"Strange Lands and Different Peoples": Spaniards and Indians in Colonial Guatemala
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"Strange Lands and Different Peoples": Spaniards and Indians in Colonial Guatemala
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780806143903 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Oklahoma Press |
| Publication date: | 09/26/2013 |
| Series: | The Civilization of the American Indian Series , #271 |
| Pages: | 360 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d) |
About the Author
W. George Lovell is Professor of Geography at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and author of A Beauty That Hurts: Life and Death in Guatemala.
Christopher H. Lutz is author of Santiago de Guatemala, 1541–1773: City, Caste, and the Colonial Experience.
Wendy Kramer is author of Encomienda Politics in Early Colonial Guatemala, 1524–1544: Dividing the Spoils.
William R. Swezey (1933–1989) was co-founder of the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica in Guatemala and its director for more than a decade.
Read an Excerpt
"Strange Lands and Different Peoples"
Spaniards and Indians in Colonial Guatemala
By W. George Lovell, Christopher H. Lutz, Wendy Kramer, William R. Swezey
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS
Copyright © 2013 University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the UniversityAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8061-4390-3
CHAPTER 1
ADVANCE AND RETREAT
The conquest of Guatemala was brutal, prolonged, and complex; fraught with intrigue and deception; confusing, perplexing, and daunting—and not at all clear-cut. An epic clash of cultures and an arresting saga of personalities and controversies, it is also a challenging topic of inquiry, primarily because of problems inherent in the source materials, which include an array of indigenous as well as Spanish documents. Whether of native or Hispanic concoction, these materials tend to be restrictive in their coverage of certain periods, places, and peoples; paltry or negligent in others; and at times so distorted or plagued with self-interest as to be of questionable utility, no matter the allowances we are disposed to make. Yet a general view of the conquest persists: an armed confrontation whose stakes were evident and whose outcome (Spanish victory) was decisive. A critical reappraisal is long overdue, one that calls for us to reexamine events and circumstances in the light not only of new evidence but also of a keener awareness of indigenous roles in the drama.
Episodes in the initial phase of invasion swayed its very nature from what it might otherwise have been. We focus in this chapter on what unfolded between December 1523, when Pedro de Alvarado left Mexico to spearhead the assault, and August 1524, when his hitherto allies, the native Kaqchikels, abandoned their capital at Iximché to stage a rebellion against the Spanish presence. Their revolt lasted almost six years and possibly flared up again in the 1530s. An alliance between the invaders and the indigenous peoples they encountered, so crucial a maneuver in the conquest of Mexico, proved more problematic to forge and maintain in Guatemala. While our narrative is concerned, for the most part, with chronological reconstruction and of a mere, though pivotal, eight-month period, we try not only to furnish essential information but also to step back and reflect on motives and rationale, for these are not always apparent and cannot be taken for granted. Though native involvement, which we examine at greater length in chapter 2, needs to be better appreciated and given at least equal weight with Spanish accounts in telling the tale, it is difficult not to ascribe to Alvarado's actions a definitive, formative cast, for more than any other key player he influenced how conquest was destined to unfold, leaving a legacy of oppression that not even his death could erase.
OPENING MOVES
Hernán Cortés informs us that he made contact with Maya peoples in Guatemala shortly after his victory in 1521 at Tenochtitlán, the seat of the vast Aztec or Mexica empire. He had heard of 'rich and strange lands and many different peoples,' who perhaps numbered as many as two million, that lay south of Mexico in regions beyond Aztec control but to which Tenochtitlán had commercial ties and harbored territorial aspirations. Sometime in 1522, Cortés arranged for two Spaniards to head there with 'some natives from the city of Tenochtitlán, and others from the province of Soconusco.' These Spaniards, via intermediaries, met with members of the two most powerful Maya nations in Guatemala, the K'iche's and the Kaqchikels. In the wake of this meeting, during which they learned of the defeat of the Aztecs, the Mayas reportedly sent emissaries back to Mexico to confer with Cortés. In the city of Tuxpán, Cortés informs us, he received 'as many as one hundred natives from the cities called Ucatlan [Utatlán] and Guatemala [Iximché], some sixty leagues beyond Soconusco, who offered themselves in the name of their leaders as vassals and subjects of Your Imperial Majesty.' Such rhetoric on the part of the Maya envoys may have been designed to slow the Spanish advance, or avoid being invaded altogether. In any event Cortés states that he hosted them cordially and sent them home with gifts for their lords.
