Abstract

GUILLEN VILLAFUERTE, José Javier. Indians against their milpas de comunidad. Chiapas and Guatemala, 1660-1730. Relac. Estud. hist. soc. [online]. 2023, vol.44, n.174, pp.30-52.  Epub Sep 25, 2023. ISSN 2448-7554.  https://doi.org/10.24901/rehs.v44i174.948.

It is often stated that, during almost the entire colonial period, the economic base of the cajas de comunidad (community funds) were the so-called milpas de comunidad. It is argued that this was due to the fact that the social organization of the natives favored the existence of collective work systems, which facilitated the cultivation of crops. The purpose of this article is to show that said argument is not applicable to the history of the provinces of Chiapas and Guatemala. What I argue is that between 1660 and 1730, the Indians of these provinces fought to abolish the milpas de comunidad due to the inconveniences that they caused them and that they were replaced by the payment of individual fees in kind or in cash.

Keywords : Bienes de comunidad (community godos); cajas de comunidad (community funds); ejidos (commons); tequios; visitas (visits).

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