Acapulco:
(Nahuatl) On the western coast of Mexico, the official port of entry
to northern Spanish America for ships traveling across the Pacific
Ocean from Manila. The site of an annual fair (fería), when the
galleons arrived and discharged their Asian imports.
Acsu:
(Quechua) An indigenous-style woman's skirt or dress, made of a
length of uncut fabric, known as an acsu in the Cuzco area, and
as an anaco in others. Also aqsu.
Alcalde
mayor: (Spanish) Governor of a district; the district was called
an alcaldía mayor.
Amate: (Nahuatl) Paper made of bark from a fig (ficus) tree;
this paper was used by indigenous people, both before and after
the Spanish conquest, for codices, manuscripts, and other documents.
Anaco:
see Acsu.
Andean:
(English)
Indigenous peoples living in, and near to the Andes Mountains; the
Andean region stretches from modern day Ecuador to northern Chile.
Andes:
(English) A geographical region encompassing the Andean mountains,
stretching from modern day Ecuador to northern Chile.
Anthropomorphic:
(English) An inanimate object that is given human qualities.
Archangel:
(English) In Christian belief, the highest ranking of the angels,
those heavenly-dwelling beings. While the Bible mentions only the
Archangels Michael and Gabriel, others (Raphael, Uriel, Chamuel,
Jophiel and Zadkiel) are traditionally held to be among their number.
Arquebus:
(Spanish) A European matchlock gun; harquebus in English.
Asiento:
(Spanish) A contract for tax collection made between the Spanish
Crown and an individual or group; used for slave trade contracts
granted by the Spanish Crown to Dutch, French, and English traders
after the mid-17th century.
Atrio: (Spanish)
The courtyard, usually enclosed by a wall, in front of a church.
Many atrios had crosses at their centers and in New Spain, posas,
or small chapels, stood at their corners.
Audiencia:
(Spanish) Both the tribunal of judges appointed by the Spanish
crown, and the territory they oversaw. In 17th-century Spanish America,
the main audiencias were Guadalajara, Mexico, Guatemala, Santo Domingo,
Panama, Santa Fé de Bogotá, Quito, Lima, Charcas and Chile.
Augustinians:
(English) An order of Catholic priests; Augustinians were one
of the three regular orders the Spanish crown sent to convert the
indigenous people of the Americas. The first Augustinians arrived
in New Spain in 1533, and in Peru in 1551. See also regular
orders.
Aymara:
(Aymara) An indigenous group that lives in the southern Andes and
the language they speak. There are Aymara speakers in modern day
Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.
Aztecs:
(Nahuatl) A pre-Hispanic empire that controlled much of central
Mexico, with a capital in Tenochtitlan, up until the Spanish conquest.
The Aztecs called themselves the Culhua-Mexica. "Huey Tlatoani"
or "Great Speaker" was the title of their supreme ruler.
Bargueño:
(Spanish) A wooden chest with several small drawers, often highly
decorated.
Baroque:
(English) An artistic style, originating in the 16th century in
Europe and later reaching Spanish America, characterized by intense
emotion, theatricality, and a taste for elaborate ornamentation.
The Baroque style was known in the visual arts, architecture, literature,
music and drama; it reached its peak in Spanish America in the 18th
century.
Batab:
(Yucatec Maya) A term for local ruler used in parts of southern
Mexico.
Bayeta:
(Spanish) A flannel-like textile, usually red in color.
Bourbon
Reforms: (English) A modernization of the royal bureaucracy
promoted by the 18th-century Bourbon kings of Spain. Spanish America
was most affected by the reforms of Charles III (reign, 1759-88),
which spawned disaffection and revolts through the end of the century.
Brocateado:
(Spanish) From brocado, meaning "brocade." A
painting overlaid with designs in gold leaf, often to show luxurious
cloth garments. Indigenous painters of the Cuzco School favored
this technique.
Cabecera:
(Spanish) The "head town" or principal town in its district.
Cabildo:
(Spanish) City council.
Cacao:
(Nahuatl) A plant native to the Americas, the source of chocolate.
The Aztecs collected cacao as tribute, made it into a chocolate
drink and used the seeds as currency. In Spanish America, it was
extensively cultivated and much was exported to Europe.
Cacique:
(Taíno) An indigenous male ruler. The term originates
in the pre-Hispanic Caribbean, and came to be used throughout Spain's
colonies. Cacica is the female form.
