The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America

Andrés Reséndez

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2016

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Chapter 2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapter 10-Epilogue

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 5-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 Summary: “The Spanish Campaign”

Starting with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, several Spanish monarchs tried to stamp out Indigenous slavery. This was an enormous task considering Spain was “an empire of slaves” (131). The Spanish Empire included five major slaving grounds in the seventeenth century: Chile; the provinces of Paraguay, Tucumán (modern-day Argentina), and adjacent areas in the Andes; the llanos, or grasslands, of Colombia and Venezuela; northern Mexico; and the Philippines. Spanish colonists forced migrations of Indigenous peoples spanning hundreds or even thousands of miles. While these places included “Indian-on-Indian bondage harking back to pre-contact times” (135), the long-distance slaving networks were unthinkable before the arrival of white colonists.

While Spanish monarchs, such as Queen Mariana, began freeing slaves from these slaving grounds in the mid-17th century (which was part of the Spanish campaign), their most detailed pronouncement “appears in the monumental compilation of laws of the Spanish colonies known as the Recopilación de las leyes de Indias” (136). While this was a noble endeavor, the monarchs’ direct orders did not carry much weight. For example, slavers engaged in the trafficking of Indigenous peoples from New Mexico to the silver mines of northern Mexico continued to use royal carriages to transport their captives. This action represents a “complete and even mocking disregard of the royal regulations” (140). The Spanish campaign did reduce Indigenous slavery in northern Mexico, but this has more to do with determined officials than the royal decree itself.

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In the end, the Spanish campaign did have a chilling effect on European slavers. Even government officials who opposed the crown’s decrees issued orders prohibiting colonists from launching raids and taking additional Indigenous captives. The monarchy also threatened to prosecute and punish slavers. The campaign also pushed the slave trade into the hands of Indigenous traffickers since the crown did not have any control over them. The antislavery crusade also raised the expectations of Indigenous peoples throughout the empire that they would soon be free. These expectations remained largely unmet. It is likely that only a few thousand Indigenous slaves were freed out of around 300,000 to 600,000.

Chapter 6 Summary: “The Greatest Insurrection Against the Other Slavery”

Chapter 6 details the “audacious plan of liberation” (148) by the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. The Pueblos hoped to use their larger demographic numbers to swiftly oust the Spaniards. Their plan “hinged on getting the villages to act together while also maintaining secrecy” (150). There were three key challenges that the Pueblos needed to overcome. The first was the challenging geography. Hundreds of miles separated some of the villages, which couriers would need to run. The second was cultural differences. The Pueblos, which was a Spanish term, comprised various communities, who spoke different languages and had different traditions and beliefs. The final challenge was political. Due to the autonomy of villages, the plotters needed to secure the participation of each one.

Po’pay, a 50-year-old medicine man, became the most visible leader of the movement. He and other leaders negotiated and forged alliances through the existing network of medicine societies. Word traveled through couriers who ran incredible distances. These runners also carried “a cord of yucca fiber tied with as many knots as there were days before the insurrection” (154). Villages that agreed to participate in the movement untied a knot. Near the insurrection day, several Pueblo leaders decided to switch sides, in part because they would bear the brunt of the fighting against the Spaniards. These leaders journeyed to Santa Fe, the capitol of New Mexico, to denounce the movement and alert the Spanish authorities to the location of the remaining couriers. Although the Spanish authorities apprehended the runners, the leaders of the revolt moved it up a day.

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The revolt occurred in August 1680. Due to strict instructions from Po’pay and other leaders, the rebels did not “engage in wanton destruction or indiscriminate killing” (156). They mostly targeted missions, churches, and other Christian paraphernalia. The rebels eventually made it to Santa Fe where they demanded that “all classes of Indians held by the Spanish be given up” (158). The current governor of New Mexico at the time, like many other Spaniards, was involved in the slave trade. These officials either needed to comply with the rebels’ demands or resist. Initially they resisted, but they eventually gave in to the demands leading to the success of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

Chapters 5-6 Analysis

This section of The Other Slavery highlights the multi-faceted and complex nature of slavery. The Spanish Campaign, discussed in Chapter 5, illustrates how difficult it is to eradicate slavery, in part because of its complexity. Through the Spanish Campaign, the Spanish monarchs hoped to dismantle Indigenous slavery once and for all. While a noble goal, it was not successful in much of the Spanish Empire. The royal decrees only worked in places where determined officials upheld them. For example, the governor of Trinidad was able to free several hundred Indigenous slaves despite many of the Spanish slave owners opposing the royal orders. His sheer resolve to follow the crown’s orders was the sole reason these Indigenous peoples were freed.

The reasons behind the Pueblo Revolt in Chapter 6 further support the complex nature of slavery. Scholars from the 17th century onward argue that religion was the primary driver of the revolt. Spaniards who lived during the rebellion believed the Devil was behind the revolt. Later historians and authors rejected this supernatural explanation, instead placing the blame on the Spanish church officials’ fanaticism and zealotry. Present-day scholars believe multiple reasons, such as famines, epidemics, and religious antagonism, explain the revolt. However, these scholars “still emphasize the religious character of the revolt” (165). They argue that as the lives of the Pueblos deteriorated due to famine, illness, and raids from other Indigenous groups, they believed that the god of the Spanish missionaries could not protect them. Spanish officials grew alarmed and approved punishments, which further drew the Pueblos away from Christianity.

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Reséndez still believes this argument is too simplistic. He posits that the rising levels of enslavement and exploitation of Indigenous peoples due to the connection between New Mexico and the silver mines in northern Mexico more fully explain the rebellion. He uses three pieces of evidence to support his argument: testimonies of Pueblo rebels, the timing of the rebellion (which corresponds to the deepening commercial ties between New Mexico and northern Mexico), and the ethnic and geographic scope of the movement. Reséndez finds it “remarkable how writers and historians have accorded Indian slavery so modest a role in their explanations of the Pueblo Revolt” (171). His discussion on the cause of the insurrection highlights the consequences, many unintended, of slavery.