36 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



useful, as a means of recompensing conquerors for 

 their services to the state. 



In one of his letters to the king, Cortes (Lo- 

 renzana, p. 37) expressly asked that no reparti- 

 mientos be made in New Spain, proposing instead 

 that the conquerors be paid with a share of the 

 tribute received by the Crown. However, im- 

 pelled by local circumstances, and under pressure 

 from his men, on his own initiative, Cortes began 

 repartimientos. 63 



Thus started, repartimientos of Indians nour- 

 ished, especially in the form of encomiendas 

 granted to the conquerors. In spite of the fact 

 that instructions were issued in Valladolid, in 

 1523, expressly prohibiting new repartimientos 

 and annulling those already in existence, the or- 

 ders had little effect in New Spain (Gayangos, 

 pp. 328-330). Later, the Crown approached the 

 matter more realistically and attempted to re- 

 cover what had been given in encomienda to in- 

 dividuals. Regardless, during the sixteenth cen- 

 tury and the early part of the seventeenth, a large 

 area of Totonacapan was in hands of encomen- 

 deros, as the recipients of such grants were called. 

 In table 14 (Appendix B) are found listed en- 

 comenderos of pueblos which, during the sixteenth 

 century, were stated expressly to be Totonac. 



As is well known, the encomienda consisted in 

 assigning to a Spaniard a group of Indians, who 

 were obliged to give certain services — for example, 

 the cultivation of land, care of cattle, work in 

 mines and sugar factories, construction of roads, 

 and the like. For these labors, the Indians were 

 to be paid or a corresponding amount was to be 

 deducted from their tribute. In addition, the na- 

 tives were expected to maintain the encomendero 

 and his household, through personal service and 

 payment of tribute. In exchange, the encomen- 

 dero was obligated to protect the Indians, foster 

 good habits, and provide religious instruction. 



From the Spanish point of view, the encomienda 

 was a precarious system, by reason of its temporal 

 character. Legally, it was supposed to terminate 

 with the death of the first grantee, following which 



the Indians passed under direct control of the 

 Crown. Although the constant petitions of the 

 encomenderos gained them the right to pass the 

 grant to their children or direct heirs, and later 

 to their grandchildren and more remote heirs, and 

 although even in 1704, a new extension was 

 granted, the encomienda system gradually lost its 

 importance and was supplanted by other institu- 

 tions. 64 Nevertheless, the encomienda endured a 

 sufficient time to be a main factor in the destruc- 

 tion of the ancient social organization and other 

 basic aspects of Totonac culture. 



It has been noted above that the encomienda was 

 a Spanish institution transplanted to the New 

 World, where it acquired certain new characters — 

 principally, an emphasis on religious instruction 

 and acculturation. Although in Spain, a system 

 had been created to defend the rights of the 

 peasants, it did not extend to Totonacapan, where 

 the Indians were directly subject to the whims of 

 the encomendero. The only restraints on the latter 

 were provided by occasional intervention of a 

 Crown representative and by pressure from mem- 

 bers of the religious orders. Accordingly, abuses 

 and exploitation were standard practices, despite 

 the substantial body of legislation designed to 

 protect the Indians. 



The native population was crushed, quite liter- 

 ally. Apart from supporting the native chiefs and 

 paying to the Crown tribute which previously 

 had gone to the Triple Alliance, the Indians were 

 obliged to work for the Spanish encomenderos 

 and for the church. It is not difficult to under- 

 stand why the Totonac chose to abandon their 

 homes and to retire to zones out of reach of 

 Spanish authority. 65 



Socially, the encomienda was a new and 

 weighty superstructure added to the burdens with 

 which the native population already was afflicted. 



03 His own statement follows : ". . . fueme casl forzado de- 

 posltar los seBores y naturales do estas partes a los espaQoles, 

 considerando en ello las personas y los servicios que en estas 

 partes a vuestra majestad han hecho, para que en tanto que otra 

 cost mande proveer, o eonflrmar esto, los dichos seiiores y 

 naturales sirvan, y den a cada espafiol, a qulen estuvieren de- 

 positados, lo que hublesen menester para su sustentaclon" 

 (Corti5s, Lorenzana, p. 37; Gayangos, p. 328). 



■*"... el ciclo hlst6rico de esta institucidn . . . quedo cerrado 

 definitivamente, de doreeho y de hecho. en la segunda mitad del 

 slglo XVIII" (Ots Capdequf, p. 39). 



05 Of Pahuatlan, it is said : ". . . pidieron los dichos indios 

 quel tributo en que fueron tasados no lo podfan complir ni pagar 

 porque al tiempo que so hizo la dicha tasaciOn habfa en el dicho 

 pueblo gran cantidad de gente y despue's ac& por los ecesivos 

 tributes habfa vonido en gran diminucion" (Epistolario 8 : 14, 15). 



In 1593, special provision was made to prevent the exodus of 

 Indians from Atzalan (AGN, No. 12) ; and death and flight of 

 native population are reported specifically for Chumatlan, 

 Papantla, "Tuzapan," Tihuatlan, and Jalpan (Mota y Escobar, 

 p. 232 : Doctrinas, p. 220). 



Similar situation evidently applied in Crown pueblos as well. 

 Pantepec ". . . esta mui acauado por hauerse muerto y huido 

 muchos yndios" (Mota y Escobar, p. 242). 