Caja de
comunidad: (Spanish) The "community chest" in Amerindian towns
that usually held money, documents, and religious objects. Caja
fuerte (Spanish for strong box) is a locked chest of wood and
iron.
Calvary:
(English) The hillside near Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified.
In art, the Calvary is the depiction of this crucifixion, usually
including figures of Jesus's mother Mary, Mary Magdalene and the
apostle John, among others.
Camarín:
(Spanish) A niche or chapel behind the altar of a church.
Camelid:
(English) The camel-like animals indigenous to the Americas,
including llamas, alpacas, guanacos and vicuñas. Their wool,
which was silkier than sheep wool, was an important material for
woven textiles both before and after the arrival of Europeans.
Cañari:
Indigenous people of the northern Andes, who lived in what is now
part of Ecuador. Defeated and largely relocated by the pre-Hispanic
Inka, they became important allies of the Spanish during the conquest.
Capilla
abierta: (Spanish) A deep balcony or porch overlooking or adjacent
to a church plaza. The capilla abierta, rare in Europe but common
in New Spain, was used by priests to minister to congregations that
were too large to fit into the church proper.
Casta:
(Spanish) A person of mixed or indefinite ethnicity. In Spanish
America, the caste system (sistema de castas in Spanish)
categorized individuals of different origin and their offspring
with terms like negro, mulatto
and mestizo. Casta paintings, created
in the 18th century in both New Spain and Peru, offer highly idealized
visual and verbal catalogues of the intermarried couples and their
children present in Spanish America.
Castile:
(English) A kingdom on the Iberian peninsula, today in the country
of Spain. Technically, Spain's New World possessions belonged only
to two kingdoms, Castile and León, because they were responsible
for the expeditions of conquest.
Cédula:
(Spanish) An official decree, presented in written form.
Cenote:
(Maya) A natural sinkhole that forms in limestone and often
fills with water. At the Maya city of Chichén Itzá (in present day
Mexico), the largest cenote was considered a sacred site by many
native peoples and offerings were made there in both pre-Hispanic
and colonial times.
Chasuble:
(English) The outermost garment, often highly decorated, worn by
a priest celebrating the mass.
Chicano:
(Spanish) A male of Mexican ancestry who lives in the United
States and identifies himself as Chicano (or Xicano). The female
form is Chicana. In the late 1960s (and continuing into the present),
Chicanos (both men and women) formed active political and artistic
movements.
Chicha:
A fermented, beer-like drink made in the Andes from maize.
Chiluca:
(Spanish) A translucent, whitish stone used in buildings in New
Spain.
Chocho:
Indigenous people who live in the modern state of Oaxaca, Mexico;
their language is also called Chocho.
Chronicle:
(English) An account–usually by an eyewitness–of a historical
event; its writer was a chronicler.
Chumash:
(Chumash) Indigenous people who live along the Pacific coast
near the modern cities of Santa Barbara, California and on the Northern
Channel Islands. In the second half of the 18th century, Spanish
missions were first established among the Chumash.
Chuncho:
(Quechua) Inka name for Amazonian peoples.
Coahuilteca:
Indigenous people who live in what was the northern region of
New Spain, now northern Mexico and Texas. In the early 18th century,
Spanish friars organized and built missions for, and with Coahuiltecans,
including those around the city of San Antonio, Texas.
Coatlicue:
(Nahuatl)
An Aztec female deity. A monolithic sculpture of Coatlicue once
stood in the main temple precinct of Tenochtitlan, today Mexico
City. In this Coatlicue, the deity's skirt writhes with twining
serpents, a visual representation of her name, for the word "Coatlicue"
translates as "She of the Serpent Skirt."
Coca:
(Quechua) A plant whose leaves contain a natural stimulant. In the
Andes, indigenous people chewed coca leaves, in part to hold hunger
at bay. When highly refined and processed, coca leaves are source
of cocaine, a drug developed after the colonial period.
Cochineal:
(English) A bright red dye produced from an insect-parasite of the
nopal (prickly-pear) cactus. Cochineal was cultivated in pre-Hispanic
times, and after the conquest, it was a valued item traded with
Europe.
Codex:
(English) A manuscript book, either hand written or painted (plural
form: codices). Typically a codex has pages bound along the left
edge, much like a modern book; but the word also refers to indigenous
manuscripts that were folded rather than bound.
Cofradía:
(Spanish) A voluntary association of members, often centered
on the worship of a particular saint in a single community or region,
who performed acts of charity or service.
Congregación:
(Spanish) The forced resettlement of Amerindians from small, often
dispersed villages into a larger, centralized planned town (also
called a congregación).
