Local governments, indigenous councils, and town halls were the hierarchical forms of social and political organization that existed in America in the periods prior to and during 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 be part of great empires.
Mesoamerica Map
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 Mayan.
The pre-Hispanic social structure
Despite the different words, all these cultures shared common social structures. In the case of the Nahuatl language, the term altepetl means organization of people who dominate a specific 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 the altepetl were called calpolli or tlaxilacalli, each one 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 altepetl's organization was cellular or modular, with a number of relatively equal, independent and autonomous parts of the whole.
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 that the Spanish had no interest in modifying.
In this sense, everything that the Spanish organized outside their own settlements in the 16th century, including the encomienda, the rural parishes, the indigenous councils, the initial administrative jurisdictions, were built on the solid foundations of the communities of the alteptl.
The indigenous 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.
In order to facilitate the collection of tributes and as part of a broader attempt to reform indigenous states into Hispanic-style territories, the Spanish authorities introduced the indigenous council in the mid-16th century.
The term town hall comes from the Latin capitulum, which means "at the head." The main objective of this entity was the administration of indigenous territories.
The scope of the body was to ensure faithful compliance with the laws and regulations established by the Spanish crown when dealing with and resolving conflicts of a legal, economic and religious nature.
For the establishment of this form of government, the Spanish crown initially relied on the indigenous organization, applying the collection of tributes (encomienda) on the structure of the altepetl and using as the main link to guarantee its operation the authority of the traditional dynastic ruler or tlatoani. The Spanish left the local government largely intact, at least initially.
Although the indigenous council was based on the Spanish model, it never exactly replicated it, on the contrary it differed from it due to the prevalence of forms that reflected pre-conquest traditions of political authority and governance.
Cacique
The most surprising thing was the inclusion in the indigenous council of the figure of the cacique, a position that was not found in the original Spanish pattern. Initially this figure had 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 held by the traditional dynastic ruler or tlatoani, who held the post in accordance with indigenous tradition for life. Additionally, the cacique also held the investiture of the governor.
Subsequently, continuous deadly epidemics hit the indigenous populations, which caused serious crisis for the appointment of the Tlatoani successor, so the Spanish crown decided to separate the figures of the chief and the governor. Obviously this situation favored the desire for control of the Spanish kingdom.
The powers of the cacique and the members of the council were mainly limited to the collection of taxes and the administration of justice in lower-level cases.
According to Charles Gibson, the records of court proceedings carried out by Indian councils demonstrate a highly cultivated legal conscience among Indian authorities.
Advice from elders
The indigenous councils also maintained the existence of councils or bodies of elders that, according to Gibson, implied a community power that had survived despite the imposition of Spanish colonial authority.
These councils performed a symbolic function; they were probably responsible for preserving the town's history as well as its long-standing documents.
On the other hand, the governor was designated as the leader of the indigenous council and was selected from the same group of Spanish soldiers who had participated in the process of conquest.
This official enjoyed great independence for decision-making within the population he led, however, his actions had to be informed and justified before the crown.
City Hall
In a similar way to the State, the indigenous municipalities adapted the concept of city council or municipal councils.
The introduction of this form of government on a smaller scale, unleashed the progressive disappearance of the major political institutions and originated what would later be known as the Indian Republic, that is, a large number of completely isolated indigenous communities, ideal for control purposes. of the crown.
The members that made up the city council were: the ordinary mayors, in charge of exercising the functions of judges in the resolution of conventional conflicts, the councilors who supervised the smooth running of daily life in the town hall and the bailiff, whose main function was to guarantee the order in the territory and apply sanctions in the event of any crime or offense against the crown. All these positions were held by Spanish officers.
The municipal council or town hall became the mechanism through which the traditional tlatoani or Cacique was stripped of their 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, which privatized communal lands and harmed indigenous settlers.
The configuration of the resurgent nation adopted a new territorial political division to delimit the States and municipalities.
By not considering the groups of traditional indigenous populations and even dividing them and integrating them with mestizo populations, any possibility of political representation of indigenous ethnic groups was eliminated.
Additionally, the enacted laws required that to occupy any position of authority within the municipalities it was necessary to enjoy economic wealth and have a good educational and cultural level.
References
- Sánchez, C. (1999). Indigenous peoples: from indigenism to autonomy. México, Siglo Veintiuno Editores
- 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.
- Ruiz Medrano, E. (2011). 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