Editing New Spain (section)

===South===
====Yucatán====
[[File:2014-01-03 Mérida - Cathedral de San Ildefonso 01 anagoria.JPG|thumb|The [[cathedral of Mérida, Yucatán]]]]
The [[Yucatán Peninsula]] can be considered a [[cul-de-sac]],<ref>{{harvp|Gerhard|1993|p=3}}</ref> and it has unique features, but it also has strong similarities to other areas in the South. The Yucatán Peninsula extends into the Gulf of Mexico and was connected to Caribbean trade routes and Mexico City, far more than some other southern regions, such as Oaxaca.<ref name="Hunt_59_60">{{harvp|Hunt|1976|pp=59–60}}</ref> The main Spanish settlements included the inland city of [[Mérida, Yucatán|Mérida]], where Spanish civil and religious officials had their headquarters and where the many Spaniards in the province lived. The ''villa'' of [[Campeche City|Campeche]] was the peninsula's port, the key gateway for the whole region. A merchant group developed and expanded dramatically as trade flourished during the seventeenth century.<ref>{{harvp|Hunt|1976|pp=38–42}}</ref> Although that period was once characterized as New Spain's "century of depression", for Yucatán this was certainly not the case, with sustained growth from the early seventeenth century to the end of the colonial period.<ref>{{harvp|Hunt|1976|pp=39, 59–60}}</ref>

With dense indigenous Maya populations, Yucatán's [[encomienda]] system was established early and persisted far longer than in central Mexico, since fewer Spaniards migrated to the region than in the center.<ref>{{harvp|Hunt|1976|pp=50–51}}</ref> Although Yucatán was a more peripheral area to the colony, since it lacked rich mining areas and no agricultural or other export product, it did have a complex of Spanish settlement, with a whole range of social types in the main settlements of Mérida and the villas of Campeche and [[Valladolid, Yucatán|Valladolid]].<ref>{{harvp|Hunt|1976|pp=33–51}}</ref> There was an important sector of mixed-race "[[castas]]", some of whom were fully at home in both the indigenous and Hispanic worlds. [[Afro-Mexicans|Blacks]] were an important component of Yucatecan society.<ref>{{harvp|Restall|2009}}</ref> The largest population in the province was indigenous Maya, who lived in their communities, but which were in contact with the Hispanic sphere via labor demands and commerce.<ref>{{harvp|Hunt|1976|pp=42–46}}</ref>

In Yucatán, Spanish rule was largely indirect, allowing these communities considerable political and cultural autonomy. The Maya community, the ''cah'', was the means by which indigenous cultural integrity was maintained. In the economic sphere, unlike many other regions and ethnic groups in Mesoamerica, the Yucatec Maya did not have a pre-conquest network of regular markets to exchange different types of food and craft goods. Perhaps because the peninsula was uniform in its ecosystem local niche production did not develop.<ref>{{harvp|Restall|1997|p=185}}</ref> Production of [[cotton]] textiles, largely by Maya women, helped pay households' tribute obligations, but basic crops were the basis of the economy. The cah retained considerable land under the control of religious brotherhoods or confraternities (''cofradías''), the device by which Maya communities avoided colonial officials, the clergy, or even indigenous rulers (''gobernadores'') from diverting of community revenues in their ''cajas de comunidad'' (literally community-owned chests that had locks and keys). ''Cofradías'' were traditionally lay pious organizations and burial societies, but in Yucatán they became significant holders of land, a source of revenue for pious purposes kept under cah control. "[I]n Yucatán the ''cofradía'' in its modified form was the community."<ref>{{harvp|Farriss|1984|p=266}}</ref> Local Spanish clergy had no reason to object to the arrangement since much of the revenue went for payment for masses or other spiritual matters controlled by the priest.

