2516421 (Stafford, Racial Problems)

8/11/2019 2516421 (Stafford, Racial Problems)

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Race, Integration, and Progress: Elite Attitudes and the Indian in Colombia, 1750-1870Author(s): Frank SaffordSource: The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 71, No. 1 (Feb., 1991), pp. 1-33Published by: Duke University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2516421 .Accessed: 27/04/2014 17:18

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Hispantic Amizet-icaniistor-ical Revietw 1:1Copyright ? 1991 by Duke Uiniversity ressccc ool8-2168/91/$1.50

Race, Integration, nd Progress:Elite Attitudes nd the ndianin Colombia, 1750-1870

FRANK SAFFORD

Ithenineteenthentury, lites nvarious panish meri-can countries sought to create integrated nations by in-corporating Indian populations into the general body of

the citizenry, conomically, socially, and politically. Through much of thecolonial period, the Spanish crown had tried, with only partial success,

to maintain a policy of separation between the Amerindian population (larepilblica de indios) and the dominant Hispanic culture (la repi'iblica deespainoles). In the latter half of the eighteenth century, Spanislh separa-tionist policy began to give way to a new integrationist urrent. In therepublican era, as creole elites sought to integrate and legitimize newpolities, the ideology and policy of incorporating ndians into the gen-eral body of the citizenry became fully dominianit. he postindependenceincorporative process took two major forms: ) symbolic incorporation,through egislative declarations that Indians were to be considered citi-

zens, with equal rights nd duties before the law;' and 2) economic inte-gration, through the conversion of non-alienable Indian comilmunity andsto individual property.

The broad pattern sketched above is well known to Latin Americanhistorians. The purpose of the present essay is to provide a sense of thespecific content, or texture, of the process as it worked in Colombia. Theessay contains three distinct but related segments. It first races the devel-opment of ntegrationist deas in the late colonial period; it then- ketchessome features of republican efforts t economic incorporation hrough the

division of Indian community ands, from 1821 to 1850. A final section

1. E.g., for Mexico, Charles A. Hale, Mexicani iber-alismit/ the Age of Aioi-aNewHaveni, 968), 17-218, For Coloibmbia,ee David Busliiiell, hle arntandler egilmzen/ I-anlColomnZbiaNewark, E, 1954),174-175.

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2 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I FRANK SAFFORD

examines he attitudes f the Colombian lite toward ndians and theirintegration nto the dominant Hispanicsociety s the process of Indianlintegration eared ts conclusion, t east n the eastern ordillera 185os-i86os). Th-is ection lso compares lite ttitudes owardAmerindians ndAfro-Colombiansnd tlheir ntegration nto he domninantociety. hirougleach section of tlhe ssay run two central heemes: lite racial attitudestoward he dominated roups nd tlhe mportance f the project of eco-nomic Europeanization or economic progress") n conditioning lhoseattitudes.

Beforediscussing he colonial background o republican ntegration-ism, t wouldbe well to note the variousmeanings f ndian ncorporationto tlhe lite n Colombia. These ideas are observable n gestation n latecolonial times and became fullv rticulated n the republican ra. Onone level, ndian ncorporation eanit acial ntegration, hat s, geneticassimilation. oward lhe nd of the eiglhteentlh entUrv, nd tlhrouglhoutthe nineteenth, lements f the elite hoped tlhat lhe ountry's opula-tion wouldbecome transformed, lhrouglh iscegenation, nto omethingcorresponding oa Europeanplhenotype. he goalofwhitening nd Euro-peanizing lhe opulation ended to be stated little bliquely, lhouglhnonetheless uite obviously, n publicdocuments, ut more baldly n pri-vate.2

In the formally rticulated genda for national ntegration, veryone,including ubordinated acial groups, was to become a citizen and anleffective articipant n a market conomy. n the pursuit f botlh oals,animportant lementwasprimary ducation or veryone n tlhe ociety, venpeasants. Educationh-ad n obvious mportance or itizenship, r politi-cal integration. ut for he nineteenith-century lite n equally fnot moreimportant unction as econiomic. critical coniomicspect ofeducationwas that t wouldteach Colombians igher tandards f housing, lothiing,and food. Thesehiglher tandards f onsumption, n turn, would timulate(or require) new work thic. Quite obviously, he elite had in mind tlheinculcation f values, behavior, nd life patterns ssociatedwitlhWesternEurope, tlhe eat of world ivilization. or many, oapproachEuropeanmodels of work nd consumption as an important ngredient f civili-zation and successful ationhood. he aspiration o emulate Europeaneconomicmodelsappears to have figured mportantly n the concerns fthe Colombian lite bout AmerindiansandalsoAfio-Colombians)n-d o

2. Il 1823, whein he Coloimibiani onigress ought oenicotirage uiropeall lmllmligratiollthrouglh ranits f public anids, ecretary f the niterior os6Manutielestrepo ommiiiienitedinl is diary, [T]iene esta concesi6n l objeto de fomenitar a poblaci6n lanica, a industriala agricultura." Restrepo, ior-io oliticoy ,niilital-, vols. Bogota, 19541, , 219.)



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RACE AND PROGRESS: THE INDIAN IN COLOMBIA 3

have been at least as important s the goal of genetic, r phelnotypical,homogenization.

The Evolution f ntegrationist deas, Policy,and Rhetoric o 1821Amerindians n Colombiahistorically id not correspond o a singlecate-gory. ome-like those n the Choc6, or along the middle reaches of theMagdalenaRiver, r n the Caquetaand Putumayo erritories were for-est peoples, who were quite distant roml- he nodes of Hispanic society,spatially s well as culturally. ecause of this distance, hey did nlot m-pinge much on the consciousness f the Hispanic lite. Somewhat ess atthe margin f lite thoughts ere the cattle-herdiing enizenis f the Gua-jira peninsula, who perennially edevilled Hispanic administrators ithan active contraband rade. Then there were the peoples of the moun-tainous iegions f outhern olombia, wlho ived by farming ut were esssedentary han the Spaniish overning lass expected them to be. Stillanother major variant was the former hibcha or Muisca population fthe eastern ordillera. his sedentary easant population-already suLb-stantially ntegrated nto Hispanic society, enetically nd linguistically,by the middle of the eighteentlh entury-was the ndigenouis opulationbest known o most f Colombia'snational lite.

Republican attitudes oward these various ndigenous ultures hadtheir roots n the eighteenth entury. olonialand republican lites, forthe most part, shared a sense of hopelessness bout civilizing he lesssedentary orest eoples or bringing he Guajiroswithin he bounds ofHispanic egal or cultural rescriptions.3 nly xceptionally, s in the opti-

3. Two pessimiiistic omiimenitsbout the possible nitegrationi f such peoples, oine n1789, he other n 1857, an be found n Fr-aniciscoilvestre, escripci6n el -eytqoe SantotFe de Bogota Bogota, 1968), 70-71, anid ColonielAgustin- odazzi, "Antigiiedades ndhje-nias," n Felipe Perez, Jeografia isica politico e los Estados Unlidos e Colomiibia, vols.(Bogota, 1863), I, 97-98, discussedbelow. Aniother- xamiiple,n the earlv 1830s, chronio-logically betweeni those of Silvestre anid Codazzi, was penniled by Franlcisco Mosquera, aboutthe nidianis f the Choc6. Auithoritiesn the Choc6 were enicotuniterinigr-ave ifficulties narranginig ni ffective odeof governmiiienitor this wretched ace,whiclh t the samiie imiiewould make hemii qual to other itizenis." osquera repor-ted: LosYnidigeniasisemiiniadoseni os miionitesan abanidoniadoas poblacionies or falta de sugeci6n, y ell la vida salvajeque han adoptado enitregados la emiibriaguez,u emiibrtutecimiiienitoe auimenita,lejanidola esperaniza e que stu eneraci6n uitura er-tenezeaambds la clase de ciuidadanios.Secuestrados e losracioniales,lvidaniaspequiefias iocioniese miior-al,uie iabiani -ecibido,[y pierden l idiomiiaspafiol] ineniunicaani oseidobieni. tis hijos niacidos criados enilos bosques desconocen inoy otro, y no promiieteni la sociedad illo justos temiiorese ulnaespecie que nio erteniece mias los homiibresuie las fieras." Archivo elConigr-eso,ogotdi[hereafter C], Caim-ara, 833,XIV, Decretos de las Cdimai-as e Provinicia, probados, ols.99-100.)



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4 | HAHR FEBRUARY I FRANK SAFFORD

mistic 820s, at the dawnof ndependence, ere ther-e xpressions ffaithin the possibility f ncorporating hese peoples into the dominant ul-ture. With regard o tlhe edentarv armers f the eastern ordillera ndthe mountainous egions f he outh, n the other- and, here ccur-redsignificant hangeof ttitudes n the econd half f he eighteenth entury,as the Spanish policy f eparating ndians nd Spaniards ncreasingly aschallenged y advocates f ntegration. he first roponents f ntegratingIndians and Hispanicssupported he dea simplv s a practical ecogni-tion of an already xisting eality. y i81o, it was increasingly einforcedby iberal economic deology, n whiclhndividual roperty ights nd theunhampered xchange f property n a free mar-ket ere cardinal oints.

