2
ENCOUNTER
I
ndigenous peoples inhabited almost every inch of the Americas
when the Europeans and Africans arrived. Deserts and forests
were less densely populated than fertile valleys, but no part of
the continent lacked people who lived off the land and considered
themselves part of it. The Encounter between native Americans and
Europeans constitutes a defining moment in world history. Neither
the Europeans' "Old World" nor the "New World," as they called the
Americas, would ever be the same afterward. For Latin America, con-
quest and colonization by the Spanish and Portuguese created pat-
terns of social domination that became eternal givens, like the deep
and lasting marks of an original sin.*
The Iberian invaders of America were personally no more sin-
ful than most. They came to America seeking success in the terms
*In Christian belief, Adam and Eve committed the original sin in the Garden of Eden,
and all their descendants later inherited that sin.
****CHAPTER 21 ENCOUNTER
dictated by their society: riches, the privilege of being served by oth
ers, and a claim to religious righteousness. It makes little sense for
us to judge their moral quality as human beings because they merely
lived the logic of the world as they understood it, just as we do. The
original sin lay in the logic, justified in religious terms, that assumed
a right to conquer and colonize. One way or another, the European
logic of conquest and colonization soured the Encounter everywhere
from Mexico to Argentina. The basic scenario varied according to the
natural environment and the indigenous peoples' way of life when
the European invaders arrived.
PATTERNS OF INDIGENOUS LIFE
The indigenous peoples of the Americas had adapted themselves to
the land in many ways.
Some were nonsedentary, an adaptation to food-scarce envi-
ronments, such as those of northern Mexico. Nonsedentary people
led a mobile existence as hunters and gatherers, and movement kept
their groups small and their social organization simple. Often they
roamed open plains. The early Spanish explorer memorably sur-
named Cabeza de Vaca described nonsedentary people who lived in
Texas and across northern Mexico, mostly in family groups, gather-
ing annually to enjoy particularly abundant resources, such as the
ripening of natural cactus groves. Plains occupy a wide swath of the
interior of South America, then inhabited by tribes of hunters and
gatherers. Not forests, neither were these exactly grasslands at the
time of the Encounter. Instead, they bristled with various kinds of
scrub that, as in the northeastern Brazilian area called the sertão,
might be thorny and drop their leaves in the dry season. The Pampas
peoples who gave their name to the Argentine grasslands were also
nonsedentary.
Other indigenous Americans were forest dwellers. Hunting
was important to them, too, but the abundant rainfall characterizing
most forest environments allowed them to depend on agriculture in
18
a way that the
were often ser
to thin tropic
tropical forest
these forests a
pable fertility
fecundity and
ity of tropical
as insects, tr
no roots in t
Amazon bas
agriculture,
only a few y
ticed "shiftin
of the way th
villages but.
reabsorbed
cultivation-
challenging
forest-dwel
history, org
by social cl:
Fina
nent settle
made thei
empires, e
all sedent
were stat
For examp
Madrid on
titlan wa
waters th
*William Lyt
1949), 28.CHAPTER ELENCOUNTER
dictated by their society: riches, the privilege of being served by
ers, and a claim to religious righteousness. It makes little sens
us to judge their moral quality as human beings because they
original sin lay in the logie, justified in religious terms, that s
lived the logic of the world as they understood it, just as we do. The
a right to conquer and colonize. One way or another, the Europes
logie of conquest and colonization soured the Encounter everywhere
from Mexico to Argentina. The basic scenario varied according to the
natural environment and the indigenous peoples way of life when
the European invaders arrived.
PATTERNS OF INDIGENOUS LIFE
The indigenous peoples of the Americas had adapted themselves to
the land in many ways.
Some were nonsedentary, an adaptation to food-scarce envi
ronments, such as those of northern Mexico. Nonsedentary people
led a mobile existence as hunters and gatherers, and movement kept
their groups small and their social organization simple. Often they
roamed open plains. The early Spanish explorer memorably sur
named Cabeza de Vaca described nonsedentary people who lived in
Texas and across northern Mexico, mostly in family groups, gather
ing annually to enjoy particularly abundant resources, such as the
ripening of natural cactus groves. Plains occupy a wide swath of the
interior of South America, then inhabited by tribes of hunters and
gatherers. Not forests, neither were these exactly grasslands at the
time of the Encounter. Instead, they bristled with various kinds of
scrub that, as in the northeastern Brazilian area called the serie,
might be thorny and drop their leaves in the dry season. The Pampas
peoples who gave their name to the Argentine grasslands were also
nonsedentary.
Other indigenous Americans were forest dwellers. Hunting
was important to them, too, but the abundant rainfall characterizing
most forest environments allowed them to depend on agriculture in
18
a way that the
were often sem
to thin tropies
tropical forest
these forests a
pable fertility
fecundity and
ity of tropical
as insects, te
no roots in t
Amazon bas
agriculture,
only a few y
ticed "shiftin
of the way th
villages but.
reabsorbed
cultivation-
challenging
forest-dwel
history, org
by social el
Fina
nent settle
made their
empires, e
all sedent:
were stat
For examp
Madrid om
titlan wa
waters th
William Ly
1949), 28.served by oth
ttle sense for
they merely
a we do. The
that assumed
se European
everywhere
rding to the
life when
E
selves to
ce envi-
people
nt kept
on they
ly sur-
ved in
ather-
as the
of the
sand
at the
Els of
tão,
pas
also
ng
ng
n
PATTERNS OF INDSENDLIFE
a way that the nonsedentary people could not, and a forest peoples
were often semisedentary. Their agricultural practices were adapted
to thin tropical soils. Thin soils? Yes The exuberant vegetation of
tropical forests produces a misleading impression. Outsiders think of
these forests as "Jungles," a word that suggests overpowering, unstop
pable fertility. Thus a 1949 geography text speaks of "the relentless
fecundity and savagery of the jungle." In fact, the breathtaking vital
ity of tropical forests resides not in the soil, but in living things, wuch
as insects, trees, and the various tree-dwelling epiphytes that have
no roots in the ground. Particularly in the great rain forest of the
Amazon basin, the soils are of marginal fertility. Once cleared for
agriculture, tropical forest soils produce disappointing yields after
only a few years. Therefore, forest-dwelling indigenous peoples prac-
ticed "shifting cultivation," sometimes called "alash and burn" because
of the way they cleared their garden plots. Semisedentary people built
villages but moved them frequently, allowing old garden plots to be
reabsorbed into the forest and opening new ones elsewhere. Shifting
cultivation was thus a successful adaptation to one of the world's most
challenging natural environments. Semisedentary societies, like the
forest-dwelling Tupi, the best-known indigenous people of Brazilian
history, organized themselves by tribes and by gender roles, but not
by social class. Nor did they build empires.
Finally, some indigenous people were fully sedentary. Perma-
nent settlement, usually on high plateaus rather than in forests,
made their societies more complex, and some constructed great
empires, especially the fabled Aztec, Inca, and Maya empires. Not
all sedentaries had empires, however. What all had in common
were stationary, permanently sustainable forms of agriculture.
For example, the capital of the Aztec Empire-more populous than
Madrid or Lisbon-was fed by quite an ingenious method. Tenoch-
titlan was surrounded by lake waters on all sides, and in these
waters the inhabitants of the city constructed garden platforms
"William Lytle Schurz, Latin America: A Descriptive Survey (New York: E. P. Dutton,
1949), 28.
19CHAFTEN ZEENCIC
fertility. The builders of the Inca Empire had their own
called chinampan Alluvial deposits periodically renewed th
form of stainable agriculture involving terraced slopes, irrigati
and the use of nitrate-rich bird droppings, called guass, te
denser conglomerations of people, the construction of cities, great
A permanent agricultural base allowed the growth of large
labor specialization-all sorts of things. Not all were good things
Whereas the non- or semisedentary people tended toward fairly
egalitarian societies, in which outstanding individuals became lead
ere thanks to their personal qualities, fully sedentary groups were
strongly stratified by class. Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas all had hered
tary nobilities that specialized in war.
