Ampare y Perjuicios: Land and Legality in a Colesuyo Village during the Colonial Period

Summary

Land tenure is a prominent theme in the study of political and economic transition during the Spanish Colonial Period (AD 1550-1824) in Peru. Previous investigations have tended to focus on the concentration of land ownership into the hands of the ethnically Spanish elite minority, first through encomienda and later through the evolution of haciendas. However, native Andean communities were just as active in engaging the legal system to delineate their holdings and defend them from encroachment. My presentation outlines an early 18th Century case brought by the citizens of the Village of Estique, located in the precordillera of modern-day Tacna, seeking legal protection and damages from squatters and trespassers, primarily from the nearby Village of Tarata. I discuss this case within the context of land use and rights in the Colesuyo region during the Colonial Period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Colonial Encounters in the Prehispanic Andes

Keywords

Spatial Coverage