© 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 Mexican Potosí

© T. M. Whitmore

Potosí M i n i n g Minas Gerais

Copyright © , Bolivia Web Near Potosí

Copyright © , Bolivia Web Near Potosí

© Doug Hardy Near Potosí

© T. M. Whitmore Mexican non-mining colonial economy Livestock raising Livestock  Cattle and horses (large stock) [ganado mejor]  Mexican environment favored stock raising  Controversy regarding environmental impacts in colonial times  Small stock [ganado menor]

© T. M. Whitmore Stock Raising

© T. M. Whitmore Mexican non-mining colonial economy II Wheat  Does not mature well in lowland tropics  Spanish varieties like dry summers and wet winters  Solution is to plant in winter and irrigate where necessary

Wheat

© T. M. Whitmore Indigenous agriculture  did not adopt many Spanish crops or large animals  did 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 organization  Little Amerindian labor available even through repartimiento after 1550s due to depopulation  Slaves too costly  Over 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 ha  Complex mixture of characteristics  Usually 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. Whitmore Hacienda 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”  Modernization  Increased social welfare and quality of life  Greater 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