additional source of cash, he was accorded twenty servants which he exchanged for 480 tostones.

Francisco de la Cueva, whose encomienda was the largest in Guatemala, held towns with elevations of 2500 meters (more than 8,000 feet, e.g. Ostuncalco, 2502 meters) and below. It reached the coastplain. Jumaytepeque was at least 150 kilometers from Ostuncalco; and Tacuba, 225 kilometers. Pineda (p. 442) wrote that the Indians of Ostuncalco and Çacatepeque had to go to the coast to buy materials to pay their tribute. This encomienda is considered elsewhere in this work.

Juan Peréz Dardón held two large towns in the uplands: #131, Comalapa, with 600 tributaries. It was in a productive area and was an important trading center (Kramer, Lovell and Lutz,1986, n. 51). The tributes it paid were not excessive except for one item, that of twenty servants that were exchanged for 150 gold pesos, a rate of exchange higher than any paid to other encomenderos . Among other payments, he received 300 mantas, 1500lbs.of salt, 1,000 lbs. of chili, 60 xiquipiles of cacao, as well as large harvests of maize, wheat, and beans. His second town, #114, Momostenango, with 450 tributaries paid mostly the same products; also 900 lbs. of salt and sixty xiquipiles of cacao paid as tribute and another forty in exchange for twelve servants.

Bernal Diaz (one of the conquerors of Mexico with Cortés, who came to Guatemala soon after its conquest) held San Juan Sacatepéquez and San Pedro Sacatepéquez, northwest of present Guatemala City and the lowland town of Guanagazapa, which paid him a small tribute of cacao.

Juan de Espinar, being one of the distinguished conquerors of Mexico and Guatemala (Lovell, '85, p.207, n. 3) was able to select—within a wide range of choices— the area of his encomienda. He choose that of Huehuetenango (Gueuetenango, #17/ 500 tributaries) at an elevation of 1901.64 meters (6239 feet). The attractions were obvious: the area was densely settled, which meant a large pool of labor. Nearby at Chiantla were mines which paid him a large income (he is credited with discovering them, but, as in other cases, in other regions, the natives probably furnished him the information), the elevation, at that latitude conduces to a pleasant climate, and important agricultural production. Lovell reports that prior to the Cerrato reforms of 1549, he used 200 to 300 service Indians granted to him in his mines, plus an equal number of slaves, who produced an enormous income, for that time, of 9,000 pesos each year; and further, he received another 3,000 pesos from agriculture. Of the servants granted (appropriated ?) to him, some tended his swine; it is to be noted that neither cattle nor sheep were mentioned. The original silver production apparently played out—or, at least became comparatively unimportant: during the colonial period the output was relatively small, especially when compared to that of Honduras, and even less compared with that of Mexico, and of Peru (Lovell, '85, pp. 96, 100, 105, 120). Although mining is continued at the present time, the metal mentioned is lead (Dicc. Geog.).

Santos de Figueroa, a conqueror, held #13, Uspantlan, south of the Cuchumatanes Mountains at an elevation of 1837 meters (5563 feet) and two towns, probably in the northwest: Cerquil and Cocelutla. Also he held Miçagua (present Masagua, southwest of Escuintla) about 150 kilometers (92 miles) from Uspantlan.

Francisco Lopez held parts of five towns with a total of 123 tributaries, two in the northwest: Vyztlan (Huista) and Cuchil (now part of Nebaj), two in present El Salvador: Naolingo and Miaguatlan, and one, Quiaguistlan, that is unidentified. His encomienda may have been more scattered than any other. Vyztlan would have been about 325 kilometers (200 miles) from Naolingo by direct flight.

Alonso Marroquin held Tequepanguatemala with 400 tributaries. It is located at 2276 meters (7503 feet) elevation. He also held Cacaotlan, #25, which is unidentified but its only payments, 140 xiquipiles of cacao and fifty six lbs. of fish, place it on the lowlands.

