Encomiendas of Indians in the herbs of Mbaracayú (1600-1632)

Abstract

The present project has as object of study the indigenous work in the herbs of Mbaracayú, in colonial Paraguay. We propose to analyze the way in which the encomienda system acted on the reality of the Indians in the context of the production of yerba mate. Far from considering the Indians only as labor, our second objective is to understand how these indigenous, active agents of their history, interacted, reacted and negotiated in this colonial circuit of exploitation. Thus, we intend to promote a systematic bibliographical analysis of the Paraguayan context of the first three decades of the 17th century, considering the more general logic of colonization and regional specific dynamics. The documentary corpus of the research is composed by the Alfaro Ordinances; for the work "Spiritual Conquest" of the Jesuit priest Antonio Ruiz de Montoya; and by documents produced by cabildos, priests, Jesuits, visitors and other authorities. Many of them have been published in the collections of Jaime Cortesão, Afonso Taunay (Anais do Museu Paulista) and Carlos Jensen, and others, manuscripts, are available on the virtual platform of the National Archives of Asunción and the Spanish Archives Portal (PARES). (AU)