© t. m. whitmore today colonial economy of mainland spanish possessions (mexico and peru) and...

© T. M. Whitmore

TODAY

•Colonial Economy of Mainland Spanish Possessions (Mexico and Peru) and Caribbean

•Colonial Development – an oxymoron?

© T. M. Whitmore

LAST TIME

•Portuguese settlement of Brazil (continued)

•Plantation sugar in Brazil

•Sugar in the Caribbean

•African slavery in Brazil & Caribbean

•Post-sugar economies in Brazil

© T. M. Whitmore

Mining in Mexico & Peru•Since all minerals are found only in

limited areas, development centered on mining is necessarily not well distributed spatially

•Crown owned all mineral rights

•Mining was an environmental disaster

•Mining was a social disaster for Amerindians

•Gold

•Silver — much more important ultimately than gold by value

© T. M. Whitmore

Silver in colonial Spanish America

•European supply low => high value German mines in decline by 1600s

(produced only 850k oz/yr by 1600)Spanish mines annually => 8.5 m

oz!

•Silver is hard-rock mining; much more difficult than for gold => capital and labor; and environmental problems

•Mexican mines

•Potosí

Potosí

M i n i n g

M i n

i n g

Minas Gerais

© T. M. Whitmore

Mexican non-mining colonial economy

•Livestock raisingCattle and horses (large stock)

[ganado mejor]Mexican environment favored stock

raisingControversy regarding environmental

impacts in colonial timesSmall stock [ganado menor]

© T. M. Whitmore

Stock Raising

© T. M. Whitmore

Mexican non-mining colonial economy II

•WheatDoes not mature well in lowland

tropicsSpanish varieties like dry summers

and wet wintersSolution is to plant in winter and

irrigate where necessary

© T. M. Whitmore

• Indigenous agriculturedid not adopt many Spanish crops

or large animalsdid use small stock and some

Spanish crops mostly subsistence farming initially

— but over time tribute demanded cash => need to market some crops

Mexican non-mining colonial economy III

© T. M. Whitmore

Haciendas I (Mexican example)

•Chronology

•Labor organizationLittle Amerindian labor available even

through repartimiento after 1550s due to depopulation

Slaves too costlyOver time evolution of wage labor“Reform” in tribute laws in late 1500s =>

tribute and church tithe to be paid in cash only => Indians had to work for wages

© T. M. Whitmore

Haciendas II•Amerindian depopulation => “empty”

lands

•Expansion of haciendas filled those lands => little left for rebounding Amerindian pops

•Thus Amerindian pops had to live on Spanish-owned haciendas

•=> hacienda system of debt peonage

© T. M. Whitmore

Haciendas III•Debt peonage

Amerindian family lived on and worked part of hacienda lands

They owed tribute tax (and rent to hacendado)

Hacendado would pay tax and tithes in return for labor (and sell goods from the “company store”)

The trick is: pay was so low and prices so high => Amerindians always in debt to hacendado and could not leave

© T. M. Whitmore

Haciendas IV•Hacienda characteristics

Owners [hacendados] were “pillars” of local community

Lands for haciendas were purchased from Indians, given as gifts from crown or local town leaders [often the hacendados themselves], seized as “empty” as Indian population dropped

Vast in size— 100s to 1,000s haComplex mixture of characteristicsUsually comprised of best quality lands

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Haciendas V•Consequences of hacienda system

VERY skewed distribution of rural land ownership

Legacy of low productivity of haciendas

© T. M. Whitmore

Overview — development and colonial Latin America

•The “wealth of the Indies” (i.e., colonial Latin America) was created by the labor of Amerindian and Africans

•This wealth was removed from Latin America

•Huge influx of wealth essentially bankrolled the beginnings of the rise of “modern” Europe

© T. M. Whitmore

Concept of Development

•Geography and history of colonial Latin America => spatially uneven patterns of development

•Uneven patterns of development by race/class as well — these , too are frequently spatially distinct

© T. M. Whitmore

Definitions of development• Improved conditions, but for whom, of

what, measured how?Economic growth to increase the

“economic pie”ModernizationIncreased social welfare and quality of

lifeGreater social and economic equity,

self reliance, and opportunity Sustainable development

© T. M. Whitmore

Colonial Latin American development — Spain and

Portugal as the “developing” powers

•Probably did increase total economic activity

•Did not improve social welfare or quality of life generally

•Did modernize after a fashion•Did not improve relative equity•Did not increase self reliance or self

determination•Development was not sustainable in

many cases

© t. m. whitmore today colonial economy of mainland spanish possessions (mexico and peru) and...

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