Kawsaymanta wañuyman (from life to death). Demographic study of the indigenous populations of Huamanga-Peru(XVI-XVII)

Abstract

The following lines study the demographic situation of the populations of Huamanga, Ayacucho, during the 16th and 17th centuries. Based on the review of the different revisits, we consider that the greatest demographic decrease did not occur between the years 1540 and 1590, on the contrary, the number of inhabitants remained stable and presented a relative increase. The demographic hecatomb caused by diseases and mining mita occurred late: it began in the last decade of the 16th century and lasted during the first half of the 17th century, reaching the highest peak of the population decline in the years from 1630 to 1650. The demographic crisis dramatically changed control of land and political office. The cacique position was assumed by young people, without succession line. In a critical situation, strategically a significant sector of indigenous became indigenous with specialized trades: chapel masters, singers, notaries, barbers, tailors, among others. In this way, they stopped participating in the mining mita, obtained tax breaks, and by not becoming outsiders they continued to control their lands.