Conquistador:
(Spanish) A Spanish soldier who participated in the conquest of
the New World in the 16th century.
Convento:
(Spanish) A monastery (for priests) or convent (for nuns). These
building complexes usually comprised a church, living quarters for
religious and other residents, and in the case of monasteries, schools
or other semi-public spaces.
Corinthian:
(English) One of several types of architectural columns used in
European and European-inspired buildings. The Corinthian column,
named after the city of Corinth in Greece, has a fluted shaft and
acanthus leaves on its upper end (or capital).
Corlas,
corladura: (Spanish) A decorative technique for sculpture, also
called estofado a la chinesca. A layer of translucent color
was applied over silver leaf, and then the paint was rubbed or scored
to reveal the gleaming metal beneath.
Corpus Christi: (Latin) An important
festival in the Catholic Church's calendar that celebrates the Eucharist,
or rite during which bread and wine are consecrated.
Corregidor:
(Spanish) Spanish official in charge of the administration of a
district called a corregimiento, somewhat like a US county. The
position was similar to an alcalde mayor,
who oversaw an alcaldía mayor.
Counter
Reformation: (English) A reform movement within the Catholic
Church in the 16th century, sparked by Martin Luther’s criticisms
of the Church and the rise of Protestantism.
Coya:
(Quechua) The highest ranking woman in the Inka empire in pre-Hispanic
times, and wife of the Sapa Inka (ruler). Later, any Andean elite
woman claiming descent from the Inka royal family. Also qoya.
Creole: (English) A person of European
ancestry born in the Americas. Also criollo (Spanish).
Cuarta, quarta: (Spanish) A fourth of a vara,
approximately 8 inches.
Cumbi:
(Quechua) A term used in the Andes to describe finely woven cloth.
Also qompi.
Curaca:
(Quechua) An indigenous ruler in the Andes. Also kuraka.
Cuzco:
(Quechua) Andean city that was the Inka capital in pre-Hispanic
times, now in Peru. Also Cusco, Q'osqo.
Cuzco School:
(English) A group of indigenous painters from the city of Cuzco,
working primarily in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Cuzco School
was born in 1688, when, stung by the racist criticism of Spanish
and mestizo painters, native painters withdrew from the guild; the
style of painting coming out of the resultant indigenous workshops
is also called "Cuzco School."
De vestir: (Spanish) A statue designed to wear clothes.
Dominicans:
(English) An order of Catholic priests; Dominicans were one of the
three regular orders the Spanish crown sent to convert the indigenous
people of the Americas. The first Dominicans arrived in the Caribbean
in 1510, and entered New Spain in 1526. By 1534, they were established
in Cuzco and had begun mission work in the southern Andes. See also
regular orders.
Ebony:
(English) A tropical hardwood, usually black, prized for its strength
and color.
Encarnación:
(Spanish) A technique of oil painting on statues yielding the appearance
of human skin.
Encomendero:
(Spanish) A Spanish settler who had been awarded an encomienda,
a grant of indigenous labor. See also encomienda.
Encomienda:
(Spanish) A grant of indigenous labor given to a Spanish settler
by the Spanish crown. Initially, the crown saw the encomienda grant
as an incentive for Spaniards to settle in the New World. In return
for being allowed the use of native labor, encomenderos were charged
with making sure their charges were evangelized. An important institution
in the 16th century, encomiendas waned in the 17th.
Enconchada:
(Spanish) (Spanish) Encrustation with mother-of-pearl. Often, mother-of-pearl
was glued to a support and then painted with opaque pigments to
create images. Enconchada paintings and screens (biombos in
Spanish) were popular products of artisans in 17th and 18th century
New Spain.
Engraving:
(English) The cutting of a design into a metal surface. Engraved
metal plates were used in printing, and the resulting print on paper
is also called an engraving.
Enlightenment:
(English)
A philosophical movement of the 18th century, first developed in
western Europe, and also known as the "Age of Reason." The Enlightenment
brought empirical methods to science and held that social, intellectual
and scientific progress could be achieved through reason.
Escribano:
(Spanish) A scribe or notary.
Escudo:
(Spanish)
Literally, a shield; also refers to a circular plaque, usually about
8 inches across, and often painted and embroidered with images,
worn by nuns on their chests.
Escutcheon:
(English) A shield with a coat of arms.
Estípite:
(Spanish) A type of column developed in Spanish America in the early
18th century, distinguished by its tapering inverted pyramid shape.