A limiting factor in Yucatán's economy was the poor quality of the [[limestone]] soil, which could only support crops for two to three years with land cleared through [[slash-and-burn agriculture]]. Access to water was also a limiting factor on agriculture, with the limestone [[escarpment]] giving way in water filled [[sinkhole]]s (locally called ''cenotes''), but rivers and streams were generally absent on the peninsula. Individuals had rights to land so long as they cleared and tilled them and when the soil was exhausted, they repeated the process. In general, the Indians lived in a dispersed pattern, which Spanish ''congregación'' or forced resettlement attempted to alter. Collective labor cultivated the confraternities' lands, which included raising the traditional maize, beans, and cotton. But confraternities also later pursued cattle ranching, as well as [[mule]] and horse breeding, depending on the local situation. There is evidence that ''cofradías'' in southern Campeche were involved in inter-regional trade in cacao as well as cattle ranching.<ref>{{harvp|Farriss|1984|p=267}}</ref> Although generally the revenues from crops and animals were devoted to expenses in the spiritual sphere, ''cofradías''' cattle were used for direct aid to community members during droughts, stabilizing the community's food supply.<ref>{{harvp|Farriss|1984|p=270}}</ref>

In the seventeenth century, patterns shifted in Yucatán and [[Tabasco]], as the English took territory the Spanish claimed but did not control, especially what became [[British Honduras]] (now Belize) and in [[Laguna de Términos]] ([[Isla del Carmen]]) where they cut [[logwood]]. In 1716–17 viceroy of New Spain organized a sufficient ships to expel the foreigners, where the crown subsequently built a fortress at Isla del Carmen.<ref>{{harvp|Gerhard|1993|pp=50–52}}</ref> But the British held onto their territory in the eastern portion of the peninsula into the twentieth century. In the nineteenth century, the enclave supplied guns to the rebellious Maya in the [[Caste War of Yucatan]].<ref>{{harvp|Reed|1964}}</ref>

====Valley of Oaxaca====
[[Image:SantoDomingo12-05Oaxaca109.jpg|thumb|[[Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Oaxaca)|Church of Santo Domingo]], [[Oaxaca City]]]]
Since [[Oaxaca]] was lacking in mineral deposits and it had an abundant sedentary indigenous population, it developed without European or mixed-race population and large-scale Spanish haciendas, so the indigenous communities retained their land, indigenous languages, and distinct ethnic identities. Antequera ([[Oaxaca City]]) was a Spanish settlement founded in 1529, but the rest of Oaxaca consisted of indigenous towns. Despite its remoteness from Mexico City, "throughout the colonial era, Oaxaca was one of Mexico's most prosperous provinces".<ref>{{harvp|Baskes|2000|p=186}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Brian R. Hamnett says that "José de Gálvez considered Oaxaca one of New Spain's richest provinces".<ref>{{harvp|Hamnett|1971|p=40}}</ref>|group=Note}} In the eighteenth century, the value of crown offices (alcalde mayor or corregidor) were the highest for two Oaxaca jurisdictions, with Jicayan and Villa Alta each worth 7,500 pesos, Cuicatlan-Papalotipac, 4,500; Teposcolula and Chichicapa, each 4,200 pesos.{{#tag:ref|The crown sold public offices, with their purchasers expecting to quickly recoup the costs. For a complete chart, see {{harvp|Hamnett|1971|p=16}}.|group=Note}}q