Note that the names Aztee and Inca refer to empires and
not, strictly speaking, to their inhabitants at all. The rulers of the
Antec Empire were a people called the Mexicas, who gave their
to Mexico. The warlike Mexicas were relative newcomers to the
fertile valley where they built their amazing city, Tenochtitlan, in
the shadow of great volcanoes, but they inherited a civilization that
had developed in Mexico's central highlands over a thousand years
For example, the gargantuan Pyramid of the Sun, the largest pyrs
mid on earth, was built long before the Mexicas arrived. In the
early 1400s, the Mexicas were only one among many groups whe
spoke Nahuatl, the common language of city-states in the region
But they conquered much of central Mexico during the next one
hundred years. Tenochtitlan, the imperial capital, was a vast and
teeming complex of towers, palaces, and pyramids that, according
to the flabbergasted Spanish adventurer Bernal Díaz, rose like a
mirage from the waters of the surrounding lake, linked to the shore
by a series of perfectly straight and level causeways. "We wen
astonished and said these things appeared enchantments from s
of Tenochtitlan.
book of chivalry," wrote Díaz, describing the Spaniards' first sight
From an imposing capital city in a high Andean valley far to
the south, the even larger Inca Empire had grown just as rapidly
and recently as had the Aztec Empire. The Inca capital was called
20
AIRIE
THE GREAT TEMPLE
walled ceremonial comm
location of the cathedmnewed their
wn elaborate
irrigation,
o, for fertil
th of larger,
cies, greater
hood things.
wwward fairly
came lead.
roups were
sad heredi-
pires and
ers of the
heir name
rs to the
titlan, in
tion that
nd years.
est pyra.
In the
ups who
region.
ext one
mst and
cording
like a
shore
were
from a
sight
far to
pidly
called
THE GREAT TEMPLE OF TENOCHTITLAN. The site of human sacrifice was part of a
walled ceremonial complex, 300 meters square, at the heart of the Aztec capital, later the
location of the cathedral of Mexico City. The Granger Collection, New York
21"The Incas, but the name Ines actually referred only to
Cuan, meaning the navel of the universe Today the sp
speakers, and they, ton, drew on a long history of previou
peror and his empire. Ethnically, the people of Cusco were qu
evolution in the Andes. Cuzco's architectural marvel-art
resistant masonry walls with interlocking stones wereldk
and Inca empires were Bewer and more tragile than they
among Andean builders. Heirs to ancient civilizations, the At
The Mayas were less imperially inclined. Beginning wuch earl
ing ceremonial centers held away in Central America: Tikal, Cop
than Tenochtitlan and Cuzco, various Maya city-states with impre
Tulum, Uxmal. In cultural attainments, such as art, architectur
Mayas did not create an empire to rival the Inca or Aztec empi
and astronomy, the Mayas were second to none in Americs. But the
And since the high point of the Maya Empire, if such a term really
applies, was many centuries before the Europeans arrived, it plays
little part in our story.
At the moment of the Encounter, then, most of Latin Ame
ica was inhabited by nonsedentary or semisedentary people, schw
the Pampas of Argentina and the Tupis of Brazil. Today, few of the
descendants remain. Instead, the large indigenous populations
Latin America descend from the sedentary farmers, many of wh
lived under Aztec, Maya, or Inca rule until the Europeana a
Why did they survive when the others perished? The answer is
plex, but it explains much about Latin America. It requires, first, so
background about Spain and Portugal, joined under the geographi
name Iberia.
ORIGINS OF A CRUSADING MENTALITY
In the 1490s, when Europeans clambered out of their cramped
ing vessels to face indigenous Americans for the first time, the p
est question was how each would react to the other. This was trys
cultural encounter, a clash of values and attitudes. The Spanish
22
MAYAN CULTURAL ATTA
sophisticated mathematics, ea
ing called glyphs some of wh
Portuguese outlook,
shaped by the history
Iberia is a rugg
Ireland (very green, in
from space, southern
ern Africa. Historicall
Africa, and the narro
tinents had often been
invaders. In the year 2
began to cross headingMar
AH
PATTERNS OF INDIGENOUS LIFE
thy and
Anne
but the shndet s
allowed them dependGiu11:
!!!!!2
ENCOUNTER
The Burian vaders
They
merkingCHAPTER ELENCOUNTER
dictated by their society: riches, the privilege of being served by
ers, and a claim to religious righteousness. It makes little sens
us to judge their moral quality as human beings because they
original sin lay in the logie, justified in religious terms, that s
lived the logic of the world as they understood it, just as we do. The
a right to conquer and colonize. One way or another, the Europes
logic of conquest and colonization soured the Encounter everywhere
from Mexico to Argentina. The basic scenario varied according to the
natural environment and the indigenous peoples way of life when
the European invaders arrived.
PATTERNS OF INDIGENOUS LIFE
The indigenous peoples of the Americas had adapted themselves to
the land in many ways.
Some were nonsedentary, an adaptation to food-scarce envi
ronments, such as those of northern Mexico. Nonsedentary people
led a mobile existence as hunters and gatherers, and movement kept
their groups small and their social organization simple. Often they
roamed open plains. The early Spanish explorer memorably sur
named Cabeza de Vaca described nonsedentary people who lived in
Texas and across northern Mexico, mostly in family groups, gather
ing annually to enjoy particularly abundant resources, such as the
ripening of natural cactus groves. Plains occupy a wide swath of the
interior of South America, then inhabited by tribes of hunters and
gatherers. Not forests, neither were these exactly grasslands at the
time of the Encounter. Instead, they bristled with various kinds of
scrub that, as in the northeastern Brazilian area called the serie,
might be thorny and drop their leaves in the dry season. The Pampas
peoples who gave their name to the Argentine grasslands were also
nonsedentary.
Other indigenous Americans were forest dwellers. Hunting
was important to them, too, but the abundant rainfall characterizing
most forest environments allowed them to depend on agriculture in
18
a way that the
were often sem
to thin tropies
tropical forest
these forests a
pable fertility
fecundity and
ity of tropical
as insects, te
no roots in t
Amazon bas
agriculture,
only a few y
ticed "shiftin
of the way th
villages but.
reabsorbed
cultivation-
challenging
forest-dwel
history, org
by social el
Fina
nent settle
made their
empires, e
all sedent:
were stat
For examp
Madrid om
titlan wa
waters th
William Ly
1949), 28.CHAFTEN ZEENCIC
fertility. The builders of the Inca Empire had their own
called chimpan Alluvial deposite periodically renewed th
form of stainable agriculture involving terraced slopes, irrigati
and the use of nitrate-rich bird droppings, called guass, te
denser conglomerations of people, the construction of cities, great
A permanent agricultural base allowed the growth of large
labor specialization-all sorts of things. Not all were good things
Whereas the non- or semisedentary people tended toward fairl
egalitarian societies, in which outstanding individuals became lead
ere thanks to their personal qualities, fully sedentary groups were
strongly stratified by class. Aztees, Incas, and Mayas all had hered
tary nobilities that specialized in war.
Note that the names Aztec and Inca refer to empires and
not, strictly speaking, to their inhabitants at all. The rulers of the
Antec Empire were a people called the Mexicas, who gave their
to Mexico. The warlike Mexicas were relative newcomers to the
fertile valley where they built their amazing city, Tenochtitlan, in
the shadow of great volcanoes, but they inherited a civilization that
had developed in Mexico's central highlands over a thousand years
For example, the gargantuan Pyramid of the Sun, the largest pyrs
mid on earth, was built long before the Mexicas arrived. In the
early 1400s, the Mexicas were only one among many groups whe
spoke Nahuatl, the common language of city-states in the region
But they conquered much of central Mexico during the next one
hundred years. Tenochtitlan, the imperial capital, was a vast and
teeming complex of towers, palaces, and pyramids that, according
to the flabbergasted Spanish adventurer Bernal Diaz, rose like a
mirage from the waters of the surrounding lake, linked to the shore
by a series of perfectly straight and level causeways. "We wen
astonished and said these things appeared enchantments from s
of Tenochtitlan.
book of chivalry," wrote Díaz, describing the Spaniards' first sight
From an imposing capital city in a high Andean valley far to
the south, the even larger Inca Empire had grown just as rapidly
and recently as had the Aztec Empire. The Inca capital was called
20
AIRIE
THE GREAT TEMPLE
walled ceremonial comm
location of the cathedmserved by oth
ttle sense for
they merely
a we do. The
that assumed
e European
everywhere
rding to the
life when
E
selves to
ce envi-
people
nt kept
on they
ly sur-
ved in
ather-
as the
of the
sand
at the
Els of
tão,
pas
also
ng
ng
n
PATTERNS OF INDIA LIFE
a way that the nonsedentary people could not, and a forest peoples
were often semisedentary. Their agricultural practices were adapted
to thin tropical soils. Thin soils? Yes The exuberant vegetation of
tropical forests produces a misleading impression. Outsiders think of
these forests as "jungles, a word that suggests overpowering, unstop
pable fertility. Thus a 1949 geography text speaks of "the relentless
fecundity and savagery of the jungle." In fact, the breathtaking vital
ity of tropical forests resides not in the soil, but in living things, wuch
as insects, trees, and the various tree-dwelling epiphytes that have
no roots in the ground. Particularly in the great rain forest of the
Amazon basin, the soils are of marginal fertility. Once cleared for
agriculture, tropical forest soils produce disappointing yields after
only a few years. Therefore, forest-dwelling indigenous peoples prac-
ticed "shifting cultivation," sometimes called "slash and burn" because
of the way they cleared their garden plots. Semisedentary people built
villages but moved them frequently, allowing old garden plots to be
reabsorbed into the forest and opening new ones elsewhere. Shifting
cultivation was thus a successful adaptation to one of the world's most
challenging natural environments. Semisedentary societies, like the
forest-dwelling Tupi, the best-known indigenous people of Brazilian
history, organized themselves by tribes and by gender roles, but not
by social class. Nor did they build empires.