The son of Gonçalo de Ovalle held two towns, #4 Xacaltenango (Jacaltinango), in the northwest, near the Chiapas border, and #81, Tasisco, a Xinca-speaking town on the southeastern lowland (present Taxisco, near Guanagazapa may not be in the exact location of the 1548 town: there are archaeological remains nearby). Among its tributes was the item of 400 xiquipiles of cacao. The two towns in the encomienda of Ovalle were about 219 kilometers (136 miles) apart.

The son of Juan Paez held #5, Ystapalatengo and Aguacatlan, which were near the Cuchumatanes mountains, Çacapula, in the same general area; and Miaguatlan, near Sonsonate, about 240 kilometers (146 miles away). The sources of cash for the encomendero were 40 mantas in exchange for a planting of 300 lbs. of wheat, another 100 mantas in direct tribute, 14 xiquipiles of cacao exchanged for five servants, 7200 lbs. of salt from Çacapula, and 80 xiquipiles of cacao from Miaguatlan.

In the encomienda of Cristobal Salvatierra were two towns: one half of #38, Çacapula, in the interior below the Cuchumatanes mountains, that paid him 108 chickens, 7200 lbs. of salt, and five servants that he exchanged for fourteen xiquipiles of cacao; and #53, Caçaguastlan, in the southeast, in the drainage of the Motagua River, which paid him a variety of tributes including six servants that he exchanged for a planting of 200 lbs. of maize, and 20 mantas to be added to the 200 also specified. The two towns are about 131 kilometers (80 miles) apart.

Encomienda labor transfers

For the most part, items of tribute were suited to their environments; but many an encomendero received payments from more than one town and, in many cases probably transferred labor from one to another when it fitted his purposes. For example:

Juan Resino, one of the conquerors of Guatemala with Pedro de Alvarado, held three towns in encomienda, whose total tributaries were 350:

#29, Basaco, with 20 tributaries paid two items: 7,500 lbs. of salt, and 200 lbs. of fish. This lowland town probably represents present Pasaco. It was shared with Antonio de Salazar.

#30 Moyutla (present Moyuta, at 1283 meters elevation =4209 feet), with 250 tributaries, made relatively small payments, including 900 lbs. of salt.

#69, Ayllon, unidentified.

It may be supposed that the twenty tributaries of Basaco were aided in their labor by those of Moyutla and Ayllon.

Antonio de Salazar held three towns whose total of tributaries amounted to 640:

#60, Paçaco y Tototopeque (present Pasaco is at 150 meters elevation = 492 feet).

#61, Xutiapa (present Jutiapa is at 906 meters =2972 feet)

 #66, Yupitepeque (present Yupiltepeque, 1050 meters=3445 feet).

The tributaries of Yupitepeque were obligated to pay 300 xiquipiles of cacao, which, at 3445 feet elevation, could not be grown. That matter was resolved by requiring the tributaries of Yupitepeque and those of Xutiapa, which was also too high in elevation to grow cacao trees, to work in the grove of Salazar. Presumably the grove was near Paçaco and Tototepeque which were at a suitable elevation. Each of the higher towns was about fifty kilometers from Paçaco. Nothing was specified regarding the amount of time to be spent in the labor, nor was the usual injunction with regard to food for the laborers during their stint mentioned; and the labor and travel were in addition to the payment of 300 xiquipiles.

Complexity of encomiendas

In the quarter century after the conquest of Guatemala, the rewards of the conquerors had been complicated by expropriations, re-assignments, further divisions, and awards to important newcomers. The following examples involve fourteen encomenderos and twenty-four towns connected

immediately or remotely with each other by reason of the divisions made of towns and their tributaries. Many of the encomenderos were original conquerors with Pedro de Alvarado; others had been given grants by Maldonado some time after the major action of conquest, e.g. Juan de Guzman and Francisco Giron.

Of this—presumably typical group—all encomenderos shared the products of one or more towns with other encomenderos.



