Colonial Latin America: Amerindians at the Eve of Contact
This lecture examines how Amerindian communities lived, adapted, and governed themselves within the structures of Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule during the sixteenth century. Rather than portraying Indigenous peoples as passive subjects of conquest, the lecture focuses on town councils, tribute systems, landholding patterns, litigation strategies, migration, and local leadership. It analyzes how Amerindian elites negotiated with colonial authorities, how communities defended communal lands in court, and how daily life continued through agriculture, market exchange, and religious practice.
The lecture also explores frontier regions and areas beyond direct colonial control, highlighting diversity across New Spain, Peru, Brazil, and peripheral zones. By centering Amerindian agency, this session reveals how colonial society was shaped not only from above by imperial institutions, but from within by Indigenous adaptation, resilience, and political strategy.