Reacciones Diferentes Ante Una Política Similar: Los Indios Osages Y Los Quapaws Ante La Política Comercial Franco-Española En La Luisiana Durante El Siglo Xviii

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Reacciones Diferentes Ante Una Política Similar: Los Indios Osages Y Los Quapaws Ante La Política Comercial Franco-Española En La Luisiana Durante El Siglo Xviii Anales del Museo de América, 3 (1995): 119-130 REACCIONES DIFERENTES ANTE UNA POLÍTICA SIMILAR: LOS INDIOS OSAGES Y LOS QUAPAWS ANTE LA POLÍTICA COMERCIAL FRANCO-ESPAÑOLA EN LA LUISIANA DURANTE EL SIGLO XVIII Carmen González López-Briones Para los numerosos pueblos nativos del Valle del Mississippi, la irrupcián y posterior esta- blecimiento de los europeos en sus tierras supuso una alteracián de sus vidas en una variedad de aspectos. Uno de ellos era su economía. Españoles, franceses, ingleses, de nuevo españoles, y más tarde norteamericanos en las décadas inmediatamente posteriores a su independencia, se rela- cionarían con ellos mediante el comercio. La relacián comercial era tanto más importante cuanto menos numerosos y fuertes eran los europeos y norteamericanos en la zona. Para todos ellos el comercio era no solamente una fuente de ingresos sino una forma de controlar a los pueblos indios cuyos territorios ambicionaban. La relacián, al principio esporádica y posteriormente frecuente y continuada entre los pue- blos indios del Valle del Mississippi y los europeos, empezá en el siglo XVI con la expedicián de Hernando de Soto por el medio y bajo Mississippi. Posteriormente exploradores franceses descen- dieron por el Mississippi desde Canadá hasta el Golfo de México. A los exploradores les siguie- ron tramperos -los famosos coreurs de bois-, y después pequeños grupos de militares, administra- dores, cazadores y comerciantes. Los franceses establecerían una cadena de fuertes y puestos desde los que se intentaría controlar el territorio y desde los que se organizaría el comercio con los habitantes de la zona. Los ingleses penetraron en la orilla oriental de Mississippi, e intentaron atra- er a los pueblos indios de ambas orillas con sus mercancías. Los españoles estaban en Nuevo Mexico e inmediaciones, y en Texas, donde Ilevaban a cabo una colonizacián que no se basaba en el comercio sino en las misiones, pueblos y presidios, a la manera tradicionaí española. Los pueblos indios recibieron el impacto de los europeos antes de tener contacto con ellos, por los cambios ecolágicos producidos por su Ilegada a territorios adyacentes, por los movimientos migratorios de algunos pueblos, y por la Ilegada de animales (caballo, ovino, vacuno) y mercanci- as a través de otros pueblos indios que habían tenido contacto con los europeos previamente. La guerra colonial de los Siete Años (Ilamada significativamente por los ingleses la Guerra Franco-India) dividiría en 1763 el Valle, entre españoles (que recibieron de los franceses la orilla occidental y el puerto de Nueva Orleans), e ingleses (la orilla oriental). Como consecuencia de la independiencia de los Estados Unidos, los territorios previamente ocupados por los ingleses pasa- rían a ser componente del nuevo país, mientras que la Ilamada Luisiana española sería, apenas dos décadas después, cedida brevemente a Francia y vendida por dicho país a la joven y expan- sionista nacián norteamericana'. los pueblos nativos del Valle del Mississippi, ajenos a los trasiegos diplomáticos que cam- biaban la titularidad de sus tierras, pero afectados por las circunstancias en cada una de las fases 1. Para una historia general del período español en el Valle del Mississippi ver Paul E. Hoffman, Luisiana, Col. Mapfre 1492, Madrid, 1992. Tarnbién Juan J. Artdreu Ocariz, Luisiana Española, Universidad de Zaragoza, 1973. 119 Carmen González LOpez-Briones de éstos, se verían involucrados en los planes políticos y económicos de los europeos y estadouni- denses. Hasta el primer tercio del siglo XIX, los pueblos indios recibieron los sucesivos impactos producidos por dichas naciones, sus vidas se vieron afectadas y en cierta medida se tuvieron que adaptar a nuevas y variables circunstancias, pero su modo de vida no sufrió alteraciones tan drás- ticas como las que les traería el período inmediatamente posterior. La caza, el comercio, y en menor medida la agricultura seguirían siendo los componentes básicos de su vida. Al finales del primer tercio del siglo XIX se produciría el gran cambio al ser forzados a dejar sus territorios y a establecerse de fOrma sedentaria en las tierras del Oklahoma, con el fin de dejar vía libre en sus antiguos territorios a los colonos de los Estados Unidos. Su modo de vida, basado en la caza y en el trueque de sus productos, dejá paso a otro basado en una agricultura y ganadería a la que no se adaptaron por varias generaciones, y el comercio pasá a ser un com- ponente poco relevante de su economía. Este estudio trata de las relaciones comerciales de los pueblos de la orilla del medio y bajo Mississippi en la época anterior a éste gran cambio. Trata del período en que gentes de varias nacionalidades -franceses, y españoles, británicos y americanos- se disputaban el control de sus tierras -aunque sin una