The world of urban Indian labor in Charcas (current-day Bolivia) in the 17th Century

Abstract

This paper explores the labor relations of indigenous residents in five cities of Charcas, present-day Bolivia, at the end of the seventeenth century. It is based on the analysis of the fiscal categories included in the original padrones of the General Inspection ordered by the viceroy Duke of La Palata, and on other elements such as the presence or absence of direct beneficiaries of indigenous labor, the destination of the tributes and the place of work. The absences of some specific categories revealed by the comparison are also analyzed. A complementary analysis of judicial records was included. The General Inspection shows cities that were different in their composition, differences that can be explained by the personal decisions made by those who registered their inhabitants in the absence of specific instructions, as well as by the different historical developments that each one had. The article deepens the analysis of those who were destined to the service of the public and ecclesiastical institutions of the cities of La Paz and La Plata. Finally, differences are proposed in terms of the relative freedom enjoyed by the tributaries.