Charlie Kim
Tulane University Howard-Tilton Memorial Library of Early Images of Latin America Collection, Source: Box 1, Disk 1, SEAA Mexican Lantern Slide Collection 66, #MX01-0034 , “Indian servants in Mexico City”
This image displays a portrait of “indigenous” women grouped up for a photo in New Mexico. As the title suggest, these “indigenous” women are servants within this residency at the time of 1850 – 1900. During this time however, changes were being made within the Ecuadorian borders with it’s President Jose Maria Urvina advocating for “indigenous” people in Ecuador. In “Popular Liberalism and Indian Servitude: The Making and Unmaking of Ecuador’s Anti-Landlord State, 1845-1868”, Urvina explains that the indigenas were being exploited for work and that their resources were being used up by fuedal lords who controlled the area. He denounces these actions commited to the native people by these landlords and assures the natives that they will recieve “community rights” against these landlords.1 With the help of his sucessor Francisco Robles, he invest heavily into the Urvinista political project to help bring change into Ecuador’s policies and values.
We see Urvina’s politcal reforms in action as in 1851, as he lessen the voting requirements needed to vote while also expanding who can participate which greatly helped people be more involved with the government.2 Following this change, the abolition of slavery in 1854 helped boost political capital in Ecuador and shown that the state is capable of mediating between classes in society helping it transform. With these political reforms being placed in Ecuador, it help Ecuadorans across and benefitted the place as a whole. With these reforms laid out the next to step would be the emancipation of the Ecuador’s indigenous people, helping them improve their conditions in society. In 1854, Ley de Indigenas was adopted and helped Indian community by reforming the old contribucion de indigenas which gave the indigenous people more freedom and control in society. These new reforms were a sucess and in 1857 was crowned as a achievement in Urvinista pro-Indian initiative.3 With these new reforms in place it indigenous people were potentially able to improve their social status in society and have more expectations of themselves when it came to economic and corporate rights.
Works Cited
-Popular Liberalism and Indian Servitude: The Making and Unmaking Of Ecuador’s Anti-landlord State,1845-1868