Until he middle f heeighteentlh enturv, heofficial olicv hroughl-out colonial SpanishAmericahad been to attempt okeep tlle Hispanicpopulation ut of ndian communities. arly oin n the colonial ra, poolSpaniards nidmestizos ad moved nto higlhlandndiain ommuntiities. utthis processwas officially isapproved nd resisted intil he atter alfofthe eighteentlh entu-y.5 n NewGraniada kev point n the r-eversal f hispolicyoccurred with he revelatory isita ofAndr6sVerduigo Oqtiendoto 85 supposedly Indian"pueblos n the urisdictions fTunja,Velez, andSantaf6 e Bogota n 1755-57. Verduigo ouind hat n these puieblos heIndian population ad greatly eclined ince the ast svstemllaticuirveyn1635and that he Hispanicor "white" opulationifor he mostpart mes-tizos)had become the majority. f the total popuilation f the 73 puleblosfor which Verdugo thouight he had anl accuirate couniit,more than two-thirds f the residents were "whites" alsoreferred o as vecinios).n thejurisdiction f Velez, vecinos ccouinted ormore thani 0 percenit f theinlhabitan-tsf communiities hat had been thouight o be Indianl uleblos.Even in the province f Tunja, where nidigenies omposedtwo-fifths fthe population n Indian pueblos, herewere at least half dozen puebloswlhere he "wlhite" opulation uitnunmbered hem by more than ten toone.6 Even those who remained Indian" in egal terms) ad becomle ul-

4. The exceptionial ptimilisimif the 1820sfoii(lIexplressionn the allocation f oo,ooopesos per year- o efforts o get unncivilized Li(lianso settle n fixedl omimiintiiiities.eeGaceta de ColonmbiaBogota),MaV 1, 1826.

5. Magintis NIdroer, Las comintiiiidades ni(ligenias la legislaci6ni segr-egacioniista nl elNtievoReinio e Gr-aniada," nniario olooiibianio eHistor-ia ocialy de la Cultm-a, (lgG3)62-88; Margarita Gonizilez, El resgiiardo eni el Nnevo Reiio de Granatiada Bogotu, 1970),18-19.

6. "Infor-me el Visitador- Real Doni Andr6s Ber-dtigo Oquendo sob)re el estado socialy econ6mico de la poblaci6n inidigenia. lanica v iestiza de las Provincias de Ttionja Velez ameldiados del siglo xviii," Antarta-io oloosibianiode Histor-ia Social y de la Cnltnra, 1 (1963),131-196. For-poptilationi otals see 167-168. See also Ger-minadiolimieniar-es, a Pr-ovinicia eTnnja niel NnievoReinode Gr-aniadai:Enisayo de histor-iai ocial 1539-1800) (Bogotd, 1970),76, oin pueblos in the Pr-ovinice f Ttiinja n whiich veciniosoutnumbered Inidianis v teni o onieat the time of the Veirdtigo isita.



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RACE AND PROGRESS: THE INDIAN IN COLONIBIA 5

turally Hispanicized o a considerable egree. Verdugo eported halt nthe pueblos he visited he ndians were "bien adinos" nd spoke Spanislwell enough or him not to need ani nterpreter.-One important onsequence f his demograplhicnd cultural hange,according o Verdugo, was that n manv ndianpueblos he relatively mallIndian population with egal rights n the resgitardos had more and than-they ould farm, while the more numerous ecinos depended on rentingland from he ndian ommunities. e repeatedlv epicted he ndians slazy, unenterprising, nd given o consuming n drink heir ncome friomland rentals, y contrast ith he energetic whites" who farmed he andrented rom he ndians.8 o Verdugo, ecino onitrol f his and had clear

economic enefits. Where "whites"were farming ndian ands, ncreasedalcabala and diez-.o collections much more han ompensated or declin-ing ndian tribute. urther, hese Hispanicproducers lso contributed othe growth f commerce s consumers f goods produced n Spain or inother rovinces f New Granada.9

While "white" use of Indian communitv anidproduced significantsocial good in terms f increased production nd consumption, n Ver-dugo's eyes the productive ecinos were themselves ictims f njustice.He portrayed he Hispanics iving n Indian commiiunitiess being ex-ploited n various ways. They had to rent their homes as well as theland they ultivated rom he Indians; nd they were subject to the au-thority f ndian omi-munity eader-snd to arbitrary xactions irom riestsand corregidores, ho could threaten o have them expelled from heIndian communities.10 urthermore, erdugo requently oted, Hispanicsettlers, acking and close to the Indian pueblos, n effect were deniedaccess to religious worship." Although cutely onscious hat his recoill-mendation roke radicallywitlh he historic panislh olicy of separation,Verdugo trenuously dvocated ccepting heoverwhelming eality f he

Hispanic presence n formerly ndian communities y allowing whites"property ights n them.12Verdugo's dvocacy did not bring n immediate nd to the historic

policyof separation. n 1766,for xample, FranciscoAntonioMorenoy

7. "Inforiie. . . Berdugo," 144.8. Ibid., 145-146, 151, 153, i-56, 6o.9. Ibid., 155-156.io. Ibid., i6i, 178, 191.ii. Ibid., 134, 135, 142, 149, 159.12. This initerpretation f Vercdugo eparts fromiihat founid n N'drner, Las COIIILllli-dades de indigeiuas a legislaci6n egregacioinista ii el Nuevo Reiino e Grainada." l6rnier

seemsto believe p. 75) tlhat, lthouglh eidugo argued for i inltegrationlistolicy,he witlone exceptioni ontiniued o implemiienithe segregationiist olicv. As I r-ead erdiugo's ii-forne, he actually r-aintedwhites' he r-ight oowniproperty na llumlberf nidiani ueblos.See "Iiforiie. . . Berdugo," 157-160, 162-165.



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Escand6n, iscal protector e indios of the Audiencia f Santafe, was stillordering hat mestizos not be given property ights n Indian resgular-dos and that they not be permitted o live in the Indian commi-iunities.13Later, n 1776-78, n a series of visitas ranging from Fusagasugdi,outhof Bogota, to various parts of the Correginmieintof Tunja to the nortlh,Moreno nd the corregidor f Tunja, Jose Maria Campuzano, pursued acommoonolicy f resegregating ndians nd those dentified s Hispanic.Their diagnosis f he situation as virtually he same as that f Verdugo.Once again, n many utatively Indian" ommiiunities,hoseclassified snon-Inidianiad become a majority. n what had becomea standard isitalitany, hey declared hat he ndians were renting and to Hispanicveci-nos and were azy and drunken. he vecinos, or ack of property ights,were subject to exploitation y the Indians or were forced o live dis-tant rom ommunity, hurch, nd religion. n two respects, owever, heMoreno-Campuzano eports iffered romihat f Verdugo. Whereas thelatter ad referred o the vecinos n ndianpueblos s whites, Moreno ndCampuzanofrequently dentified he vecinos s gentes de color or somesimilar ariant).More mportantly, oreno ontinued o observe he ong-established olicy of separation. n puebloswhere ndians had become aminority, ommunity ands were sold to Hispanics, nd the ndians weremoved o a neighboring oml-munityhere hey emiained majority. 4 Inhis summary eport, Moreno, reflecting n the mestizo ide, suggestedthat the longstanding olicy should be reversed: Your Majestywouldlose nothing, ather overnml-ent ouldbe much dvanced, f he ndianswere Hispanicized nd with the nd ofl heir aste were erased the mllemi-ory of their ribute." However, nlikeVerdugo, e did not dare either oimpleml-entuch a reversal imself r to forcefully rge uch a change. 5

Fromiihat point onward, Spanishofficials nd creoles alike increas-ingly dvocated ntegrating he Indians, t least economically, ith therest f hepopulation. o the end of hecolonial eriod, uch proposals orthe economic ntegration f the indigenes requently ere accompaniedby seemiingly ontradictory ssertions f ndian nferiority, n inferioritymade ml-anifest,n the eyes of the Hispanic lite, by the ndians' poverty.In 1781, the creole leaders of the Comunero rebellion demanded thatIndian communities e returned and earlier aken from hem and thatresgutardos e givenfull property ights o their and. At the same timl-e,

13. GonzMlez, l resgiuardo, 8.14. The site reports f Moreino nd Caimipuzaino ie prinited n FranlciscoAnltonioMorenoy Escand6n, ndios mtiestizos e la NnevaGrantada finiales el siglo XVIII,JorgeOrlanidoMelo, ed. (Bogota,1985).

15. Morenio's oniclusioni s prinited s anlappenidix n GoinzAlez, l r-esguardo. llequotatioins at p. 144.



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they pleaded for decreasing he Indiani ribute, with llusions o Indianpoverty nd stupidity: [F]ewanchorites ould ive n greater overty ndress and food." Clearly, he Comunero eaders concluded, he Indians'"limited ntelligence nd slight aculties" id not permit hemno pay theamount f ribute emanded f them. 6

Somewriters f the 178os aind 790s, Spainislhnd creole like, s-suming ndian racial nferiority, alled for heir enetic ssimilationl,longwith their egal and civic integrationi. he Spanish Capuchiin,FatherJoaquin e Finestrad, ent to set things ight n the Socorro regioni fterthe Coim-uneroebellion f 781, believed t urgent o "civilize" he ldialnpopulation,whiclh ohiml- as a miatter f racial malgamllations well as ofending heir egal separation:

I believe firmily hat . . all the assistance nd privileges hat reconcededand poured over theml-re not sufficient oextract heim-from he miserable tate f heir selessness. t is necessar to up-root he cause of heir rutality, nactivity, nd aziness, perennialsource of drunkenness nd other vices that dominate hem. aimifirmly ersuaded that t is necessary o graft hem o that miiper-ceptibly heir aste maybe finished nd they ml-ayassto the egalcondition estado]of ambos nd miulattos.7

Apparently he Comuneros' reole eaders and the anti-Coilmunero ine-strad ould agree on the ndians' demonstrable nferiority.