Though his letters to King Charles V are detailed and expansive when viewed alongside Alvarado's missives—sketchy and slight by comparison—how much credence should we give Cortés's claim of having engaged in Mexico with ambassadors representing both K'iche' and Kaqchikel leadership? Jorge Luján Muñoz and Horacio Cabezas Carcache find it 'difficult to accept the veracity of indigenous representation before Cortés, since we only have his word for it.' They observe pertinently that 'neither of the two major native sources, the Popol Vuh and the Memorial de Sololá, mentions such a visitation.' Daniel Contreras concurs, stating that he finds it even more implausible that 'K'iche's and Kaqchikels would have gone together to parley with Cortés, since they were sworn enemies' of each other. Francis Polo Sifontes is prepared to accept only part of what Cortés has to say, claiming, 'we have good reason to believe that only Kaqchikels, not K'iche's, took part in the visitation.' Whether or not there was an exchange between Spaniards and Mayas at this juncture, Cortés ascertained that Indians from Guatemala were harassing his Mexican allies in Soconusco, who had already converted to Christianity and pledged allegiance to the Spanish Crown. The Kaqchikels, according to Polo Sifontes, 'told the Spaniards that they were not the ones carrying out the aggression, and indeed offered their apologies,' blaming the K'iche's. Seizing the opportunity to exert his authority, Cortés ordered his loyal captain, Pedro de Alvarado, to go to Soconusco, determine who was responsible, and deal with them.
Alvarado is said to have received a second friendly overture on the part of the Kaqchikels, ruled by the lords Cahí Ymox and Belehé Qat from their stronghold at Iximché. No rapprochement on the part of the K'iche's is recorded. According to Francisco López de Gómara, basing what he states on Pietro Martire d'Anghiera before him, the Kaqchikels sent 'five thousand men' to Alvarado to convince him of their loyal intentions, along with gifts of clothing, cacao, and provisions, as well as gold and jewels valued at some twenty thousand pesos. Adrián Recinos believes this show of solidarity, if it ever happened, to be exaggerated. Robert Carmack, however, notes that both Anghiera and López de Gómara, who wrote during the second quarter of the sixteenth century, had access to a letter Alvarado wrote to Cortés from Soconusco, a letter Córtes acknowledges as having received but that is now lost. Why would such a shrewd, self-serving operator as Alvarado register receipt of precious items valued at twenty thousand pesos, knowing full well that he would have to pay the Crown its real quinto, or royal fifth? Five thousand warriors, furthermore, were a significant complement to the Mexican forces already lined up on the side of the Spaniards, without whose participation the conquest would have taken an entirely different course.
Given what was happening at the time to the Kaqchikel population, experiencing precipitous decline as a result of horrific outbreaks of sickness to which native inhabitants had never before been exposed, the transfer of such manpower was sizable and significant. If it did occur, especially to that degree, it was a strategic gamble that would prove costly, as disease lingered rather than disappeared and military losses were incurred when the Kaqchikels first supported and then opposed the Spanish invasion.
What factors best explain these conciliatory gestures on the part of the Kaqchikels? Did they believe that they could fob off the Spaniards by delivering, voluntarily, a huge payment of tribute, one that would perhaps persuade the foreigners to leave them in peace? Did they hope to win over a powerful ally in their ongoing struggle against their enemies, the K'iche's and the Tz'utujils? Although the latter explanation seems more plausible, the Kaqchikels badly miscalculated if they thought Alvarado would head back to Tenochtitlán content with what they offered him in Soconusco. The Kaqchikels played their hand successfully for a while, until the greed and venom of Alvarado made the role of cooperative ally intolerable. One conclusion is inescapable: Alvarado was impressed with the booty and must have become more interested in Guatemala as a result. On Cortés's orders, he did return to Tenochtitlán, by way of Pánuco on the Gulf coast, where his presence helped Cortés deal with the threat to his authority posed by Francisco de Garay, an ambitious rival who had arrived in Mexico from Jamaica. Once back in Tenochtitlán, Alvarado finalized preparations with Cortés for the armed campaign to commence.
