Cochineal Craze
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Title
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Cochineal Craze
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Description
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Cochineal is a type of insect that inhabits the red fruit produced by the nopal cactus, a plant native to the New World. The practice of cultivating cochineal was a tribute passed on from Indians to European during the conquest, the female insects were collected, dried, and crushed to produce a red dye by native workers. The cultivation of cochineal took place on encomiendas or, grants of Indian labor rewarded to Spaniards who settled in the New World, and quickly became the priority export because of the significant value as a colorant it held in Europe. Before cochineal, Europeans relied on dye that was expensive and rare usually provided by the Mediterranean. The demand for cochineal in the Old World and increased production in the New World created chaos on the encomiendas, specifically in Tlaxcala. The Tlaxcala cabildo or local government council, noticed the negative effects the mass production of the red pigment caused upon the encomienda. With the new found wealth cochineal increased consumption of luxurious indulges such as pulque, a fermented alcoholic beverage, as well as cacao, or chocolate a treat native to the new world. The excessive manufacturing of cochineal preoccupied the encomienderos and indigenous workers additionally, they no longer made efforts to be present at church, and worked on holy days. The encomienderos or leader of the encomiendas, and the indigenous people halted the cultivation of produce necessary for survival and focused all agriculture productivity on the collection and processing of the small insect because, cochineal was very profitable due to its high demand. The cabildo ultimately feared the misuse of agricultural production would lead to famine and, were also concerned that both the encomienderos and natives were neglecting religious traditions established as an requirement by the crown during the colonization of the New World. The exploitation of indigenous labor and misuse of power was a continuous issue in the New World, and the cochineal craze only made matters worse. The native people were often overworked and exterminated through exhaustion and disease.
Sources: MacLeod, Murdo J. “The Two Republics, Indians and Spaniards, in the Age of Encomienda” in Spanish Central America: A Socioeconomic History, 1520-1720. “LLILAS Special Publications. (Austin (Tex.): University of Texas Press, 2008.) 125-175 Indian Nobles and Towns of the Marquesado Del Valle. Marquesado Del Valle Codex. 1550-1600. MS, Volume 487, Bundle 276., Record Group Hospital De Jesús. https://www.wdl.org/en/item/9681/#institution=general-archive-of-the-nation. Mills, Kenneth, William B. Taylor, and Sandra Lauderdale Graham. ”Fray Pedro De Gante’s Letter to Charles V, Mexico City, 1552” in Colonial Latin America: A Documentary History. (Wilmington, Del: Scholarly Resources, 2002), 81-89. Mills, Kenneth, William B. Taylor, and Sandra Lauderdale Graham “The evils of Cochineal, Tlaxcala, Mexico, 1553,” in Colonial Latin America: A Documentary History. (Wilmington, Del: Scholarly Resources, 2002), 91-93 Sosa, Constanza Vega. ”Folio 24” Códice Azoyú 1: El Reino De Tlachinollan. Primera Edición ed. México: Fondo De Cultura Económica, 1991.
Azoyú 1 : el reino de Tlachinollan, Folio 24