Finally, some indigenous people were fully sedentary. Perma-
nent settlement, usually on high plateaus rather than in forests,
made their societies more complex, and some constructed great
empires, especially the fabled Aztec, Inca, and Maya empires. Not
all sedentaries had empires, however. What all had in common
were stationary, permanently sustainable forms of agriculture.
For example, the capital of the Aztec Empire-more populous than
Madrid or Lisbon-was fed by quite an ingenious method. Tenoch-
titlan was surrounded by lake waters on all sides, and in these
waters the inhabitants of the city constructed garden platforms
"William Lytle Schurz, Latin America: A Descriptive Survey (New York: E. P. Dutton,
1949), 28.
192
ENCOUNTER
ndigenous peoples inhabited almost every inch of the Americas
when the Europeans and Africans arrived. Deserts and forests
+
the continent lacked people who lived off the land and considered
themselves part of it. The Encounter between native Americans and
Europeans constitutes a defining moment in world history. Neither
the Europeans' "Old World" nor the "New World," as they called the
Americas, would ever be the same afterward. For Latin America, con-
quest and colonization by the Spanish and Portuguese created pat-
terns of social domination that became eternal givens, like the deep
and lasting marks of an original sin."
The Iberian invaders of America were personally no more sin-
ful than most. They came to America seeking success in the terms
"In Christian belief, Adam and Eve committed the original sin in the Garden of Eden,
and all their descendants later inherited that sin.
17newed their
wn elaborate
irrigation,
o, for fertil
th of larger,
cies, greater
hood things.
wwward fairly
came lead.
roups were
sad heredi-
pires and
ers of the
heir name
rs to the
titlan, in
tion that
nd years.
est pyra.
In the
ups who
region.
ext one
mst and
cording
like a
shore
were
from a
sight
far to
pidly
called
THE GREAT TEMPLE OF TENOCHTITLAN. The site of human sacrifice was part of a
walled ceremonial complex, 300 meters square, at the heart of the Aztec capital, later the
location of the cathedral of Mexico City. The Granger Collection, New York
21YOUSIF NISSOU
6194048676
910 S MAGNOLIA AVE UNIT F
EL CAJON CA 92020
SHIP TO:
RETURNS DEPT
3102998211
4 LBS
3960 LANDMARK ST
CULVER CITY CA 90232-2315
BILLING: P/P
DWT: 14,10,6
UPS GROUND
TRACKING #: 1Z 3YY 408 03 0509 6416
Reference No.1: Order# 175475112
CA 902 0-14
XOL 20.01.33
1 OF 1
NV45 830A 12/2019
*
IM"The Incas," but the name Ines actually referred only to
Cuan, meaning the navel of the universe. Today the sp
speakers, and they, ton, drew on a long history of previou
peror and his empire. Ethnically, the people of Cusco were qu
evolution in the Andes. Cuzco's architectural marvel-art
resistant masonry walls with interlocking stones-wereldk
and Inca empires were Bewer and more tragile than they
among Andean builders. Heirs to ancient civilizations, the At
The Mayas were less imperially inclined. Beginning wuch earl
ing ceremonial centers held away in Central America: Tikal, Cop
than Tenochtitlan and Cuzco, various Maya city-states with impre
Tulum, Uxmal. In cultural attainments, such as art, architectur
Mayas did not create an empire to rival the Inca or Aztec empi
and astronomy, the Mayas were second to none in Americs. But the
And since the high point of the Maya Empire, if such a term really
applies, was many centuries before the Europeans arrived, it plays
little part in our story.
At the moment of the Encounter, then, most of Latin Ame
ica was inhabited by nonsedentary or semisedentary people, schw
the Pampas of Argentina and the Tupis of Brazil. Today, few of the
descendants remain. Instead, the large indigenous populations
lived under Aztec, Maya, or Inca rule until the Europeana a
Latin America descend from the sedentary farmers, many of when
Why did they survive when the others perished? The answer is
plex, but it explains much about Latin America. It requires, first, so
background about Spain and Portugal, joined under the geographi
name Iberia.
ORIGINS OF A CRUSADING MENTALITY
In the 1490s, when Europeans clambered out of their cramped w
ing vessels to face indigenous Americans for the first time, the p
est question was how each would react to the other. This was trys
cultural encounter, a clash of values and attitudes. The Spanish
22
MAYAN CULTURAL ATTA
sophisticated mathematics, ea
ing called glyphs some of wh
Portuguese outlook,
shaped by the history
Iberia is a rugg
Ireland (very green, in
from space, southern
ern Africa. Historicall
Africa, and the narro
tinents had often been
invaders. In the year 2
began to cross headingpeaks of
the em
Quechua
cultural
hquake
old trick
e Aztec
peared.
earlier
impos-
Copán,
octure,
ut the
apires.
really
plays
Amer
ch as
their
as of
hom
ved.
me
cal
1.
ORIGING OF CRUTAING MENTALIT
85
MAYAN CULTURAL ATTAINMENTS are second to none in the Americas-including
sophisticated mathematics, expressive sculpture and graphic art, and an evolving form of writ
ing called glyphs, some of which are visible at top right. Alexandra Draghicistockphoto.com
Portuguese outlook, along with their crusader rhetoric, had been
shaped by the history of the Iberian Peninsula.
Iberia is a rugged, mountainous land. Parts of it are as green as
Ireland (very green, indeed), but most of it is dry. On pictures taken
from space, southern Spain appears the same color as nearby north-
ern Africa. Historically, Iberia had been a bridge between Europe and
Africa, and the narrow Strait of Gibraltar separating the two con-
tinents had often been crossed, in both directions, by migrants and
invaders. In the year 711, Muslims from northern Africa, called Moors,
began to cross heading north and seized most of the peninsula from its
23CHAPTER 2ENCOUNTER
INCA STONEWORK. In the former Inca capital Cuzco, Peru, the Spaniards incorporated
these earthquake-resistant foundations into their own buildings. O Jeremy Homen Cortis
24
Christian kings (wh
from the Romans, w
and so on). For mos
multiethnic societie
Both activities left-
Along with t
brought with them
served in the Mid-
who lived under M-
from the remainin
for the cultural achs
cians, better engina
tians, whose langu
crops (such as bas
substances (such as
as carpeting), and
eventually totaling
Portuguese words.
darker than Arals
example, is a Moon
a sophisticated an
addition, on the ev
Jewish minorities
home to thousands
and racial differens
with it. Spanish ana
from scorn to grudg
maidens figure ero
Wise (1252-84), am
multicultural Iberi.
hundred years of r
drive for religious p
The Christ
the institutions e
Iberian Christians
tiago, Saint Jamesporated
Corbs
ORIGING OF A CROSSING MENTALITY
Christian kings (whose predecessors, generations earlier, had taken it
from the Romans, who, in turn, had seized it from the Carthaginiana,
and so on). For most of the next eight hundred years, Iberia contained
Both activities left their mark.
multiethnic societies that intermingled but also fought one another.