The creole Pedro Ferim-in e Vargas,writing bout 1790 while servingascorregidor fZipaquira,wasno essconvinicedhat ndian tupidity asdemonstrated y their lleged economl-icnactivity. e made even cleareran intended onnection etweeni he civil and economic ntegration fIndians nd their acial extinction" i.e., assimilation):

For the ncrease f ur griculture, twouild e equallynecessary oHispanicizeour Indians. Their general ndolence, heir tupiditv,and the nsensibility hat hey howto all that miiovesnd inspiresother men, makeone think hat hey ome fromii degenerate acethat worsens s it becomes miiore istant rom ts origin. . . We

i6. Tbe Coimiunieroemanids inot comiipletelvxplicit rtictulationi f the ntegrationiistgoal, because it appears to ask tbat tbe Inidianise given property ights n the resguiardoland. t does not miiake clear reference o ndividuial roperty igbts, bouiglbbatmiiaybavebeen what the authors ad in minid. he statenmenit an be read, bowever, imiiplys a de-fense f he resguardos gainst he eizuLref beir ommuntiiiityand s carried tut y Morenloy Escand6n n 1778.For the passage,see Pablo E. Cirdenas Acosta, El movimiento oit-nal de 178i en el Ntuevo eino de Granada (eivinidicaciotnes ist6ricas), vols. (BogotA,1960), I, 20.

17. R. P. Fr. Joaquin e Finestrad, El vasallo nstrulido n el estado del Nuevo Rein-ode Granada y en sus respectivas bligaciones,"n Los ComylunerosBogotA, 905), 135.



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know from epeated experience hat, monig nimals, races imi-prove by crossing hem, nd it even can be said that his observa-tion has beein made equally miiong he people of whomwe speak,since the ntermediary astesthat ome from he mixture f ndi-ans and whites re stepping-stoines. n consequenice . . it wouldbe very desirable hat the Indianis e extinguislhed, using hemiiwith he whites, eclaring hem ree f he tribute nd other iscalburdens eculiar o them, nd givinlg hem roperty ights o theirland. Greed for heir roperty ill ead many whites nd mestizosto marry ndianiwomeni. 18

When the imlperial cr-isis f 8o8-io intensified reole political activity,for a time somie reoles continued to employ a well-established pejorativerhetoric n referring o Indians. The cabildo of Socorro, in its instr-uctionsof October 1809 to the New Graniadani elegate to the Junita uprelmiain Spain, not only described he forest ndianis o their west as "onle oranotlher orde of savages" but also said that the sedentary ndigenies ntheir midstwere "stupid nd so poor hat hev eemniot o under-stand nyideas beyonid he present momiienit."he Socorranios, itlh his premiise f'Indiani tupidity, helnwent oin to call for he distribution f rescsgiardolanids moing hem, o that as property wniers hev iay alieniate heml rtranismit hem otheir heirs. 19

During hese beginniinigear-s f he nidepenidencera, however, literhetoric n Indiani ntegration egani o change n several espects. iberaleconomic octrines ecamemore vident s theoretical niderpinninlgs ordividing esgiuardo ands amoing ndividuial roperty wners. And, n ap-parent djustment o new political ealities, ocuments ntended or gen-eral publicconsuimption ade ess referenice oIndiani tupidity. nstead,the emplhasis endedto be more on how colonial nstitutions iscouragedeconomic enterprise mong ndianis,whereas iberal economic policieswould release their natural alents. inally, while speaking ess of ndianlstupidity, reole eadersdid recognize lhe ndians' vulnerability y stipu-lating hat, nce they becaml-eroperty wners, hey hould be protectedfromi lienating heir roperty uring substantial ransition eriod.

The assertion f liberal economic doctrine, with regard to the freecirculation f property, lready had been an elemiientn the statemiient ftlhe ocorro abildo in 1809. Both iberal conomiiicssertions nd a less

i8. Pedro Ferimini e Vargas, Memoria obre a poblaci6n el reiino," n Petusatnieatospoliticos ne-morias sobre a poblaci6ndel Nuievo einode Grancla (Bogotci, 953), 83.

19. "Instrucci6n Lie da el ImAUV luLstleCabbildo, Llsticia Reginiiienitoe la Villa delSocorro l diputado del Nuevo Revnio e Granada, la junta SuLpr-einiaCentral Guber-nativa de Espafia e Indias," n Hoi-acio odl-iguLez Plata, Andr6s Maria Rosilloy Meruelo(Bogotc,1944),48-54 (quotations llpp. 49 and 51), aind a antigtua rovitncia el Socortoy la independencia Bogotc,1963),40-46 (quotations llpp. 40-41 anid 2).



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RACE AND PROGRESS: THE INDIAN INCOLOTMBIA 9

pejorative ttitude oward he Indians were notable n policy tatementson Indian and made in Santafe e Bogota n the first months f autono-mous creole government, n Septemiiber8io. On September , Miguelde Pombo ffered he first ystematic epublican-era rogram or ntegrat-ing the ndian by dividing esgiuardo and.-" ombo's deas, more clearlythan preceding icta on this heme, werebased on iberal conomic deas.Rather han depicting ndianis s inhlerenitlytLipid, ombo arguied hlatthey were victimlls f the Spanish ystemii. Although ndowed with miostexcellent ualities hat made thenm o suitable or gricuilturienld rafts,"they had been "condemned by the absurd priniciples" f Spanish policyto vegetate ike plants, buitwitlhout roducinig ny firuit." he Inclians

were unproductive ecause they were denied the economl-ic timiiulusfself-interest hat aml-e romiindividual roperty olding. New Granadainagriculture, onmibo rgued, had not been able to prosper- ecause it hladbeen left n the handsofmenkept in a perpetual hildlhood, ho withoutany property t all" had been obliged to farmiicommiillonland and [h1ad]been deprived f the stimulus f elf-interest nd the attraction f profit."For this eason, heir arming adbeen "marked vthe tamlp f iimiditv."If the ndian ouldfarm is ownproperty, he wouldworkwith differenitardor, with different pirit, ecause he wouldbe animilatedy differentexpectations."2'

Pombo, ike other creoles who followed im in legislating he divi-sionof resgutardoands, realized hat henewly ndependent ndian and-owners would have to be protected iom lienatinig lheir anid or omieextended period Poimlbo uggested 5 to 30 vears. Yet, in a seemllingparadox,he echoed Vargas f two decades before n h-oping lhat utrightownership of and by Indians would stimiutlate he greed of whites and mes-tizos, enticing them to marry ndian womeen n order to get their lhandson these properties.22

20. Miguel de Pomibowasof a distinigtuishedopaviin amily ut hlad )een residenit nSantaf6 e Bogotci turing he decade I)efore 8io. He had been ani ssistanit n the Expedi-ci6n Botanica nidhad headed the viceregal acciniation aillpaigni. Cf Gtustavo rboledla,Dicciontario iografico geneal6gico el atitgiuo epartamento del CamicaBogota', 962),359, anid RafaelG6mez Hoyos, La revolicio6nganiadinia: ldea-io e unogaerieaci6n detuoa poca, 1781-1821, 2 vols. (Bogotii, 962), I, i96. Onihis r-esidenlcen Sailtafe hiornltleast 1799 onward, ee Fr-anicisco os6de Caldas, Popavdn, to Sanitiago Pezez de ArrovoValenicia, SantafW, Mar. 20, 1799, and subsequent etters, od-tas ue aldcis Bogotfi, 978),48 anid assii.

21. "Discuriisoolitico niqule e imianiifiestaa niecesidad la importancia e la extinci6nde los estanicos e tabacos agtuar-clienitea abolici6n e los tributos e los indios on1 osarbitrios ue por lhor-a uedeni doptarse parlaleniar l vacioqcie enitiriinosfondos 6blicoseni stos raimios, eido eni a uniiitaupr-emiae Saintaf6eor- uivocal el doctor- oniMigtuel ePombo, ni t de septieiibre e i8io," in El 20 dejiulio, duardo Posada,ed. (Bogotfi, 914),353-354,356.

22. On this point Pombo niot inlv choed Vargas buit ctually lagiar-ized im patri-



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10 I HAHR I FEBRUARY I FRANK SAFFORD

Pombo apparently ecognized he danger hat lhe roperties istrib-uted to ndian owners ventually might nd up swelling atifundiary old-ings, which would deaden agriculture uite as muclh s the resgutardoshad. Apparently nfluenced y ate eighteenth-century panish critiquesof the latifundio, ike a number f late colonialwriters receding him(including inestrad nd Vargas), Pombo understood hat New Granadamust void the accumulation f and n the hanids f few.23 et, n coml-mon with many ther iberals f the period, he had a naivefaith hat hefree market would take care of the problem. He seemed to believe thatif mayorazgos ere eliminated he free irculation f and in the marketwouldprevent he development f territorial onopoly. e envisionedcountry f many roperty wners, mong whom ompetition ould owerprices, nabling New Granada o become an effective xporter.24

Pombo,unlike ater republican egislators, nderstood hat f he newIndian property wners were to be brought nto he economy s produc-tive cultivators t would be necessary o do more han ssign hem and.He called for the establishlnent f a funld o provide hem with tools,oxen, and seed, as well as primary chools nd medical care. Unfortu-nately, is means of financing he fuind aised the possibility f the vervlatifundiary ccumulation gainst whiclh hewarned. The "surplus" andthat was presumed o exist n some ndian communities ould be sold to"powerful andowners," ho Pombo assumiied ould bring ettlers n andcultivate he and "usefuilly." 5

Pombo's tatement n the division f ndian ommuniialanidss impor-

otically), lbeit miakinig nie rucial rror n traniscriptioni. argas 1790): "La codicia de stisheredades i.e., pr-operties] ariaqule muchos lancos v imiestizose casaseni oin as inldias,y al contrario, con1 o que dentro e poqulisimiioiemiipoiohabr-ia errenio ulenio sttuviesecultivado, ni utgar ue ahora a imiayor-ar-te e los qtue erteneceni indios e hlallan ria-

les." Pombo i8io): "Estableciendo l inidio obr-e ste pi6 de consideraci6n de for-tuniia,acodicia de sus h1erederos i.e., heirs] har-h ule muv-choslanicos imiestizose caseni oni asindias . ." (etc.). See Vargas, Memoria obre a poblaci6n," 3, anld omllbon Posada, El20 dejullio, 54.

