© 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
© T. M. Whitmore
Potosí
M i n i n g
M i n
i n g
Minas Gerais
Copyright © 1995-2002, Bolivia WebNear Potosí
Copyright © 1995-2002, Bolivia WebNear Potosí
© Doug HardyNear Potosí
© 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
Wheat
© 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
© T. M. Whitmore
Haciendas V•Consequences of hacienda system
VERY skewed distribution of rural land ownership
Legacy of low productivity of haciendas
© T. M. WhitmoreHacienda Chapel near Copan, Honduras
© T. M. Whitmore
Colonial hacienda threshing floor N of Mexico City
© T. M. Whitmore
Colonial hacienda south of Cuernavaca, Mexico
© 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