CHAPTER 5 THE COLONIAL PERIOD IN MESOAMERICA 189verse with livestock and agricultural components. In many regions, the growth of
the haciendas was achieved at the expense of the native communities as Spaniards
took control of what were formerly Indian lands. In theory, official policies prevented
Spaniards from taking Indian lands, but in practice, Spaniards were able to acquire
these lands through a variety of means. Indian leaders sometimes willingly sold com-
munity properties to Spaniards. Another common practice involved the Crown pol-
icy of selling what were deemed to be vacant lands to make money for the royal
treasury. The demographic collapse of the native population left many areas with
low population densities. Lands that were underpopulated—even though they might
be used for hunting and other activities by native communities—could be declared
vacant and then legally sold to Spaniards.
The labor for haciendas was often supplied by native workers who had left their
communities. A situation of debt-servitude frequently developed when these people
were given wages in advance and were then required to remain on the hacienda
until the debt was paid off. In other cases, however, a share-cropping arrangement
existed whereby laborers were provided with access to a portion of the hacienda
lands to cultivate in exchange for handing over part of their crop and perhaps pro-
viding the owner with other services. In still other cases, natives temporarily left their
communities to work on haciendas to earn the cash they needed to meet their trib-
ute demands.
Obrajeswere textile factories that produced coarse cloth for consumption within
New Spain. Finer cloth was imported. The obrajestended to be located in the cities
in Central Mexico, and they had little impact outside this area. The bulk of the work-
force in the obrajeswas made up of Indians who had left their communities. Working
conditions were unhealthy, and treatment of native workers was harsh (Figure 5.2).EVANGELIZATION: ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS
The colonial institution that had the most profound effects upon indigenous life in
colonial Mesoamerica was the Catholic Church. Most Spanish colonists were con-
tent to enrich themselves by the Indians’ labor, satisfied if the Indians stayed peace-
ful and displayed some minimal evidence of Christianity. But men of the Church
sought to extend colonial authority into the most intimate aspects of native life, from
the selection of marriage partners to the expression of sexual desire.
Many books have been written about the Christian evangelization of Mesoamer-
ica. Current scholars question a number of common assumptions, especially the no-
tion that Mesoamerica was “spiritually conquered” by Christian missionaries, and
these scholars see the native people as playing an active role in formulating their
own understandings of Christianity. Rather than include here a detailed discussion
of missionary methodologies—the subject of numerous previous studies—we have
chosen to discuss some of the broader political and social issues involved in the evan-
gelization of colonial Mesoamerica.
The missionary friars of the mendicant orders had tremendous influence and pres-
tige during the early decades of Spanish rule in Mexico. The recent reforms initiated