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Encomiendas in Peru
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Encomiendas in Peru
An encomienda in Peru was a reward offered to each of the men under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro who began the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532. In the early colonial period of the New World, land had little economic value without labor to exploit it. The grant of an encomienda bestowed an encomendero the right to collect tribute from a community of indigenous people. The word encomienda means "trust", indicating that the indigenous people were entrusted to the care and attention of an encomendero. In reality, the encomienda system is often compared to slavery. Theoretically, the encomendero grantee did not own the people or the land occupied by his subjects, but only the right to tribute, usually in the form of labor, that he could extract from them.
Grants of encomiendas were later extended to both soldiers and non-soldiers who provided valuable services to the conquest and settlement of Peru. The governor of Peru, initially Pizarro and later the viceroy, granted encomiendas to individuals. The grant of an encomienda to an individual was intended to be inheritable only to a second generation. The encomendero was responsible for paying a tax to the King of Spain; to protect and provide religious education to the indigenous people, henceforth called "Andeans," under his control; to provide military services as needed; and to maintain a residence near the area in which his subjects lived.
Encomiendas varied in size and wealth, with the Pizarros and other military leaders receiving much larger and richer grants than the rank and file among their soldiers. However, even the most humble members of the conquering army acquired wealth and social status far beyond what they could have hoped for in Spain or in other Spanish colonies. Part of the wealth came immediately from the soldiers' share of the treasure captured from the Incas and part came more slowly from the labor of the people living in the encomiendas that those soldiers controlled. Most of the wealth derived from encomiendas was from agriculture or mining, although manufacturing, especially of textiles, was a source of income of some encomiendas.
The encomienda "was the key institution of early Spanish colonialism" and the principal means of exploiting the labor of the Andeans by the Spanish conquerors. The grant of an encomienda enabled the recipient to enjoy a "lordly rank and life-style" and encomenderos, often of humble origins, dominated local governments and were economically important. The number of encomiendas in Peru peaked around 1570. In most of Latin America, the encomienda system gave way to repartimiento in the late 16th century; in Peru, encomiendas persisted until the 18th century. In 1721, the creation of new encomiendas was prohibited by the Spanish Crown. The encomiendas were gradually replaced by large, landed estates called haciendas in which, unlike the encomienda, the hacendado or patron was the legal owner of the land.
During the centuries-long reconquest of Spain, Spanish Christian leaders awarded encomiendas to individuals for their military services in gaining control of territory and people ruled by the Muslims. The institution was carried to the New World. In Peru, the first encomenderos were 40 aged and injured Spanish soldiers who Pizzaro left as a rear guard in the town of Piura as he led his main force inland to confront the Inca Empire in 1532. Each of Pizarro's force of 168 men who participated in the Battle of Cajamarca was entitled to an encomienda. Most of them were from the humbler social classes of Spain. Shortly after Cajamarca, Pizarro was joined by Diego de Almagro with 200 additional men and the Spaniards continued the conquest by capturing Cuzco and establishing a Spanish city there in 1534. Almagro and his men were the last Spaniards in Peru who were automatically entitled to an encomienda, although many soldiers who arrived later were also recipients. The military leaders awarded themselves the most valuable of the encomiendas. The governor of Peru (initially Pizzaro himself) and the captains of the conquering armies had the authority to grant encomiendas, although the encomendero was required to pay taxes to the Crown of Spain.
In the late 1530s and 1540s, when Peru was impacted by civil war, encomiendas were given to (or taken away from) captains and cavalrymen but not usually common soldiers. By 1560, those given or retaining encomiendas were soldiers from the days of the conquest, elites of Spanish society, military leaders of distinction during the civil wars, and people with good connections. A few of the people granted encomiendas chose to return to Spain and gave up or illegally sold their encomienda. Others who remained in Peru maneuvered to retain the encomienda for their descendants.
In 1570, the number of encomiendas in Peru (which included Ecuador, Bolivia, and northern Chile at that time) peaked at about 470 and the encomenderos reached the apogee of their economic and political importance. In 1550 the average number of "tributaries" (native males between 15 and 50 years of age) assigned to each encomienda was 673. Counting family members, the number of Andean people subject to an encomendero totaled more than one million. By 1630, the number of encomiendas had declined to slightly more than 300, of which about 70 were within 21st-century Ecuador and 30 in Bolivia. Part of the reason for the decline was the simultaneous decline in the Andean population, mostly due to epidemics of diseases introduced by European colonists, but also the exploitation of the native peoples. Scholars estimate the indigenous population of Peru (not including modern-day Ecuador and Bolivia in this estimate) at 600,000 in 1620 compared to a population of approximately nine million in pre-Columbian Peru. The number of Europeans, mostly Spanish, living in Peru in 1630 was about 34,000.
The persistence of encomiendas in Peru, long after the system had been replaced in most of Latin America, was due to the cultural similarity between the Spanish encomienda and the Inca system of tribute labor, the mit'a. The Spanish inherited and adapted the mit'a system. Although the Incan mit'a does not appear to have been as exploitative as the Spanish encomienda, both were systems of corvée or forced labor in which the Andeans worked for the benefit of an overlord.