Estofado:
(Spanish) A decorative technique used on sculpture, where paint
was applied over gold leaf, and then incised to reveal the gold
beneath.
Estufa:
(Spanish) See Kiva.
Eucharist:
(English) The Christian rite during which the host, or bread, and
wine are consecrated.
Ex-Voto:
(Latin) A painting offered to the Virgin Mary or a saint, often
in thanks for a favor granted (especially healing). Ex-votos may
also be created to request such a favor, or to commemorate a pilgrimage.
While wealthy people commissioned ex-votos, they were also a form
of popular expression in Spanish America.
Facade:
(English) The front face of a building, usually with the structure's
principal entrance.
Festoon:
(English) A decorative chain, draped between two objects; painted
festoons on church walls in Spanish America often depicted flowers
and ribbons strung between two urns.
Fleur-de-lys:
(French) A stylized iris flower, often used in heraldry. Also fleur-de-lis.
Franciscans:
(English) An order of Catholic priests; Franciscans were the first
of the regular orders the Spanish crown sent to convert the indigenous
people of the Americas. They arrived in Santo Domingo before 1500
and landed in New Spain in 1524. They began evangelization in Perú
circa 1546, and founded the first Franciscan college in Quito, Ecuador
in 1555. See also regular orders.
Galleon:
(English) A large ship for oceanic travel; the galleon was used
extensively in the trade between Asia and Spanish America.
Gremio:
(Spanish) See guild.
Guaraní:
Indigenous people who live in Paraguay and Brazil. In Spanish America,
they were converted by Jesuits. Today, their language, Guaraní,
is one of the official languages of Paraguay.
Guild:
(English) A professional association of skilled craftsmen, somewhat
similar to a modern union. Painters, sculptors, carpenters, retablo
makers, metal-workers all had their own guilds in Spanish America.
One had to pass an exam to enter a guild, and membership was generally
not open to indigenous artisans.
Hidalgo:
(Spanish) A male Spaniard of elite or noble status.
Hidalgo,
Miguel: (Spanish) A parish priest from the city of Dolores in
Guanajuato, Mexico, he was a leader in Mexico's fight for independence
from the Spanish crown in the early 19th century.
Hispaniola:
(English) English version of La Española, the name given by
Spanish conquistadors to the Caribbean island that is now the Dominican
Republic and Haiti.
Holy Week
(English) The week beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter.
During this time, Christians commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem,
his crucifixion and resurrection.
Iberia,
Iberian: (English)
Relating to the Iberian peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal.
Inka:
(Quechua) The empire built by a group of Quechua-speaking Andeans
in the 14th and 15th centuries that stretched from Ecuador to Chile.
"Sapa Inka" was the title of its supreme ruler, and its capital
city was Cuzco. Also Inca.
Iturbide,
Agustín Cosme Damián de: (Spanish) A Mexican military
leader, who emerged from the chaos of the fight for Independence
to take power as Emperor Agustín I. An incompetent ruler, he was
executed in 1824.
Jesuits:
(English) An order of Catholic priests; Jesuits were leaders in
founding schools in Spanish America, educating both Amerindians
and the Creole and Spanish elite. They first arrived in Perú in
1568, and in New Spain in 1572. See also regular
orders.
Kero: (Quechua)
A drinking vessel, made of metal or wood, traditionally used in
Andean feasts. Also qeru, quero.
Khipu: (Quechua)
Knotted cords used in the Andes to keep accounts. Also spelled quipu,
qhipu, quipo.
Kiva:
(Hopi) A special room, often underground and/or in the central
plaza of a pueblo, for political, ritual, and social gatherings
by the Pueblo Indians. Called estufa by Spaniards.
Kuraka:
See Curaca.
Latin America:
(English)
The modern Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking nations of the western
hemisphere.
Lienzo:
(Spanish) Literally, "canvas," The term often refers to indigenous
paintings on cloth that show community lands and history.
Lima: (Spanish)
The capital city of the Viceroyalty of Perú.
Llama: (Spanish)
A small camel-like animal native to the Andes, used as pack animal
and a source of meat and wool.
Lliclla:
(Quechua) A shawl, pinned in front with a tupu,
worn by Andean women. Also lliqlla or lliklla.
Madonna:
(Italian) Mary, the mother of Jesus. She is often depicted as
a young woman holding the infant Jesus on her lap.
Maguey:
(Taíno) An agave plant, whose sap was fermented to create pulque
and whose fibers were used for textiles.