Encomendero           

Total Tributaries

   
Towns or portions of towns in encomienda                                            

Shared with                                   

Gonçalo de Alvarado
 220
 #27, Texutla (1/2 or 60 tr.)
 Çavallos2


#132, Acatenango (? tr) (See note #1)
 Çavallos


#134, Misco (160 tr.)

 No one else

Pedro de Çavallos
210 (plus)
#27, Texutla
Gonz. de Alvarado



#132, Acatenango
ditto




#57, Luquitlan
Minor sons of Antonio de Morales




#103, Casaguastlan (1/2, i.e. 200 tr.)
See note #2




#55, Xocotenango
No one else




#57, Luquitlan
Çavallos




#84 Coçumptlan
No one else
Minor son of Juan Perez
  183
 #34, Çacapula

 See note #3 below



#5, Aguacatlan
 No one else



#123, Miaguatlan
 Francisco López
Francisco López 123
 #123, Miaguatlan
 Son of Juan Perez, and Francisco Lopez



#3, Viztlan
 No one else



#11, Cuchil
 Melchor de Velasco



#70, Naolingo
 1/2 to Diaz de la Reguera and 1/4 each to Juan de Guzman and Francisco Lopez



#140, Quiaguistlan
 Diaz de la Reguera
Gomez Diaz de la Reguera
 110
 #70, Naolingo
 Juan de Guzman and Francisco Lopez


#140, Quiaguistlan
 Francisco Lopez
Juan de Guzman
#62, Yçalco
 See note #4


#70, Naolingo
 Diaz de la Reguera and Francisco Lopez
Cristobal Salvatierra
 280
 #53, Casaguastlan
 See note #2


#38, Çacapula
 See note #3
Francisco Giron Guzman
See note #4
#63, Yçalco
Juan de Guzman
Melchor de Velasco
 75
 #11, Cuchil
 Francisco Lopez


#52, Quecaltepeque
 See note #5


#71, Ucumacintla
 No one else
Alonso Larios
 78
 #41, Tetechan
 No one else


#92, Queçaltepeque
 See note above.


#141, Utlacingo
 Antonio Paredes
Antonio Paredes
 4
 #141, Utlacingo
 Alonso Larios


#144, Copulco
 Pedro Gonçales
Pedro Gonçales 80
 #144, Copulco
 Antonio Paredes
Najara
#102, Çapotitan
 No one else
Critobal Lobo
 526
 #18, #19, #20, Amatitan (an annexes)
 No one else


#111, Xilotepeque
 Lope Lobo



#135, Queçaltepeque
 See note regarding Melchor de Velasco



#136, Chancoate
 No one else

1 Acatenango is listed twice, but the two listings probably refer to a division of the tributes from the same town. The first listing, #132, does not show the number of tributaries. The eighty tributaries listed for #139, shown as being under the Crown, may be the total for both entries.

2 Casaguastlan was listed twice, #103 and #53. There are now two Acasaguastlans and may have been in 1549; but the tributes were precisely the same. If there were two towns of the same name then, the tributes probably were grouped and divided equally.

Xocotenango, #55, was probably the present San Bartolome' Jocotenango, NNE of Santa Cruz del Quiché.

3. The name Caçapula is listed twice: #34, and #38. Each entry showed precisely the same items and amounts. Obviously, the tributes of one town were divided between two encomenderos.

4. Yçalco is listed twice, under numbers 62 and 63. No number of tributaries is shown for #62; but under #63, 400 tributaries are recorded. Apparently the one town's payments were divided, and probably the total number of tributaries to be divided was 400.

5. The three entries of this name under #52, #92, and #135 probably all refer to the same town.

The encomienda of Francisco Lopez is an example of the jerry-built nature of some of the holdings. It is made up of bits and pieces. Only one town out of five—#3, Viztlan, with forty five tributaries—was held entirely by him. The others, ranging in tributary size from six to 200 were shared with others. In spite of the many pieces of his encomienda , the total number of his tributaries was only 123. He did, however, receive payment of 211.25 xiquipiles of cacao and a high payment of mats (petates) which, no doubt he sold profitably.

