90 CHAPTER 4 THE ECONOMIC FOUNDATIONS OF COLONIAL LIFE
the colonial period, the majority of the natives con-
tinued to supply most of their own needs for pot-
tery, clothing, and household goods. In the Spanish
towns, craft guilds modeled on those of Spain arose
in response to the high prices for all Spanish im-
ported goods. To avoid competition from indig-
enous, black, and mestizo artisans, who quickly
learned the Spanish crafts, they were incorporated
into the Spanish-controlled guilds but were barred
from becoming masters. The chronic shortage of
skilled labor, however, soon made all such racial
restrictions meaningless. These guilds attempted
to maintain careful control over the quantity and
quality of production in industries that served the
needs of the colonial upper class.
The period up to about 1630 saw a steady
growth of obrajes, many of which produced cheap
cotton and woolen goods for popular consumption.
Most of these enterprises were privately owned,
but some were operated by indigenous commu-
nities to meet their tribute payments. A number
of towns in New Spain (Mexico City, Puebla, and
Tlaxcala, among others) were centers of this textile
industry. Other primitive factories produced such
articles as soap, chinaware, and leather. The popu-
lation increase of the late seventeenth century may
have also stimulated the growth of manufactur-
ing. There is little evidence that sporadic Spanish
legislative efforts to restrict the growth of colonial
manufacturers were successful.Theodore de Bry’s 1590 engraving graphically depicts the exploitation of enslaved
labor in the mines of Potosí, whose wealth provided an extraordinary stimulus to
European economic development. [The Art Archive/Science Academy, Lisbon/Dagli Orti]