23. Altlhoughate eighteentlh-cenitury paniish r-iticisimisf he atifuniidior-e ssociatecdwith Gaspar Melchor de Jovellainos, hey videnitly receded the publicationi f his oiforroiede ley agra-ia (1795) by some years. n New Granada, Finestr-ad rote of the negativeeconomiiicffects f the latifundio rounid 783, and Pedr-o er-miiine Vargas did so about1790.Oni he bei-iain ackgr-ouindo Jovellanos'suiforic.ie,ee Riclhar-d er-r-, heEigihteenith-Centur^y evoluitionnh paini Pr-inicetoni,958). 376-38o.

24. Migtuel e Pombo's mphasis ni evelopinig xportswasvery muvlchn the spilit ofNew Granada's reole p,hilosophes f the ast two decades of the colonial period. t appear-s

in the wi-itings f Pedio Fei-ini de Vai-gas 1790) anidFi-ranciscoos6de Caldas (iSoo-io)anid, miost arkedly, n those of Poimbo's niicle, ose giiacio, whlowasthe nitellecttual oi-cein the Conisulado f Cartagena.

25. In Poml-bo'slan, there wou-ld e sui-plu-sanid ecausehe wou-ld egiin y dividingresgutordosn whiclh nily small imdian)opulation -emiiainied,ee Posada,El 20 (Iejlio,355-356.



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tant n that t presented he first ull nd clear exposition f the liberaldoctrine hat ndividual roperty wnership as essential or he produc-tive use of and, a doctrine hat oon became an article f faith mong henation's eaders. n calling or protective eriod n which ndians couldnot alienate and and in proposing hat ome resguardo and be set asidefor ublic purposes, ombo lso established pattern or ater egislation.

Soon after his statement, n fact, the Junta uprema of Santaf6 deBogota ssued a decree calling or he division f resguardo andsthat p-parently as modeled on Pombo's deas. The decree varied rom ombo'sstatement n three ways. First, t reduced to 2o years he period of pro-tection gainst ndians' lienation f their roperty. econd, while settingaside land to provide primary choolsfor ndians, t eliminated efer-ence to a fund ormedicalcare, tools, oxen, and seed. Finally, whereasPombofocused ntirely n the economic enefits f dividing ndian and,the decree, somewhat aternalistically, lso gave weight o the themesof "equality nd citizenship,"manifest, mong ther details, n the aboli-tion of ndian tribute.26 here is no indication hat he i8io decree wasimplemented. iven the divisions nd confusions f arly republican ov-ernment n the Patria Boba, it seems unlikely hat t was ever actuallyapplied.

Economic ntegration f the ndians, 1821-1850

After Colombia definitively on its independence from Spain, creoleleaders again attempted o legislate ndian ntegration. he Congress ofCuicuta n i81i went further han he i8io decree n asserting he themeof civic equality for ndians. Not only did its law of October 821 callfor abolishing he tribute, t also held that ndians could not be heldfor unpaid personal ervice nd that hey were capableof holdingpublicoffice. n a further esture oraise ndian tatus, he aw announced hathenceforth heywouldno onger e called ndios but ndigenas, n officialeuphenmismrequently orgotten n practice.27The Congress's reatmentof ndian community ands, however, was less favorable o the ndigenesthan he 18io legislation. he i81i law made no provision or period ofprotection f ndians rom mmediate lienationi f heir and-thouglh hisidea would be resurrected n later years. t also continued he policy ofputting side some resguardo and to finance rimary chools, now add-ing also the support f priests. These last provisions, riginally ntenided

26. Ibid., 211-212.27. Btishnell, he Santander Regime, 74-177. See also Congresode Cl6cuta, 1821:

libro de actas (Bogota, 1971), 643-647.



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no doubt s beneficial oIndians,were ater viewedby the ndianis s anonerous urden.

Some efforts pparently ere made to divide ndian communal andsin the i82os enough obegin encountering ome of the stanldard rob-lems that ropped up in this process.28 ndoubtedly, owever, he pro-gram for ntegrating he Indians was further bstructed y the politicalconflicts etween Bolivarians nd Santancleristasn the atter art of thei82os. During the Bolivarian eaction 1827-30) the division of Indianlcomimunityandscontinued o be at east stated goal,but some other s-pects of he ntegration rogramii ent nto everse. he Bolivarian egimeclaimed hat he 81i lawattempting otreat nidianiss citizens had beena failure: he ndigenashad proven hat heywere not able to enjoy therights f citizenship, or did they have the capacitv o fuilfill ts duties.In l828 Bolivardecreed the reestablislhment f the ncdian ribute, ncderthe name contriibucion personal29 In southerni olombia ome wanited ogo still further oward olonial moldes f dealing withj ndialns. rom theCauca region, n particular, ame the complainit hat nidianis ere givinlgthemselves ver o dleness nd drink nd were refuisinigo work orhacenl-dados, causing considerable osses to the latter s well as to the state.The intenidant f he Departmiienit fCauca, Toimiasiprianio leMosquera,advocated mplanitinig moldified, epublican ersioni f orregiclor ontrolof ndigenious abor.30

The Bolivarian r-isisincluding he brief pisode of the Uridanleta ic-tatorship f 1830-31L)had passed by the miccddlef 1831. Asa part of theirefforts orieconstitute herepublic,NewGraniaclaniegislators iesumed heintegrationist rogram. he Convencio6n ranadina, y law of Maiclh 6,1832, once again abolished ndian tribute nid einitiatecdhe divisioni fIndian lands. The 1832 law was especially mportanit ecause, immedi-ately fter ts enactment, he iquidationi f he r-esgiwardosecame a higlhpriority f the government. erhaps hemostnotable new wrinkle n the

28. Cf. Bushliell, he Sanitarndert egim71e,76-177.29. JoseM. del Castillo yRada], "Esposici6n ule orordendel Liber-tador- ace el pr-e-

sidente el conisejo e miniistr-osl congreso onstittivente, e los actos ctie S. E. se refiereeni su mensaje [Jan. 5, 1830], Suiplemiiento la Gaceta de Colomtibia, 50 (Jani. 31, 18:30).For- olivar's ecree ofOctober 15, 1828, see Gaceta de Colo)71bia, 379 (Oct. 19, 1828).

30. Tomiiis iprianio e Mosquera, nitenidanitf the Departmnenitf Cauca, in a reportfavor-inghe reinstittutioni f the nidiani r-ibtutes well as laboi- oiitr-ols n the colonial imode(Oct. 13, 1828): "[L]os inidijeinasni iin stado casi salvajeeni uie e einctieiitr-anioI el miial

trato oloinial, ohani eclho tira osa que abaindoinai-sestisplacei-es rutales, iiinoirairseilnuimero retirarse e los poblados del Catica . . . Eni iutichos tieblos e liani iitr-egadoa la bebida de licoies espiiitu-osos, que soni mtuv ropeiisos, a qcjetarnbien afiiiiudolesmnicho asani oce seiimaniasnitei-asni este detestable icio, ini ltqeningigtia necesidadoshagatrabajar . . . Losliaceindadoshanieirdido stosbi-azos asi la agirictilttira la adeciclomitcho." "Indijeiias,"Gaceta de Colomilbia,Nov.9, 1828.)



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1832 law was a provision that, in the process of division, between 8 anid2o fanegadas of and from ach resguardo be set aside for olonists (whomeveryone presumed would be "white"). The law also provided that fromone-twelfth o one-sixth f the riemaininig anid f each resgutardo e rientedout to provide funds for a primary chool. Anotlher mportant eature wasthat the cost of surveying was to be paid by the Indian communities them-selves; invariably his meant substantial mounts of additional land wouldhave to be sold to pay the surveyors. Finally, the 1832 law prohibited thealienation of the Indians' individual properties for ten years.'3

When the creole elite began attempting o distribute resgiarrdo ands,it ran into a host of problems. From the 182os onward the distributionprocess was impeded by a lack of trained sur-veyors.32 lso, in the southernprovinces and the Socorro region, as well as in some other areas, Indiancommunity ands were mostly mountainous nd frequently orested. Thesewere difficult nd costly to survey, nd it was hard to divide them equally.Frequently, those pushing for the division of ndian lands contended thatthe process was being slowed because the compensation for urveyors wastoo low to attract heir services.33 But the Indian communities, and thosein the elite who spoke for them, arguied hat the cost of surveying was toohigh for the communities to bear. Often the complaint was registered thatthe surveyors reserved the best community and for their own compen-sation, with the result that little good land was left to divide among theIndians. Sometimes the cost of surveying was as great as the entire valueof the land in the resgutardo.34

One fairly ommon complication lav in determininig who ought to beconsidered members of Indian commutnities nd therefore deseiving ashare of community and. Many Indians who by family inkages belongedto a community no longer lived there, having gone to live on haciendasor on public lands. Often, it was contended, if these people were givena share of land, the plots available would be completely insufficient oranyone to farm.35

31. Coinsejo de Estado, Codificaci6u acioulal e toclas as Ieyesdc Colomti-bialesde clahio e 1821, lieclIa coniforme la ley13de 1912 (Bogoti, 1924- ), IV, 344-345.

32. Bushlnell, lhe anttande- egime,17, niotes his nid omiie ther probleimisnIhistr-eatmenitf he 182os.

33. J. M. Manitilla, goverinor- f Bogoti pr-ovinice, n Cotnstittcionial c Ctudinamtia-ca(Bogota), Sept. i8, 1836. See also suibsequienit ecree of the Cdiinara e Proviicia, ibid.,Nov. 6, 1836.

34. See, oni he resguta-dof Guianie n the pr-ovince f Socorro,Governor uanNepo-imiuceniooscaniooSecr-etario e lo Initerior-, unie , 1833, ArchivoNacioilalde Colombia,Rep6blica hereafter NCR), Goberniacionies, epublica, OllO 0, fol. 97.

35. E.g., oniPopavcin, C, Cdimara, 835, \71, ecretos de las Caimaras e Provincia,fols. 418-435; oniBuenaventura, C, Cimara, 1833, tOllO VII1,Peticionies, ol. 320;OllPopayciu, NCR,Goberniacionies,ep6blica, OllmO9, fol. 700.