THE CONQUEST BEGINS
Alvarado left Mexico to embark on the conquest of Guatemala as 1523 drew to a close. Since his own account is frustratingly incomplete—he glosses over all sorts of matters, rather than document them at length—we turn to Cortés for details of the expedition's departure.
I again fitted out Pedro de Alvarado and dispatched him from this city [Tenochtitlán] on the sixth day of December in the year 1523. He took with him 120 horsemen and, with spare mounts, a total of 160 horses, together with three hundred foot soldiers, 130 of whom are crossbowmen and harquebusiers. He has four pieces of artillery with good supplies of powder and ammunition. He is also accompanied by chieftains from this city, and from other cities in the vicinity, and with them some of their people.... The journey will be long.
Cortés is vague about the size of the Mexican forces that accompanied Alvarado, but we know from other sources that they were substantial, hailing not just from Tenochtitlán but also from Cholula, Texcoco, Tlaxcala, and Xochimilco. By late 1523, Alvarado was an experienced military commander not yet forty years of age. From Cortés he had learned how best to rally the troops at his disposal, inspiring them to superhuman efforts. In addition, according to Recinos, after observing 'brave and astute Mexican warriors,' Alvarado had adopted 'the tactics and the cunning used in these parts of the New World.' Among the Spaniards who accompanied him were his three brothers, Gómez, Gonzalo, and Jorge de Alvarado; his cousins Diego and Hernando de Alvarado, along with another cousin called Gonzalo de Alvarado y Chávez; and his trusted partner and future son-in-law, Pedro de Portocarrero.
The conquest began on February 13, 1524, when Alvarado crossed the Río Suchiate from Soconusco into Guatemalan territory, most likely with Kaqchikel guides to indicate the lay of the land and the path ahead to the K'iche' capital at Utatlán. Without making specific reference to the requerimiento, or summons, that, under Spanish law, had to be read aloud to native peoples prior to battle, thus affording them an opportunity to surrender peacefully before hostilities began, Alvarado sent messengers to the K'iche's with directives to this effect, which went unheeded.
Alvarado and his troops passed through densely wooded terrain along the Pacific coastal plain, which would have been considerably more forested than at present. A three-day march took them close to Xetulul, the K'iche' name for the place later known as Zapotitlán. Three Indian spies captured near the Spanish encampment were sent ahead with instructions to dictate the terms of requerimiento to the rulers of Xetulul; again, no reply was forthcoming. Instead, the local population blocked trails in an attempt to impede the invaders. Nonetheless, Alvarado and his men proceeded toward Xetulul, crossing the Río Samalá with some difficulty and thereafter coming face-to-face with the enemy. They continued to advance, pursuing retreating K'iche' warriors for half a league beyond Xetulul. We have no record, as we have elsewhere, of houses being burned, crops destroyed, provisions seized, or people taken prisoner and branded as slaves of war. The invaders camped out in Xetulul's marketplace and spent two days pacifying the surrounding area. Abundant groves of 'cacao, zapote, and other tropical fruits' created 'a natural defense' that favored the locals because it did not lend itself to the deployment of Spanish cavalry.
On February 19, Alvarado's contingent left Xetulul and began its ascent into the highlands, where the principal K'iche' settlements were to be found and, at Utatlán, the court of the K'iche' kings. The upward trail, Alvarado comments, was 'so rough that the horses could scarcely climb,' thus making it necessary to stop for the night midway through their ascent.
THE BATTLE OF EL PINAR
The next morning, February 20, soon after breaking camp and continuing their trek up into the highlands, Alvarado and his forces came upon 'a woman and a dog sacrificed, which my interpreter informed me was [issued as] a challenge.' Alvarado did not have to wait long for the challenge to materialize, for soon afterwards his men became aware of a well-built palisade, though the fortification, located at a narrow point in the trail, was deserted. As he led his infantry at the front, his cavalry following in the rear, three to four thousand K'iche' warriors are reported to have attacked, forcing the Spaniards and their native auxiliaries to retreat. Then occurred, if not the turning point in the conquest of Guatemala, at least a crucial moment in how it unfolded.
