The Encomenderos of New Spain, 1521-1555

by Robert Himmerich y Valencia, Joseph P. Sánchez

Overview

While the Spanish conquistadors have been stereotyped as rapacious treasure seekers, many firstcomers to the New World realized that its greatest wealth lay in the native populations whose labor could be harnessed to build a new Spain. Hence, the early arrivals in Mexico sought encomiendas—"a grant of the Indians of a prescribed indigenous polity, who were to provide the grantee (the encomendero) tribute in the form of commoditiesand service in return for protection and religious instruction."

This study profiles the 506 known encomenderos in New Spain (present-day Mexico) during the years 1521-1555, using their life histories to chart the rise, florescence, and decline of the encomienda system. The first part draws general conclusions about the actual workings of the encomienda system. The second part provides concise biographies of the encomenderos themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780292731080
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	09/01/1996
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Robert Himmerich y Valencia is Associate Professor of History at the University of New Mexico, where he also serves as Editor of the New Mexico Historical Review.

Table of Contents

• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Part One: The Encomenderos as a Group
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. The Encomenderos’ Backgrounds: Regional Origins, Social Standing, and Experience
  • 3. Cities and Encomiendas
  • 4. The Integration of the Encomenderos into Local Society: Patterns of Association through Marriage, Officeholding, and Encomienda Sharing
  • 5. Comparisons and Conclusions
• Part Two: The Individual Encomenderos
  • Introduction
  • The Biographies
• Appendixes
  • A. Roster of First Conqueror Encomenderos
  • B. Roster of Conqueror Encomenderos
  • C. Roster of Poblador Antiguo Encomenderos
  • D. Roster of Poblador Encomenderos
  • E. Roster of Indian Encomenderos
  • F. Citizenship of the Encomenderos
  • G. Methodological Essay
• Notes
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index

Editorial Reviews

Every college and university offering course work in colonial Latin American history should purchase this study. General readers interested in the conquest of Mexico will also find it highly informative, clearly written, and sometimes fascinating.

Choice

Himmerich’s near definitive compilation of the early encomenderos is a solidly researched and meticulously realized work that will be essential reading and reference for students and scholars of the period for years to come.

Ethnohistory

Every college and university offering course work in colonial Latin American history should purchase this study. General readers interested in the conquest of Mexico will also find it highly informative, clearly written, and sometimes fascinating.-- "Choice"

Himmerich's near definitive compilation of the early encomenderos is a solidly researched and meticulously realized work that will be essential reading and reference for students and scholars of the period for years to come.-- "Ethnohistory"

From the Publisher