"Guerra justa" y Real Hacienda: una nueva aproximación a la esclavitud indígena en la isla de San Juan y La Española, 1509-1519

Abstract

The article identifies for the first time the "cupo del quinto real", a line category in the Royal Treasury of Puerto Rico that specifically refers to items paid in kind to the Crown as a substitute for the "Royal fifth" ("el quinto real"). This data is utilized in conjunction with entries for the "Royal fifth", slave-hunting fleets, and slave auctions to estimate the indigenous slave population in the island of San Juan during the decade of 1510. The analysis shows that the enslavement of the indigenous population was of fundamental importance in the early configuration of the labor system, productive structure, and social texture of the Spanish Antilles. The trade of enslaved Amerindians was an important economic activity that diversified and consolidated the fortunes of the colonial elites, while providing the lesser social echelons among the free population with access to servile manpower. In the island of San Juan, the bloody war waged against the rebellious indigenous population functioned as a significant source of slaves.

URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11721/1024