Along with the practical skills of the Islamic world, the Moors
brought with them the learning of the Greeks and Romans, well pre-
served in the Middle East during Europe's Dark Ages. Christians
who lived under Moorish rule or who traded with Moorish neighbors
from the remaining Christian kingdoms learned a healthy respect
for the cultural achievements of Islam. The Moors were better physi-
cians, better engineers, and better farmers than the Iberian Chris-
tians, whose languages gradually filled with Arabic words for new
crops (such as basil, artichokes, and almonds), new processes and
substances (such as distillation and alcohol), new furnishings (such
as carpeting), and new sciences (such as algebra and chemistry)-
eventually totaling about a quarter of all modern Spanish and
Portuguese words. Although speakers of Arabic, the Moors were
darker than Arabs. Shakespeare's "black character Othello, for
example, is a Moor. So the Christians of Iberia had long exposure to
a sophisticated and powerful people who did not look European. In
addition, on the eve of the Encounter, Iberia had one of the largest
Jewish minorities in Europe, and Lisbon and Seville were already
home to thousands of enslaved Africans. Not sympathetic to cultural
and racial difference, the Iberians were nevertheless well acquainted
with it. Spanish and Portuguese attitudes toward other people ranged
from scorn to grudging admiration to sexual curiosity-dusky Moorish
maidens figure erotically in Iberian folktales. The reign of Alfonso the
Wise (1252-84), a noted lawgiver, represents a high point in this tense,
multicultural Iberian world. In the end, however, the peninsula's eight
hundred years of multicultural experience dissolved in an intolerant
drive for religious purity.
The Christian reconquest of Iberia powerfully shaped
the institutions and mentality of the Spanish and Portuguese.
Iberian Christians believed that they had found the tomb of San-
tiago, Saint James the Apostle, in the remote northwestern corner
25CHAPTER ENCOUNTER
INCA STONEWORK. In the former Inca capital, Cuzco, Peru, the Spaniards incorporated
these earthquake-resistant foundations into their own buildings. O Jeremy Homen Cortis
24
Christian kings (wh
from the Romans, w
and so on). For mos
multiethnie societie
Both activities left-
Along with t
brought with them
served in the Mid-
who lived under M-
from the remainin
for the cultural achs
cians, better engina
tians, whose langu
crops (such as bas
substances (such as
as carpeting), and
eventually totaling
Portuguese words.
darker than Arals
example, is a Moon
a sophisticated an
addition, on the ev
Jewish minorities
home to thousands
and racial differens
with it. Spanish ana
from scorn to grudg
maidens figure ero
Wise (1252-84), am
multicultural Iberi.
hundred years of r
drive for religious p
The Christ
the institutions e
Iberian Christians
tiago, Saint JamesCHAPTER ELEME
Isabel was above all a Catholic monarch. Centures of reco
created a true crusading mentality in Iberia, and the monarchies
this fervor to justify their increasingly absolute power Moors who
accepted Christian rule, Jews whose families had lived in
close to a thousand years, and anyone suspected of relig
ity found themselves objects of a purge. Moors and Jews were
to convert of emigrate. In fact, in the very year of the su
cause they refused to renounce the Jewish faith. And Mors d
Granada, Isabel expelled tens of thousands of people from Spain le
who did convert remained subject to discrimination as "New Ch
tians. The famous Spanish Inquisition was established to imp
religious purity
During the 1500s, Catholics and Protestants began fighing
bitterly in western Europe, and the monarchs of a unified Sp
effort. Recall that in 1588 the Spanish Armada attempted to
led the Catholic side, pouring prodigious resources into the w
Protestant England. Overseas exploration also took on religious
nificance. The earlier Christian reconquest in Portugal allowed the
Portuguese to extend their crusading activities into Africa ahead d
Spain. As Portuguese ships edged down the coast of Africa dur
the 1400s, bringing back gold and slaves, they found religious
tification in tales of a lost Christian kingdom that supposedly lay
beyond the Sahara, waiting to be reunited with the rest of Christ
dom. Isabel's decision to fund the voyages of Columbus was Spain's
bid to catch up with Portugal. Thus the two Iberian menarchi
strengthened politically by the reconquest, became the first in
the Western Hemisphere neck and neck.
Europe to sponsor major overseas exploration, and they arrived in
Although the Spanish-sponsored expedition of Columbu
arrived in America first, the difference was less than a decade
Let us start with the Portuguese, who had pioneered the navip
tional skills and naval technology needed to get there. The Porto
guese colonization of Brazil exemplifies what happened when the
Europeans encountered indigenous people who were not full
sedentary. An initial look at Brazil will help us appreciate the
28
anique qualities of t
encounter of the Spa
indigenous Mexico an
THE BRAZI
The first Portuguese:
bus a few years earlie
Cabral was bound for
ally did get there. Ce
world. Instead, he was
Africa and around its
the best winds, he has
southward voyage-se
be bumped into Brazi
what he had found, E
ing Brazil the "Islane
original destination.
Brazil seemed
Just a few years earl
tical route to the fabl
failed to do. For the
on exploiting their e
tuguese outposts els
Indonesia, China, am
perilously overloade
(pepper, nutmeg, cle
to mention gold and
Portugal, for a time.
nothing comparables
cler, Pero Vaz de Ce
he saw on Braziliar
Eden, paying partic
people there wore mconquest had
marchies used
oors who had
in Iberia for
gious infidel
were forced
surrender of
m Spain be
rs and Jews
New Chris
to impose
in fighting
Sied Spain
the war
to invade
gious sig.
owed the
ahead of
m during
tous jus-
edly lay
hristen-
Spain's
archies,
first in
ived in
ambus
cade.
aviga-
ortu-
the
fully
the
THE BRAZILIAN CONTEMPLE
unique qualities of the very different, and far more famous.
indigenous Mexico and Peru.
encounter of the Spanish with the fully sedentary peoples of
THE BRAZILIAN COUNTEREXAMPLE
actu-
The first Portuguese fleet arrived in Brazil in 1500. Like Colum-
bus a few years earlier, the Portuguese commander Pedro Álvares
Cabral was bound for India, but in contrast to Columbus,
ally did get there. Cabral had no intention of sailing around the
world. Instead, he was sailing from Portugal down the west coast of
Africa and around its southern tip into the Indian Ocean. To catch
the best winds, he had swung far out into the South Atlantic on his
southward voyage-so far out, in fact, that before turning back east
he bumped into Brazil. Like Columbus, Cabral did not know exactly
what he had found, but he knew that it was not India. After nam
ing Brazil the "Island of the True Cross," Cabral hurried on to his
original destination.
Brazil seemed unimportant to the Portuguese at the time.
Just a few years earlier, they had succeeded in establishing a prac-
tical route to the fabled riches of South Asia-which Columbus had
failed to do. For the rest of the 1500s, the Portuguese concentrated
on exploiting their early advantage in the Far Eastern trade. Por-
tuguese outposts elsewhere reached from Africa to Arabia, India,
Indonesia, China, and Japan. Portuguese ships returned to Europe
perilously overloaded with silks and porcelain, precious spices
(pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon), and Persian horses, not
to mention gold and silver. Monopoly access to these riches made
Portugal, for a time, a major player in world history. Brazil offered
nothing comparable to India in the eyes of Cabral or his chroni-
cler, Pero Vaz de Caminha. Caminha's curious description of what
he saw on Brazilian shores presented a vision of a new Garden of
Eden, paying particular attention to the fact that the indigenous
people there wore no clothes: "They go around naked, without any
29CHAPTER ELENCRU
covering at all. They worry no more about showing their pr
parts than their faces." The Portuguese sailors plainly found indi
nous women attractive and inviting, but the only thing that see
to have potential for sale in Europe was a red dye made from the
"brazilwood" tree.
nal name of "Island of the True Cross," just as economics up
The name of this export product quickly replaced the on
religion, overall, in the colonization of Brazil and Spanish Americ
make me chaste and zealous enough to expand our Faith through
Still, religious ideas must not be discounted. "Fathers, pray that God
the world," implored the young Portuguese prince Sebastian,
unquestionable sincerity, to his Jesuit tutors. Europeans of the 1500
believed in the teachings of their religion as a matter of course, and
some Portuguese and Spanish men, especially those in holy orde
such as the Jesuits, undertook quite perilous voyages around the
world primarily to save souls. In sum, however, the vast majority of
people had a mundane mix of motivations, and the lure of world
success was constantly evident in their actions. The idea of spread
ing Christianity provided, above all, a compelling rationale for lay
ing claim to huge chunks of the "undiscovered" world. Consequently
religious ideas became particularly influential at the level of formal
rationalization. Whenever the invaders of America had to explain
best light.
and justify their actions, they invoked religious goals for reasons
more sinister than the common human wish to present oneself in the
Aside from their immortal souls, forest dwellers like the
Tupi did not have very much that the Europeans wanted, so they
were left more or less alone at first. Along the Brazilian coast, some
mutually advantageous trade developed when Tupi men were will
ing to fell the brazilwood and float the logs to trading stations in
return for useful items such as steel axes. Occasionally, Portuguese
castaways or exiles "went native," to live among the indigenous
people, and found a different kind of worldly success, becoming
influential figures in their localities and, in a manner foreshad
owed by the chronicle of Pero Vaz de Caminha, fathering dozens
30
and dozens of child
that has charactem
was too preoccupi
Brazil until the 15
the Brazilian coam
them, he finally a
Portuguese did w
land. Now everyth
To the Por
forest and plantis
major export pot
concentrated, im
fit easily into the
high price in Eur
ties made sugare
Brazil and later-
tropical America
according to wha
or less everywhe
tion crop, requir
force, a crop wh
tion of cheap lab
cheap agricultur
cally loathe to d
their model of w
hunted and fish
should indigenc
meager wages L
everything they
life involved pem
need for a fixed.
