Spanish Labor Systems And Indigenous People Essay

, Research Paper In the US it is very common to still hear of the poor way African Americans were treated in the early part of this nations History. We hear stories of black slaves working 18 hour days picking cotton and the trauma of slaves being beaten for disobeying their masters. For many African American families, it seems, that was the way of life not long ago. While it is very important to realize what these African Americans went through, I think it is often forgotten that indigenous people of Latin America were exploited in similar ways but through different Labor Systems. From Spain s early arrival in the Caribbean through their establishment of the Spanish empire indigenous people were exploited through cheap, slave like labor. One of the most incredible subjects raised by the documents presented in Colonial Spanish America is the topic of Labor Systems that were imposed on the indigenous people. Spain tried to excuse this exploitation by claiming to save these indigenous people by teaching them the ways of Christ but many of the Articles in Colonial Spanish America, Struggle & Survival, and The Limits of Racial Domination prove otherwise. Through letters, personal stories, and other documents these books present accounts that tell about the labor system used in this area. They tell of the Spanish labor systems such as the encomiendos and later rapartamientos and how these operations were run. In discussing the Labor system that existed during the time of Spanish rule it is important to understand what labor systems that were used, why the Spanish used them, how they justified using indigenous people in such a way, how the indigenous as well as black slaves were treated in these systems, and the effects the Labor Systems had on the indigenous population. As soon as the first Spanish entradas arrived in the New World they realized the vast resources that had been virtually untapped. They saw incredible wealth in the sugar cane crops and the wood dyes in Brazil, and the silver mines in Potosi and other northern areas, plus many other raw resources. At first the Labor systems were very underdeveloped in Colonial America, the indigenous people had produced just enough to use what they needed and in some cses a little extra for some trade with neighboring peoples but there was no large scale operations anywhere until the invasion of the Spanish. Spain saw all the resources in the Americas as great wealth for the Crown and the entrada leaders saw the opportunity for themselves. They also new that the development of the resources ultimately depended on the labor of non-Spaniards. At the begging of the Spanish arrival there were millions of indigenous people throughout the lands who were willing to trade and incorporate the Spanish peacefully. However the early entrada leaders knew that the most efficient way to fulfill their greed and honor the Crown of Spain was to exploit the indigenous people. Examples of these early labor exploitation s were the encomiendas and repartamientos. Later with the increase in immigration from Spain to New Spain there was a shift in demand from the resources of wealth such as the mines and the wealthy sugar crops to a more general need of Spanish goods including wheat, cattle and other general Spanish goods. As more and more Spaniards arrived in New Spain the demand for Spanish food and goods increased so Spanish Rule used hidden Labor Systems like the tribute and work project systems to get the native people to work their haciendas and to build their churches, homes, and cities. According to The Limits of Racial Domination the Spanish believed as long as the Indians exist, the Indies will exist. The Spanish new that they could live well as long as they exploited the indigenous people they would live well. In fact it is quoted in The Limits of Racial Domination that In the sixteenth century, the white community lived on the surplus produced by a vast number of Indians working in a very primitive economic system… Then by the next century they had changed the economy to one modeled after the contemporary European design. In summary the reason that the Spanish used the labor systems they did is because they knew the people could be exploited. They were greedy about getting the fortunes for the Crown and they were processing the primitive economic system into an economy of contemporary European design . The Spanish new the easiest and cheapest way to make this transition was through the use of indigenous labor. According to lecture the first of the indigenous laborers worked in the mines. The early mines were worked through surface diggings and later evolved into shaft mining. Every mine operator, or minero, sent 1/5 of the mines wealth back to the crown. Potosi was one of the first great silver mines. The Spanish ran their mines by exploiting the indigenous people. The Spanish used different ways of getting labor. The initial way they did this is through the use of early encomiendas. Encomiendas were, according to Colonial Spanish America, a grant of labor and tribute rights from the crown to an encomendero over a specified group of Indians. The encomenderos was the man in charge of an Indian group who would demand manual labor and tribute from the Indians in exchange for payment, protection and religious instruction. Later on repartamientos took place of the encomiendas. The Repartamientos were different from encomiendas because they were a designated percent of the male work force that had to work for the crown instead of a single person or encomenderos. However, according to lecture, in the 1630 s the Repartamiento system was abolished by the crown, except for in the case of mining. The Spanish came to realize that temporary and permanent wage employment was an easier and more effective way to get new workers. While this newest system of Labor seems to be the best yet for the indigenous people the pay is minimal and taxes were imposed. These harsh tributes and taxes were put on the indigenous people to pay the crown. With the over work of native people Spain began to look to additional sources for labor mainly slave labor from Africa. At the height of the African slave labor blacks comprised around 15 percent of the mining labor force. Over the years there is a