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The question f who ought o be considered n "Indian" lso took n-other orm. n the ndian pueblos n which numerousmestizos ived, herehad occurred onsiderable ntermarriage. eople questioned whether, ncases of Indian-mestizo marriages, he progeny were to be considered"Indian" and thus with right o land, or mestizo nd thus without uchright. The Indian custom f matrilineal etermination f status was therule usually ollowed. ut some laimanits ought o assert panish ules ofpatrilineal escent. The question f who should be considered Indian,"with egard o rights o resguardo and, was still live one as late as 1846.36

Although etermining ho deserved share of ndian and was com-plicated nough, he ssues that mostmoved ndians o protest were thoseinvolving ubstantial osses of community and to "whites." A number fIndian communities igorously bjected to the appropriation f the bestland by surveyors, he sale of up to 0 fanegadas f and to colonists, ndsetting side and to finance rimary chools.With egard o the atter woissues, t least one Indian community urned he rhetoric f civilequalityagainst he creole legislators. he Indians of Guane, in the province fSocorro, rgued that aking he and for hecolonistswithout ny kind ofcompensation as"contrary oour constitution nd to the right f qualitythat t concedes to the indigenes." n no parish f "Spanish Granadans,"they pointed out, had it ever been seen that andowners ad been de-spoiledof heir roperty oprovide or olonization, xceptwitlh ndemni-zation, nd this onlyunder he Spanishmonarch. How can the contrarybe tolerable, nder he rule of constituitionihat quially uarantees heirproperties o all Granadans?" he Guane coiimmuniitylso observed hattheir ands lone, not hose wned by "whites," ere being used to sustainprimary chools. The government, n effect, asmaking he ndians paythe wholecostofrural rimary ducation. his, they rgued, was anotherdenialof heprinciple f equality.37

Using more ntique, aternalist hetoric, priest whohad served heIndian pueblo of Pescafor 0 years rgued hat he separation f commu-nity ands for olonists nd support f the schoolswould simply eed thegreed of ocal "whites, s the ndigenes now hem."Further, he schoolsbeing financed y Indian community ands would benefit rimarily hewhite olonists ho were moving n, sincethe ndians ended o take heirchildren o the fields o work with hem. For this reason, you will notfind n Indigene earning o read and write."3

36. For two communiities n the easterni ordillera Choachi anid Boavita), see AC,Camara, 1833, VII, Peticiones, ols. 133-135, and AC, CQmara, 1834, III, Anitecedenitesde Leyes, fol. 145. See also "Iindijeinas,"l ConIstitticionlal Bogotc),Feb. 14, 1846,anid"Resguardos e inidijenias,"bid., July , 1846.

37. ANCR, Gobernaciones, epiiblica, OllmO7, fols. 00-403.38. AC, Csimara, 834, II, Aintecedenitese leyes, fols. 156-158. A simiiilarrguimenit



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There were also, of ourse,problems ecuiliar o particuilar egions. nthe southern rovinces f Pasto and Popayan, or xample, ndians wereparticularly ostile o the division f ommunity ands. n these provinces,many ndians engaged n shifting ultivation, ith which he assignmentof particular lots was completely ncompatible. urther, n these andother mountainous egions, he amount f flat, asily tillable and in theresguardos was so small that each familywould receive a plot too tinyto be usable.39 bjections of Indian communities n these provinces othe division f their and were so strong hat n Popayan ndians nvadedgovernment ffices nd interrupted usiness,while in Pasto some localadministrators eared nsurrection.40

A common esponse f government fficials o Indian protests was toargue that those who defended he existing rrangement f resguardolands were, n fact, small lite within he ndian community. hey con-tended that hosewho exercised ower n the communities ad monopo-lized the best community and and simplywere resisting more equaldistribution f property. here may have been some truth n this llega-tion. t is noticeable, owever, hat he documents oicing hisviewweregenerated y creole dministrators, ather hanby members f he ndiancommunities.41

Just s there were local variations n the kinds of problems thatemerged, reole responses lso varied. n Popayan he governor nd thecamara de provincia proved willing o listen to complaints f Indians,urging hat n their rovince he distribution f community ands be suIs-pended and the ndian tribute e restored.42 he retreat f the Popayan

(without iscussioinfwhy indiains iiade essuse of chools)was miiade y the nidiain abildoof Choachi in the province f Bogotc. The enitire hoachi cabildo appears to have beenilliterate i.e., uniable o signi he protest). AC, Seniado, 839, XI, Peticionies, ols.4-5).

39. Rafael Diago, governior f Popavani, o Camllara e Provinicia, ept. 17, 1833, anidSept. 15, 1834, in ConstitucionalelCauica Popayani), ct. 5, 1833 anid uplemiienitol #iii(ca. Sept. 20, 1834); AC, Camara, 1834, II, Anitecedenites e leyes, fols. 151-152 nld 164.See alsoJos6MariaGalavis,Memoria uie l Gober-ador de Neiva presenlta la Cdoal-a deProvincia n sti reuimi6nrditnaria e 1838 Bogotc, 1838),9.

40. Diago, governior f Popayvn, o Secretario e lo Initerior, u'g. 7, 1833, ANCR,Goberinacioniesepiiblica, olmO 9, fols. 99-701; reports f the governior-f Pasto, ToimlasEspaila,- d of he efe politico f he canitoni f Pasto, Mar. , 1833, AC, Canlara, 1833, VI,Peticionies, ols. 07-208.

41. E.g. Espafia, governor f Pasto, Nov. 2, 1833, ANCR,Goberniacionies,ep6blica,tomo 9, fol.390. See also the argunmenitf Seniator omiiniguez, priest romiielez, in AC,Diariode debates, Seniado,Mar. 3, 1840.

42. For the attitudes f Governior iago, see his message o the Secretario e lo Inl-terior, Aug. 27, 1833, ANCR, Goberniaciones, epiiblica, omo39, fols. 699-701, anidhisreport o the Camarade Provincia f Popayain, ept. 17, 1833, ill Constituciolnal el Cailca,Oct. 5, 1833. See also his messageof Sept. i5, 1834, in Cotnstituicionalel Catuca, Suple-mento l nuiimero11. The Camilaraxpressed greemiient ith he governior niOct. 5, 1833(Constitulcionalel Cauca, Feb. i, 1833). For aniother tatemenit f the Cinlmarae Provini-



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| HAHR I FEBRUARY I FRANK SAFFORD

elite did not ml-eanhat hey ejected he aims of he iberal ntegrationistprogram. opayan's overnor, afael Diago,while responsive o the ndi-ans in his recomml-endations,onetheless ronounced hem "miserableclass, whose habits t is not possibleto extinguish, n order o call themto the state of civilization n which the government as wished to placethei."43 The Constitucional el Cauca, voice of the Popayanelite, ad-mitted hat he division f ndian ands represented step toward civili-zation" and agreed that the tribute was "odious," s it syml-bolizedheirearlier ervitude. But even "the most beautiful heories" ometimes idnot work ut n practice.44

By contrast with the governing roup n Popaydin, he governor fPasto, TomasEspafia, onfronted ith he same sorts f ndian protests,wascompletely nsyml-pathetic.ver the objections f ocal efes politicos,he wanted o push head with he distribution f resgucardoands. Espafnawas particularly nterested n "white" ettlers' eing able to get hold ofthe lands the law allotted or olonization.45 is general ttitude owardthe ndians s suggested y the fact hat n 1833 he wanited o deny hemathe vote on the ground f lliteracy, ven though heconstitution hen nforceheld that lliteracy ould not be a disqualification ntil 850.46

While the distribution f ndian comiimuinityands met resistance nthe southern rovinces s well as in some other quarters, t proceededmore rapidly n some areas. The processwas alleged to be substantiallycomplete n Antioquia, or xample, y the end of he 1830S.47

Throughmost f hat decade there wasa substantial lite consensus nthe desirability fdividing ndian ands,with heexception f hegovern-ing elemeiit n Popayan. n the province f Bogota, s late as 1838, pillarsof the Ministerial r government arty, who ater became known s Con-servatives, ere attempting oaccelerate he division rocess.48 t the endof the 1830s, however, oml-e n the political lite-even soml-e ho had

cia, Oct. 1, 1834, see AC, CQimiara,835,VI, Decretos de las CQimiarase Piovilncia, ols.418-423, puiblished ith slightly ifferent itatioii vstem y J. Le6n Helgtuera, nAu.ioarioColombiano e Historia ocial y de la Cultura, 1 (1983), 42-349.

43. Diago to Initerior, ug. 27, 1833, ANCR, Gobernaciones, Rep6blica, tollmo 9,fol. 699.

44. "Inidijenias,"onistitiucionalel Caiuca,Jan. , 1833.45. Espafla o niter-ior, ov. L anid , 1833, in ANCR,Gobernlaciones, eplhblica, ollmo

39, fols. 388-390.46. Espafia o Iinterior, ept. 4, 1833, n ANCR, Gobernacioines, epiblica, tollmO9,

fol. 375.47. Fraincisco . Obreg6n, Esposici6ii qpieel Goberntador- e Antioquiia irije a lacdimara e la provincia n sils sesiones rdinarias e 1839 (Medellill,1839),7.48. See the proyecto f AlejandroOsorio nd Marianio spinia Rodriguez o accelerate

surveying f resguardos, iscussed pproviniglyn El Amigodel PiuebloBogotc),Sept. 23aind 5 and Oct. 28, 1838.



