Cargo System - History

History

The origins of the cargo system are tied to the efforts of Spanish missionaries to convert indigenous peoples of the Americas to Christianity while at the same time forestalling their cultural Hispanicization. After the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica in the 16th century, many Indians were forcibly relocated to pueblos, which like Spanish villages contained a church as the town center. Priests were one of many special interest foreigners who had control over the political and social affairs of indigenous peoples, and they had dominion over many of these pueblos and had the authority to keep other colonists out. The priests were mindful that much of their influence over the Indians stemmed from the priests' ability to speak Indian languages. Despite a 1550 royal edict calling for native peoples to be taught the Spanish language, missionaries continued to minister to them in Nahuatl and other local languages, thus preserving a major source of Indian dependency on the church. The colonial church did not insist on excessive Catholicization of existing indigenous practices, so long as there was no clear conflict between the two.

Because the missionaries were small in number, they increasingly placed religious responsibilities in the hands of trusted members of the villages. The village mayor or alcalde was charged with the responsibility of leading the villagers in a procession to Sunday Mass. Over time, these processions were conducted with greater ceremony, making use of trappings such as crosses, incense, and music.

On occasion drawing on a Spanish institution called the cofradías, the priests created a hierarchy of village posts in order to better organize the religious and civil lives of their Indians. Indigenous people filled these roles, which in theory gave them greater status within the community. These roles, however, also placed economic obligations on their recipients and the clergy used them as a way to exercise control over the villagers. Villagers were obligated to organize efforts to discharge debts related to cost of food, wafers and wine for the Mass and payment of the priests.