ocupacián efectiva de éstas- cortejándolos con regalos y comerciando con sus productos. Al establecer relaciones comerciales estables y continuadas, se convirtieron en una parte importante de su economía e incluso de su seguridad, especialmente por las armas de fuego, de las que eran ya dependientes. El proceso se analiza a través de dos pueblos indios: los nunnerosos osages, a su vez divi- didos en dos ramas, los grandes y los pequeños osages, y los mucho menos numerosos quapaws o indios arkansas. Ambos pueblos pertenecían a la cultura siux y habían emigrado del área del Ohio hacia el Mississippi (Matthews, 1961). Ambos dominaban el tramo medio de la orilla occi- dental del Mississippi y ambos recibieron el impacto de la política franco-española en el territorio de la Luisiana. En algunos aspectos reaccionaron de similar manera; en otros hay diferencias cuyo análisis puede contribuir a conocer mejor la historia de dichos pueblos. Los osages eran el pueblo más numeroso de la zona y vivían en lugares más aislados e inaccesibles. Sus aldeas estaban ubicadas en el territorio de Missouri, a lo largo del río Osage, pero sus territorios de caza sobrepasaban dicha zona, e incluían las tierras del Arkansas al norte del río. Su importancia radicaba en su n ŭmero, sus actividades comerciales y su agresividad. En 1754 el gobernador francés Kerlerec informaba que los grandes osages (una de las ramas de la tribu) contaban con más de setecientos guerreros y que los pequeños osages ascendí- an doscientos cincuenta2. En 1777 un informe español comentaba que los grandes osages tenían unos ochocientos guerreros y los pequeños osages unos cuatrocientos (Houck, 1908: 141-144). En 1785 el gobernador español de Luisiana, Esteban Mirá comentaba que los grandes osages tenían alrededor de cuatrocientos guerreros y los pequeños osages unos doscientos cincuenta3. Por su parte, los quapaws vivían en tres aldeas cerca de la desembocadura del río Arkansas, donde les encontra Jacques Marquette, en su expedicián de 1673. La poblacián qua- paw había ido disminuyendo progresivamente. En 1687 el explorador Henry Joutel estimaba que dicho pueblo tenía mil quinientos guerreros. En 1 700 Henry de Tonti estimaba solamente en tres- cientos los guerreros quapaws, debido a las enfermedades y a las guerras (Baird:1980). El infor- me del capitán Phillip Pitman poco antes de la Ilegada de los españoles estinnaba la cantidad de 2. Descripcián de Kerlérec, en Abraham Nasatir, traductor y editor, Before Lewis and Clark, pags. 51-52. 3. Informe de Mirá a Rengel, Nueva Orleans, 12 de diciembre de 1785, traducido y editado por Lawrence Kinnaird, Spain in the Mississippi Valley, Vol. II, p. 164. 120 REACCIONES DIFERENTES ANTE UNA POLITICA SIMILAR: LOS INDIOS OSAGES Y LOS QUAPAWS ANTE LA POLíTICA COMERCIAL FRANCO-ESPANOLA EN LA LUISIANA DURANTE EL SIGLO XVIII guerreros en seiscientos. En 1777 el comandante del puesto de Arkansas informaba al goberna- dor español, Bernardo de Gálvez, que la nacián quapaw contaba con ciento setenta y seis hom- bres (González L.-B., 1994:15). Ambos pueblos vivían fundamentalmente de la caza, y comerciaban con los franco-espa- ñoles, o con los ingleses o con otros pueblos indios. El valle del Arkansas era conocido por la abundancia de castores, ciervos, mapaches, lobos, martas, nutrias y otras especies cuyas pieles se enviaban Mississippi abajo a Nueva Orleans. El valle era explotado por los quapaws, pero tam- bién por sus rivales los osages, por otras tribus menores y por franceses, españoles e ingleses 4. los osages, además, cazaban en sus territorios entre los ríos Blanco y San Francisco. La política francesa, continuada por los españoles cuando sucedieron a éstos en la Luisiana, y bastante parecida a la de los ingleses del otro lado del río, consistía en mantener la titularidad del territorio frente a otras potencias coloniales. Para conseguir dicho objetivo necesi- taba la amistad de los pueblos indios, a los que cortejaba con regalos, y con una relacián comer- cial que tenía, además de un objetivo económico, otro estratégico. El escaso n ŭmero de europeos y las rivalidades entre éstos hacían necesaria la ayuda de los indios para controlar los territorios que reclamaban5. Los españoles alteraron en la Luisiana su política colonizadora tradicional -basada en las misiones- y adoptaron la de regalos y comercio. Así, franceses y españoles se encontraron con los mismos problemas. La política comercial francesa y española perseguía los mismos objetivos: mantener la amistad por razones de estrategia y seguridad, establecer saidas relaciones comerciales, impedir que se tratara con los rivales ingleses y evitar los desárdenes y la violencia. Con dicho fin, ambas potencias hicieron saber a los indios que había una autoridad (el rey, y su representante, el gobernador en Nueva Orleans) a la que ellos debían lealtad. Los sím- bolos políticos y de fidelidad, como banderas y medallas se repartían entre los pueblos de la zona y sus jefes y nornnalmente eran aceptados por éstos. De hecho, tanto los osages como los quapaws viajaban ocasionalmente a Nueva Orleans, donde se reunían con el gobernador.
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