Oppression of the Natives by the Ruling Elite in Latin Ameri
The Clorinda Matto de Turner novel Birds Without a Nest exposes the theme of absolute rule by elites in local communities in late colonial Latin America. These authority figures, as expressed by Turner, tell the reader "in these parts of the world, the victims that escape the hands of the priest fall into the power of the authorities and ...if we fix our eyes on the Indians, the heart grows desperate before the oppression which they endure from the priest and the caciques (128)." This theme is one that is recurring in Latin America in the late colonial periods. In Turner's novel, the four local authorities; the Priest, Sub-Prefect, Judge and the Governor control the town of Killac; all oppress the native Indians in order to maintain a lifestyle that they are accustomed too. In the following paper, I would like to analyze how local authorities manipulate society in order to benefit themselves, through techniques such as debt peonage, demoralizing the natives, and controlling the local laws.Early in the novel, the audience finds out about priestly corruption and suppression of Native Indians. This is evident when Father Pascual imposes an embargo on the Yupanqui family crops due to a loan provided to cover a burial of Marcela's mo
One of these examples is the daughter of Marcela, Margarita. Other times they would force native women to perform immoral acts simply to pay off a debt off or to continue a trade. The corruption and abuse by the authorities was so dreadful that the "town, governed as it is, so tyrannical, by persons who presume so much on little authority (125). This results with a collector pursuing Juan Yupanqui, a native Indian, to pay a ten-dollar loan, which with the five hundred percent interest, grew into a one hundred twenty-dollar debt. The priest, also a local authority, has his way with the native women and clearly takes advantage of them to an extent that they choose to hide the shame. In this abuse of the local women we find the bishop, Dom Pedro Miranda y Claro, fathering children. then we will take four more cows or so (134). One of this ways was by exploiting the labor by forcing them into a debt peonage system. " This deceiving nature is once again a method of the local elite to gain from the benevolence of the natives, who at times are confused and don't know who to consult when they face difficult situations. Birds Without a Nest clearly portrays the theme of local authorities, the Priest, the Judge, Sub-Prefect, and the Governor, taking advantage of a native people in a variety of ways. In Latin America, it was common for local caciques to have their way with local native women. This is evident in the case of the sexton, Isidro Champi: The Governor Sebastian and the Sub-Prefect; together plot to frame Champi as the responsible party for the murders of Juan and Marcela Yupanqui.
Common topics in this essay:
Latin America,
America Iberian,
Juan Yupanqui,
Judge Governor,
Colonial Period,
Martina Isidro,
Marcela Margarita,
America Lucia,
Birds Nest,
Sub-Prefect Governor,
latin america,
local authorities,
debt peonage,
late colonial,
throughout latin,
throughout latin america,
native women,
local caciques,
late colonial period,
america late,
local authority,
america late colonial,
authorities priest,
debt peonage local,
latin america late,
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Acceptance Essays
