Santiago del Estero y sus pueblos de indios: De las ordenanzas de Alfaro (1612) a las guerras de independencia

the indian villages under the encomienda regime became colonial corporations as pueblos de indios, when francisco de alfaro′s ordinances were enacted. as it is well known, the most important measures were the creation of reducciones with communal lands, traditional indian authorities and alcaldes as well as the replacement of the servicio personal for tributo. in santiago del estero, a region that had not been altered by the uprooting policy after the calchaquí rebellions, the alfaro ordinances were in fact applied. being this situation quite infrequent in the tucumán region (perhaps with the exception of jujuy), the pueblos de indios and their institutional structure survived shortly after the independence revolutions. my thesis is that the permanence of pueblos de indios of santiago was related to the implementation of different strategies adopted by the indians. the preferential marriage, temporary migration, integration to the goods and labour market, and changes in the authority system are some of the variables analized in this paper.