Malinche:
(Nahuatl) Also known as doña Marina. This woman, probably of
Maya origin, was the primary translator for Hernan Cortés in his
conquest of the Aztec empire. She was also his consort and bore
some of the first mestizo children of Spanish America.
Manila:
(English)
The main port city in the Philippines, and center of Asian-Spanish
American trade in the colonial period.
Manila galleons:
(English) A fleet of ships sailing from the port of Acapulco
in New Spain to Manila in the Philippines and back, trading New
World silver for Asian luxury goods.
Mannerism:
(English) A European style of art and architecture that took
form ca. 1520-1600, contemporaneous with the Counterreformation
and the Spanish settlement of the Americas. Mannerism developed
first in Rome, Italy but became known throughout Europe and, over
time, in Spanish America. In visual terms, Mannerist art stretched
forms beyond Renaissance canons. For instance, some Mannerist artists
distort human proportions while others create architecture that
is complexly off-balance.
Mascapaycha:
(Quechua) A headband, decorated with a red fringe, worn only
by the Inka ruler in pre-Hispanic times. In the colonial period,
it was worn by the ruling Inka elite in religious festivals and
other official occasions. Also maskaypacha.
Maya: Indigenous
people who today live predominantly in Central America, in the nation
states of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and El Salvador. In
pre-Columbian times, the Maya lived in distinct city-states, many
of which persisted after the arrival of Europeans. Maya also refers,
in a general way, to the languages spoken by these people.
Meco:
(Spanish) A derogatory term for an indigenous person who does not
live in a settled community, has not converted to Christianity,
nor accepted "civilized" modes of living. The term derives from
the word "Chichimec" which was used in central Mexico in pre-Hispanic
times to describe nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples in a negative
light.
Mendicant:
(English) A member of a religious order that adheres to vows
of poverty.
Mestizaje:
(Spanish) A descriptive word for the ethnic and cultural mixings
in the New World.
Mestizo:
(Spanish) A person of indigenous and European descent. The female
form is mestiza. See
also casta.
Mexico City:
(English) The capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, founded
upon the defeated Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.
Ming Dynasty:
(English) A dynasty of rulers in China (1368-1644). In the last
centuries of their rule, they became key players in the Pacific
trade, importing Spanish American silver and exporting Chinese silks,
blue-and-white ceramics and other luxury items through the Philippine
city of Manila.
Mit'a: (Quechua)
A system, run by the Viceroy of Perú, of forced native labor for
the silver mines of Potosí. Its laborers were called mitayo.
Mixtec:
(Nahuatl) An ethnic group of southern Mexico, and the language
they speak. In pre-Hispanic times, the Mixtec developed a distinctive
a painting style and form of glyphic expression, both of which continued
in the early years after the Spanish conquest. Today Mixtec is still
spoken in Mexico.
Monja coronada:
(Spanish) Literally a "crowned nun." In the 18th century, these
images depict nuns as the Brides of Christ, wearing large headdresses
of flowers. Nuns in the viceroyalties of New Spain and Perú donned
such headdresses when they took their vows and often again on their
funeral biers.
Monstrance: (English) A vessel,
often made of gold or silver, in which the host, consecrated during
a Catholic mass, is displayed.
Mudéjar:
(Spanish) A style of architecture and ornament derived from
Islamic building and decor in Spain; the style was imported to Spanish
America early in the colonial period, and was used in buildings
throughout the colonial period.
Mulatto:
(Spanish) A multi-racial person of African descent. In Spanish America,
according to the proscribed definition of the casta system, mulattos
had one parent of African descent and one of European; in practice,
peopled labeled as mulattos could have indigenous and multi-racial
parents and/or ancestors. See also casta.
Nahua: (Nahuatl)
An ethnic group from Central Mexico whose pre-Hispanic empire, the
Aztec empire, was defeated by the Spanish in 1521. The language
they spoke, Nahuatl, was the indigenous lingua franca in the colonial
period in New Spain, and is still spoken today in Mexico.
Nahuatl:
(Nahuatl) The language spoken by the Nahua, an ethnic group from
Central Mexico whose pre-Hispanic empire, the Aztec empire, was
defeated by the Spanish in 1521. The language, whose name means
"clear speech," is spoken today in some towns in Mexico.
Navajo:
(Spanish) One of the largest groups of indigenous people now living
in the United States. Today the Navajo live primarily in the states
of Arizona and New Mexico. Navajo also refers to the indigenous
language of these people, which is also still spoken today. Also
Navaho.