To gain t
the Portuguese
enslaving each
skirmishes, antheir private
found indige
that seemed
ade from the
d the origi
es upstaged
h America.
y that God
hroughout
aan, with
the 1500s
arse, and
y orders
sind the
Cority of
worldly
pread.
or lay.
ently,
armal
plain
s no
the
the
ey
ne
1.
1
THE BRAZILIAN COUNTERREMPLE
and dozens of children the beginnings of a process of racial mixing
that has characterized the history of Brazil. The king of Portugal
was too preoccupied with his Asian empire to think much about
Brazil until the 1830s, when the appearance of French ships along
the Brazilian coast made him fear for his claims there. To secure
them, he finally sent Portuguese settlers to Brazil. Suddenly, the
land. Now everything would change.
Portuguese did want something that the Tupi possessed-their
To the Portuguese, settling the land meant clearing the
forest and planting crops, and sugarcane was the only crop with
major export potential. It could be milled and boiled down into
concentrated, imperishable blocks packed in wooden chests that
fit easily into the small sailing ships of the day, and it brought a
high price in Europe, where sugarcane did not grow. These quali-
ties made sugarcane the cash crop of choice for centuries, first in
Brazil and later in the Caribbean and throughout the lowlands of
tropical America-anywhere landowners measured their success
according to what they could buy in Europe. And that was more
or less everywhere in the Iberian colonies. Sugar was a planta-
tion crop, requiring plenty of capital investment and a large labor
force, a crop where the profits of the planter were partly a func-
tion of cheap labor. But no Portuguese settlers wanted to provide
cheap agricultural labor. Indeed, Iberians in America were typi-
cally loathe to do any manual work at all, because it contradicted
their model of wordly success. As for Tupi men, they traditionally
hunted and fished and regarded farming as women's work. Why
should indigenous men or women hoe weeds and chop cane for
meager wages under the burning sun when the forest gave them
everything they wanted? In any event, their semisedentary way of
life involved periodic movement incompatible with the plantation's
need for a fixed labor force.
To gain the land and the labor of forest people like the Tupi,
the Portuguese resorted to force of arms. This meant attacking and
enslaving each tribal group of a few hundred, one by one, in bloody
skirmishes, an activity quite taxing to the limited manpower of the
31e-had done it d
inclusive comm
sest? The next step
al systems geared to
only made matters
KEY TERMS AND VOCABULARY
Encounter, p.17
Cabeza de Vaca, p.18
Pamp, p.18
sedentary, semisedentary,
nonsedentary, p.18-19
Tupi. Tupinambá, p.19
Inca Empire, p.20
Astec Empire, p.20
Tenochtitlan, p.20
CHAPTER REVIEW
Mayas, p.22
Iberia, Iberians, p.23
Reconquest of Tberis, p.25
Isabel of Castile, p.26
Hernán Cortés, p.39
STUDY QUESTIONS
Mocteruma, p.39
Francisco Pizarro, p.40
encomienda, p.43
Bartolom de las Casas, p.50
1. Can you characterize various indigenous societies of America?
How did their ways of life affect the Encounter and create the
current diversity in national populations?
2. What formative historical experience did the Spanish and the
Portuguese share before the Encounter?
3. Can you compare the initial colonization of Brazil and Mexico and
the larger imperial projects of Portugal and Spain?
49
4. How did Africans come to play an important part in the
colonization of America?
5. Overall, how was it possible for small Spanish and Portuguese
contingents to lay effective claim to American empires in the 1500s?COUNTERCURRENTS
FRIAR BARTOLOMÉ
DE LAS CASAS
CLB Cox Stue by Alejadho
World Library 1967
Photograph by Michael Tague Brat Time
A
s our story makes abundantly clear, the European de
extract labor and tribute explains much about the ni
zation of Latin America. How could it be otherwise
most basic level, conquest is always about exploitation
the other hand, conquerors and colonizers rarely admit this e
themselves. That is how the other, more idealistic, motives entr
picture. Most Spanish and Portuguese people who came to the An
cas in the 1500s believed that spreading the "true religion, et
force, was a good thing. Like all people, they tended to give their
actions the best possible interpretation. On the other hand, p
idealism truly was the driving force for some; logically enough, the
50
www.
were most often church people
all-generated the most impom
this age of raw exploitation.
For example, some
in Mexico as early as
enous people. Several Francia
information about Astec hist
notable was Bernardino de m
organisation and child-care pa
Sahagún collaborated with I
treasure trove of Aatee though
nal language, Nahuatl. Gom
enous style, his book, knowna
essential for any interpretati
can, Toribio de Motolinis, de
forced labor as so many "plau
this day, Motolinia is warmly
the conquered.
The first Jesuits in 1
digenous people against the
measure, the Jesuits learne-
was really a family of relate
as French, Spanish, and I
Tupi grammar and a standa
lages. This Lingua Geral,
by speakers of various Tup
and separated the indigen
to enslave them.
But by far the great
people was Bartolomé de la
cal priests in Latin Ameri
fortune-seeking young gent
America in 1502. He got as
lived the life of an early C
people die by the dozen fre
forty when, in 1514, he haTS
COME
S
ean drive t
ut the col
erwise? At the
ploitation. On
this event
ves enter the
to the Amm
ion," even by
ve their own
nd, relipi
ough, the
this age of raw exploitation
For example, some members of the Franciscan order who
arrived in Mexico as early as 1824 showed deep respect for the indig
enous people. Several Franciscans carefully gathered and preserved
information abou
Autec history, religion, and daily life. The most
notable was Bernardino de Sahagún, who wrote that Atec family
organization and child-care practices were superior to those of Spain.
Sahagún collaborated with his indigenous students to assemble a
treasure trove of Astec thought, literature, and customs in their origi
sal language, Nahuatl. Gorgeously illustrated in authentic indig-
enous style, his book, known today as the Florentine Codes, remains
essential for any interpretation of Astec civilization. Another Francis-
can, Toribio de Motolinis, denounced Spanish tributes, torture, and
forced labor as so many "plagues" afflicting the indigenous people. To
this day, Motolinia is warmly remembered in Mexico as a defender of
the conquered
The first Jesuits in Brazil similarly worked to defend the in-
digenous people against the depredations of the colonists. As a first
measure, the Jesuits learned a number of the variants of Tupi (which
was really a family of related languages as distinct from one another
as French, Spanish, and Italian). They then devised a simplified
Tupi grammar and a standard vocabulary for use in the mission vil-
lages. This Lingua Geral, or "general tongue," was easily learned
by speakers of various Tupi dialects. It facilitated religious teaching
and separated the indigenous people from the settlers who wanted
to enslave them.
