1 Litigious Paupers: Natives and Colonial Demands In
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LITIGIOUS PAUPERS: NATIVES AND COLONIAL DEMANDS IN TLAXCALA, 1545-1800 _______________ A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History University of Houston _______________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _______________ By Alejandra Jaramillo December, 2014 1 ABSTRACT Tlaxcala, a small area of the Spanish empire located in what is now central Mexico, became a complex juncture point between Europeans and native peoples who responded to Spanish aggression, which was characterized by exploitative labor systems, with violence, flight, and litigation. Because of the pivotal role of Tlaxcalan allies in the conquest, it was one of the first places where the Spanish forced natives to adopt a cabildo , or municipal council. The structure of indigenous institutions facilitated the change to Spanish styled government. In many ways the municipal council was a bridge between both populations since the elected native officials had close contact with Tlaxcala and its constituent communities as well as with the imperial bureaucracy of Spain. My dissertation examines the dynamic nature of colonial society that made the interconnected experiences of natives from all socioeconomic classes significant since nobles defended laborers in court, made labor arrangements with them, or exploited them in similar ways as the Spanish. I argue that the largely autonomous indigenous town council officials acted as negotiators and in the process disrupted and shaped the labor and tribute demands of the crown. Moreover, laborers grew adept at representing themselves in court as the colonial period wore on since their labor was in high demand and Spanish settlers encroached upon their land. In addition, the presence of African slaves influenced the argumentation of indigenous litigants. Plaintiffs made compelling arguments in which they defined their freedom based on that fact that they were not enslaved. The legal system functioned as a battleground for natives, but it also represented a form of control. However, the indigenous population chose to interpret the 2 courts as a legitimate tool at their disposal and in the process transformed the colonial experience. 3 Table of Contents Introduction: The Beginnings of a Colonial Society 5 Chapter One: The Blueprint for Colonial Rule 32 Chapter Two: Tribute and the Struggle for Privileges 62 Chapter Three: The Calm Before the Storm: The Cabildo in the Sixteenth Century 89 Chapter Four: The Cabildo and the Spanish Response 1600-1650 118 Chapter Five: Cracks in the Mold 1650-1700 152 Chapter Six: Shifts in Labor Towards Independence 1700-1796 187 Conclusion 215 4 Introduction The Beginnings of a Colonial Society In 1519 Hernan Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo observed the quotidian life of the indigenous peoples of the Valley of Mexico as they walked on the causeway between Chalco and Xochimilco on their way to meet Moctezuma. The conquistador and his chronicler marveled at the bustling, beautifully constructed towns that looked unlike anything they had ever laid eyes upon.1 Undoubtedly, Cortés imagined what he stood to gain from the wealth produced by such an efficient civilization. What he and his army experienced with amazement that day was arguably the most powerful empire to rule in Mesoamerica. Prophecies may have tormented Moctezuma, but Cortés could not have been certain of his eventual triumph over the indigenous ruler’s forces after much bloodshed. Spanish victory ushered in an era of profound change for the indigenous peoples of central Mexico. Cortés led the victory of the Spanish over the confederation of peoples known as the Aztecs, but the participation of indigenous allies was a defining factor in the outcome of conquest. The Aztecs commanded an impressive empire whose centralized power enabled its expansion, but they had also created enemies around them. As the Spanish trekked toward Tenochtitlan, present day Mexico City, from the eastern coast in 1519, they came into contact with the small independent nation state of Tlaxcala. Its location in the central Mexican valley was in close proximity to the powerful Aztec empire. The apogee of Tlaxcalan wealth occurred approximately a century before Cortés arrived. Extensive trading networks fueled an economy based on the exchange of commodities 1 Bernal Díaz del Castillo, The Bernal Díaz Chronicles: The True Story of the Conquest of Mexico , trans. Albert Idell (New York: Doubleday & Company, 1956), 139. 5 such as gold, silver, cacao, salt, and cotton. 2 Prolonged warfare between the Aztecs and Tlaxcala marred this time of prosperity since the latter vehemently resisted absorption into the vast empire. On the eve of the conquest Tlaxcala had lost much of its wealth because of its preoccupation with defending its independence. 