Just as 'thirty thousand men [came] toward us,' Alvarado states, 'I thanked God that there we found some plains.' The Spaniards were able to move the scene of battle onto level space and so unleash their cavalry on the advancing K'iche' foot soldiers, whose numbers are surely exaggerated. From his combat experiences in Mexico, however, Alvarado was well aware of the impact that armed and armored men on horseback could have on people who had never before witnessed such a terrifying spectacle. K'iche' fear, together with cavalry expertise in keeping the battle out in the open, resulted in clash after clash, with the mounted invaders winning every fray. Alvarado describes one instance when, with his troops resting at a nearby spring, the K'iche's attacked yet again, but once more where cavalry could be put into action. K'iche' warriors were pushed a league back to the front range of some hills, where they turned to face their attackers. 'I [then] put myself in flight with some of the horsemen,' Alvarado tells us, 'to draw the Indians to the plains, and they followed us, until reaching the horses' tails. And after I rallied with the horsemen, I turned on them, and here a very severe pursuit and punishment was made.'
While his account is articulated from the Spanish perspective and is admittedly one-sided and self-congratulatory, it does have the advantage of being written shortly after the events described. By contrast, virtually all the Maya texts on these same events were recorded much later, after members of the indigenous elite had been taught by Spanish friars to write in their languages using the Latin alphabet. The time lag, we suspect, inevitably resulted in inaccuracies and misrepresentations, as would appear to be the case of the celebrated, but some claim, mythical, K'iche' leader, Tecún Umán.
TECÚN UMÁN: MAN OR MYTH?
Grandson of the great King Quikab, whose counsel led to the Kaqchikels splitting from the K'iche' nation to form their own kingdom in the mid-fifteenth century, Tecún Umán passes without mention in Alvarado's firsthand account of the conquest. Neither is he named by Bernal Díaz del Castillo in his version of events, nor in that of the Memorial de Sololá. Luján and Cabezas point out that the Spanish sources do not pick up on Tecún Umán (also known as Tecum) until the late seventeenth century. This hiatus causes them to question not only his participation in the conquest but also his very existence. Four K'iche' texts, however, feature Tecum prominently, though none of them dates from the time of first encounter, or close to it: these are the Título del Ahpop Quecham, consulted and cited by the 'criollo chronicler' Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán, who wrote in the 1690s; the Títulos de la Casa Izquín Nehaib; the Título del Ajpop Huitzitzil Tzunún; and the Título de los señores Coyoy. The last three documents even make reference to hand-tohand combat between Alvarado and the K'iche' leader at the Battle of El Pinar, which resulted in Tecum's death. Whom are we to believe?
(Continues...)
Excerpted from "Strange Lands and Different Peoples" by W. George Lovell, Christopher H. Lutz, Wendy Kramer, William R. Swezey. Copyright © 2013 University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University. Excerpted by permission of UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS.
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Table of Contents
Contents
List of Illustrations,List of Tables,
Preface,
List of Abbreviations,
PART I. CONQUEST AND RESISTANCE,
1. Advance and Retreat,
2. Alliance and Revolt,
3. Return and Surrender,
PART II. SETTLEMENT AND COLONIZATION,
4. The Emergence of Core and Periphery,
5. Congregación and the Creation of Pueblos de Indios,
PART III. LABOR AND TRIBUTE,
6. The Birth of the Encomienda,
7. Alvarado, Espinar, and the Booty of Huehuetenango,
8. Maldonado, Marroquín, and the Regulation of Excess,
PART IV. DYNAMICS OF MAYA SURVIVAL,
9. At First Contact,
10. The Cerrato Years,
11. Decline between Reforms,
12. The Valverde Years,
13. Reaching the Nadir,
14. The Slow Recovery,
Conclusion,
Appendix,
Glossary,
Notes,
Bibliography,
Index,