But by far the greatest religious champion of the indigenous
people was Bartolomé de las Casas, prototype for a long line of radi-
cal priests in Latin America. Las Casas was a university-educated,
fortune-seeking young gentleman-no radical at all-when he came to
America in 1502. He got an encomienda himself and for twelve years
lived the life of an early Caribbean conqueror, watching indigenous
people die by the dozen from exploitation and disease. He was about
forty when, in 1514, he had a change of heart, influenced, apparently,
51by the Sery sermons of a member of the Dominican orde
1818 las Casas, now a Dominican himself, returned to
begun to preach against Spanish exploitation of encomend
proposed various ways to protect indigenous Americans f
encomienda system. The reason for the death and destruction
many souls at Christian hands, according to las Casas, was
tive suggestions was to rely on the labor of enslaved Africana,
greed: "gold, and the attempt to get rich quickly. One of his s
he had a better idea: the recruitment in Spain of entire farming
lies disposed to work for themselves. Las Casas dreamed that
use of indigenous labor might be strictly limited and supervi
and indigenous societies in America might be kept separat
his pilot colonization project in Venezuela never got off the gr
lications denouncing encomienda abuses, and he traveled th
During the 1520s and 1530s, las Casas wrote a stream f
the Caribbean and Central America defending the indigenous p
In 1537, the pope issued a proclamation, partly inspired by las C
saying that the indigenous people were exactly that: people, se
human beings, as some claimed. In 1542, largely thanks to las C
the Spanish Crown issued the famous New Laws of the Indies for
Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians, immediately
ing and eventually ending encomiendas altogether. The high-
holders of encomiendas hated and vilified las Casas for the New L
ties, had no intention of stopping.
that clipped their wings, but the old crusader, already in his late
In 1550-51, las Casas represented the cause of the ind
nous people in a great debate held in the Spanish city of Vallad
to determine, once and for all, the moral status of Spanish conqu
in America. At Valladolid, las Casas passionately denied the chap
that the indigenous people were naturally inferior to Europeans
therefore deserved to be enslaved. Although the official result of t
Valladolid debate was inconclusive, las Casas had made a strong
pression on the imperial government. In 1552, he published the
famous of his innumerable writings, A Brief Account of the De
on of the Indies, full of grisly descriptions of Spanish cruelty the
ically exaggerating a slaughter that was horrible enough in real
52
Few pamphlets have ever
the most avid readers of w
Catholicism in a Europe wa
centuries, A Brief Account
editions in Latin, three in 2
in German, and eighteen is
Bartolomé de las C
long life for the 1500s. A
African slaves remains a
nently repented of the ic
Casas continues to inspire
Latin America more thantion of encomiendas.
Dominican order who h
returned to pain
us Americans from the
h and destruction of
las Casas, was
sly. One of his site
of entire farming fa
ved Africans, but the
dreamed that Spani
cept separate and the
and supervised. Bu
got off the ground
ote a stream of pub
raveled throughou
indigenous people
pired by las Cass
t: people, not sub
anks to las Casas,
the Indies for the
amediately limi
The high-flying
r the New Law
in his late sis
of the indige
of Valladolid
nish conquest
nd the charge
tropeans and
result of the
a strong in
ed the most
the Destruc
uelty, rhe
in reality
COUNTERCORRENTS
Few pamphlets have ever found a wider European audience. Among
the most avid readers of this tract were the Protestantenemies of
Catholicism in a Europe wracked by religious wars. Over the next two
centuries, A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies saw three
editions in Latin, three in Italian, four in English, six in French, eight
in German, and eighteen in Dutch, not to mention those in Spanish.
Bartolomé de las Casas lived to be eighty-nine, a fabulously
long life for the 1500s. Although his early error in calling for more
African slaves remains a stain on his record, he quickly and perma
ently repented of the idea. Overall, the spirit and struggle of las
Casas continues to inspire idealistic churchmen and churchwomen in
Latin America more than four hundred years later.
53CHAPTER 21 ENCOUNTER
Spanish military advantages came from their Old World
World microbes were Spanish allies, too.
which included gunpowder from China and horses from As
Imagine the horror of the Incas when Pizarro captured
bering in the tens of thousands; Pizarro had only 168 Span
Inca emperor, Atahualpa. Atahualpa had arrived with an army
Atahualpa had reason to be overconfident, and he walked in
ambush. Pizarro's only hope was a smashing psychological vie
so he drew on the same tried-and-true tactic that the Spanish
applied to the Aztecs, the surprise slaughter of indigenous
within an enclosed space. At Pizarro's invitation, Atahualpa's
titude of followers entered a square where the Spaniards had
close range, creating gruesome carnage. Then Spaniards on
den cannons. Without warning, the cannons fired into the crowd
charged into the mass of bodies, swinging their long steel blade
in bloody arcs, sending heads and arms flying, as no indig
American weapon could do. Meanwhile, surprise and armor th
tected Pizarro's men. Not one of them died that day, yet they we
ceeded in taking Atahualpa prisoner, killing and maiming thousand
of his men in the process. Atahualpa's people brought mountain
of gold to ransom him, but Pizarro had him executed anywas
divide-and-conquer" strategy.
Depriving the indigenous defenders of leadership was part of the
Neither the Incas nor the Aztecs could have been defeated with
out the aid of the Spaniards' indigenous allies. In Mexico, Artee ta
and tributes had weighed heavily on the shoulders of other Nabu
speaking city-states. Tributary city-states had furnished sacrificial
victims for the Aztec state religion, the ideology that glorified Ame
imperial expansion and bathed the pyramids of Tenochtitlan in the
blood of thousands. As a result, Cortés found ready alliances, most
notably with the nearby indigenous city of Tlaxcala, an old rival of
warriors to help Cortés.
Tenochtitlan. Eager to end Aztec rule, rival cities sent thousands of
Pizarro, too, used indigenous allies to topple the Inca Empi
Unlike the Aztecs, the Incas had imposed a centralized power that
42
broke up rival city-stm
the Astecs had merely
building roads and w
Asters, and like the Sp
state religion that prow
Unfortunately for the
and his successor had
ing along trade routes
family, creating a suces
Disastrously, an Inca
and his brother Husse
play the two sides aga
tory for himself. Each.
the greatest threat. Ha
dition was only the ent
the Atlantic?
Astec and Inca
thousands. The defeat
step in establishing Sp
Spanish had to coloniz-
tions and sprawling te
the Aztec and Inca en
destruction. This was
tions and contrasting
the Brazilian coast.
THE BIRT
Even before the dust c
Peru, the Spanish bega
was treasure captured.
called encomienda, whe
ple. In this system, inc
of the word encomiendeWorld heritags,
from Asia. Od
o captured the
an army num
68 Spaniards
alked into as
ogical victory,
Spanish had
enous nobles
ualpa's mul
da had hid
he crowd at
son horses
eel blades
ndigenous
mor pro
they suc
sousands
puntains
anyway.
of the
d with-
taxes
Buatl
ificial
Aztec
the
nost
1 of
of
THE BIRTH OF SPANIEN AMERICA
broke up rival city-states and resettled their populations. While
the Astecs had merely imposed tributes, the Ineas administered,
building roads and storage facilities and garrisons. Like the
Astecs, and like the Spanish and Portuguese, too, the Incas had a
state religion that provided an ideological justification for empire.
Unfortunately for the Incas, however, both the reigning emperor
and his successor had died suddenly in the epidemic that, advanc
ing along trade routes ahead of Pizarro, ravaged the Inca ruling
family, creating a succession crisis just before the Spanish arrival.
Disastrously, an Inca civil war had begun. Atahualpa led one side
and his brother Huascar the other. The wily Pizarro was able to
play the two sides against each other, achieving the ultimate vic-
tory for himself. Each side in the Inca civil war saw the other as
the greatest threat. How could they know that Pizarro's tiny expe-
the Atlantic?
dition was only the entering wedge of vast colonizing forces beyond
Aztec and Inca treasures soon attracted Spaniards by the
thousands. The defeat of Aztec and Inca power was only the first
step in establishing Spanish dominion over the mainland. Now the
Spanish had to colonize, to assert effective control over large popula-
tions and sprawling territories, over the civilizations that underlay
the Aztec and Inca empires and that remained in place after their
destruction. This was a gradual process, requiring several genera-
tions and contrasting markedly with the pattern of colonization on
the Brazilian coast.
THE BIRTH OF SPANISH AMERICA
Even before the dust of imperial collapse had settled in Mexico and
Peru, the Spanish began to parcel out the plunder of conquest. Some
was treasure captured from indigenous royalty, but most took a form
called encomienda, whereby the conquerors were rewarded with peo-
ple. In this system, indigenous people were "entrusted" (the meaning
of the word encomienda) to each conqueror, who had the responsibility
43CHAPTER TENER
of Christianizing them and the privilege of making them work
the Christian reconquest of Iberis, so it was a familiar
Encomiendas of conquered Moors had been awarded plenty ing
Spaniards Conquerors who received encomiendas became much
European nobles, able to live from the labor of serflike farmers
delivered part of their crops as regular tribute. For indigenous
ers accustomed to paying tribute to imperial masters, the sit
was familiar, too. Most often, the same city-states, villages, and
that had once paid tribute to the Aztecs or Incas now paid trib
the new Spanish overlords instead. Calamitous, repeated ep
during the 1500s, comparable in severity to the Black Death
medieval Europe, reduced native populations to a fraction of th
former size. But, unlike what occurred in the Caribbean or along the
Brazilian coast, indigenous villages did not disappear from Mi
and Peru.
