Cowlonialism Colonialism, Cattle and Landscapes in 16Th Century New Spain
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Franklin de Jesús Martínez Martínez Cowlonialism Colonialism, cattle and landscapes in 16th century New Spain Master’s thesis in Global Environmental History Abstract Martínez Martínez, F. d. J. 2020. Cowlonialism: Colonialism, cattle and landscapes in 16th century New Spain. Uppsala, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History. Cattle are not endemic to the American continent. Nevertheless, they are present and thrive in many landscapes, all the way from Canada to Argentina. The narratives about the process of colonisation of the American continent include human actors, but there is very little literature in comparison that deals on the influence of cattle in landscapes in the continent. In this thesis, I will contribute to the discussion about more-than-human processes of landscape modification, by analysing archival sources from the New Spain. This region included a big part of the West of the United States, Mexico and Central America. The period I analyse, between 1550 and 1602, represents the first decades of encounter between the Spanish settlers and indigenous communities, in the region of New Spain, where the Spanish established administrative institutions to manage their empire. The documents that I analysed showcase the transformations that cattle caused in the landscape, from how indigenous people lived, to what plants and crops could be cultivated. Inspired by Multi-species studies, ethography, and the concepts of “animal” and “landscape”, I use Actor-Network Theory to create a thoroughly described network of relations. In my analysis, I find that cattle influenced the activities that were performed in the landscape, as well as the ways that other actors interacted with each other. These actions, complemented by religious, economic and cultural ideas that circulated during the XVI century, would form what I call Cowlonialism, a regime of ideas and practices where cattle invade the land and displace their inhabitants, exercising power over other actors. Keywords: Cattle, Archive, New Spain, Actor Network Theory, Ethography, Multi-species studies. Master’s thesis in Global Environmental History (45 credits), supervisors: Jacob Bull and Anneli Ekblom, Defended and approved spring term 2020-05-29. © Franklin de Jesús Martínez Martínez Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Box 626, 75126 Uppsala, Sweden 2 Acknowledgments This thesis is the result of two long years, in which I learned much more than I expected not only of Environmental History, but of myself. I could not have done it alone, though. I had the constant support of my partner, Embla Holmgren, who lifted me up countless times and with whom I could not have gotten through these past two years. To her, my deepest thanks and my unwavering love. To my mom, Diana, my grandmother, Dercelys, my brother, Camilo, and my dad, Franklin, thank you for talking to me and supporting me when I was lost in my thoughts and when I thought that these things were too much. A big thank you to Jenny, Niklas and Miriam Holmgren, who took me under their wing and taught a big part of what I now know about Sweden, the outdoors, fika, and lyx. Thanks to them I could also live and focus on my studies, and their always welcome advice often gave me the necessary light in times when I was not sure of things. To my supervisors, Jacob Bull and Anneli Ekblom, whose comments helped me polish my ideas and make to where I have. Thank you for your patience and support. To Eloísa Berman and Sergio Latorre, whose sharp comments and conversations challenged me and my visions of the world. Thank you for your support. I would not be who I am without your guidance. Finally, to my classmates, whose support, chats and fika helped me make it through the cold winters. Thank you, Laura and Eleanor, for having been there, and for continuing to be there. Our conversations and company supported me and warmed me when I needed it the most. 3 Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................6 Cattle, the New Spain, and the Archive .............................................................................................9 Theory and background ........................................................................................................................11 Animal Geography...........................................................................................................................11 A multi-species study of cattle ........................................................................................................14 Landscapes .......................................................................................................................................15 Actor-Network Theory ....................................................................................................................16 Agency .............................................................................................................................................20 Power ...............................................................................................................................................20 A discussion about Actor-Network Theory .....................................................................................21 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................24 The Archive and the Search .............................................................................................................25 Selection of documents ....................................................................................................................29 Organisation of the information.......................................................................................................29 A second selection ...........................................................................................................................30 A third selection and transcription ...................................................................................................30 Coding .............................................................................................................................................31 An ecology of change: the Indigenous and Spanish Actor-Network ...................................................34 The New Spain before cattle: activities and actors ..........................................................................34 Living in a disrupted landscape: indigenous people and non-human animals ............................36 Spanish settlers and non-human animals .........................................................................................38 Cattle, value, and landscape modification ..................................................................................39 Cattle and Catholicism ................................................................................................................39 Expanding the network: explanations and incitations .....................................................................40 Shifting relations: cattle, indigenous people, officials and the King ...................................................42 Hierarchy in the network: the King and his officials .......................................................................42 Power and Agency in the New Spain: Who is the King, anyway?..................................................50 Work relations in the New Spain .....................................................................................................51 Where should cattle be located in the landscape? ...........................................................................52 The landscape of the New Spain: before and after cattle .....................................................................56 The landscape for Spanish settlers: a transhumant ecology ............................................................56 Nature is big and vast: we all fit in the new land.............................................................................60 European domestic animals are superior .........................................................................................63 Crop robbers: modifying the land by eating and walking ...............................................................65 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................68 References ............................................................................................................................................72 Appendices ...........................................................................................................................................77 I. Transcribed documents with descriptive codes, in chronological order ......................................77 II. Table. Descriptive codes ...........................................................................................................106 III. Table. Analytical codes ...........................................................................................................110 4 IV. First selection of documents ....................................................................................................111 V. Second selection of documents .................................................................................................116