Urban Indians, Spanish neighbours and the Hospital. Appropriation of urban space and construction of a colonial town (Cajamarca, 17th century)

Abstract

The history of the “urban Indians” in America is usually linked to the mobility of Indians who saw themselves obligated to abandon their lands to live in the colonial cities. However, in Cajamarca, Peru, a different type of movement gave origin to this population of urban Indians: the settlement of Spaniards in what was until then, and continued to be, a “village of Indians”. Spaniards attempted to legitimize their presence in Cajamarca through different strategies. In 1662 they decided to bring the Order of Saint John and entrust the hospital to it. The conflict before the Real Audiencia of Lima, that resulted from the Franciscans’ refusal to acknowledge the establishment of another religious order, gave rise to elements analyzed in this text, that highlight the processes of emergence of this category of urban Indians.