History and Life In The Haciendas

The history of the haciendas was different in all the countries. Each area had its haciendas amd, they would produce according to the soil, climate or minerals.

From 1567 the royal statute would specify hacienda’s characteristics and be determined as cattle raising, mining or agricultural. Whit the mining expansion the economic consumption grew, so towns, haciendas and agricultural ranches expanded, but this caused a geographical mutations and the native depopulation.

The fist form of organization was the commandership; the commander had a direct relationship with the indians. The former would receive tributes as vassals of the crown and services, while the latter would receive proteccion education and evangelization. Their main goal was the procurement of goods. Unfortunatelly, there was a lot of abuse from the commanders because they would some times sell or rent their natives as slaves. The original native population diminished, and more land was available, so this syste came in disuse.

Spain started bringing African slaves as the main force of work, but the agricultural activities would not have been able to develop without the remporary workers, and these were the natives.

To end the work monopoly, the crown implanted in 1550 a substitute system, named distribution. With which the indians had to work by day labor in the Spanish haciendas To reinforce the indians would pay tribute, the authorithy determined they should pay it with either money or grain.

Biblgraphy of History and Life in the Haciendas

Fragments of article by
Ma. Eugenia Ponce Alcocer
Biblioteca Francisco Javier Clavigero
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