The Public Defenders of Indians in Tabasco during the Sixteenth Century

During the second half of the sixteenth century, the post of public defender of Indians spread throughout Spanish America, and its missions became more precisely defined, contributing to this effect both the way in which these officers executed their tasks and the publication of legal texts on the m...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Cunill, Caroline
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:México
Institución:EL COLEGIO DE MÉXICO
Repositorio:Historia Mexicana
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:oai.historiamexicana.colmex.mx:article/177
Acceso en línea:https://historiamexicana.colmex.mx/index.php/RHM/article/view/177
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:America
colonies
defense
Indians
16th Century
América
colonias
defensa
indios
siglo XVI
Descripción
Sumario:During the second half of the sixteenth century, the post of public defender of Indians spread throughout Spanish America, and its missions became more precisely defined, contributing to this effect both the way in which these officers executed their tasks and the publication of legal texts on the matter, conceived by local or metropolitan authorities. By 1591, the protector and defender of Indians or naturales became the essential piece of the recently-created Juzgado General de Indios, an authentic Indian institution that would last until the late colonial period. In order to understand the process, this work analyzes the peculiar evolution of the post of public defender in the Alcaldía Mayor de Tabasco, Gobernación de Yucatán, during the second half of the sixteenth century. Besides revealing the public defenders' identities, status, and wages, the author analyzes their dealings with colonial authorities —the governors of Yucatan, the Royal Audiencias, and the Consejo de Indias–, as well as the Tabaso Indians. All this allows us to understand the central importance this post acquired, not only in the colonial judicial system, but also in the Spanish American government.