The Spanish in the New World, Part II:
Mesoamerica and South America
Stage 1: Columbus and the Caribbean
Stage 2: Central America
Stage 3: South America
PreClassic of Formative period 1500 BC – AD 300
PreClassic of Formative Period 1500 BC – AD 300
Populations levels grew leading to more intensive
agricultural production
Chiefs gained political power from spiritual leaders
Inter-group rivalry increased for localized resources
Forms of writing begin to appear as 500 BC in Oaxaca.
Ceremonial centres emerged in the Maya lowlands
between 500-200 BC
Classic Period AD 300-950
Classic Period AD 300-950
The emergence of urban state societies in Mesoamerica
AD 200-700: Teotihuacán, with 100,00+ inhabitants one of
the largest cities in the world
AD 300: monuments with hieroglyphic texts illustrate the
transformation of social power from chiefdoms to
kingship.
Classic Period AD 300-950
By AD 900: most of the great centres abandoned.
Why?
- instability of Classic elite socio-political organizations
- environmental degradation
- climatic changes
- depletion of resources due to overpopulation.
PostClassic Period
AD 950-1521
PostClassic Period
AD 950-1521
Social structure: segmented and commercially oriented
Great houses: networks of courts for royal feasts elite
Exchange networks: seek out most exotic materials
Technology : techniques for smelting gold introduced
AD 1450 : the Méxica had an empire, with Tenochtitlán
on site of modern-day México City
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
1519-1521
Hernán Cortés
Malinche, Hahua slave
The Florentine Codex
“ They were very white, their eyes were like
chalk. Their armaments, their swords, their
shields, their lances, were all of iron. The
animals they rode were as high as a roof top
and looked like deer. Their dogs were huge,
their eyes blazed yellow like fire. They moved
about with their tongues hanging, always
panting."
Friar Bernardino de
Sahagún
Mexico before the Spanish
Before 1519, Mexico was occupied by a large number of
Indian groups with very different social and economic
systems. This made conquest easier, assisted by
demographic collapse (90 per cent natives died)
Tribes in the arid north were relatively small groups of
hunters and gatherers (Chichimecs)
In the rest of the country, the natives were
agriculturalists, with dense populations
Among these were the Maya of the Yucatán, and Aztecs
Characteristics of Mesoamerican societies
Diverse ethno-linguistic groups
Agriculture based on corn- beans –squash, grown in
raised fields
No domesticated large animals
No draft animals – agriculture used labour human
Stone used for tools
Metal goods primarily for adornment
Mesoamerican society
Mesoamerican society highly stratified in early 16th
century – two divisions – noble, and commoner
Membership hereditary – no social mobility
‘across Mesoamerica there was no single political entity
that could rally support to fight a common enemy.
Instead, the Spaniards found ready allies..within the Aztec
Empire..and Maya region..’
(Gasco 2004)
The Spanish Colonial System
To regulate its American empire, Spain created two
organizations:
• House of Trade to deal with commerce
• Council of the Indies to make laws.
The system of colonization was called the viceroyalty,
a system begun in 1535 when Antonio de Mendoza
was sent to govern Mexico. The viceroys, responsible
to the king, were the chief colonial officials. Under
them were the proprietors, charged with the direct
administration of the colonies.
There were four major viceroyalties
• New Spain, including all of Mexico, Central
America, and the Caribbean islands, had been set
up as an administrative region in 1518
• New Castile, established in 1542, comprised the
west coast of South America (except for the
southernmost section) and much of present-day
Argentina.
• New Granada, the northern area of South America,
was organized in 1739
• Río de la Plata (present-day Paraguay), was not
organized until 1776.
Spanish Colonization Strategies
Encomienda
Land taken from indigenous peoples and granted to
colonists by Spanish crown
Hacienda
A farming or stock raising place, also applied to mining
or manufacturing place
Reduccíon
Forced population movement and re-settlement
Ocelocalco, Soconusco region, Mexico
Ocelocalco, Soconusco region, Mexico
Janine Gasco
California State University
“Every chocolate maker knows about Soconusco cacao
because historically, it was the best chocolate,” she says.
[Trade] is so undeveloped there because there is no
infrastructure for marketing and there aren’t a lot of
middlemen who are experienced in exporting.
Ocelocalco, Soconusco region, Mexico
• Indian town occupied AD 1560–1770; excavated by
Janine Gasco
• High-quality cacao production continued in colonial
period with Indian families in control; resulted in a
relationship between Spanish & indigenous people
that was largely commercial, with few impacts on
other features of life
• Great deal of imported material found in every
household (e.g., majolica, lead-glazed earthenware,
metal goods, Chinese porcelain) in later colonial
period
• Ethnic identity transformed, from Indian to ladino
Tipu, Belize
Tipu, Belize
In 1622, Tipu was a town that was part of the
combined encomienda of Petentzuc, Zacaua, Tipo
The population had shrunk to about 30 people.
This indicates that after the last visit by the friars
Fuensalida and Orbita in 1619, the population had
fled the town or were forcibly moved in a ‘reduction’
underway in 1622.
Tipu, Belize : Analysis of 600 Burials
Comparisons of long bone measurements from the Colonial
cemetery population of Tipu, revealed significant morphometric
differences between males placed inside and outside the walls of the
church.
These discrepancies likely relate to Catholic burial practices in which
placement inside of the church is reserved for higher status
individuals.
Though females do not appear to differ between burial areas, the
variation for each of their measurements equals that of the males,
suggesting the presence of similar social divisions that also resulted
in the differentiation of activity patterns
Lamanai, Belize
Excavation of “church village”
Remains of two churches
19th-century cane crusher
Lamanai, Belize
Spanish presence from ca. 1544 until the 1630s
Spanish built a church within the Maya village, in place of former
principal ceremonial building; church had a deposit of an animal
effigy offering, showing combination of two belief systems
Site was a visita, visited by Spanish priest occasionally & presided
over by a native sacristan
A cacique (native leader) served as voice of Spanish secular control;
his home produced several European objects, including a steel axe,
two knives, other metalwork, and two books (gilt bronze hinges)
1630s rebellions resulted in burning of the church & outbuildings
Characteristics of the new order: indigenous sites
Settlement pattern: construction of new, Spanish style towns
after destruction of native towns - modified grid vs. traditional
patio groups. Architecture: pole & thatch on cobble pad or
foundation
Foodways : maize-based (vs. Spanish wheat) traditional cooking
hearths retained stone-lined pits with ollas (cooking pots), used for
baking totopos (type of tortilla) Comales – griddles Tinajas (water
jars) Ceramic net weights & spindle whorls riverine fishing and
cotton spinning
Tools: Chipped stone artifacts – flakes. Metal tools replace stone
arrow points. Grinding stones persist,- manos & metates