The Company Store

In some cases encomenderos treated their Indians as did some United States companies in western towns who owned the only store and could charge according to their own judgement and avidity. According to Linda Newsom, describing affairs in Nicaragua (1987, p. 164) "Sometimes employers made advances to workers with the express purpose of binding them to their places of work through debts. The debts incurred were inherited by the deceased's family, so that widows were often forced to work for their husbands' former employers to pay them off."

Chilis may be an example of that situation. They were not part of the Spanish dietary and it must have taken considerable time for the Spaniards to develop a taste for them, but ten of the most important encomenderos required large payments to be sold back to the Indians:

Juan de Espinar                            5,000 lbs.

Herman Gutierrez de Gibaja         2,250

Hernan Mendez de Sotomayor     2,250

Bernal Diaz                                 1,500

Antonio de Salazar                      1,500

Juan Perez Dardon                      1,300

Gonçalo de Ovalle                      1,250

Francisco de la Cueva                 1,000

Bartolome Marroquin                  1,000

Gonçalo Ortiz                             1,000

Nearly three quarters of the total payment was made to these ten encomenderos (another 2,000 lbs. was paid to the Crown) for sale in markets to the natives whose standard diet included them.

MacLeod found that encomenderos used the auction system to turn tributes into cash, and that by the third quarter of the sixteenth century in Central America, the men in commerce and trade dominated the colonial bureaucracy (pp. 131,133. Also see pp. 75, 209-10, 284, 419n).

The surplus of maize was considerable: in nearly all regions payments were far in excess of the needs of encomenderos' families. In some cases it may have been exported, but in others it could have been sold back to the Indians. Spaniards did not wear sandals, Indians did. The only way for Spaniards too realize profit from cutaras or alpargatas was to put them on the market for Indians to buy. Sleeveless blouses (huipiles) and Indian skirts (naguas ) were not worn by Spanish women. Note the numbers of skirts paid by the two Perulapas: town #33 paid 420, and town #34 paid 480. Mantas and toldillos fell into the same category, as did surplus salt, fish, and cotton.

Cash to latecoming—post-conquest—Spaniards.

In post-conquest generations, well-conditioned men—no ragtag adventurers they—came to the New World, not with the spirit of the adventure that imbued the first contingents, but with assurance of reward; and what they wanted especially was cash in any of its forms.

The ten men listed below represent such arrivistes. Their payments of the two most important forms of cash were the following:






Rodriguez Cabrillo (son
 Xiquipiles of cacao (One xiquipil= 8,000 "beans")


262
Mantas





180

Calderon

630

200

Francisco de la Cueva

380

1600 of high quality

Giron

1000

—

Gutierrez de Gibaja

250

300. In addition he was paid 175 lbs. of honey, 175 petates and 2250 lbs. of chili, all saleable.



Mendez de Sotomayor

250

300. Plus the additional paid to Gutierrez Gibaja listed above



Juan de Guzman

1171.25

—

Martin de Guzman

510

300. Plus 175 lbs. honey, 416 lbs. fish.



Bartolomé Marroquin

190

—

Alonso Marroquin

140

600

Total

4777.25

3480

                                                            


To encomenderos

To the Crown


33 % of total

25% of total


Paid in Santiago

Paid in Santiago



To the Crown                                                


2162

2660


15 % of total

19% of total



48 %
44 %

In sum, almost half of these two forms of "cash" were paid to ten "arrivistes" and the Crown. Those paid to the Crown were, mostly, from towns that originally had been been under Pedro de Alvarado. Those of the ten newcomers were from towns whose early encomenderos were no longer listed, with one exception: Goncalo Najara, who shared the town of Jumaytepeque with Sebastian Marmol in 1528 (Kramer et al, '90, p. 15). By 1549, the town (no. 105) had changed hands and was in the encomienda of Francisco de la Cueva. At that time Goncalo Najara held Capotitan and received one half of the tributes from Copulco. His estimated number of tributaries was 130.

