THE INDIAN CASTE OF PERU, 1795-1940 — KUBLER 



COLONIAL TRIBUTE AND CASTE 



The Colonial perception of tribute pertained 

 only to Indians. As tribute the levy was juridi- 

 cally regarded as "a just token of the vassalage 

 owed by Natives to the Sovereign," against which 

 the Crown was empowered to charge ecclesiastical, 

 administrative, and educational salaries and 

 expenses for the benefit of the Indians. 3 



More extensive tax laws were enacted by the 

 tribute regulations of 1778, as formulated by Jose 

 Antonio de Areche. 4 These regulations codified 

 the disorders of earlier practice, and laid the 

 foundations for Republican taxation. A new 

 levy was inaugurated at this time, called con- 

 tribution militar. Its rubric included for the first 

 time the mestizo, Cholo, sambo, and mulatto 

 castes. 5 The Indian Rebellion of 1780 canceled 

 the program, but in 1784 the fiscal reforms of 

 Jorge Escobedo, 6 Areche's successor as Inspector 

 General of Treasury, were put into effect. The 

 method of preparing the tax registers was pre- 

 scribed in minute detail by the Reglamento de 

 Matriculas. A newly created agency, the Con- 

 taduria de Tributos, supervised collections and 

 accounting. 7 Later Republican taxation is the 



> MS. "Libro mayor de la Contaduria Oral de Tributos del Cargo de su 

 Contador Don Juan JosS de Leuro: y comprehende la Cuenta del afio de 

 1801." ANL, uneataloged, 58 fos. 



"Se estableeid la contribucion de este Eamo en las Provincias de este 

 Eeino, como una justa Serial, y manifestacion del Vasallage debido por sus 

 Naturales al soberano, confonne a lo prescripto en Real Cedula del senor 

 Emperador Carlos Quinto expedida en Valladolid a 26 de junio de 1523 con- 

 cordante con las Leyesl»tit. 5 lib. 6: 3» tit. 7:3»y 4»tit. 9 lib. 8delas Recopi- 

 ladas. Sobre su grueza total cargan los stnodos de los Curas; Salarios de los 

 Subdelegados; los de los Maestros de Escuela Preceptores; asignaciones para 

 fabricas de Yglesias, Catedrales, y Parroquiales de Yndios; y otros piadozas 

 intenciones eon que la tiene S. M. gravada." Fo. 2. 



On Colonial tribute in general, see Kubler, 1946, pp. 370-371, and the 

 detailed treatment by Marcelo Sanchez Esplnosa, 1939-42. This study, by 

 a pupil of Emilio Romero, was prepared as a Usis de bachillerato at San Marcos 

 in Lima. It lacks several installments. The author reports that his MS. 

 was lost by the printer after the demise of the journal in 1942 (verbal com- 

 munication). 



* Appointed Visitador General in 1776, Areche published his lnstruccidn 

 on tribute collection in 1778, and remained in office as Inspector General of 

 the Royal Treasury in the Viceroyalty until 1781, when he was replaced by 

 Jorge Escobedo. (See Sanchez Espinosa, 1940, p. 93; Schwab, 1947, p. 113, 

 No. 309.) 



' Sanchez Espinosa, 1940, p. 93, characterizes Areche's tax program among 

 the aggravating conditions leading to the Indian Rebellion of 1780. On the 

 meaning of Cholo, see p. 36. 



• Jorge Escobedo also reformed the municipal government and the police 

 of Lima. See his extremely rare printed works on these matters in the 

 National Library, Lima. Escobedo died before 1805, and was unable to 

 witness the Republican fruition of his reforms. On Escobcdo's offices and 

 appointments, see Schwab, 1947, Nos. 309, 320, 327, 1329. 



' Escobedo's lnstruccidn Metddica was printed in 1784, but the writer has 

 been unable to find a copy. The (MS.?) version in the Archivo General do 

 la Nacion, Buenos Aires, was reproduced in part by V. M. Maurtua, 1906, 

 vol. 7, pp. 367-362. In this version Article I is incomplete; II-XIII are 

 entirely lacking, and XXIII is incomplete. In 1820 Escobedo's lnstruccidn 

 was printed again in an edition of 200 copies, of which no example is known. 