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Encomiendas in Peru
An encomienda in Peru was a reward offered to each of the men under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro who began the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532. In the early colonial period of the New World, land had little economic value without labor to exploit it. The grant of an encomienda bestowed an encomendero the right to collect tribute from a community of indigenous people. The word encomienda means "trust", indicating that the indigenous people were entrusted to the care and attention of an encomendero. In reality, the encomienda system is often compared to slavery. Theoretically, the encomendero grantee did not own the people or the land occupied by his subjects, but only the right to tribute, usually in the form of labor, that he could extract from them.
Grants of encomiendas were later extended to both soldiers and non-soldiers who provided valuable services to the conquest and settlement of Peru. The governor of Peru, initially Pizarro and later the viceroy, granted encomiendas to individuals. The grant of an encomienda to an individual was intended to be inheritable only to a second generation. The encomendero was responsible for paying a tax to the King of Spain; to protect and provide religious education to the indigenous people, henceforth called "Andeans," under his control; to provide military services as needed; and to maintain a residence near the area in which his subjects lived.
Encomiendas varied in size and wealth, with the Pizarros and other military leaders receiving much larger and richer grants than the rank and file among their soldiers. However, even the most humble members of the conquering army acquired wealth and social status far beyond what they could have hoped for in Spain or in other Spanish colonies. Part of the wealth came immediately from the soldiers' share of the treasure captured from the Incas and part came more slowly from the labor of the people living in the encomiendas that those soldiers controlled. Most of the wealth derived from encomiendas was from agriculture or mining, although manufacturing, especially of textiles, was a source of income of some encomiendas.
The encomienda "was the key institution of early Spanish colonialism" and the principal means of exploiting the labor of the Andeans by the Spanish conquerors. The grant of an encomienda enabled the recipient to enjoy a "lordly rank and life-style" and encomenderos, often of humble origins, dominated local governments and were economically important. The number of encomiendas in Peru peaked around 1570. In most of Latin America, the encomienda system gave way to repartimiento in the late 16th century; in Peru, encomiendas persisted until the 18th century. In 1721, the creation of new encomiendas was prohibited by the Spanish Crown. The encomiendas were gradually replaced by large, landed estates called haciendas in which, unlike the encomienda, the hacendado or patron was the legal owner of the land.
During the centuries-long reconquest of Spain, Spanish Christian leaders awarded encomiendas to individuals for their military services in gaining control of territory and people ruled by the Muslims. The institution was carried to the New World. In Peru, the first encomenderos were 40 aged and injured Spanish soldiers who Pizzaro left as a rear guard in the town of Piura as he led his main force inland to confront the Inca Empire in 1532. Each of Pizarro's force of 168 men who participated in the Battle of Cajamarca was entitled to an encomienda. Most of them were from the humbler social classes of Spain. Shortly after Cajamarca, Pizarro was joined by Diego de Almagro with 200 additional men and the Spaniards continued the conquest by capturing Cuzco and establishing a Spanish city there in 1534. Almagro and his men were the last Spaniards in Peru who were automatically entitled to an encomienda, although many soldiers who arrived later were also recipients. The military leaders awarded themselves the most valuable of the encomiendas. The governor of Peru (initially Pizzaro himself) and the captains of the conquering armies had the authority to grant encomiendas, although the encomendero was required to pay taxes to the Crown of Spain.
In the late 1530s and 1540s, when Peru was impacted by civil war, encomiendas were given to (or taken away from) captains and cavalrymen but not usually common soldiers. By 1560, those given or retaining encomiendas were soldiers from the days of the conquest, elites of Spanish society, military leaders of distinction during the civil wars, and people with good connections. A few of the people granted encomiendas chose to return to Spain and gave up or illegally sold their encomienda. Others who remained in Peru maneuvered to retain the encomienda for their descendants.
In 1570, the number of encomiendas in Peru (which included Ecuador, Bolivia, and northern Chile at that time) peaked at about 470 and the encomenderos reached the apogee of their economic and political importance. In 1550 the average number of "tributaries" (native males between 15 and 50 years of age) assigned to each encomienda was 673. Counting family members, the number of Andean people subject to an encomendero totaled more than one million. By 1630, the number of encomiendas had declined to slightly more than 300, of which about 70 were within 21st-century Ecuador and 30 in Bolivia. Part of the reason for the decline was the simultaneous decline in the Andean population, mostly due to epidemics of diseases introduced by European colonists, but also the exploitation of the native peoples. Scholars estimate the indigenous population of Peru (not including modern-day Ecuador and Bolivia in this estimate) at 600,000 in 1620 compared to a population of approximately nine million in pre-Columbian Peru. The number of Europeans, mostly Spanish, living in Peru in 1630 was about 34,000.
The persistence of encomiendas in Peru, long after the system had been replaced in most of Latin America, was due to the cultural similarity between the Spanish encomienda and the Inca system of tribute labor, the mit'a. The Spanish inherited and adapted the mit'a system. Although the Incan mit'a does not appear to have been as exploitative as the Spanish encomienda, both were systems of corvée or forced labor in which the Andeans worked for the benefit of an overlord.
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