The most important commodity for Oaxaca was [[cochineal]] red dye. Cochineal's commodity chain is interesting, with indigenous peasants in the remote areas of Oaxaca ultimately linked to Amsterdam and London commodity exchanges and the European production of luxury cloth.<ref>{{harvp|Marichal|2006}}</ref> The most extensive study of Oaxaca's eighteenth-century economy deals with the nexus between the local crown officials (alcaldes mayores), merchant investors (''aviadores''), the repartimiento (forced labor), and indigenous products, particularly cochineal. The rich, color-fast red dye produced from insects, was harvested from [[nopal cacti]]. Cochineal was a high-value, low-volume product that became the second-most valuable Mexican export after silver. Although it could be produced elsewhere in central and southern Mexico, its main region of production was Oaxaca. For the indigenous in Oaxaca, cochineal was the only one "with which the [tributaries] maintain themselves and pay their debts" but it also had other advantages.{{#tag:ref|Baskes suggests the crown restricted its production to Oaxaca until 1819, which likely contributed to artificially high prices.<ref>{{harvp|Baskes|2000|p=185}}</ref>|group=Note}} Producing cochineal was time-consuming labor, but it was not particularly difficult and could be done by the elderly, women, and children.<ref>{{harvp|Chance|1989|p=121}}</ref> It was also important to households and communities because it initially did not require the indigenous to displace their existing crops or migrate elsewhere.<ref>{{harvp|Baskes|2000|pp=18–19}}</ref>

Although the repartimiento has historically been seen as an imposition on the indigenous, forcing them into economic relations they would rather have avoided and maintained by force,<ref>For instance, {{harvp|Chance|1989|pp=121–122}}.</ref> recent work on eighteenth-century Oaxaca analyzes the nexus of crown officials (the alcaldes mayores) and Spanish merchants, and indigenous via the repartimiento. cash loaned by local crown officials (the alcalde mayor and his teniente), usually to individual Indians but sometimes to communities, in exchange for a fixed amount of a good (cochineal or cotton mantles) at a later date. Indigenous elites were an integral part of the repartimiento, often being recipients of large extensions of credit. As authority figures in their community, they were in a good position to collect on the debt, the most risky part of the business from the Spanish point of view.

====Tehuantepec====
The Isthmus of [[Tehuantepec]] region of Oaxaca was strategically important for its short transit between the Gulf Coast and the Pacific, facilitating both overland and sea trade. The province of Tehuantepec was the Pacific side of the isthmus and the headwaters of the Coatzacoalcos River.<ref name="Gerhard_264">{{harvp|Gerhard|1993|p=264}}</ref> [[Hernán Cortés]] acquired holdings for his [[Marquesado del Valle de Oaxaca|entailed estate]] including [[Huatulco]],{{#tag:ref|The crown did not wish to have the main west coast port in private hands and an agreement was worked out with Cortés heir, Don Martín Cortés, to relinquish the Tehuantepec encomienda.<ref>{{harvp|Gerhard|1993|p=265}}.</ref>|group=Note}} once the main Pacific Coast port before [[Acapulco]] replaced it in 1563.

Gold mining was an early draw for Spaniards, who directed indigenous labor to its extraction, but did not continue beyond the mid-sixteenth century. Over the long run, ranching and commerce were the most important economic activities, with the settlement of Tehuantepec becoming the hub. The region's history can be divided into three distinct periods, an initial period of engagement with Spanish colonial rule to 1563, during which there was a working relationship with the Zapotec ruling line and the establishment of Cortés's economic enterprises. This early period came to a close with the death of the last native king in 1562 and the escheatment of Cortés's Tehuantepec encomiendas to the crown in 1563. The second period of approximately a century (1563–1660) saw the decline of the indigenous entailed estate (''cacicazgo'') and indigenous political power and development of the colonial economy and imposition of Spanish political and religious structures. The final period is the maturation of these structures (1660–1750). The 1660 rebellion can be a dividing line between the two later periods.<ref>{{harvp|Zeitlin|2005|pp=xiv–xv}}</ref>

The Villa of [[Tehuantepec]], the largest settlement on the isthmus, was an important prehispanic Zapotec trade and religious center, which was not under the jurisdiction of the Aztecs.<ref name="Gerhard_264"/> The early colonial history of Tehuantepec and the larger province was dominated by Cortés and the Marquesado, but the crown realized the importance of the area and concluded an agreement in 1563 with the second Marqués by which the crown took control of the Tehuantepec encomienda. The Marquesado continued to have major private holdings in the province. The Villa of Tehuantepec became a center of Spanish and mixed-race settlement, crown administration, and trade.