Nave:
(English) The main body of a church, running from the front door
to the transept, or crossing. Its ceiling is usually higher than
that of flanking aisles.
Neoclassical:
(English) An artistic style that sought to capture the restraint
and geometry of the art of ancient Greek and Rome. Neoclassicism
dominated the visual high arts from the late 18th century into the
19th in Spanish America.
New Granada:
(English) An independent kingdom established in 1717, carved
out of the Viceroyalty of Perú. It embraced much of the modern nation
of Colombia, as well parts of Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama and the
Caribbean. Its capital city was Santa Fé de Bogotá.
New Spain:
(English) The name that Spain gave to her northern Viceroyalty,
which comprised the modern regions of Mexico, Central America, Venezuela,
and the Caribbean. The capital city was Mexico City.
Ñusta:
(Quechua) An indigenous Andean noblewoman, often descended from
the rulers of the Inka empire..
Obraje:
(Spanish)
A textile mill; its owner was an obrajero.
Ochava: (Spanish) A eighth of a vara,
approximately 4 inches.
Ogee Arch: ((English) Architectural term for arches formed
by two S-shaped curves, with a pointed top. Most typically the arched
form is convex towards the top, concave towards the bottom. Islamic
architects often used this form.
Olmec: (Nahuatl)
An ancient pre-Columbian culture, which thrived in Central America,
primarily in the Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco, ca. 1200
BCE-400 BCE. Olmec artifacts were collected and valued by later
pre-Columbian peoples such as the Maya and Aztec.
Ordenanza:
(Spanish) An ordinance.
Order: (English) Groups of priests or nuns within the Catholic
Church who adhere to additional sets of rules governing their lives.
The Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits were the most
important religious orders in Spanish America.
Orisha: A sacred spirit honored in the religious practices
known today as Santería, Vodun, and Candomblé. With West African,
and particularly Yoruba roots, orishas first came across the Atlantic
with slaves forcibly brought to the Caribbean, Brazil and other
parts of the Americas. Also Orixa.
Otomí: Indigenous people of Central Mexico. Their
indigenous language is also Otomí.
Pachamama:
(Quechua)
An earth deity from the Andes who, some believe, fused with the
Virgin Mary and continued to be worshipped by Andeans in colonial
times.
Paño
azul: (Spanish) Blue cloth, usually from the textile mills of
Quito, in the modern state of Ecuador.
El
Paraguay: (Spanish)
An expansive region bisected by the Paraná river, largely
coterminous with the modern nations of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.
Parish:
(English) A church district.
Patacón:
(Spanish) A coin, usually silver, with a variable value.
Patron:
(English) A person who employs an artist or architect to create
a work of art or a building. Under a system of patronage, artists
and architects work on commission.
Perú:
(Spanish) The name Spain gave to her southern Viceroyalty. The Viceroyalty
of Perú stretched across Panama and most of South America, with
the exception of Venezuela, which was part of New Spain, and coastal
Brazil, which was held by the Portuguese. The capital city of the
viceroyalty was Lima.
Perulero:
(Spanish) A Peruvian merchant who traded directly with markets in
Europe, the Indies, and the Far East.
Peso: (Spanish)
A silver coin, the principal unit of money in the colonies, weighing
about 27 grams.
Petaca:
(Spanish) A trunk or chest, often made of animal skin with metal
fasteners.
Picota:
(Spanish) A pillory.
Plateresque:
(English) A sculptural and architectural style imported to Spanish
America from Spain in the early 16th century, typified by abundant
shallow surface carving.
Poncho:
(Spanish) A blanket-like cloak, with a slit in the middle for the
head.
Portal:
(English) A doorway.
Posa:
(Spanish) A small chapel that stood at the corner of church courtyards.
Although not unknown in Europe, posas are typically found in churches
built in New Spain in the early colonial period.
Potosí:
(Spanish) A mining town, now in modern Bolivia, at the foot of the
Cerro Rico, whose rich ores supplied much of the world's silver
during the colonial period.
Pre-Hispanic:
(English) The time before America's discovery and conquest by
Spain; synonymous with pre-Columbian (before Columbus).
Presidio:
(Spanish) A garrison or fort.
Print: (English).
An image imprinted onto a piece of paper with a woodblock, or engraved
metal plate.
Pueblo Revolt:
(English) The most successful indigenous revolt against colonization
in Spanish America. In 1680, the pueblos of New Mexico united and
drove Spanish colonists and friars from their lands and communities.