Size of Encomiendas (by numbers of Tributaries) in the nine provinces in 1548-49.

The figures in parentheses represent the percentage of that size in the province.



Stgo.
S.Sal
S. Mig.
Com.
Leon
Gran.
Mér.
Camp.
Tab.               

Total number of Encomiendas: 

83

44

33

26

51

41

61

50


5

Those with less than 100 tributaries:

20

8

7

15

36

21

2

1


2

(% of total)


(24)

(18)


(21)

(58)

(71)

(51)

(3)

(2)


(40)

*100-199
tributaries
24
16
18
7
7
15

7          

7  


2

(%)

(29)

(36)

(55)

(27)

(14)

(37)

(11)

(14)    


(40)

*200-299
tributaries
 12
 12
 4
 3
 7
 2
 8
 12
 --

(%)
 (14)
 (27)
 (12)
 (12)
 (14)
 (5)
 (13)
 (24)
 ---

*300-399
tributaries
 4
 2
 --
 --
 1
 3
 13
 14
 1

(%)
 (5)
 (5)

(2)
 (7)
 (21)
 (28)
 (20)

*400-499
tributaries
 8
 4
 4
 1
 --
 --
 6
 6
 --

(%)
 (10)
 (9)
 (12)
 (4)
 --
 --
 (10)
 (12)
 --

*500-599
tributaries
 6
 1
 --
 --
 --
 --
 9
 2
 --

(%)
 (7)
 (2)



(15)
 (4)
 --

*600-699
tributaries
 3
 -
 --
 --
 --
 --
 7
 1
 --

(%)
 (4)





(11)
 (2)

*700-799
tributaries
 1
 --
 --
 --
 --
 --
 4
 1
 --

(%)
 (1)





(7)
 (2)

*800 plus
tributaries
 5
 1
 --
 --
 --
 --
 5
 6
 --

(%)
 (6)
 (2)




(8)
 (12)

Average number of tributaries of all encomiendas
 293
 229
 165
 112
 89
 110
 508
 392
 100

*The manuscript does not show the number of tributaries in each of these groups. The numbers shown here give results that agree with the average number of tributaries for each province.

Some obvious generalizations can be made. There was a wide range in size of Santiago encomiendas . The same was relatively true of Mérida and Campeche. The difference being that very few of those of Yucatan were of the small groups. The Nicaragua provinces (Leon and Granada) had none of the large sizes of Santiago and Yucatan. San Salvador—as was its wont— was varied; but with concentration in the middle brackets. In San Miguel were four fairly successfully greedy men, but otherwise the holdings were relatively small. Comayagua—in this record—was unimportant, as was Tabasco.

Comments:

The interest of Santiago encomenderos was in cacao. Beyond the present border of Guatemala, they had appropriated Los Izalcos, the important cacao-raising area, now in the southwest of El Salvador. Perhaps compensating for the loss of that area, the San Salvador encomenderos were allowed virtually the full list of other tributes, and in relatively high amounts.

It would seem that the Santiago encomenderos' preoccupation with cacao diminished their demand for other tributes (or led the royal officials to believe that it should). In comparison with the other eight provinces, the percentage of encomenderos being paid was low in virtually all other items. For example, of the fundamental dietary items, maize was paid to virtually all encomenderos in all provinces except Santiago where one quarter received none. Bean payments ranged from seventy-three percent to 100 percent in other provinces, but not in Santiago. There they were received by only about one third, (and by sixty percent in Tabasco).

In receipt of textiles—important for clothes but also serving as specie— the percentage of Santiago encomenderos receiving them was the lowest of seven of the the nine provinces (Comayagua, and Tabasco were lower). Wheat was a relatively unimportant tribute. Santiago may have been the only province to produce it. Although listed, the amount planted in Comayagua was probably based on a forlorn hope, as was that of San Salvador.

In striking contrast, San Salvador was highest on eight items of tribute: (chilis, cotton, eggs, fish, fruit, herders, sandals, and textiles); and equal to the highest on three others (maize, chickens, servants).