The Cortés haciendas in Tehuantepec were key components of the province's economy, and they were directly linked to other Marquesado enterprises in greater Mexico in an integrated fashion.<ref>{{harvp|Gutiérrez Brockington|1989}}</ref> The Dominicans also had significant holdings in Tehuantepec, but there has been little research on these. However important the Marquesado and the Dominican enterprises were, there were also other economic players in the region, including individual Spaniards as well as existing indigenous communities. Ranching emerged as the dominant rural enterprise in most of Tehuantepec with a ranching boom in the period 1580–1640. Since Tehuantepec experienced significant indigenous population loss in the sixteenth century conforming to the general pattern, ranching made possible for Spaniards to thrive in Tehuantepec because ranching was not dependent on significant amounts of indigenous labor.<ref name="Zeitlin_1989">{{harvp|Zeitlin|1989}}</ref>

The most detailed economic records for the region are of the Marquesado's ranching haciendas, which produced draft animals (horses, mules, burros, and oxen) and sheep and goats, for meat and wool. Cattle ranching for meat, tallow, and leather were also important. Tallow for candles used in churches and residences and leather used in a variety of ways (saddles, other tack, boots, furniture, machinery) were significant items in the larger colonial economy, finding markets well beyond Tehuantepec. Since the Marquesado operated as an integrated enterprise, draft animals were used in other holdings for transport, agriculture, and mining in Oaxaca, Morelos, Toluca, and Mexico City as well as sold. Raised in Tehuantepec, the animals were driven to other Marquesado holdings for use and distribution.<ref>{{harvp|Gutiérrez Brockington|1989|p=9}}</ref>

Although colonial population decline affected the indigenous in Tehuantepec, their communities remained important in the colonial era and remain distinctly Indian to the current era. There were differences in the three distinct linguistic and ethnic groups in colonial Tehuantepec, the [[Zapotec peoples|Zapotec]], the [[Zoque people|Zoque]], and the [[Huave people|Huave]]. The Zapotecs concluded an alliance with the Spaniards at contact, and they had already expanded their territory into Zoque and Huave regions.

Under Spanish rule, the Zapotecs not only survived, but flourished, unlike the other two. They continued to pursue agriculture, some of it irrigated, which was not disrupted by the growing ranching economy. Generally Zapotec elites protected their communities from Spanish incursions and community cohesion remained strong as shown in members' performance of regular community service for social ends. Zapotec elites engaged in the market economy early on, which undermined to an extent the bonds between commoners and elites who colluded with the Spanish. In contrast to the Zapotecs, the Zoque generally declined as a group during the ranching boom, with interloping animals eating their maize crops. Zoque response was to take up being vaqueros themselves. They had access to the trade to Guatemala. Of the three indigenous groups, the Huave were the most isolated from the Spanish ranching economy and labor demands.<ref>{{harvp|Zeitlin|1989|p=55}}</ref> With little arable or grazing land, they exploited the lagoons of the Pacific coast, using shore and beach resources. They traded dried shrimp and fish, as well as purple dye from shells to Oaxaca, likely acquiring foodstuffs that they were unable to cultivate themselves.<ref name="Zeitlin_1989"/>

Not well documented is the number of African slaves and their descendants, who were artisans in urban areas and did hard manual labor in rural areas.<ref>{{harvp|Gutiérrez Brockington|1989|p=15}}</ref> In a pattern recognizable elsewhere, coastal populations were mainly African, including an unknown number of [[cimarrónes|cimarrón]] (runaway slave) settlements, while inland the indigenous communities were more prominent. On the Cortés haciendas, blacks and mulattoes were essential to the profitability of the enterprises.<ref>{{harvp|Gutiérrez Brockington|1989|p=16}}</ref>

