﻿368 
  

  

  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  

  

  [B. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  

  

  

  Table 
  3. 
  — 
  Rise 
  of 
  the 
  encomienda 
  

  

  Date 
  

  

  Number 
  

  

  of 
  reparti- 
  

  

  mientos 
  

  

  Number 
  

  

  of 
  enco- 
  

  

  menderos 
  

  

  Vacant 
  

  

  encomi- 
  

  

  endas 
  

  

  Corregi- 
  

   mientos 
  

   (Crown 
  

   reparti- 
  

   mientos) 
  

  

  Source 
  

  

  1548 
  

  

  

  

  300 
  

  

  57 
  

  

  24 
  

  

  6 
  

  

  

  Zarate, 
  1870, 
  pp. 
  181-82; 
  Montesinos, 
  1906, 
  1:192-93, 
  196. 
  

  

  Zavala, 
  1935, 
  p. 
  326. 
  

  

  Ibid. 
  

  

  Lopez 
  de 
  Velasco, 
  1894. 
  Lifian, 
  1859, 
  pp. 
  303-04. 
  

  

  Zavala, 
  1935, 
  p. 
  325; 
  Torres 
  Saldamando, 
  1879-80, 
  vol. 
  3. 
  

  

  1556 
  

  

  

  

  

  1561 
  

   1574 
  

   1591 
  

  

  477 
  

  

  614 
  

  

  775 
  

  

  1575 
  

  

  427 
  

   970 
  

   695 
  

  

  18 
  

   21 
  

  

  80 
  

   82 
  

  

  1628 
  

  

  

  Vazquez 
  de 
  Espinosa, 
  1942, 
  p. 
  772 
  fl. 
  

  

  

  

  

  In 
  but 
  58 
  districts 
  listed. 
  

  

  As 
  always 
  with 
  16th-century 
  statistics, 
  arithmetical 
  inconsistencies 
  

   appear 
  in 
  the 
  tabulations, 
  but 
  the 
  general 
  sense 
  of 
  the 
  figures 
  is 
  reli- 
  

   able. 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  noticed 
  first 
  that 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  encomenderos 
  rose 
  

   far 
  more 
  rapidly 
  than 
  the 
  repartimientos. 
  This 
  was 
  possible 
  because 
  

   many 
  single 
  repartimientos 
  were 
  fractionally 
  assigned 
  to 
  several 
  

   holders, 
  and 
  because 
  individuals 
  and 
  institutions 
  were 
  frequently 
  

   granted 
  pensions. 
  These 
  pensions, 
  often 
  called 
  encomiendas, 
  some- 
  

   times 
  carried 
  no 
  assignment 
  of 
  Indians. 
  The 
  increase 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  

   of 
  repartimientos, 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  is 
  explained 
  by 
  new 
  coloniza- 
  

   tions 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  progressive 
  fragmentation 
  of 
  already 
  extant 
  popu- 
  

   lations 
  into 
  more 
  numerous 
  encomiendas. 
  Most 
  striking 
  of 
  all 
  is 
  

   the 
  increase 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  Crown 
  repartimientos, 
  called 
  corregimi- 
  

   entos. 
  By 
  1628, 
  their 
  number 
  had 
  been 
  stabilized, 
  and 
  thereafter 
  

   remained 
  constant. 
  The 
  process 
  whereby 
  this 
  was 
  achieved 
  depended 
  

   upon 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  repartimientos 
  normally 
  escheated 
  to 
  the 
  Crown 
  

   at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  their 
  assignment 
  to 
  private 
  individuals. 
  If 
  the 
  encomi- 
  

   enda 
  were 
  granted, 
  as 
  was 
  the 
  custom, 
  for 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  lives 
  or 
  gener- 
  

   ations, 
  after 
  that 
  period, 
  it 
  reverted 
  to 
  the 
  Crown, 
  to 
  be 
  administered 
  

   by 
  the 
  corregidor 
  of 
  its 
  district. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  encomiendas 
  thus 
  

   incorporated 
  to 
  the 
  Crown 
  was 
  very 
  high 
  at 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  17th 
  

   century. 
  In 
  New 
  Spain, 
  for 
  example, 
  there 
  had 
  been 
  721 
  encomi- 
  

   endas 
  in 
  1574 
  (L6pez 
  de 
  Velasco, 
  1894) 
  ; 
  by 
  1602, 
  only 
  140 
  survived 
  

   (Zavala, 
  1935, 
  pp. 
  173, 
  314). 
  

  

  The 
  appointment 
  of 
  corregidores 
  in 
  private 
  encomiendas 
  was 
  in- 
  

   augurated 
  by 
  Viceroy 
  Toledo 
  in 
  the 
  1570's 
  (Lorente, 
  1867-72, 
  1:20; 
  

   Poma 
  de 
  Ayala, 
  1936, 
  p. 
  489). 
  Prior 
  to 
  Toledo's 
  government, 
  the 
  

   Indians 
  suffered 
  heavily 
  from 
  the 
  unnecessary 
  litigation 
  into 
  which 
  

   they 
  were 
  drawn. 
  Toledo's 
  primary 
  purpose 
  in 
  establishing 
  the 
  

   corregidores 
  was 
  to 
  reform 
  this 
  situation. 
  The 
  Indians 
  were 
  hence- 
  

   forth 
  required 
  to 
  seek 
  justice 
  from 
  their 
  corregidor, 
  who 
  was 
  also 
  

   charged 
  with 
  supervising 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  tribute 
  and 
  protecting 
  the 
  

   Indians 
  of 
  the 
  repartimiento 
  from 
  unwarranted 
  abuse. 
  In 
  legal 
  

   affairs, 
  be 
  it 
  noted, 
  the 
  Indians 
  retained 
  the 
  right 
  of 
  appeal 
  from 
  their 
  

   corregidor 
  to 
  the 
  Audiencia. 
  The 
  living 
  of 
  the 
  corregidor 
  was 
  paid 
  

   by 
  the 
  Colonial 
  government 
  out 
  of 
  tribute, 
  and 
  in 
  no 
  case 
  was 
  the 
  

  

  