Tasa de Gamboa or Rate of Gamboa was a money tax rate applied to the indigenous peoples in the

Captaincy General of Chile The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...

by the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Martin Ruiz de Gamboa Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

, in place of the tribute of personal service in the encomienda system, as desired by the

kings of Spain This is a list of Spanish monarchs, that is, rulers of the country of Spain. The forerunners of the monarchs of the Spanish throne were the following: * Kings of the Visigoths * Kings of Asturias * Kings of Navarre * Kings of León *Kings of G ...

. It replaced the

Tasa de Santillán Tasa de Santillán or Rate of Santillán was a rate of indigenous labor applied in the Captaincy General of Chile by Spanish governor García Hurtado de Mendoza, the first formal regulation of the system of encomiendas in Chile. Promulgated in 1558 ...

in an effort to end the abuses of the tribute of personal service.

Description

In the 1580 Rate of Gamboa, the tribute of personal service was abolished, however the Indians of the

repartimiento The ''Repartimiento'' () (Spanish, "distribution, partition, or division") was a colonial labor system imposed upon the indigenous population of Spanish America. In concept, it was similar to other tribute-labor systems, such as the ''mit'a'' of t ...

s were required to pay nine pesos annually in the diocese of Santiago, and seven in the diocese of La Imperial. The post of corregidor was created to oversee the tax system and the protection of the Indians. These functionaries were to be supported by a portion of the tax, but a majority of it went to the encomenderos. These civil servants called corregidors were to guard the interests of the natives of their respective district and he was called on to regulate the work of the native laborers. The native who sold his labor received a wage, determined by the

justicia mayor Justicia mayor was a title bestowed upon a person in 19th century Spanish Empire which authorized him to perform law enforcement and judicial functions within a town, city of region. It is similar to the position of sheriff in some jurisdictions ...

. The tribute of the rate was deducted from those wages the natives obtained from their work. This was kept in a coffer with three keys, the box of the community, to which the corregidor, the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and the cacique of the native people had access.

History

From its beginning the bishop of Santiago

Diego de Medellín Diego de Medellín, O.F.M. (1496 – November 1592) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Santiago de Chile (1574–1592).

, arranged that no encomendero that used the labor of the natives received the sacraments. However, this new system did not satisfy anybody, the natives suffered more abuses from the corregidors than from the encomenderos, and the encomenderos suffered great losses to their income. Thus within a few years of Gamboa's replacement by governor

Alonso de Sotomayor Alonso de Sotomayor y Valmediano (; 1545–1610) was a Spanish conquistador from Extremadura, and a Royal Governor of Chile. Early life He was born in Trujillo, in the province of Extremadura, the son of Gutiérrez de Sotomayor e Hinojosa a ...

the Rate of Gamboa was abolished in 1587, and Sotomayor returned to a labor service system similar to the one of the Tasa de Santillán.

References

Tierras y pueblos de indios en el Reino de Chile : esquema histórico-jurídico / Fernando Silva Vargas.Santiago : Univ. Católica de Chile, Fac. de Ciencias Jurídicas, Políticas y Sociales, 1962. 266 p.; pg. 85-92, La Tasa de Gamboa Revista chilena de historia y geografía / Sociedad Chilena de Historia y Geografía. Santiago : La Sociedad, 1911- . v., n° 124, (1956), p. 113-176, Documentos inéditos sobre la encomienda en Chile
16th century in the Captaincy General of Chile Arauco War Encomenderos Mapuche {{Chile-hist-stub

Description

History

See also

References