Spanish Captives in Indian Societies: Cultural Contact along the Argentine Frontier, 1600-1835

Author(s): Susan Migden Socolow

Source: The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 72, No. 1 (Feb., 1992), pp. 73-99
Published by: Duke University Press
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HispanicAmiiericanHistoricalReview72:1
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SpanishCaptivesin Indian
Societies:CulturalContactAlongthe
ArgentineFrontier,1600-1835

SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

EU R O P E A N - I N D I A N frontiers,the intermediate
zones between areas of secure European settlement
and those where Amerindians maintained their au-
tonomy,were similar in many ways in the American empires of Spain and
Great Britain. In both colonial empires frontierregionswere usually zones
of tensionand conflict,where frequentraidingsometimesgave way to
open warfare.In bothempires,violencebetweenEuropeansand Indians
regularly led to mutualtakingofcaptives.WhileliterateAnglo-Americans
had littleinterestin capturedIndiansand rarelybotheredto recordinfor-
mationabout them,theywere ofteninterestedin theirfellowswho had
been held captiveby Indians.As a resultAnglo-American historicallitera-
tureincludesa substantial documentary recordon Europeancaptives,ma-
terialthatprovidesextremelyvaluable,oftenunique, information about
and theirinteraction.'Frontier
the societieson both sides ofthe frontier

The authorwould like to thankJamesSaeger,KristineJones,JuanCarlos Garavaglia,and

JohnJuricekfortheirhelpfulcommentson earlierversionsofthispaper.
i. The studiesofcaptivesin EnglishAmericaincludeJamesAxtell:TheInvasionWithin
(1986), The European and theIndian (1981),and "The WhiteIndiansofColonialAmerica,"
Williamand Mary Quarterly32 (1975), 55-88; AldenT. Vaughan,"Crossingthe Cultural
Divide: Indiansaild New Englanders,1605-1763,"ProceedingsoftheAmericanAntiquarian
Societygo (April 1980), 23-99 (withD. Richter),and Puritansamong the Indians (with
EdwardW. Clark). See also J.NormanHeard, WhiteIntoRed: A Studyof theAssimilation
of WhitePersonsCapturedby Indians(Metuchen,N.J.: ScarecrowPress, 1973);A. Irving
Hallowell,"AmericanIndians,Whiteand Black:The PhenomenonofTransculturalization,"
CurrentAnthropology 4 (i963), 519-31. One ofthe majorsourcesavailableto U.S. histori-
ans has been the captivitynarrative;see WilcombWashburn,ed., The Garland Libraryof
Narrativesof NorthAmericanIndian Captivities(New York:Garland,1977). For an inter-
estinganalysisofthe weaknessofthesesourcessee Rov HarveyPearce, "The Significances
of the CaptivityNarrative,"AmericanLiterature19 (1947), 1-20. Because Latin America
lacked both a strongtraditionof widespreadliteracyand a religioustraditionthatempha-

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74 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

relationsbetweenEuropeansand Indianshavebeen studiedfarless thor-

oughlyforSpanishAmerica,althoughrecentworkon northernMexico
and New Mexicohas begunto examinethisquestionin a SpanishAmeri-
can context.2This essay is intendedas a contribution towardfillingthat
gap in the historicalliteratureforone frontier
area, centraland southern
Argentina,using the oftenfragmentary but nonethelessintriguingdata
fromthe sixteenthto the earlynineteenth centuries.