3 This state of affairs set up an exploitable situation in which the less powerful Tlaxcalans would welcome the Spanish as their military saviors. However, just as the Aztecs posed a threat, so too did the newcomers. Economic decline and constant warfare seemed like the perfect catalyst for an alliance with Cortés, but Tlaxcalan leaders knew of his approach towards their territory with an army that included about three hundred indigenous allies, all Aztec subjects, from the regions of Zacatlán and Ixtacmaxtitlán. 4 Despite receiving a message of peace, the Tlaxcalans decided, after much debate, that first they would try to subdue the Spanish and if they failed they would have no choice but to be on good terms with them. 5 Approximately two weeks of intense warfare ended in defeat at the hands of the Spanish army thus sealing their fate as allies in the demise of the Aztec empire. And so Tlaxcala inadvertently claimed a notable role, although one steeped in ambiguity, in one of the world’s most consequential meeting of cultures. Tlaxcala played a prominent role in the conquest and is a significant example of how indigenous peoples negotiated their place in a society controlled by Spaniards. How they used the legal system especially in relation to issues of tribute and labor to accomplish this is the subject of the current study. The nobility established contact with 2 Charles Gibson, Tlaxcala in the Sixteenth Century (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1952), 14-15. 3 Ibid, 17. 4 Ibid, 16. 5 Ibid, 18-19. 6 the Spanish crown soon after the military victory of Cortés in order to gain favors in return for their alliance. That was the beginning of Tlaxcala's participation in Spanish legal traditions. Later both nobles and commoners were full participants in a system that placed them under control of the crown thus subjugating them but which also granted them protection. How that control and the autonomy of natives played out in a colonial setting is the focus of this dissertation. Who were the Tlaxcalans and how did they come to inhabit the region that put them in the path of Cortés? The architecture and drawings of the Great Pyramid of Cholula in Puebla are proof that the urban center of Teotihuacan had a strong influence in the area during the Early Classic period, AD 150-600. However, the city was attacked and burned in AD 700 thus marking its decline. 6 Next, a group known as the Olmeca- Xicallanca established their power over the Puebla-Tlaxcala region from Cholula, their capital, during the Early Post-Classic period, AD 900-1200. As this occurred, an influx of Nahuatl speaking tribes from the north introduced waves of settlers into central Mexico that included the predecessors of the Aztecs, the Tolteca Chichimeca, or Toltecs. Among the tribes were the Chichimeca-Poyauhteca, or Teochichimeca, who would become known as the Tlaxcalans. 7 The society that the Spaniards encountered began to take shape in the mid-fourteenth century. The mestizo chronicler, Diego Muñoz Camargo, left behind among the most valuable sources on Tlaxcalan history tracing it back until the pre-Hispanic era with a description of customs before contact with the Spanish.8 According to him, warfare was 6 Michael D. Coe, Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs , 7 th ed. (London: Thames and Hudson, 2013), 105-106. 7 René Cuéllar Bernal, Tlaxcala a través de los siglos , (México: B. Costa-Amic, 1968), 23. 8 Gibson, Tlaxcala in the Sixteenth Century , 5. 7 the means by which the Tlaxcalans asserted their presence and intimidated other peoples. Consequently, the time of peace that followed was when they established the first of four señoríos , or lordships, that formed the entity of Tlaxcala.9 They were founded in the following order: Tepeticpac (1348), Ocotelulco (1385), Tizatlan, and Quiahuiztlan. 10 By the time of the conquest, each part had been under the power of at least six rulers from their own dynasties. The unity among the four rulers was evident in their process of choosing heirs. The eldest son was typically the next to assume leadership or a brother if there was no son, however, the others had to approve of him. In the event of disapproval, they proposed a “substitute son.” 11 The custom of deliberations in order to ensure cohesiveness was also part of their response to the threat posed by the Spanish. Once Tlaxcalan rulers faced the reality of defeat in 1519, they met in order to decide on how to proceed. Peace and alliance were the outcome, but resistance to that specific decision, which had to be unanimous, made their future uncertain albeit for a short time. The victory of Cortés changed the course of history but more than likely it would not have been possible without his allies. In 1521, two years after agreeing to help, Tlaxcalans inhabited a new colonial administrative unit, the viceroyalty of New Spain. Almost immediately, the exploitation of indigenous peoples began to fuel the exhausted finances of Emperor Charles V. By the 1530s he relied heavily on the colonies in the New World as one of his principal sources of revenue for his relatively impoverished kingdom.