Tasa de Santillán
Encyclopedia
Tasa de Santillán or Rate of Santillán was a rate of indigenous labor applied in the Captaincy General of Chile by Spanish governor
García Hurtado de Mendoza, the first formal regulation of the system of encomienda
s in Chile
. Promulgated in 1558, it was the first set of laws that regulated labor relations between the Spaniards and Mapuche
natives. Its creator was jurist Hernando de Santillán, who came with Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza to Chile
.
, determined a system whereby they took turns doing the required service. The cacique
of each tribe being forced to send a man for each six men in the encomienda for the operation of the mines, and one of each five for agricultural work. This worker, who until then had not been paid a wage, had to be remunerated with the sixth part of the product of his work. The form of remuneration the native was due, called Sesmo, was regular pay every month end, the sixth part that he extracted from the mine. In addition the regulation exempted from this work women and men of under 18 and over 50 years old. It established that the encomendero was to maintain the laborers in healthy condition and in addition that they procured their quick evangelisation.
The duration of the Rate of Santillán in all their integrity did not last long and the governors who replaced Mendoza abolished it almost totally. Actually, this rate allowed some Spaniards like Pedro Avendaño to greatly abuse the Indians in their encomiendas, sowing the seeds of future rebellions, especially among the Huilliche
. In replacement of the Rate of Santillán governor Martin Ruiz De Gamboa
dictated a new rate in 1580 in a new decree, it was known as the Tasa de Gamboa
.
Royal governor
Royal governor is an informal term used to refer to a colonial or provincial Governor, or by extension a Governor-General or similar gubernatorial official, appointed by a king or other monarch....
García Hurtado de Mendoza, the first formal regulation of the system of encomienda
Encomienda
The encomienda was a system that was employed mainly by the Spanish crown during the colonization of the Americas to regulate Native American labor....
s in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Promulgated in 1558, it was the first set of laws that regulated labor relations between the Spaniards and Mapuche
Mapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
natives. Its creator was jurist Hernando de Santillán, who came with Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza to Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
Description
The Rate was a system for indigenous labor, that instead of making all the natives work in a repartimientoRepartimiento
The Repartimiento was a colonial forced labor system imposed upon the indigenous population of Spanish America and the Philippines. In concept it was similar to other tribute-labor systems, such as the mita of the Inca Empire or the corvée of Ancien Régime France: the natives were forced to do...
, determined a system whereby they took turns doing the required service. The cacique
Cacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
of each tribe being forced to send a man for each six men in the encomienda for the operation of the mines, and one of each five for agricultural work. This worker, who until then had not been paid a wage, had to be remunerated with the sixth part of the product of his work. The form of remuneration the native was due, called Sesmo, was regular pay every month end, the sixth part that he extracted from the mine. In addition the regulation exempted from this work women and men of under 18 and over 50 years old. It established that the encomendero was to maintain the laborers in healthy condition and in addition that they procured their quick evangelisation.
The duration of the Rate of Santillán in all their integrity did not last long and the governors who replaced Mendoza abolished it almost totally. Actually, this rate allowed some Spaniards like Pedro Avendaño to greatly abuse the Indians in their encomiendas, sowing the seeds of future rebellions, especially among the Huilliche
Huilliche
The Huilliche is an ethnic group of Chile, belonging to the Mapuche culture. They live in mountain valleys in an area south of Toltén River and on Chiloé Archipelago...
. In replacement of the Rate of Santillán governor Martin Ruiz De Gamboa
Martín Ruiz de Gamboa
Martín Ruiz de Gamboa de Berriz was a Spanish Basque conquistador, and served as a Royal Governor of Chile.-Early years:He was born in Durango, Biscay, the son of Andrés Ruiz de Gamboa and Nafarra de Berriz, and served as a youth in the royal navy in the Levant...
dictated a new rate in 1580 in a new decree, it was known as the Tasa de Gamboa
Tasa de Gamboa
Tasa de Gamboa or Rate of Gamboa was a money tax rate applied to the indigenous peoples in the Kingdom of Chile by the Governor Martin Ruiz de Gamboa, in place of the tribute of personal service in the encomienda system, as desired by the kings of Spain...
.
See also
- Tasa de EsquilacheTasa de EsquilacheThe Tasa de Esquilache or Rate of Esquilache was a tax rate established in 1621, by Lope de Ulloa y Lemos, Prince of Esquilache, for the native people of the Kingdom of Chile similar to the one of the earlier Tasa de Gamboa....
- Tasa de Laso de la VegaTasa de Laso de la VegaTasa de Laso de la Vega or Rate of Laso de la Vega, a new tax rate dictated in 1635 by the Royal Governor of Chile Francisco Laso de la Vega. It said that the natives of the encomiendas were free to pay their tribute in money, labor or in gold species at an annual amount of 10 pesos, that was...