The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas Volume I, II, and III

952. Karen Spalding
paid a high price for peace, and continuing pressure from armed and
vocal Spaniards who insisted upon what they saw as their "rights" in the
Andes convinced him of the necessity of moving slowly and cautiously,
postponing reform for the future. Tributes left intact many of the practices
denounced as excessive. Even so, regulation still provoked opposition
from resident Spaniards, not only encomenderos but also the large
numbers of people who depended for their livelihoods on the encomenderos.
Other aspects of Gasca's reorganization of Peru added to the burden
carried by members of Andean societies. Gasca multiplied encomienda
grants by dividing native ethnic groups among several encomenderos,
which fragmented Andean holdings as well as undermining the authority
of the Andean elites. He also found employment for potential Spanish
rebels by sponsoring new expeditions of exploration and conquest despite
general agreement that the expeditions were among the most important
contributors to the destruction of the Andean population. He stated
openly that he saw no immediate alternative to his actions, informing
the crown that while the tribute assessments specified in 1549 were still
excessive and unjust, even these limited reductions provoked resistance
from the "citizens" {encomenderos) and from "all the other people supported
by the encomendeors from their extortion of the Indians of their
encomiendas." He further counseled that in the future, tribute adjustments
no longer be done in a block but "in response to the protests of
the repartimientos against their current assessments, little by little and one
by one, with new information, reducing the tributes for one citizen at a
time and not for all." 77
We have as yet no specific data that describes the activities of the
Andean members of the znu-encomendero coalition. It is clear that the
alliance between Spaniards and Andeans was limited, and that many of
the objectives that emerge from letters and reports were not shared by
all. Some friars in orders like the Dominicans enlisted the support of the
Andean elite because they were well aware of the authority of the kurakas,
and they hoped to enlist them in converting the members of native
society to Christianity. The orders' hopes of building a power base
sheltered from the power of the Archbishopric of Lima may also have
played a part. Some kurakas were initially favorable to the Christian
77 Documentos relativos a don Pedro de la Gasca y a Gonzalo Pizarro I, 506-507, cited by Sempat,
180.
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