Patternsof FrontierRelations
The southernregionof South America,the area thatin the eighteenth
centurywould become the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, was, like
northernMexico, a regioninhabitedby severalIndian societiesable to
fendoffSpanishconquestin greateror lesserdegreeuntilthe nineteenth
century.The independenceofthesegroupswas in partaided bytheadop-
tionofthe horse,whichby the end ofthe sixteenth centuryhad become
an integralpart of indigenousculturein southernSouth America.As a
complementto the Indians' warriorethos, the animal allowed for the
developmentof a "horseculture"and permittedIndiansto imagineand
sometimesto achieve militaryequalitywiththe Spaniards.Indian tribes
also graduallybecame dependenton cattleas botha sourceoffoodand an
object oftradewithotherIndiansand Spaniardsalike. But it is the horse

sized the Babyloniancaptivity, captivitynarrativeswere relativelyrareduringthe colonial

period. The mostwell-known captivity
narrativein LatinAmericais Cautiveriofeliz,written
by FranciscoNnfiezPineday Buscafian,heldcaptivein Chile in 1629 forsevenmonths.For
Argentina,A. Guinnard,Tresanos de esclavitudentrelos Patagones(BuenosAires-M6xico:
Espasa-Calpe, 1941), recountsa Frenchman'sexperiencesin 1856-59. Some studieshave
concentratedon thelargerissue ofwarfarealongthecolonialfrontier, includingJuanCarlos
Garavaglia,"La guerraen el Tucumancolonial:sociedady economiaen un area de frontera
(1660-1760), HISLA 4 (i984), 21-34; PhilipW. Powell,Soldiers,Indians, and Silver: The
NorthwardAdvance of New Spain, 1550-16oo (Berkeley:Univ.of CaliforniaPress, 1952);
AlvaroJara,Guerre et societeau Chile: Essai de sociologiecoloniale (Paris: Inistitut des
Hautes Etudes de l'Am6riqueLatine,1961). For captivesin inon-Indiani societysee ElleniG.
Friedman,Spanish Captivesin NorthAfricain the Early ModernAge (Madisoln:Univ. of
WisconsinPress, 1983).
2. On Mexico, see Oakah L. Jones, Nueva Vizcaya:Heartlandof theSpanishFrontier
(Albuquerque:Univ.ofNew MexicoPress,1988);ThomasH. Naylorand CharlesW. Polzer,
The Presidioand the Militiaon theNorthernFrontierof New Spain: A DocumentaryHis-
tory(Tucson: Univ. of ArizonaPress, 1986). Two notableexceptionsto thisgeneralization
are PeterAlanStern,"Social Marginality and Acculturation
on theNorthern FrontierofNew
Spain" (Ph.D. diss., Univ.ofCalifornia,Berkeley,1984),312-53; and GabrielGuarda Gey-
witz,"Los cautivosen la guerrade Arauco,"Boletinde la AcademiaChilena de la Historia
54:98 (1987),93-157. The firstdescriptionofSpanishcaptivesin the LatinAmericani histori-
cal literatureis providedby BernalDiaz del Castillo,whoencounteredtwoSpanishcaptives
in his 1519 expeditionto Mexico. BernalDiaz del Castillo,The Discoveryand Conquestof
Mexico,1517-1521(New York:Harper& Bros., 1950),45-46.

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 75
thatheightenedthe level of conflictamongIndian groupsand between
Indiansand whitesociety.3 In addition,theseIndiangroupstendedto in-
habitzones thatwere eitherperipheralor inaccessibleto the mainstream
of Spanishcolonization,to live in dispersedand smallcommunities, and
to be adept at thetechniquesofseminomadic livingand guerrillawarfare.
From the beginningsof Spanishsettlement in the sixteenthcentury,
ranches,towns,and citieswere periodicallythreatenedby Indian raids:
to the norththe Ava-Chiriguanos and the Calchaquies; in the centerof
the region,the Chaco groupssuch as the Guaycurua,the Charrua,and
the Mocobi; and to the southPampas,Pehuenche,Tehuelche,and Arau-
canian tribes.4At timesa stateof endemicwar existed,as Indian raids
and Spanish entradasexplodedalong the frontier.5 In the middle of the
eighteenthcentury,however,a combination offoreignand colonialpolicy
considerations caused theSpanishcrownto reexamineitsdefenseposition

