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| The
indigenous people of Mexico
Chapter 3 - History - Part 1 |
by Prof. German Estrada
July 29, 2002. | 1.
There is an abundance of documentation concerning the history of indigenous
populations of Mexico prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. These documents were
constructed from information about the groups with whom the Spaniards had the
most contact and focus on the life and governance of these groups. In comparison,
relatively little is known of the hunters and gatherers that for most of the colonial
period occupied a marginal position relative to the central political scheme.
These peoples, located in the arid part of America, were relegated to colonization
by religious missionary orders. The Spanish colonization machine with its array
of bureaucrats and administrators was first established in the Mesoamerican region
because of its geo-political importance as a central area for decision-making
and development of the colonial society. 2. What
is commonly known as the Aztec Empire consisted of 38 provinces that paid tribute,
and the Empire was, in reality, a rather loose confederation of city-states with
different political systems and situations. This confederation of city-states
encompassed many different ethnic groups and a diverse array of languages. The
cities in the central region consisted of primarily Nahuatl and Otomi speaking
populations. To the northeast were the Huastecos, Totonacas, and Mazatecos. To
the southeast the Mixtecos, Zapotecos. To the south the Mayas. To the southeast
the Tlapanecas and Cuitlatecas. To the west the Mazahuas and the Matlazincas.
3. The consolidation of this confederation of
cities and settlements by the Mexicans who exercised their hegemony over these
varied peoples, created a class of leaders of which the Tlatoani or Supreme Lord,
warriors, and functionaries were a part; a class of businessmen and traders, the
pochtecas, who, at the time of the colonization, were beginning to enjoy increasing
importance and privilege. 4. The campesinos (or
countrymen), whether Nahuatl, Zapotec, or Mixtec, continued their life at the
margin of these city-states in their apogee. The campesinos or macehualtzin were
all members of a community, with usufruct rights to the land where they established
their home and an agricultural plot. The territorial space was called the calpulli
or what we now know as indigenous communal area or settlement. This calpulli was
characterized by a sociopolitical organization based on a definition of territory,
barrio or sometimes kinship. 5. The Spanish colonization
produced a phenomenon that on one hand tended to blur the cultural differences
of the ethnic groups, while on the other contributing to the persistence of the
same groups. These managed to retain their own identities yet with a colonial
overlay that gave them an identity imposed by the colonizer (religious, or subjects
to the king, mine of hacienda workers. etc.). 6. With
independence the indigenous peoples acquired the same liberties and rights as
other segments of the population. Nevertheless, in many cases they were still
subject to special laws and rules that kept them in a marginal and inferior situation
relative to the white mestizo population. With the expansion of the agricultural
and livestock frontier, and the development of capitalist relations of production
in the field (salaried labor, production of commercial crops, capital investments
in agrarian property, and the growth of infrastructure in the rural areas) the
indigenous populations suffered a massive despoiling and appropriation of their
territories, and many of them were exiled or resettled in less hospitable areas.
Next week we'll have the 2nd part of this Chapter 3 in
the History of The Indigenous People of Mexico.
gestrada@pvnet.com.mx
Prof. Germán Estrada is the
author of the best selling book, "México
Mágico: Everything You Wanted To Know About... But Nobody Told
You..." available in Puerto Vallarta at The Net House, Mail Boxes, Etc.,
Books, Books as well as directly from the author by internet. Archives
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