GUATEMALA VILLAGES OF THE 16TH CENTURY
Dan Stanislawski
ENCOMIENDA
DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA
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. --- |
---- --- |
||
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)
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.
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.
--
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.
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 |
|||
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 |
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.