For twelve years, the Spanish were kept at bay. Only in 1692, did
they reestablish a permanent presence in New Mexico.
Pueblos:
(Spanish) Both a group of settled communities in the southwestern
United States and the people who live in these towns. Today these
communities are in New Mexico and Arizona, and include the Hopi
pueblos, Zuni, Acoma, Santo Domingo, and Taos.
Quechua:
(Quechua) An Amerindian language still spoken in the Andes.
It was the lingua franca of the Inka empire.
Quetzalcoatl:
(Nahuatl).
A pre-Hispanic deity whose name translates to "Feathered Serpent."
Often the patron of rulers, he was worshipped across ancient Mexico.
Quincha:
(Quechua) An Andean roofing technique using woven reeds covered
with plaster.
Real: (Spanish)
A silver coin, weighing about 3 grams, worth an eighth of a peso.
Reconquista:
(Spanish) A term applied to a series of disjointed military
campaigns (from 1085-1248, and again from the 1480s to 1492) in
which the Christians of Iberia sought to gain political control
of the peninsula from Muslim rulers. Although the Reconquista is
often said to have ended with the conquest of the city of Granada
in 1492, Muslims continued to live in Spain for at least another
century, and forced Muslim expulsions from the peninsula were undertaken
from 1609-1614.
Regular
orders: (English)
Groups of priests and nuns within the Catholic Church. Members of
the "regular" orders (from the Latin regulus, or rules)
took distinct vows from the more common "secular" priests, who were
under the authority of the regional bishop. In Spanish America,
the Franciscans, Dominicans,
Augustinians, and Jesuits
were the most prominent regular orders.
Relicario:
(Spanish) A receptacle, often a piece of jewelry or metalwork, for
a holy relic, usually some part of the body or clothing believed
to have been that of a saint.
Reliquary:
(English) See relicario.
Rescatar:
(Spanish) Practice of bartering for contraband in the Spanish American
colonies.
Retablo:
(Spanish) A retable, or large backdrop for an altar in a church
made of wood or masonry. In Spanish America, retablos traditionally
framed sculpted images of saints and church figures or were painted
with such images.
Rio Grande:
(Spanish) The river running through the southwestern United States
and along the border of the modern nations of Mexico and the U.S.
The river originates in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and spills
into the Gulf of Mexico at Brownsville, Texas. It was the backbone
of much indigenous agriculture and settlement in northern Spanish
America, particularly among Pueblos.
Rococo:
(English) A style of artistic production that flourished in Europe
in the first half of the 18th century. Often linked to the regency
and court of Louis XV in France, the term now evokes a style that
featured pale colors, asymmetric and curving forms, dainty figures,
and fantastic, hybrid compositions in painting, sculpture, and the
decorative arts.
Ruán:
(Spanish) Cotton cloth with a colored design made in Rouen, France
Salon de
dosel: (Spanish):
A room in the wealthiest Spanish American homes with a canopy (dosel),
under which were hung important portraits. These rooms were often
furnished with expensive objects, including furniture, works of
art, and imports from both Asia and Europe.
Santo: (Spanish)
A saint or statue of a saint.
Santo Domingo:
(Spanish) An important colonial city in the Caribbean. Set on the
island of Hispaniola (La Española
in Spanish), it was the first city built following European models,
and home to the first university in Spanish America. In the 16th
and 17th centuries, it was the seat of an Audiencia; today it is
the capital of the Dominican Republic
Sapa Inka:
(Quechua) The title of the supreme ruler of the Inka empire
in pre-Hispanic times. The Sapa Inka was, according to historical
documents, a male ruler. Inka queens were called coyas. Also spelled
Sapa Inca.
Saqsawamán:
(Quechua) A large Inka structure on the hill above the
city of Cuzco. It once served as a fortress and religious center;
its recapture by Spanish forces in May of 1536 was a turning point
in the war of Conquest. Also Saksawaman, Sacsahuaman.
Spanish
America: (English) The areas of the New World under Spanish
control. From the 16th to 18th centuries, Spanish America comprised
most of South America (except Portuguese-held Brazil), the Caribbean,
Central America, and southern and western North America.
Spanish
Armada: (English) The primary fleet of ships used by the Spanish
Crown for protection and military engagement. The famous armada
sent by Philip II to invade England in 1588 was routed by Francis
Drake.