893885—52 2 



direct continuation of the efforts of Areche and 

 Escobedo. It is worth noting that these Late 

 Colonial economic reforms nearly produced the 

 collapse of the Colonial regime in 1780, and that 

 they contributed to the criollo insurrection of the 

 Wars of Independence. The same reforms, once 

 Independence had been achieved, were imposed 

 upon the Peruvian people with doctrinaire rigidity. 



On the other hand tribute was abolished under 

 Colonial government as early as 1811, in a belated 

 effort to ally the Indians with the Crown, and in an 

 effort that was repeated with equally immediate 

 failure in 1854 under Republican government (see 

 p. 6 and footnote). 



The Royal Order of 1811 has never been ade- 

 quately studied. It provided for the liberation of 

 the Indians from all tribute obligations. It also 

 established their civil rights as equal in all respects 

 to those of the Spanish settlers of the colony. 8 

 Before a year had passed, however, the Treasury 

 in Lima was unable to meet its obligations, espe- 

 cially to the southern army. In November 1812, 



The order to reprint in 1820 is preserved in an uneataloged MS., BNL, 

 entitled "Instruccion de Matriculas de Indios por [Julian] Orodea [de la 

 Cuesta] Oral 605. 1820." 



A letter by Jose Serra (AHMH, 0. L. 216/649), dated December 16, 1831, 

 refers to a fire that destroyed the archives of the Contaduria de Tributos. 

 No date is given for the fire, but the exceptional rarity of late Colonial manu- 

 script papers on tribute may be assigned to such causes. 



8 E. Schwab, 1947, p. 552, No. 2338. For the following transcription of the 

 entire text, I am indebted to Jose Matos: 



Para libertar a los Indios del Tribute igualandolos en todo a la clase de Espaliotesf 

 S. E.I S. S./Regente/Pino / Ouadrado / Arnaiz / Moreno / Valle / PalomcquelEl 

 Condel 



Lima y Septiembre 2 de 1811 = Visto este Expediente en el Ri Acuerdo 

 de Justicia con asistencia del Exmo Senor Virrey y los S. S. del margen, 

 presentes los S. S. Fiscales, fueron de uniforme dictamen, q» se guarde, 

 cumpla y execute, y se publique p r Bando la R 1 orden de 13 de Marco 

 del presente ano remitida con fha. 10 de Abril proximo pasado a nombre 

 del Supremo Conscjo de Rexencia, en q« las soberanas Cortes libertan del 

 Tributo a los Indios igualandolos en todo a la clace de Espanolos, Consul- 

 tandose a S. M. con Testimonio del Expediente anteriorm'* formado 

 sobre este particular=Lima y Sept" 4 de lSll = Cumplase cl antesed" 

 auto del Rl Acuerdo y en consecuencia imprimase el competente numero 

 de Exemplares del Bando q« ha do entenderse con lncluclon del R 1 De- 

 creto relatlvo a la livertad del Tributo de los Indios ingulandolos en todo 

 con la clace de Espanolos p» publicarlo enesta Cap 1 y en las de las In- 

 tendencias y Cabeza de Partidos de este Virreynato circulandolo al efecto 

 a los S. S. Governadores Intendentes con ostrecho enenrgo de su puntual 

 observancia; y p» q° los Indios tcngan quanto antes anticipada noticia 

 de la concidoracion q' hanmerecido a lasoberaniadc las Cortes, cscrivase 

 conforme a ello p r el Extraordinario de hoy a las Intemleneias de la Car- 

 rera del Cusco y al S»' D» Jose Man 1 de Goyeneche. Tomeso razon do 

 dha. soberana resolucion y esta providencia en cl Trftl de Cuentas, Cajas 

 Reales y Contact' Oeneral de Tributos, p' lo perteneciente al ramo de 

 Tributos hta el semestre de P n Juan ultimo a fin de q» rceauden y enteren 

 loadecuado aln mayor brevedad.y fho dese c'» a S.M.oon testimonio del 

 Expediente formado anteriorm«« sobre este particular q« se sacara p' 

 duplicado a la mayor brevedad = Abascal = Simon Kavago = tomose razon 

 en el Tribunal de Ctas en 17 de Sept" y en esta R 1 Caxa en 13. de Novi- 

 embre de lSll = Es copia del 0rig' = Rubrlc. 



