Abstract

ZANOLLI, Carlos Eduardo. Coercion, opportunity and salvation: Indian confraternities in San Antonio de Humahuaca in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Andes [online]. 2008, n.19, pp.345-369. ISSN 1668-8090.

The Spaniards brought religious confraternities to Spanish America. Both the Nuevas Leyes (1542) and the Recopilación de Leyes de Indias (1680) regulated the establishment of confraternities in the New World. The regulations were well accepted and, from the first decades of the 17th century, civil and church authorities showed a great interest in establishing confraternities in Indian villages. Eventually, the institution redefined its objectives according to its new reality. This study starts from the idea that people have a universal desire to associate, the existence of the volunteer affiliation, as well as the specific features that confraternities had in America in contrast with Europe. This study aims to analize the indigenous confraternities in San Antonio de Humahuaca focusing on the social forces that allowed its emergence, development, and the relationships established between the confraternity authorities, the priest and the curaca.

Keywords : Indian Confraternities; Priests; Encomenderos; Curacas; Alms.

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