Latin American Law PreColumbian law Incans and Aztecs
Latin American Law > Pre-Columbian law > Incans and Aztecs Last updated 27 Sep 11
tec Az ire p Em Pre-Columbian Latin America … Inca Empire
Government structure … The people of Lat. Am found themselves ruled by home-grown monarchy then by another imported from Europe. Jim Rodden
Quetzacoatl God Sun Aztec King Pope Inca Nobility (Toltec blood) Tlalocan (Council 12 -20 nobles) Alexander VI (1492) King Apocunas Regional Governors Nobility (Spanish / Portuguese) Calpixque (local Aztec governors) Calpulli Royal Councils Provincial Governors (Junta de Burgos) Conquistadores (groups of 50 -500 families Family units T’oqrikoq Subject s Subjects Ethnic leaders Hunu (10, 000) / Chunca (10) Family units
Nobility (Toltec blood) Quetzacoatl God Sun Aztec King Pope Inca Alexander VI (1492) Tlalocan (Council 12 -20 nobles) King Apocunas Regional Governors Nobility (Spanish / Portuguese) Calpixque (local Aztec governors) Calpulli Royal Councils Provincial Governors (Junta de Burgos) Conquistadores (groups of 50 -500 families Family units T’oqrikoq Subject s Subjects Ethnic leaders Hunu (10, 000) / Chunca (10) Family units
Crime and punishment … Aztec style
Crime Punishment Adultery Death (by stoning but not men with single woman) Commoner wearing cotton clothing Death (strangulation or beating) Cutting down a living tree Death Drunkenness 1 st Offense - Head Shaved House Destroyed 2 nd Offense - Death Handling Stolen Property Sold into Slavery Moving a Field Boundary Death .
Crime Punishment Kidnapping Sold into Slavery Selling substandard goods Loss of Property Major Theft Death (by strangulation) Minor Theft Sold into Slavery Treason Death, Loss of Property, Destruction of Land, Children Sold into Slavery .
Questions from readings …
Requerimiento / Leyes de Burgos 1: The Indians are to be removed from their land placed into encomiendas. 2: The Indians will leave their land voluntarily to come to the encomiendas. 3: The citizen to whom the Indians are given must erect a structure to be used as a church. In the church must be a picture of Our Lady and a bell with which to call the Indians to prayer time. 4: To make sure the Indians are learning Christianity properly, they shall be tested every two weeks and taught what they do not know by the Encomendero. He shall teach them the Ten Commandments, the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Articles of Faith. 5: A church will be built equidistant from all estates. On Sundays, Mass shall be observed and a feast will be eaten.
Assimilating conquered peoples were never addressed by the British Jim Rodden / Winslow Taylor Basic features of Aztec law (written code, predetermined punishments, specialized courts, availability of counsel, evidentiary rights … come from basic nature of justice, not cultural similarities Winslow Taylor Aztecs codified the laws that were important to them: on commerce and military. Jim Rodden
Are slaves/natives human? Justinian Digest III. De condicione hominum. 9. Et quidem summa divisio de iure personarum haec est, quod omnes homines aut liberi sunt aut servi Queen Isabella Las Leyes de Las Indias Hernán Cortés Doña Marina (la Malinche)
Modern Lat. Am indigenous issues … Liberation theology Peru, Colombia, Mexico
Zapatistas (2003)
End
Samis
Panama Chibchan / Chocoan / Cueva
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