Tagua nut:
(English)
The seed of a palm, also known as a tagua, that grows in the Ecuadorian
rainforests as well as in Panama, Columbia and Peru. Most tagua
nuts are similar to walnuts in size, although they may grow as large
as grapefruits. When dried, the nut interior becomes hard like ivory.
It was, and still is carved by artisans. Also known as "vegetable
ivory."
Taíno:
(Taíno)
A group of Amerindians inhabiting the Caribbean at the time of the
Spanish conquest.
Talavera
poblana:
(Spanish) Glazed pottery made in or near the town of Puebla de los
Angeles in New Spain. Talavera is a pottery center in Spain, and
one of the sources of the Spanish American ceramic tradition.
Tenochtitlan:
(Nahuatl) The capital city of the Aztec empire, now underneath modern
Mexico City.
Tequitqui:
(Nahuatl) A term, meaning "laborer" or "tribute payer" in Nahuatl,
enlisted by 20th-century scholars to describe the sculpture and
architectural decoration created in New Spain in the 16th century
that fused European motifs with indigenous craftsmanship.
Tercia:
(Spanish). A third of a vara, approximately
11 inches.
Tezontle:
(Nahuatl) A reddish volcanic stone used in buildings in New
Spain.
Tlacuilo:
(Nahuatl):
An indigenous scribe and painter. In the pre-Hispanic era, highly
trained tlacuilos created pictorial books and other records for
the Aztec court in Tenochtitlan, as well as for indigenous community
leaders, priests, and high-status families throughout central Mexico.
Tlatoani:
(Nahuatl) An indigenous ruler in central Mexico in the 16th
century, whose powers and election often followed pre-Hispanic traditions.
Tocapu:
(Quechua) Woven cloth with a design of small, individually patterned
rectangles worn only by the highest native elite in the Andes. Also
tokapu, toq'apu.
Toltec:
(Nahuatl) A pre-Hispanic ethnic group whose center was the city
of Tula. In the 15th and 16th centuries, both before and after the
conquest, Tula and the Toltecs were understood as paragons of high
culture by indigenous people of Central Mexico.
Tomín:
(Spanish) A coin, worth about a real, a silver coin weighing
about three grams.
Triptych:
(English) A painting made of three panels, usually linked
with hinges so that the sides can fold over and cover the central
panel. A common form for altarpieces.
Tupu:
(Quechua) A long pin, often with a decorated head, used by Andean
women to fasten a lliclla.
Unku: (Quechua)
A sleeveless tunic falling above the knees, of uncut woven cloth,
worn by Andean men.
Vara:
(Spanish). A unit of linear measure of approximately 33 inches.
Vault: (English)
In church architecture, the arched masonry roof.
Viceregal: (English) Pertaining to the Viceroyalty, or the
period during which Spanish America was a colonial subject, divided
into viceroyalties.
Viceroy:
(English) The head of the largest administrative district (a viceroyalty)
established by the Spanish crown in her colonies, second in power
only to the king.
Viceroyalty:
(English) The largest administrative district established by
the Spanish crown in her colonies. Its head, the viceroy, was second
in power only to the king. In 1700, there were two viceroyalties:
New Spain and Perú. The Viceroyalties of Nueva Granada and Rio de
la Plata were carved out of these in the 18th century.
Vicuña:
(Spanish) A camel-like animal native to the Andes, prized for its
soft and silken wool.
Visita general:
(Spanish) An official tour of inspection by a visitador, usually
to take stock of an entire region. Censuses were often conducted
as part of a visita general.
Visitador:
((Spanish) An official inspector for the Spanish government
who would periodically check up on government officials.
Wak’a:
(Quechua) An Andean sacred shrine. Waka’s can be
sites in the landscape, stones, sculpted forms, or mummy bundles.
Also huaca.
Women of
Strength: (English). The "strong" women of the Old Testament,
such as Esther and Judith, whose qualities were extolled in Proverbs
31.
Woodcut:
(English)
A print made from a wooden block whose surface design would be rubbed
with ink and then stamped onto paper.
Yerba mate:
(Spanish) A tea made from the leaves of the maté plant; mostly
grown in Paraguay.
Zapotec:
(Nahuatl)
An ethnic group inhabiting the modern state of Oaxaca in Mexico.
Before the conquest, the Zapotec paid tribute to the Aztec empire.
Zemi:
(Taíno)
A deified ancestor revered in the Caribbean. Zemis were among the
first indigenous objects collected by Europeans in the New World
and sent back as curiosities.
Zócalo:
(Spanish) A public square, often the main square in a Spanish American
city.
|