Indigenous population in the jurisdiction of Tepeapulco in the 16th century: Encomienda, tribute and work.

This paper reviews some particularities concerning the new relationships that arose around the indigenous population as a result of the establishment of the Castilian colonial system in what was called the jurisdiction of Tepeapulco. The encomienda, as a founding institution of colonial society, and tribute, as a constituent element of it, will be analyzed in this paper, in addition to delving into the access to the indigenous labor force by the Spaniards. Indigenous labor was first channeled through personal service as an inherent part of the encomienda, but from the second half of the 16th century, when the New Laws eliminated this service from the payment of tribute, the labor distribution of the Indians was put into practice in the activities that the Spaniards were beginning to implement, such as agricultural exploitations, lime kilns and mines. The beginning of this new stage in this geographic space also represented an important alteration in the agrarian panorama. In addition to the irremediable introduction of new crops from the Old World, the establishment of cattle ranching was perhaps the phenomenon that substantially changed the landscape, in addition to initiating relations between indigenous people, encomenderos and the first settlers, which would later be channeled through the hacienda.