In general, Tehuantepec was not a site of major historical events, but in 1660–61, there was a significant rebellion stemming from increased repartimiento Spanish demands.<ref>{{harvp|Zeitlin|2005|loc=esp. Chapter 5}}</ref>

====Central America====
{{Main|Captaincy General of Guatemala}}
[[File:Santa Catalina Arch - Antigua Guatemala Feb 2020.jpg|thumb|right|[[Arco de Santa Catalina]], [[Antigua Guatemala]]]]
With the growth of a sufficient Spanish population and the crown's desire to better govern the area, it established the [[Captaincy General of Guatemala]], which had primary jurisdiction over what became [[Guatemala]], [[El Salvador]], [[Honduras]], [[Nicaragua]], and [[Costa Rica]]. The region was diverse, and outlying provinces were resentful for elites in the capital of [[Antigua Guatemala]], which was [[1773 Guatemala earthquake|destroyed by an earthquake in 1773]]. There was a high court [[Audiencia Real|Audiencia]] in the Kingdom of Guatemala. Given the region's distance from major centers of power in New Spain and Spain itself, local strongmen in the early colonial era were only nominally subject to Spanish authority. The indigenous population was very large in comparison to the Spanish, and there were relatively few Africans. Spaniards continued to employ forced labor and exact tributes from the natives in the region, which started during the conquest era.<ref>Sherman, William L. ''Forced Native Labor in Sixteenth-Century Central America''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 1979.</ref> Compared to the mines of the New Spanish North, Central America was generally poor in mineral resources (although Honduras had a brief boom in gold mining in the colonial period), and had little potential to develop an export product except for [[Cocoa bean|cacao]] and the blue dye [[indigo]].<ref>[[Murdo J. MacLeod|MacLeod, Murdo J.]], ''Spanish Central America: A Socioeconomic History, 1520–1720''. Berkeley: University of California Press 1973.</ref> 
[[File:Teɡuciɡalpa interior cathedral.jpg|thumb|18th century golden altar piece insede the [[Tegucigalpa Cathedral|Tegucigalpa cathedral]]]]
[[File:Iglesia de la merced de Comayagua.jpg|thumb|[[La Merced Church (Honduras)|Church of la Merced]], one of the oldest Spanish churches in America and the oldest one of [[Honduras]]]]
Cacao had been cultivated in the prehispanic period. Orchards of cacao trees, which took a number of years to come to maturity and produce fruit. Cacao boomed in the late sixteenth century, and then was displaced by indigo as the most important export product. Indigo, like cacao, was native to the region, and the indigenous peoples gathered wild indigo, used for dying cloth and as a trade good. After the arrival of the Spanish, they domesticated indigo and created plantations for its cultivation in Yucatan, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The indigo industry thrived, since there was high demand in Europe for a high quality, color-fast blue dye. In the region, cultivation and processing was done by indigenous workers, but the owners of plantations, ''añileros'', were Spanish. 

It was a dangerous work environment, with toxins in the indigo plants that sickened and sometimes killed workers. It was profitable, especially following the [[Bourbon Reforms]], which allowed trade within the Spanish empire. In the late eighteenth century, indigo growers organized in a trade organization, the ''Consulado de Comercio''.<ref>Woodward, Ralph Lee. ''Class Privilege and Economic Development: The Consulado de Comercio of Guatemala, 1793–1871''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 1966.</ref> There were regions that were not subjugated to Spanish rule, such as the [[Petén Department|Petén]] and the [[Mosquito Coast]], and the English took advantage of weak Spanish control to establish a commercial presence on the Gulf Coast, later seizing [[Belize]]. An American-born Spanish elite (''criollos'') accumulated land and built fortunes on wheat, sugar, and cattle, all of which were consumed within the region.<ref>Webre, Stephen. "Audiencia of Guatemala" in ''Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture'', vol. 3, pp.130–31. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.</ref>