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been firm upporters fbreaking ip he resguardos-began to recognizethe negative ffects f this process. From 1839 through 843 auithoritiesin Bogota focusedmostparticularly n the fact hat ndians were rapidlylosing heir ewly cquired properties. he 1832 law had souight o protectthe ndians rom lienating heir ndividual lots for period of enyears.Nonetheless, whites" ad appropriated any f hese properties throighemnpeuios-thats, by obtaining rom he ndians, or mall ash advances,leases with ndefinite erms hatbecame tantamount o ownership. re-quently, white" enters would demand compensation or mprovementsthey made on the and. When the ndian owner could not come up withthe cash, he might e forced o cede the and to the renter. n some caseshacendadospressed ndian farmers nto rental greements y tlhreaten-ing to deny them ccess to water, o markets, r to the and itself. arlyin 1840, tlhe overnment f President os6 Ignaciode Marquez becanllealarmed by the increasingly vident problem f tlhe lienation f ndianland and called on the Congress o provide he Indians with dditionalprotection.4

Although e was not tlhe irst o take up the cause, Alfonso cevedo,governor f Bogotaprovince rom 842to 1845,becamethe most notablyimpassioned dvocate f protecting ndians roml-he avarice" f he mllanywhites battening ff hemi nd suispended uirther ivisions f -esgluardoland.50 cevedo ndicted he suirveyors or aking he best lands, eavingthe ndians onlywith iny lots; he priests ordeman-din-gndian- and inpaymient or urials; nd the efes politicos or onsenting othe alienationlof andby ndiansunder heir harge. Allof hesehad brouight completeruin on the ndigenes." ater he added titnter-illos village hysters) o hislist of villains.Once the chief ultivators f food for ocal niarkets, owIndiansby the hundreds, aving ost heir and, had become beggars inddrunks. We have here a cruel nd ironic miockery f the sacred rights fproperty hiclh e so much boast of protecting." n Acevedo'sview, thewhite ace n the nineteentlh entuiry had]proceededwith ess uistice ..than heconquistadores."

49. The govei-iiiiieiit was iiioved to act b a Dec. 3, 18:39,report roim he efe politicoof Ubate, n Bogotci rovince. Message of Seciretairio e lo Initer-ior Relacioines xteirior-esEusebio Borrero o the Seniate, Apr. 9, 1840, in AC, Seniado,1843, I, Provectos e levaprobados ell 3er debate, fol. 252.)

50. See Constitinciotial e Cnntiditiara-ca, dIlv3, 1842, for chalracteristic cevedoorder ojefes oliticos ot o permit he lienationi f nidianiandunder yvpretext, ncluding

improvemenitsr empeiio rranigemilenlts.51. Acevedo,Mar. 30, 1842, as quoted by Secretario e lo Initer-ior Relacionies Exteri-ores Mar-iano spinia, pr. 7, 1842, in AC, Senado, 1843, II, Provectos e ley aprobados in3er debate, fols. 236-237, 240; statemiienit f Sept. i5, 1842, in Con.stitucionloll e Ciund(litia-marca, Sept. 15, 1842; ibid., Mar. 30, 1845.



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i8 IHAHR I FEBRUARY I FRANK SAFFORD

More udgmental bout the ndians han Acevedo, nd also more om-mitted o liberal economic doctrine, ecretary f the Interior MarianioOspina Rodrigueznonetheless greed with Acevedoon the need to pro-vide special protection or the Indians, eveni houiglhhis conitradictedeconomicprinciples. he latter wouild have o give way before he dem-onstrated act f ndian nferiority: TheAmericaniace, whether ecauseof its organization, r because of the abjection n which for three cen-turies t has lived, [is] in the greater art of the Republic n a state ofinferiority n relation o the rest f he population." he Conlgress, spinaconcluded, "must protect the ndians'] nferiority gainist he avarice ofthe stronger ace."52

Accordingly, he Conigress nl1843 extenided he prohibition gainistthe alienation f ndividual ndian properties o 20 years nd attemptedto erect other protections. n practice, however, more anid more landpassed from ndian hands, egally s well as illegally. fter 845, the con-cern began to shift omewhat rom rotectinig ndian and to emphasizinigmodernization. his may have reflected he general tmosphere f theadministration f GeneralTomasCipriano e Mosquera 1845-49), whiclhwasnotably ess conservative nd mor-e evelopment-oriented han tspre-decessor. At the ocal level, at least n Bogotaprovince, inew overnor,Pastor Ospina (the younger rother f Mariaino spina Rodriguez), wasin many ways a firm rotector f Indiains nd their ands,53 nd duringhis two years s governor nly one resguardo was divided.54 ut he wasalsoconcerned o promote rimary ducation, nd under his governorshipthere were considerable ales of land from lready divided resgutardo.sfor financin-g ural chools.55 fter year n office, urthermore, spinaconcluded that the earlier policy of prohibiting ndians from lienatingtheir lotshad been a mistake. y 1846, he had reverted o anl ssentiallyliberal economic tance, ssuming hat he ndividuial, ven if n Indian,wouldknow his wn nterests est. f the ndiain anted o keep the and,he would "make any sacrifice" o keep it; f he did not wish to farm, he

52. AC, Seniado, 1843, II, Provectos de lev aprobados ell 3ei debate, fols. 237v-239.53. Pastor Ospinia n hiis irst ear s governor, miionigtlher rotective fforts, 1) at-

temipted o protect nidiani roperties i-omiiattle nvasions Conistitlucioniale Clund(litnoomoarca,Aug. 31, 1845); 2) tried to regulate he r-enital r sale of nidianianid ibid., Nov. 9, 1845);(3)ordered hat nidianis ervinig n the army niot ose their anid ibid., Jall. 4, 1846); 4) at-tempted ocheck empehos ibid., Jani. 7, 1846); nid 5)nut'llifiedessionis f nidiani anid ocurates ibid., May io, 1846).

54. Ibid., Oct. 11, 1847.55. "Terrenos e escuelas,' circular f PastorOspinia o efes politicos, Mav 12, 1846,ibid., May 16, 1846. Seealso"Resguar-dos de inidijenias," nEl Cotistitticiotnal, Sept. 15, 1846.Sales of nidiani anids o support rimary chools re reported bid., Mar. 7, Apl- 5 anld 3,May 16, Aug. 29, Nov. 21 anid 28, Dec. 6, 1846; anid n El Cotnstituicioool e Cuotiditnamoiarca,Apr. 11 anid 21, May 11, 1847.



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RACE AND PROGRESS: THE INDIANIN COLOMBIA 19

state hould not attempt o force him to. For such ndividuals he sale ofland might rovide small apital o engage n other nterprises.56

The tide of economic iberalism ieachedthe high-water ark with heLiberal presidential ictory f 1849. The new government, mong manyother measures, n June 2, 1850decentralized olicy n Indiani ommu-nity ands by granting o each province he right o find ts own way. Theprovincial hamber f Bogota moved uickly o act n accordwith iberalprinciples. n October 1851, it called for he immediate ivision f allIndian ands nd eft ndians omiipletely ree o sell their ndividual lots.A burst of sales of Indian lands in Bogota province uickly followed.57But many ales were still being recorded n the Bogota regioni n 1864,after ibeeral olicy n the alienation f resgitardos ecame national aw.58Even after hat point, however, here remained good deal of regionalvariationi.n the mountainous egions f outherni olombia, number fresguardos urvived ntil he 189os, wheni hey oo came under ssault.59

GlennCurry, n his more oncentrated tudy f he demise of the res-guardo in the Bogota region, akes somlewlhatpbeat, revisionist iewof the process. The alienationi f ndividual lots, Curry ontelnds, ad itspositive spects. Permittinig ndianis o sell their and enabled individualIndians to profit rom he sale of plots that were too smlall o cultivateor that, for ther reasons, hey did not wislh o use. Further, e argues,it should not be assumed that ll Indiani ands were sold to hacenidados;mlaniyales were to other ndians, ome of whonmecame successful gri-cultural ntrepreneurs. inally, he notes the Indianis' bility o use thecourts nd in other waysto defend heir nterests. he fact hat ndiansin the Bogota region did not protest much, he thiniks, ust ndicate hatthey henmselves ere n favor f he direction f hanige.60

This conclusioni eems too optimistic. ertainly ndians outside theBogota region did protest. And in the province f Bogota, while somne

56. "Resgtialdos e inidijenias,"l Cotistitiuciotnal, ept. 15, 1846. nIhis disseitationi nithe br-eakup f resgtiardos n the Bogotar-egioni, lennii tirry uotes this pinlioIn s deliv-ered by Pastor- spinia n 1848. However, he pinlioIn ppears, woird oirword, n 1846. n aniycase, in 1848PastorOspiniawasnio oniger-overniiorf Bogotaprovinice; is br-other ar-ianiowas goveriior t that imiie.ee Curry, The Disappearanice f the ResguarcdosindigeniasfCundinamarca, olombia, 1800-1863" (Ph.D. diss., Vaniderbilt niiver-sitv,981), i8o.

57. See, e.g., imianiyales of resgtiardo anids ecoilded n ANCR, Notaria a, Bogot;i,1852, tomos 66 anid 67.

58. See inidex or Notaria a, Bogota, 1840-1879.59. Helguera, ndigenisino n Colomt1bia:Focetof the Natiotnaldenitity earch. 821-

1973 Buffalo, 974), 7.6o. Curry, The Disappearanice f the Resgtuardos," 76-180, 182, 196-197. Curr1y's

anialysis ere in some ways parallels hat f Florenicia Malloni n The Defetnse f Comminu-nlity .1 Peru' Centtral ighlond(Is:eosautit truggle nidCapitalist Transition. 860-i940(Priniceton, 983).



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entrepreneurial ndiansundoubtedly ought lots from heir eers, thereis evidence of ubstantial ndian and sales to non-Indians.6' urther, on1-temporary ritings ttest o the negative mpact f he ndians' osing heirland. By the middle of the 1840s, an elite-produced iterature, legaicin tone, began to lament he demise of the ndiani armer n the Sabanade Bogota.Over and over, uch pieces decried the replacement f ndi-ans' intensive ultivation f food rops by extensive attle grazing n eliteestates.62One peculiarity f this iterature s that the same individualswho spoke so warmly bout ndians s agriculturalists n other ccasionswrote hemiiff s stupid.)