3. ThroughoutthispaperthetermSpaniardis used to describethosepeople, regardless

of theirbirthplace,who believedthemselvesto be of Hispanicculture.On the heightenled
conflict,JamesSchofieldSaeger,"Aniother Viewofthe Missionas a FrontierInstitution: The
Guaycuruain Reductionsof SaintaFe, 1743-1810," HAHR 65:3 (Aug. 1985), 495. On cattle,
KristineJones,"La Cauitiva:AnlArgenitine Soltutionto Labor Shortagein the Pampas,"in
Brazil and the Rio de la Plata: Challengeand Response,an Anthology of Papers Presented
at the SixthAnnual Conferenceof ICLLAS, ed. Luis Clay M6ndez and LaureniceBates
(Charlestoni,IL., 1983),92. On grotipclharacteristics, ThierrySaignies,"La gtierra'salvaje'
en los confinesde los Andesy del Chaco: La resistenciachiriguanaa la colonizaci6neuro-
pea," QuintoCentenario(UniversidadComplutensede Madrid)8 (1985), 104.The Indiansof
thisregionitendedto travelwithini well-defined areas and weretherefore nlottrulyniomiiadic.
4. For a more detailed discussionof the colonialperiod see SusanlMigden Socolow,
"Los cautivos espafioleseni las sociedades indigenas:el contactoculturala trav6sde la
fronteraargentina,"Anuario IEHS (Tandil,Argentina)2 (1987), 99-136. See also Thierry
Saignes, "M6tis et sauvages: Les enjeux du metissagesur la frontiere chiriguano(1570-
1620)," Melangesde la Casa de Vel6zquez 18:1 (1982),87; Padre Hernandode Torreblanica,
Relaci6n hist6ricade Calchaqui (Buenos Aires: Ediciones CulturalesArgentinas,1984);
Teresa PiossekPrebisch,PedroBohorquez:El Inca del Tucumdn,1656-1658(BuenosAires:
Gente de Letras, 1983); Edberto Oscar Acevedo,"El gobernadorMartinezde Tineo y el
Chaco," Revistade HistoriaAmericanay Argentina12 (1983-84), 11-65; JamesS. Saeger,
"Eighteenth-Century GuaycuruanMissionsin Paraguay,"in Indian-ReligiousRelationsin
Colonial SpanishAmerica,ed. Susan E. Ramirez(Syracuse:MaxwellSchool ofCitizenship
and Public Affairs,1989), 55-86; KristineL. Jones,"Conflictand Adaptationin the Argen-
tine Pampas, 1750-1880"(Ph.D. diss., Univ.ofChicago, 1984),38; AlfredJ.Tapson,"The
Indian Problemon the ArgentinePampas,1735-1852"(Ph.D. diss., Univ.ofCalifornia,Los
Angeles,1952),and "IndianWarfareon thePampaduringtheColonialPeriod,"HAHR 42:1
(Feb. 1962), ii. For contemporary reportson thefrontier and Indiansocietiessee Pedro de
Angelis,comp., Colecci6nde obras y documentosrelativosa la historiaantiguay moderna
de las provinciasdel Rio de la Plata, 6 vols. (BuenosAires:Imprentadel Estado, 1836, re-
printEditorialPlus Ultra,1969), and ThomasFalkner,S.J.,A Descriptionof Patagoniaand
theAdjoiningPartsof SouthAmerica[1744] (Chicago: Arman andArmann, 1935).
5. Accordingto Urbanode Iriondo,by 1722 notone estanciain Santa Fe had escaped
attackby Indians,along withthe loss ofpropertyand livesand the takingofcaptives.Jos6
Urbano de Iriondo,"Apuntespara la historiade la Provinciade Santa Fe," Revistade la
Juntade EstudiosHist6ricosde Santa Fe I, 44.

