Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I THE STATE AND SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- 1 The late seventeenth-century crises
- 2 The people and markets of the kingdom
- 3 The state and manufacturing
- 4 Spanish agriculture and the rural economy
- 5 Amerindians and the market economy
- 6 Commerce and economic patterns
- PART II REFORM AND POLITICAL CONFLICT
- Appendixes
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
5 - Amerindians and the market economy
from PART I - THE STATE AND SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I THE STATE AND SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- 1 The late seventeenth-century crises
- 2 The people and markets of the kingdom
- 3 The state and manufacturing
- 4 Spanish agriculture and the rural economy
- 5 Amerindians and the market economy
- 6 Commerce and economic patterns
- PART II REFORM AND POLITICAL CONFLICT
- Appendixes
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
By the eighteenth century, the economic fortunes of most Amerindians in the Kingdom of Quito had become tied to fluctuations in the colonial market economy. From the outset of Spanish colonial rule, the disruptions caused by disease and warfare, heavy state tax and labor obligations, and divestment of their traditional resources compelled large numbers of Amerindians to participate actively in market exchanges. By the eighteenth century, much of the Amerindian economy still revolved around subsistence agriculture, but increasingly villagers had to supplement farming incomes by selling commodities in regional markets. Many An-deans also left their traditional settlements to work for Spanish landowners, obrajeros, and in local urban centers. The degree of this integration into the evolving colonial markets differed in each region of the kingdom, but few communities could thrive over time by depending only on subsistence agriculture. As a result, the economic evolution of the three major colonial markets in the kingdom – Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca – had a profound long-term impact on the material welfare of most Amerindians.
The overall decline of industrial and agrarian sectors in the north central sierra led to particularly difficult times for Amerindians during the eighteenth century. The region from Otavalo to Riobamba remained the demographic center of the indigenous population, which had long provided most of the labor force for Spanish enterprises. The slow deterioration of the textile business had repercussions throughout these provinces, severely restricting economic choices for Andeans.
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- Information
- The Kingdom of Quito, 1690–1830The State and Regional Development, pp. 111 - 133Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1995