Elite Views of the Dominated at Midcentury

It is of particular nter st to examinie heconceptiolnsfColonmbianlritersabout Amerinidianisurinig he 185os aid i86os and to compare thesewith the same writers' iews of Afio-Colombianis. ne reason is thatthe integration f dominiated, oni-Europeani eoples into a domiinanitEuropean-modeled ulture, conomy, nd polity emiiainiediglh n theelite agenda. And this project eemed to be well advaniced, articularlyin the most popuilated reas of Colomlbia the easternl ordillera, reaterAntioquia, he Caucavalley, nd the Caribbean oast), houiglh t remainiedunrealized or orest nd other nomiiadicroups n more marginial egions.How, at this uncture, with he lands of maniy ndiaii communllliitieslowdivided, did the domillnantrouips onceive f uclhntegrationi? hile theproject usuially as promulgated n term-lsf cultuiral nd economiiicnte-gration there was low miuclih ess emplhasis n political ntegrationi hanlin the 1820S), the integrative rocess, nonietlheless,lso had its racial orgenetic aspects.

In the second place, a certain consciousniess bout race and culture wasbeginning o develop. Elite views of the dominiated merindians as wellas Afro-Colombianis) were rooted in, and in maniyways extended, ratherblunt notions nherited rom hecolonial eriod.Yet, t midcentury, uro-pean writings on race were beginning to make at least a few amlonlg heintellectual elite more self-conscious n their thinking bout racial and cul-tural groups. Ideas about race and culture were still by no means sophisti-cated. But some Colombian intellectuals were beginning to move through

6i. E.g., saleof tlheir lots by

64Inidiains f Chia, at 30 pesos each, to Sr. Jes6s Castro,

Jan1. 2, 1852, ANCR, Notar-ia 2a, Bogotci, toimio 66, fols. 22v-2:3x. See also imutiltiple alesby indiains f Nemoc6n to Frtictuoso AloinsoCuhillos, Jan,. 0-24, 1852, ibid., fols. 17-20,24, 26-29.

62. See, e.g., Marianio Ospinia Rodrigtiez's commiiiienitaryn 1845, ill his Artic.lios sco-gidos Medellini, 1884), 193-195.



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a zone between he total unselfconsciousniessf he ate colonial years ndthe nmore eiglhten-edonsciousniesseveloped n ater ocial science.

Finally, the 185os anld i86os were one of those periodically recurrinlgtinmeswhen upper-class Colomiibians eemled to take a particular inter-est in discovering the country n wlhich hey lived. An earlier episode ofsuch curiosity had occurred in the last two decades of the colonial era,under the stimulus of Enlighteiinmenit nfluenices n general and the Ex-pedici6n Botainica in particular. These two decades were anotller suchperiod. The official eographic survey knowni s the Con-isi6n Corograficawas one of its foci and one of its outstanding contributionis. n contrastwith the late colonial inquiry, which concenitrated heavily on scientificstudy of the land and its resources, the imiidcentury xaminationis, whilecontinuing this interest n economic potential, gave muclh mlore ttentionlto social characteristics. Elite curiosity bout the featuires f New Grania-dan society at this timle ound expression in many travel descriptions anldcuadros de costum-nbress well as in geographies and graphic illustrationsof social types.

Several of the writers f greatest nterest herewere associated with theComisi6n Corografica, republican Colombia's first ystematic geographicstudy. Formally nitiated n 1849, the project sought to develop a comlpletedescription of the country's topograplhy nd populations and of local andregionial economic and commercial patterns. The Comisi6n Corograficasent out into the various corners of the counitry esearch teams-includingillustrators, who painted watercolors of topographic features, char-acteris-tic economlic activities, and socioracial types of the various regionis f thecounitry e.g., "ILndioy mestizo, Provincia de Paimiploina";Notables de lacapital, Provincia de Santander"; "Mineros blanlcos, Provinicia de Soto";"Tipo blanico e inidio nmestizo, roviincia de Tundama").63 The first geog-raphy produced by the Comisi6n concenitrates heavily oni demoograplhicand economic facts and does not indulge in divagations oni socioculturalpeculiarities.64 But other participants n the project devoted a good dealof attention to description of, and conmmentarv n, the behavior of thevarious racial-cultural lements that formed the country's ower orders.

Among those affiliated with the Comisi6n Corografica who commienitedon racial or cultural questions were the Italian engineer, Colonel AVustin

63. Two recenit ditionis f these illtistr-ationis ave heen puhlished, n bluscade unpmis: a Comisi6n orogr6fica: elecci6n e dibujo.s e Carmelo Ferni,ndez, nri-iqlue r-icey ManuelMariia az, co0 texto trt-oduictor-io e Gonzalo Hern6n.dez e Alba (Bogoti, 1984)anidAcuarelasde la Comisi6n orogrdfica: olomiibia i850-1859, tiilleirmlo eil-iAidez leAlba, ed. (Bogotci, 986). The formiler ditioni s relatively lighlt31 illustrations), he ltter

ich mor-extenisive150 lltustrationis).64. Jeogr-afta isica i politica de las Proviuicias e la NuevaGratnada ar la ComisiOn

Corogr6fica ajo la direcci6n eAgustin odazzi, 3 v'ols. Bogoti. 1858-59).



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Codazzi 1793-1859), whodirected he project;ManuelAncizar 1812-82),whose urvey f Colombia's astern nd northeastern rovinces n 1850-51was published irst n newspaper rticles nd SOOln fterward athered nbook form n his Peregrinaci6n e Alpha 1853); and Felipe Perez (1836-91), who, after Codazzi'sdeath, took on the task of writing nationalgeography ased on descriptions rovided y Codazzi and perhaps othercollaborators.

Some contemporaries ot connected with he Comnisionlso devotedattention o issues relating o racial and cultural ntegration. otableamong these is Jose Maria Saimiper1828-88), who began his politicalcareer s a fiery iberal nd ended t as a perhaps omnewlhatessfiery onl-servative. amper's most concentrated iscussions f race appear in hisdiagnosis f he lls ofLatinAmerica hat he published s Ensayo oblre asrevoluciones oliticasy la condicion ocialde las repiiblicas olombianas(Paris, 1861).65 ugenio Dfaz Castro 1803-1865), neofColombia'sead-ing midcenttiry riters f ocially escriptive iction, s also anl miiportanitfigure or urposes f this nalysis.

While all these authors ould be descriibed s racist o one degree oranother, he content f their racismvaried somewlhat. ot surprisingly,given the period being discussed, hey did not make a clear distinctionbetween race and culture. Codazzi,the oldest f he uthors, amie losestto ml-akinguch a distinctioni. iscussing Coloml-bia'sorest ndians, hestated outright hat he did not believe their barbarity" as inhlerenltntheir nature. To believe this, he said, wouldbe to proclaim he doctrineof the inequality f races and racial predestinationi, doctrine which heheld contrary o his ideas about the "justice f God and the uniity f thehuman amily." odazzitended o giveweight o the effects f he naturalenvironmenit, s well as ofhuman gencies, n moldinig he cultures r be-havior fpeoples.66 n the other anid, s I will ndicate ater, odazzi wasnot completely onsistent n the practice f his faith. he muclh ounlgerPerez, wlhowas nfluenced y Codazzi, tended o emphasize oth he roleof natural nvironmiient nd the possibletransforml-ativeffects f humllanactions.Ancizar ivesno signl f havinig iven onsidered houglht oques-tions relatinig o race and culture. He seems to have associated ertainkinds of physical haracter-isticsnd cultural atternis ith pecific acialgroups; n the other hand, he placed a lot of faith n the tranisforml-ativeeffect f education. The most clearly racist uthor was Saim-per, ho at

65. The edition ited here s a facsimile f the i86i Paris editioin, uhlished n Bogot.in 1984.

66. "Aintigiledadesindlijeinas,"ated Nov. 28, i857, app. to "Jeogirafia isica politica elTolima," n P6rez, Jeografia isica politica de losEstados Unidos de Coloimibia I, 96-99.



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least as of 86o-6i was much nfluenced y Joseph Arthur obineau andattributed many ndwelling haracteristics o particular acial ypes.

These authors' writings bout Amerindians eveal a number f the-matic continuities ith elite discourse of the late eighteenth entury,treated bove in the first ection. First, as in the late colonial period,the midnineteenth-century riters ocused particularly n the economicperformance f Amerindians and indeed also of Afro-Colombians) ndmeasured hem by that performance. he concern for political ntegra-tion, which had becomea significant heme n the 182os, had receded tothe background. econd, as in the ate colonial eriod, here ontinued obe a pronounced endency o treat Amerindians s stupid nd to see lackof economicdrive s a proof f that tupidity. inally, hese ntellectualscontinued o assume, as had some of their ate colonialforebears, hatracial amalgamation etween Amerindians nd whites or blacks) wouldresult n an improvement n the Amerindian riginal.

Most of the writers elieved that Amerinidianis bstructed ationalprogress," concept pparently ncluding ultural mprovement "civili-

zation") s well as economic evelopment. deas about econiomic rogressand cultural mprovement ctually ended o converge, ince material on-sumption was seen as an important omponienitnid ndicatol of "civili-zation." By the middle of the nineteentlh entury, he liberal economl-icframework as overwhelmiingly egemonic mong Colombia'sdominantclass.67heir version f he iberal conomic deology laced great weighton the utility, ndeed the primacy, f commerce nd on the value of n-creasedconsumption s a stimulus o economic ctivity. f, from hepointof view of economic ctivity, onsumptioni as desirable, o also was in-creased material onsuml-ptioniecessary oestablish olombia mong heranks of civilized nations. ndeed, in the eyes of the Colombiani lite,material onsumption monig he general populationwas as importanitmeasure f civilization" s was educationi. ne of he mportanit uinctionlsof he atter, fter ll, wasprecisely o alert he"lower rders" o the pos-sibilities f ncreased onsumption. hrouglh choolinig heywould learnof the potential vailability f "comnodidades"nd would be induced towork hard for hem.Thus, for he ntellectuals, here was a circular ndmutually einforcing elationship etween ndustriousniessnd conlsumllp-tion. Consumption asgoodbecause t required he ower lasses o work;hard workwas good because it expanded he possibility f consumllption.In their writings t was not clear whiclh f these goals-consumiiptionir

67. See Frank afford, TheEmergenice fEconiomic iberalism n Colombia," n Gulid-ing the Inivisible anid:Economtliciber-alism71nd the State in Latini Amnericaniistorn,Joseph . Love and Nils Jacobsein, ds. (New York, 988), 54-58.



