The Local governments, indigenous cabildos and city councils Were the forms of hierarchical organization of social and political character that existed in America in the periods prior to and during the Spanish colonization.
The different Indigenous cultures in Mesoamerica Typically identified each individual as a member of a state. Each state or manor, could be completely independent or form part of great empires.
Map of Mesoamerican Cultures
The term to designate the state varied according to the language used by the ethnic group, for example, Altepetl in Nahuatl, Ñuu in Nudzahui, Cah in Maya.
In spite of the different words, all these cultures shared common social structures. For the case of the tongue Nahuatl The term Altepetl, means organization of people who dominate a given territory.
Each Altepetl was considered a separate people with a tradition of shared origin, they also had the same ethnic identity, the same dynastic ruler known as Tlatoani and the same god.
The constituent parts of Altepetl were called Calpolli or Tlaxilacalli, each of them a microcosm of the whole, with its own economic and socio-political organization, with a distinctive name, a leader and a portion of Altepetl territory.
The organization of the Altepetl was cellular or modular, with a number of relatively equal, independent and autonomous parts of the set.
Although the Aztec empire was destroyed during the Spanish conquest, the individual states survived. In fact, after the conquest, the indigenous states of Mesoamerica were initially strengthened, forming the basis of civil and ecclesiastical jurisdictions which the Spaniards had no interest in modifying.
In this sense, everything that the Spanish organized outside their own settlements in the sixteenth century, including encomienda, rural parishes, indigenous cabildos, initial administrative jurisdictions, were built on the solid foundations of the Alteptl communities.
Origin and Characteristics of the Indigenous Town Council
The main strategy used by the Spanish to access the resources of the indigenous communities was through the encomienda, a kind of tax that the natives had to pay to the Spanish crown.
With the aim of facilitating tax collection and as part of a broader attempt to reform indigenous states in Hispanic-style territories, the Spanish authorities introduced the indigenous cabildo in the mid-16th century.
The term cabildo comes from Latin Capitulum , Whose meaning is"at the head". The main objective of this entity was the administration of the indigenous territories.
The scope of the agency was to ensure the faithful compliance with the laws and regulations established by the Spanish Crown in dealing with and resolving conflicts of a legal, economic and religious nature.
For the establishment of this modality of government, the Spanish Crown initially relied on the indigenous organization, applying the collection of taxes (encomienda) on the structure of the Altepetl and using as main link to ensure its operation the authority of the dynastic ruler Traditional or Tlatoani. The Spaniards left the local government largely intact, at least initially.
Although the indigenous cabildo was based on the Spanish model, it never exactly replicated it, on the contrary it differed from it due to the predominance of forms that reflected traditions of political authority and pre-conquest governance.
Most surprising was the inclusion in the town council of the figure of the Cacique, a position that was not in the original Spanish pattern. Initially this figure was to be chosen each year by the settlers and ratified by the viceroys and the parish priest.
However, in the first generation after the conquest the post was occupied by the traditional dynastic ruler or Tlatoani, who held the position in accordance with the indigenous tradition for life. In addition, the Cacique also boasted the investiture of the Governor.
Subsequently, continuous mortal epidemics lashed the indigenous populations, which caused serious crisis for the designation of the successor Tlatoani, reason why the Spanish crown decided to separate the figures of the Cacique and the Governor. Evidently this situation favored the eagerness to control the Spanish kingdom.
The attributions of the Cacique and the members of the town council were limited mainly to the collection of taxes and the administration of justice in cases of lower level.
According to Charles Gibson, records of court proceedings conducted by Indian cabildos demonstrate a highly cultivated legal consciousness among Indian authorities.
The indigenous cabildos also maintained the existence of councils or bodies of elders that, according to Gibson, implied a community power that had survived in spite of the imposition of the Spanish colonial authority.
These councils played a symbolic role; Were probably responsible for preserving the village's history, as well as its long-standing documents.
On the other hand, the Governor was designated as the leader of the indigenous chapter and was selected from the same group of Spanish soldiers who had participated in the process of conquest.
This official had great independence for the decision-making within the population to which he led, however, his actions had to be informed and justified before the crown.
Disruption of the Indigenous Empire: The City Council
Similar to the state, indigenous municipalities adapted the concept of city council or municipal councils.
The introduction of this form of government on a smaller scale, triggered the progressive disappearance of major political institutions and originated what would later be known as Republic of indians , Ie a large number of completely isolated indigenous communities, ideal for control purposes of the crown.
The members of the council were: ordinary mayors, charged with exercising functions of judges in the resolution of conventional conflicts, regidores who monitored the good performance of daily life in the council and the chief constable, whose main function was to guarantee the Order in the territory and apply sanctions in the event of any crime or fault to the crown. All these positions were held by Spanish officials.
The municipal town hall or town hall became the mechanism through which the traditional Tlatoani or Cacique was stripped of its power to rule over the native population.
With the creation of the new state, all forms of organization that had been inherited from the colonial regime were eliminated. A series of laws were also proclaimed, privatizing communal lands and harming indigenous people.
The configuration of the resurgent nation adopted a new territorial political division to delimit the states and municipalities.
By failing to consider traditional indigenous population groups and even breaking them down and integrating them with mestizo populations, any possibility of political representation of indigenous peoples was eliminated.
In addition, the enacted laws demanded that to occupy any position of authority within the town councils it was necessary to enjoy economic wealth and to have a good educational and cultural level.
References
- Sánchez, C. (1999). Indigenous peoples: from indigenism to autonomy A. Mexico, Twenty-first Century Publishers
- Smithers, G. and Newman, B. (2014). Native Diasporas: Indigenous Identities and Settler Colonialism in the Americas . Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press.
- Horn, R. (1997). Postconquest Coyoacan: Nahua-Spanish Relations in Central Mexico , 1519-1650 . Stanford, Stanford University Press.
- Osowski, E. (2010). Indigenous Miracles: Nahua Authority in Colonial Mexico . Tucson, University of Arizona Press.
- [Links] Mexico's Indigenous Communities: Their Lands and Histories, 1500-2010. Boulder, University Press of Colorado.
- Villella, P. (2016). Indigenous Elites and Creole Identity in Colonial Mexico, 1500-1800 . New York, Cambridge University Press