mix between races causing additional racial classes. For example racial classes in Mexico City around 1753 ranged from the Spaniards, who were the elite and shop owners and artisans, the Mestizos, laborers servants and sometimes artisans, the mulattos, which were laborers and servants and artisans. In Colonial Spanish America it talks about a multi-racial group of people suddenly being required to pay tributes to the crown and being forced into work projects as manual laborers. With the new work project and tribute laws the Spanish found ways to expand not only their economy but their newly founded empire. Cities were constructed, estates were built for Spanish Viceroys and the development of Haciendas and Ganados were both built and worked by indigenous people. Most of the non spanish population had jobs that had been determined before they were born. Limits of Racial Domination talks about the fact that a young person had littel chance of becomming something outside of what their parents had been. For example if my parents worked on a hacienda then chances are my life would consist of working on the hacienda. All of the different types of Labor Systems that the Spanish employed varied over time and they seemingly came to be much more fair but the case was not so. Most of indigenous people were struggling to meet the demands of the systems and had lacked extra time outside of the tributes and work project to provide for themselves and their families. The Spanish justified their treatment of the work force in three ways, they saw themselves as protectors of the indigenous people, they saw themselves as religious saviors of inferior human beings, living crudely , and they believed that since the people lived under the Spanish Crown they should also pay it.. Spain had little problem justifying the treatment at first, later people questioned whether or Spain s real reason for being in the Americas was to save the indigenous people from religious persecution. Fray Pedro de Gante s questioned all of the labor that the indigenous people were forced to do. Gante warned that Indians might simply disappear due to illness and overwork. In his letter to Charles V he expresses his worry that Indians are not being saved. He tells about the Indians who are required to do labor and are not able to go to Mass and they are not being able to learn about Christ. The Fray expresses his worry that if the labor is not eased from the indigenous people than there is now chance of saving these people. The Fray also expresses great concern for the well being of the indigenous people. He is worried about how the labor systems are treating the people. While it was easy for the Spanish to justify their labor laws to themselves it seems that the treatment of indigenous workers was often overlooked. In the early days of the mines and the sugar plantations work conditions were very bad. According to lecture the Indians worked in the mines around huge ore and sugar cane stampers that were very dangerous. Many workers were injured by machines and crushed, others where killed from mine shafts caving in. The conditions in the mines shafts were horrible, they were wet and cold dirty. The workers got sick from the chilling conditions and inhalation of fine dusts but they were forced to continue working. In the early encomiendas and rapartamientos the native were worked sometimes to death. In Fray Pedro de Gante s letter he writes of the people who were once lords of the whole land now being slaves. He worries that the work that they are forced to do is not tolerable and says that dogs have better lives than Indians because get rest and are at least fed. Indians often go without food. Later in the tributes and work projects they do get paid for the pay is not enough to make up for the lose of work at home. Indians are mistreated by everyone they deal with, he says instead of feeding them they are abused, physically and verbally. The section on the Rebellious Slaves in Struggle and Survival tells about how poorly workers are treated. This excerpt talks about a slave, Morga, who was shackled by his owner because he had insulted his owner. The owner branded him with a letter s to signify him as a slave and he beat him day after day. Later it talks about Morga working in a silver mine when one day his owner comes out a flogs him so violently that it ripped great strips of skin form his body. Other beatings ranged from hitting him in the teeth with a hammer to dragging him behind a horse. Even for the free people life was very hard. The tributes and work projects had men away from their homes for somethimes a month at a time. During these times the men must leave their families at home and the women must seek to feed herself and her family she must take care of the mans job, find money to pay tribute and also tend to the children. This case often leaves indian children with jobs to do of their own at the ages of ten or twelve. They travel great distances in search of food and often carry heavy loads inorder to make their tribute payment every eighty days. With the harsh work conditions and the tiresome chores at home thousands of indians died. Overwork, sickness, mistreatment, and frivolous litgation were major reasons of population decline. The lands of the Central and South America were nearly cleared of its native peoples. The labor systems that were used by the Spanish in latin America were often harsh and cruel. The jobs that were performed then would never be allowed today because of the lack of safety. The treatment of the workers during that time period also was very cruel and unjust. The scars left from the labor systems that the Spanish employed on the indigenous people are still visible today. The Spanish used the systems because of their own greed and selfishness. While they believed at the time that they had justified reasons for doing the things they did we realize how terrible the actions that took placve really were. It is important to be able to sympaphize with the indigenous people of Central and South America. The drastic decline of those people in the 16th and 17th centuries is visible today in the loss of the indigenous cultures of Latin America. While it is not possible to get back what we have lost it is possible to prevent loosing anything that precious ever again.