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76 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

in SpanishAmerica.One resultwas a new plan of militarizationon the

southernIndian frontierthatcombinednew presidiosand fortswithan
increasingmilitarypresence.The governmentestablisheda line of mili-
inthe1750s, reinforcing
taryforts themduring
the1770S and178os.6
The
crownalso encouragedthesettlingofcivilianpopulationclose to each fort.
All male inhabitantsoftheruraldistricts
wererequiredto enlistin militia
units.In addition,a special military
unitcreatedto protectthe frontier,
the blandengues,was formedin 1751 and reorganizedshortlyafterthe
foundingoftheviceroyalty.
The Spanishcombinedthisline offortsand missionswitha program
ofpacificationand cooptationofhostiletribes.Indianleaderswereinvited
to Spanishsettlements, wheretheywere entertained and presentedwith
trinkets.7Funds were also suppliedby the sisa tax to pay forransoming
captivesand rewardingfaithful Indians. When, forexample,an Indian
referredto as Sinforosoand his uncle broughtback a Spanish captive
fromthe Tobas, the intendentrewardedthemand theirmen withgoods
worth104 pesos, includingponchos,hats, uniforms, a baston,tobacco,
and knives.
Sporadic incidentscontinuedalong the Indian frontier,8 but in gen-

6. On the forts,RobertoH. Marfany, "Fronteracon los indiosen el sud y fundaci6n

de pueblos," in Historiade la naci6nArgentina,ed. RicardoLevene, vol. 4, part1, 307-
33. See also F6lix de Azara, "Diario de un reconocimiento de las guardiasy fortiniesque
guarniecenla linea de froniterade BtuenosAirespara enisanichlarla,"
in Colecci6nde obras y
docuimentos, comp. Angelis,vol. 5. For anlanalysisofthe reactionon the partof the rural
populationito thisdraftsee CarlosA. Mayo,"Sociedad ruralv militarizaci6nide la fronitera
eni
Buenos Aires,1737-1810,"Jahrbuchfur Geschichtevon Staat,Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft
Lateinamerikas24 (1987),251-63. On theblandengues,Marfany, El indioen la colonizaci6n
de BuenosAires(BuenosAires:Comisi6nNacionalde Cultura,1940),85-106.
7. On entertainiingvisitingIndian caciques, Jos6TorreRevello,"Agasajosa los inidios
(1797)," Boletindel Institutode InvestigacionesHist6ricas17 (1938), 126-30. This practice
is also mentionedby Angelis,who adds thattheviceroyswore"su trajede etiqueta,"a sign
of esteem fortheirguests. Colecci6nde obras y documentos,comp. Angelis,3:106. For a
viceroy'sexpenditureson entertaining Indianssee Andr6sde Torres,Diario de gastos del
Virreydel Rio de la Plata Marques de Loreto, 1783-1790,forewordby Jos6M. Mariluz
Urquijo (Bilbao: Diputaci6n Foral del Sefioriode Vizcaya, 1977). On sisa funds,Archivo
Genieralde la Naci6nArgenitina, BuenosAires[hereafter AGNA],Testimoniio del expedienite
sobrela gratificacionhecha a los indiosfieles ., Hacienda, Legajo 122, Expedieiite3081,
IX-34-5-8.
8. In 1784 Indiansraidedthe estanciasin the Mendoza region,and in 1786 and i8o6
theyattackedacross the San Luis frontier. In 1784 the priestin chargeof the Charriian
missionofCayastarequestedthatthe missionbe movedto Los Mananciales,a sitenear the
originalsettlement ofthe cityof SantaFe, in orderto freehis wardsfrom"the invasionsof
the infidel[Indians]ofthe Chaco." AGNA, Justicia,Legajo 15, Expediente363, IX-31-4-4.
As late as 1802 Toba Indian tribeswere makingincursionsalong the Rio Dorado. AGNA,
Testimoniodel expediente. . ., Hacienda, Legajo 122, Expediente3081, IX-34-5-8.On
Spanish-Indianillegaltrade,KristineJones,"NineteenthCenturyBritishTravelAccountsof
Argenitina," paper presentedat the AmericanAnthropology Associationmeeting,Chicago,
Nov. 1983. A revisedversionofthispaperwas publishedin Ethnohistory 33:2 (1986), 195-