Whereas Tupi society was swept away by disease and repla
by Brazilian sugar plantations, the sedentary farming societies
central Mexico and the Andes survived, shaken but intact, for the
Spanish to take over. The Spanish normally created encomiendas o
of already existing communities with their own indigenous nobles
whom the Spanish called caciques." The Spanish conquerors cal
vated relations with these nobles, sometimes marrying into the
families. Gradually, however, Spanish conquest undercut the de
feated warrior nobility of Aztec and Inca days, and indigenous people
adopted Spanish-style village governments. In Mexico, village of
cials with Spanish titles conducted their business and kept written
records in Nahuatl. Hundreds of Spanish words came into Nabu
nous worldview.
of course, indicating the powerful impact of conquest, but the basic
structure of the language survived, preserving a distinctly indip
Mexico officially became "New Spain," but it was really t
societies being grafted together, mostly by Spanish men and indig
nous women. Spanish women, like Portuguese women in Brazil, wn
later applied elsewhere.
*Cacique is actually an Arawak word that the Spanish adopted in the Caribb
44
TH
few. In the early years
numbered Spanish wom
indigenous women and
of mestizo children, ex
letter from Brazil. Ma
of Tenochtitlan.
What an intrigu
of her indigenous nam
slaves given to Cortés
Artee Empire in 1519
she learned Spanish in
self-possessed sixteen-
and was instrumental
her life has been read
Mexico. It was neither.
wife, who was waiting
and turned her away.
yet exist, unless one w
good reason to hate th
guage, her own family
is how she learned the
betrayer. Cortés marri
a second child. She die
The Aztec prin
daughter of Moctezum
ing the woman of indig
band because of her w
personal fortune and s
attracted more than he
husbands, she was ma
tance in the last days o
bore seven mestizo cha
model of Catholic devo
lived to the respectable
As the Aztec a
Spanish women incremhem work for him.
ed aplenty during
iar system to the
ecame much like
ike farmers who
ndigenous farm
s, the situation
Bages, and clana
paid tribute to
ated epidemics
lack Death of
action of their
an or along the
from Mexico
and replaced
societies of
stact, for the
miendas out
sous nobles,
erors culti-
into their
ut the de
ous people
illage off
not written
Nahuatl,
the basic
indige-
mally two
indige
il, were
and
few In the early years of the Encounter, Spanish men in America out
numbered Spanish women roughly nine to one. So, within a few years,
indigenous women and Spanish men became the parents of a legion
of mestizo children, exactly as anticipated by Pero Vaz de Caminha's
of Tenochtitlan
letter from Brazil. Malinche had Cortés's baby soon after the fall
What an intriguing figure is Malinche, a Spanish deformation
of her indigenous name, Malintain. She was one of twenty female
slaves given to Cortés as he sailed up the Mexican coast seeking the
Autee Empire in 1519. She already spoke Maya and Nahuatl, and
she learned Spanish in months. This astoundingly quick-witted and
self-possessed sixteen-year-old girl became inseparable from Cortés
and was instrumental in the capture of Moctezuma. Understandably,
her life has been read as a romantic novel, but also as a betrayal of
Mexico. It was neither. As for romance, Cortés summoned his Spanish
wife, who was waiting in Cuba, then gave Malinche a bit of property
and turned her away. As for betraying Mexico, that country did not
yet exist, unless one refers to the Aztec Empire, and Malinche had
good reason to hate the Aztecs. Although Nahuatl was her first lan-
guage, her own family had sold her into slavery to the Mayas, which
is how she learned that language. Malinche was more betrayed than
betrayer. Cortés married her to one of his men, with whom she had
a second child. She died, not yet twenty-five, only a few years later.
The Aztec princess Techichpotzin, baptized Isabel, was the
daughter of Moctezuma. She became "Isabel Moctezuma," exemplify.
ing the woman of indigenous nobility who could attract a Spanish hus-
band because of her wealth. As the legitimate heiress of Moctezuma's
personal fortune and the recipient of a desirable encomienda, Isabel
attracted more than her share of husbands. Before her three Spanish
husbands, she was married to two different leaders of the Aztec resis-
tance in the last days of Tenochtitlan. She outlived four of her spouses,
bore seven mestizo children, adapted to her new life, and became a
model of Catholic devotion and a benefactor of religious charities. She
lived to the respectable age of forty.
As the Aztec and Inca nobility declined and the number of
Spanish women increased, fewer and fewer Spanish men married
45indigenous women. Ahhough Spanish men continued fathering
umbered mestiso children, most were illegitimate and inherited
in between" not Europeans or Africans or indigenous Amer
or nothing from their Spanish fathers. These children were "pogle
por relations, if recognised at all. Malinche's by Cortis, Sta
Mestize children were second-class people in the Spanish word
Cortés's son by his second Spanish wide.
became virtually a servant of his half- brother, also nared Sta
Spanish women usually arrived after the fighting was
but that was not always the case. A woman named label
Guevara helped conquer Argentina and Paraguay in the 1500s and
15-40s. Years later, in an attempt to gain an encomienda for her part in
the conquest, she wrote a letter to the Spanish Crows, derog
women of the expedition took over when lamibe killed two-th
party. As the men lainted from hunger, wrote Govink, the
began "standing guard, patrolling the fires, loading the c
arousing the soldiers who were capable of fighting, sho
se alarm through the camp, acting as sergeants, and putting the
jers in order."
The most famous "conquistadora" of all was Inés Suires,
oman of thirty when she came to America in 1537, alone, looking
her husband. She searched first in Venezuela, then in Pers, where he
found her husband already dead. Suárez then became the mistress f
the conqueror of Chile, legendary for her actions during an indigno
attack there. Her plan was to terrorize the attackers by throwing the
the heads of seven captured chiefs, and her most famous deed was to
cut off the first captive's head herself. Despite (what was regarded a
her heroism, the conqueror of Chile, who had a wife in Spain, put Ini
Suárez aside when he became governor of the new territory
Favorable marriages outweighed even extraordinary ability is
the lives of women. The marriage contract was a pillar of the Spanish
social structure, crucial to the distribution of property. Marriage w
in the Spanish Empire.
a religious sacrament, and religious conformity was serious busin
Spanish conquest had meant an earthly and a spiritual
quest, the defeat of the old gods. Spanish churchmen arrived
46
teach Catholic doctrine.
that the indigenous peop
old religions-idols," in
of the encomienda stoo
two representatives of 2
the Christianization of
kings (or, in America,
the church at once. In t
torily sprinkled holy w
nies that did little to t
could remember the in
for that was a pattern
sedentary peoples, the
on sites already sacred
titlan cannot have bee
the Astec Great Temple
the same spot.
The fully sedenta
the Encounter infinitel
as the Tupi. Still, the
cultural societies, too.
than had indigenous c
provided a labor draft
ter the conquest mita 1
in the shafts of deep s
In addition, epidemic
indigenous population.
By the end of the
ethnicities were establ
and cultures had beg
diversity, but the viol
would sour the mix for
region, Europeans and
lations that were virtu.
Nahuatl- and Quechu
transformed. One wayideological jus
ristianize them
ence in Lisbon
were suppos
known practi
certified just
ered little to
-nilly, with a
ed them into
ge would die
the passage
coast led to
ade. Portu.
as well as
man cargo
centuries
Equiano,
for more
air when
or of the
ew other
as being
came to
guages,
Africa,
gives
ally to
frica.
cul-
intu-
iger
uth
ou-
Ich
INDIGENOUS GROUPS
AND IBERIAN INVASIONS
CHICHIMECAL
AZTEC
EMPIRE
Cortés
1519-1521
former
MAYAN
EMPIRE
Pacific
Ocean
Pizarro
1533
ARAWARS
+CARTO
CHIBCHAS
SHUAR
INCA
EMPIRE
MURAS
Amazon
ARAUCANOS
MAPUCHES
PAMPAS
TAPAJOS ORAJARA
CALAPOS
BOROROS
PAYAGOAS
GUARANCES
CHARROAS
SPANISH
INVASION
TUPI
YOW
Cabral
1500
PORTUGUESE
INVASION
Atlantic
Oceancamel caravans to excite the interest of medieval European,
in gold. Enough of that gold had trickled north across the Saharss
Portuguese undertook their exploration of the African cost p
find the source of the precious flow. Communication across the
also brought Islam to West Africa. Before the slave trade, the
fabulous walled city of Timbuktu, with its bustling markets and
powerful kingdoms arose inland on the upper Niger, where stond
versity. In 1324, when Mansa Musa, king of Mali, made a pilgr
to Mecca (as devout Muslims try to do at least once in their live
caravan carried enough gold to cause oscillations in currency v
in the areas it crossed. The fatal attraction of precious metals f
value of human cargoes from this region eventually far out
brought the Portuguese to "the Gold Coast" (modern Ghana), but the
the golden ones. The British, the French, and the Dutch eventu
established their own trading stations, finally breaking the Portug
monopoly on the West African coast.
