To stay, and not to be, allied: the Chaco’s Indians sociability during the colonial advance in the 18th century

• Autor(a) principal: Felippe, Guilherme Galhegos
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Anos 90 (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/anos90/article/view/43129
• topic: Indians of Chaco; Indigenous inconstancy; Alliances and enmities; Eighteenth Century; Índios do Chaco; Inconstância indígena; Alianças e inimizades; Século 18; História indígena

When missionaries and government officials were instructed by the Spanish Crown to explore and colonize the Chaco Region to establish a direct route between the port of Buenos Aires and the Andean mines, the contact made with natives was, according to what can be evidenced in the documentation produced, the greatest difficulty faced by the Spanish people who tried to settle in the region. One of the main complaints of missionaries and settlers revolved around the native lack of commitment regarding contracts or alliances, for example, for the establishment of catechetical reductions. The Indian cooperation, at first, soon turned into betrayal in the Spaniards eyes, when native people abandoned reductions or involved in illicit trades with the Portuguese people. This way of proceeding was identified by the settlers, who tried many ways to reverse it, as an inconstant behavior and as a misconduct. This article tries to demonstrate that such inconstancy actually was a fundamental aspect of the native sociological system, in which alliances or enmities were the way to boost the sociability of Chaco groups and, thus, maintain its integrity.