Indigenous testaments of colonial Chile and Mexico: negotiation and conflicts between church, crown and native people (1530-1699)

• Grant number: 19/23235-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2020
• End date: December 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of America
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Alberto de Moura Ribeiro Zeron
• Grantee: Jennyfer Mayara Vieira de Figueiredo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The colonial society of the 16th and 17th centuries were directly affected by European arrival. In this period, both Europeans and indigenous people were groping ways to respond to completely new problems linked to the coexistence of these two groups in the same space. In this context, one way of reaction in the Spanish colonies are the testaments. These documents were requested for both settlers and natives which allow the identification of social groups, making it possible to use the plasticity of this source to trace the connection of these same groups with the social and legal structures of the time. Testaments also allow us to follow up on the changes in society, thanks to the personal information that the document register from their applicants - it included familiar relationships, professional occupation place of birth and an inventory of assets. The purpose of this research is to situate the selected indigenous colonial testaments in the 16th and 17th centuries legal and social overview, specifically between 1530 and 1699. To achieve this goal, two compilations of wills already published will be used: the first three books of the series Vidas y bienes olvidados: indigenous New Hispanic testaments (with documents of what today is Mexico) and Testaments of "Indians" in Colonial Chile (with sources from present-day Chile). (AU)