Two other areas of Africa remained more or less monopo
the Portuguese: Angola and Mozambique, where coastal stretched
grassy, open land allowed the Portuguese to penetrate far inland
actively colonize, in contrast to their more limited West African t
ing strategy. As a result, Portuguese remains the language of
ment in Angola and Mozambique today. These regions became d
sources for the slave trade only after the Portuguese were edged
gets ahead of our story.
of West Africa by competition from other European countries. But th
For now, having observed how Portugal's exploration of s
African coast and its clash with the semisedentary Tupi laid the
nic and demographic foundations for a black-and-white Brazil, t
return to the sedentary societies of Mexico and Peru, where Artec
Inca rulers boasted astonishing golden treasures.
THE FALL OF THE AZTEC AND INCA EMPIRES
While Brazil remained a backwater in the 1500s, Mexico and P
drew the Spaniards like powerful magnets, becoming the two p
poles of Spanish colonization. For three centuries, Mexico and P
38
THE FALL OF
would remain the richest m
but first their indigenous
Ince emperors commandes
material resources. Their
hundred Spanish advent
Several circumstances con
In 1519, when the
already knew a lot about
passed since they began
Columbus made landfall: H
the Dominican Republic)
there with the semisedent
ent from the Tupi, had be
into slaving. The outcom
the Brazilian coast. Dism
indigenous people within
altogether, to be replaced
The Spanish inva
adventurers seeking priv
to the indigenous inhabit.
for the next wave of adv
else. Operating from the
to explore the coast of Ce
and found the Pacific O
indigenous groups and be
rious empires in the mou
by the time he found the
Cortés had already bec
fifteen years.
In the conquest of
outweighed the simple E
happening, whereas Mem
emperor, had no earthly
For centuries the story
the Spaniards were god.
could be Quetzalcoatl, aross the Sahara is
siropeans, and the
an coast partly to
across the Sahars
trade, the most
where stood the
arkets and uni
de a pilgrimage
their lives), his
aurrency values
as metals fint
hana), but the
ar outstripped
ch eventually
e Portuguese
nopolized by
stretches of
inland and
frican trad
of govern
came chief
edged out
But that
on of the
the eth-
l, let us
tec and
RES
Peru
great
Peru
THE FALL OF THE ACTED AND INEA ERIREE
would remain the richest and most populous places in the Americas,
but first their indigenous rulers had to be defeated. The Arte and
Inca emperors commanded tens of thousands of warriors and vast
material resources. Their precipitous defeat at the hands of a few
hundred Spanish adventurers is unparalleled in world history.
Several circumstances conspired to make it possible.
In 1519, when they first set foot in Mexico, the Spaniards
already knew a lot about America. After all, a full generation had
passed since they began settling the Caribbean islands where
Columbus made landfall: Hispaniola (today divided between Haiti and
the Dominican Republic) and Cuba. The initial Spanish experience
there with the semisedentary Arawak people, who were not so differ
ent from the Tupi, had begun with trading but rapidly degenerated
into slaving. The outcome was similar to what had transpired on
the Brazilian coast. Disease and abuse decimated the Caribbean's
indigenous people within a generation. Soon they would cease to exist
altogether, to be replaced by African slaves.
The Spanish invaders were not soldiers but undisciplined
adventurers seeking private fortunes. The first to arrive laid claim
to the indigenous inhabitants and, eventually, the land, leaving little
for the next wave of adventurers. These had to conquer somewhere
else. Operating from the Caribbean bases, Spanish newcomers began
to explore the coast of Central and South America, crossed Panama,
and found the Pacific Ocean, making contact with many different
indigenous groups and beginning to hear rumors of glittering, myste-
rious empires in the mountains beyond the Caribbean. So it was that,
by the time he found the Aztec Empire, the Spanish leader Hernán
Cortés had already been dealing with indigenous Americans for
fifteen years.
In the conquest of Mexico, no other single Spanish advantage
outweighed the simple fact that Cortés more or less knew what was
happening, whereas Mexica leaders, including Moctezuma, the Aztec
emperor, had no earthly idea who, or what, the Spaniards might be.
For centuries the story has circulated that Moctezuma suspected
the Spaniards were gods from Aztec mythology, that Cortés himself
could be Quetzalcoatl, a white-skinned deity whose coming had been
39CHAPTER TEENCRET
foretold in prophecy. That story now appears to be incorrect
because it originated several decades after the arrival of the
lands. Although repeated a thousand times, it should now
Pected. On the other hand, the list of never before-see t
the Spanish brought was long and intimidating tallmaste
ships, ferocious attack dogs, horses of monstrous size, c
ing fire and thunder, steel blades, and body armor. The Mexic
never seen Europeans of Africans (who were always pre
the conquistadors), and had no prior clue that sach trang
people even existed. Logically, they regarded these outlandish
to call the Spaniards, the Mexica used the Nahuatl word tral, wh
ers as beings from outside the world they knew. Searching for a san
at the time was routinely translated into Spanish as dios, or "p
Since the word teul could be used for a spirit or demon, it did not m
adoration, but it clearly implied supernatural power. The Spani
humanity, vulnerability, and hostile intentions did not become de
until Cortés and his expedition had been welcomed into Tenoch
where they took Moctezuma hostage. By the middle of 1521, smal
the Aztec Empire as a whole quickly collapsed.
and indigenous allies had helped Cortés annihilate Tenochtitlan, a
It took more fighting to overthrow the Inca Empire. Still, the
stunningly rapid and complete Spanish triumph in both cases calls
for explanation. Once again, experience was on the Spanish side. The
leader of the Peruvian expedition, Francisco Pizarro, was another ses
soned conquistador who, like Cortés (his distant relative), employed
tried-and-true maneuver, something the Spanish had been practicing
since their first Caribbean encounters with indigenous people, when
he treacherously took the Inca ruler Atahualpa hostage in 1532. The
too, the Spanish advantage in military technology must be recalled
Horses, steel, and (less importantly) gunpowder gave the invaders
devastating superiority of force, man for man, against warriors and
only with bravery and stone-edged weapons. Spanish weaponry pro
duced staggering death tolls. Indigenous warriors, meanwhile, focused
on taking captives, if possible, unharmed. At one point, the Spani
under Cortés massacred ten times their number in a few hours at the
Aztee tributary city of Cholula. Later they did spectacular maybe s
40
THE FALL OF THE W
TENOCHTITLAN AND ITS SURR
the lake shore by causeways and was
square ceremonial complex at the ci
around the edge of the lake in this 15-
the Aztec festival of Toxcátl,
account exemplifies the grue
They blocked th
out their swords
dancers and the
to play lost both
sword sliced off
his body. Thenect, however,
of the Span
now be cor
things that
sted sailing
non belch
exica had
e-looking
h invad
ra name
J, which
"god"
timply
niards
e clear
zitlan,
allpox
and
the
alls
a
D
THE FALL OF THE ATTEE AND INCA EMPIRES
TENOCHTITLAN AND ITS SURROUNDING LAKE. The Aztec capital was linked to
the lake shore by causeways and was crosscut, like Venice, by a series of canals. Note the
square ceremonial complex at the city center. Smaller cities and installations are visible
around the edge of the lake in this 1524 map Newberry Library Chicago
the Aztec festival of Toxcátl, to which they had been invited. An Aztec
account exemplifies the gruesome impact of Spanish blades:
They blocked the entrances to the sacred courtyard, pulled
out their swords, and stepped immediately among the
dancers and the musicians. One drummer who continued
to play lost both arms at a single sword stroke. Then the
sword sliced off the drummer's head, which fell far from
his body. Then all the swords started cutting us apart.
41?
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