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cultivating ndustriousness-had rimacy. oth were essential allmarksof civilization."

As Colombia's midcentury eographers nd other writers urveyedtheir ountry, hey ended odivide ts population nto everal ategories.The first ivision was between the "savage" for the most part forestIndians) and the "civilized,"which ncluded edentary ndians and Afro-Colombians s well as Europeans nd mestizos.68 he "civilized" n turnwere divided into those who lived "decently," n terms f housing ndclothing, nd worked hard n order to obtain such "comoclidades," ndthose who were satisfied ith urvival t a low evel of material onsump-tion nd could not be induced o undertake vsteim-aticork.Byand arge,as elite writers aw it, the white and mestizo populations ell nto thecategory f the nmeritoriouslyorkinig nd colnsuminig, hile Indianls andAfio-Colombiansn general evealed heir eficient civilization" y beingcontent with ow evelsof mateirial onsuimiptioin.

Concern for ncreased onsumptioni as explicit n the first ublishedreports temminig rom he ComisionCorografica-Manuel Ancizar's e-scriptions f nd commentaries n Colombia's orthern rovinces.Ancizartended o minimilizehepersistence f n Indiani opulationi, referring oconsidermost f he rural people as "white." Nonetlheless,n a numiber fcommunities e found easantswhomhe identified s clearly IIndiani."Comparing is accounts f "whites" nd "Indians," here s a fairly learassociation etween "white" peasants and the possession f "colodlicia-des," on the one hand, and Indians and the lack of such consumption,on the other. Ancizardid concede that ndian peasantswere hard work-ing. Indeed, he noted that where they had disappeared, so also had"painstaking ultivation f he and." However, they were not good con-sumers, specially where housingwas concerned. peaking of predomi-nantly ndian villages n the province fTunjja, enoted, As scustomaryin the towns of the highlands, heir material spect and disposition nno way corresponds o the rare beauty of the and around hemn; he in-digenousnature . . does not attemiipt, or does it conceive of, comufort

68. E.g., Perez, Jeogr-afia isica politica del Esta(lo del Caluca (Bogotci, 862), Ap6n-dice, "Iindios," 29-233, aind by Agtistini odazzi], "Descripci6n eineial de los iinclioslelCaqueti," 315-326. See also P6rez, Jeografia .. Colomiibia,I, 29.

69. This, as well as the testimioinvf othei atuthors isctssed here, lldicates hat herewere still peasanits n the easterni oildilleil wlhomi onitemiporariescleintifiecls "Indians"accorcliingo plheinotypicalnid tilttiial rasther hlan imply egal) criteria. lltustratioinsor

the Comnisi6n orogrhfica lso distinguish mongwhite, mestizo, nid nidiall ypes. t tllusseemiisnicorrect omiiainitainl,s Curry loes ("Disappearanice f he Resguardos," o), that nthe ninieteenith enitturvindiainsxisted n the tegioni ilv asa legalcategorv, iot dentifiablydiffereint i-omiither-s y physical r culttural hlaracter-istics.

70. ManiuelAnicizar, eregrinaciO6 de Alp/a por0 as provitiias del Nor-te e la NulevGraniada, eni 1850-51 (Bogotci, 1956), 315.



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in homes, imllitingtself o putting p badly distributed nd unshelteredthatched uts r houses."71

Almost nvariably, l-ideentury uthors epicted he ndian populationas less intelligent han Europeansor mestizos. hey routinely ttributedthe Indians' ack of spirit nd enterprise n part o the usually not speci-fied)bad effects f the Spanish onquest nd subsequent panish oppres-sion. Nonetheless, he effects sually ppeared to be indelible. Ancizar,speaking f the ndians n the eastern highlands, eclaredthat the con-quest did not produce n this unfortunate ace any result ut humiliationand brutalization, illing ven the root of . . spirit and] moralperson-ality." Similar tatements ondem-ningpanish olonial reatmnent f theIndian can be found n the works f Codazzi, Perez, and Samper. Thelatter lamied he colonial regime for keeping the Indians gnorant ndparticularly in accord with iberal doctrinie) or holdin-g hem separatefrom he Hispanic population, n protected ndigenous ommnunities.

Eugenio Diaz, a political onservative, as caustically ritical f ib-eral dogmas.Hence, he spokeofwhite xploitation f ndians n general,including he contemiporary ra as well as the colonial period. Diaz, inhis unbelievably oring nd nsipid ostutnitb istanovel, os aguinaldios nChapinero, has the otherwise imple-ml-indedndian gardener, Neuque,muake spirited and implausible) eply o a white who has called himn"miserable:" "Miserable . . . porque los blancos asi lo haln uerido, des-pojandonos e nuestras iquezas y sonsacaindonos uestras ierras."74

Ancizarwas miore iscreet han he other uthors bout abelinig ndi-ans as stupid r azy. Frequently, owever, e expressed hock hat om-munities hat had ceased to be Indiani nd were nlow nestizo r "white"continued o practice superstition-ridden eligion hat he preferred oassociatewith ndians. Idolatrous ractices had been permitted y thechurch n order o bring he ndigenes nto he fold, Ancizarnoted, butnlow that he indigenous ace is being substituted y the Graniadani, if-ferent han he first n nature, n intelligeince, nd ml-oralecessities, ndmoreover alvanized y democratic nstitutions nd modified n its man-ner of existing y the freedom f ndustry . . today he former ystemlacksreason for xisting]."

Aspreviously oted,Codazzi explicitly ejected henotioni f racial n-equality. Nonetheless, isdiscussion f New Granada's orest ndianswas

71. Ibid.,321.

72. Ibid., 26.73. Codazzi, "Aitigiiedcladesndijenas," n Perez, Jeogr-fia .. Colomnbia,I, 99; Perez,

Jeografia .. Calica, 134-135;Saiipei, E.say,o obre as rrevolliciooies,6-48, 59.74. Ei-geinio iaz Castro, Novelas cliadiros de costuoibre, vols. Bogota, 1985), , 56.75. Aincizai, eregrinaci6o, 117; ee alSo 212.



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unqualifiedly egative. Noting hat he had visited nd studied Amerindiaitribes ll over the country, e concluded hat I have not found motivesfor believing hat n the years ince the conquest . . there has occuirredin those people a transformation hat s taking hemiioward ntellectuLaland social improveml-enit."here the Indiani rosseswith Europeanls rAfricans, odazzi continued, he progeny re enterprising, ctive, anideducable. When such mixes ross gain with ndians, he result s regres-sive. Where Indians remain pure, "everything leeps," and indeed theybecome more "barbarous."76

In his discourse on how the Indians got that way and how to civi-lize them, Codazzi waveredbetween historical nderstanding nd racialpessimism. Discussing he Goajiros,he first eclared hem incapable ofcivilization." e then went n to assert hat panishdespotism adfoicedthem nto nomadism nd that unperturbed ommercewith Europeansultimately ould bring hem o civilization. imilarly, heAndaquis, ncea sedentary ulture, had been driven by the Spanish nto the tropicalforest. he forest ad overwhelmed hemi ith ts uncointainable rowth,forcing hem nto the wandering ife of the hunter. Both peoples hadhad to adapt to circumstances. n the other hanid, odazzi believed dif-ferent eoples adapted in different ays. There were "weak races" andothers hatwere "strong n civilization." he former ere those who ac-quiescedin the power fnature; he atter new hat hey ould transformnature. Rudiml-entaryeoples,who are unfamiiliar ith ntelligent ndus-try, which] ubjugates he physicalworld, re slaves of the matter hatsurrounds hem nd molds hem o its demands.7"77

Whereas Codazzi claimed that he rejected he nherent nequality fraces, Samper, as a follower f Gobineau, was among the least subtleracists of the period. Saim-per epeatedly escribed highland ndians assimply stupid." He described he Indian of Pastoas "resistant o civili-zation, unmoved y progress. He is a sedentary avage . . with stupidlook . ., malicious, stute, ntrusting . . indolent n morality, ut hard-working nd patient." His "Chibcha" ounterpart n the eastern ordillerawas, in Samper'sbook, "frugal ut intemperate, atient ut stupidsimple, profoundly gnorant . . without ny ambitionwhatever," monigother negative ualities.78

That such views of highland ndianswere generally hared by whitesand im-estizos s suggested by the social description n Diaz's fiction.Neuque, the ndian gardener, s toldby stoneml-asoni,Miserable ndian,

76. Codazzi, in app. oni Antigiiedades indijeinas"dated Nov. 28, 1857),in Perez,Jeografia .. de Colombia, I, 96.

77. Ibid., 97-99, 105.78. Saropei,Enisayo obre as revoluciones oliticas, 7-89.



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go and sleep on your hicha."And Diaz, on some other ccasions enti-mentally ympathetic ith he ndians as a doomedrace), himself peaksofNeuque sleeping, with his soul stupified y the narcotic f gnorance."Later, DiazcomparesNeuque to a dog.79

Elite writers lso tended o consider he ndiansugly. Ancizar, avingcompared boy bringing igs to market o Apollo guiding he horses ofthe sun, noted, however, hat the representative

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2516421 (Stafford, Racial Problems)