From Individual Salvation to Good Colonial Government: Notes on Indian Censuses (1558-1581)

Abstract

The article deals with the origin of the rent charges (rentas censales) of Indian communities in acts of restitution of the encomenderos, and the new use given to such rents as part of the reforms introduced during the government of Viceroy Francisco de Toledo. This viceroy basically focused on improving and implementing the institutional framework of the censuses in general, but he also directed his attention to defining responsibilities and centralizing the collection and administration of the Indian censuses.