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 77
eral Spanishpoliciescombinedwithadversenaturalphenomena(such as
drought),contagiousdisease, and widespreadfood shortagesto weaken
Indian assaultsand impose an uneasypeace. AlthoughIndian tribesin
the Chaco regioncontinuedto raid each other,a bufferzone between
the Spanishand hostileIndiansessentially held untilafterindependence.
Moreover,the establishment of fortsand coastal defensivecoloniesalso
broughtthe Spanishand Indiansin directcontactwithone anotherand
stimulatedan activeand profitable, thoughextralegal,tradebetweenthe
two groups.Withtheirbordersmoreor less pacified,the Spanishslowly
began to open up new lands forcolonization,increasingthe numbers
of Spaniardsinhabitingruralareas and extendingagricultureand stock
raising.Beginningin the 178os,theresultofpeace was populationgrowth
in the ruraldistrictsof Buenos Aires,Cordoba, and to a lesser degree
SantaFe, accompaniedby increasedproductionofcerealsand hides.
This period of comparativepeace ended in the decade followingthe
EnglishinvasionsofBuenosAiresin 1806-7. PerhapstheIndiansrealized
thatstrifein the Argentineprovincesnow gave themthe opportunity to
redressthe increasingencroachment on theirterritory. In addition,the
new provincialgovernments, concernedfirstwithwar and peace against
Spain and then with war and peace among themselves,failed to tend
to the line of fortifications
and neglectedIndianleaders.9Revolutionary
forcesmovingnorthrequisitionedentirecompaniesof soldiersthathad
previouslygarrisonedthefrontier. The resultwas widespreadstrifealong
whathad been a pacifiedfrontier. To the south,the Chilean generalJose
Miguel Carrerajoined withthe Ranquel Indiansand Pampas groupsto
raid Salto and Melincue in 1820. To the north,the Chaco Guaycuruans
attackedSanta Fe and Santiagodel Esteroin 1821.
The newly independentArgentineprovinces,dependent to a far
greaterdegree on the exportofcattlehides and otherproductsthanthe
viceregalcolonyhad been, began to organizea defense.In 1819 cattle
ranchersin the provinceof Buenos Airescreateda Sociedad de Labra-
doresy Hacendados,usingtheirlaborersas a "mobilearmy"to defendthe

211. For populationgrowthsee JorgeComadranRuiz, Evoluci6ndemnografica argentina

dutranteel periodo hispano (1535-1810) (Buenos Aires: Eudeba, 1969), 97-114. Increased
agriculturaland pastoralproductionare discussedin JuanCarlos Garavaglia,"Economic
Growthand RegionalDifferentiations:The RiverPlate Regionat the End ofthe Eighteenth
Century," HAHR 65:1 (Feb. 1985), 51-89.
9. For an attemptby the firstindependencejuntato surveythe frontierand a plea not
to neglectthe area see Pedro AndresGarcia,"Diario de un viage a SalinasGrandes,en los
campos del sud de Buenos Aires [181o],"Colecci6nde obras y documentos,comp. Ange-
lis, vol. 3. For an exampleof trooprequisitioning,
in 181o GeneralManuel Belgranotook
the twocompaniesofblandengueswho had protectedthe Santa Fe frontier withhim as he
marchedto Paraguay.Urbanode Iriondo,"Apuntes,"49. On the attacks,Saeger,"Another
View of the Mission," 515.

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78 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

moreisolatedranches.The nextyeartheprovincialgovernment ofBuenos

Aires,underthe militaryleadershipof the governor,MartinRodriguez,
adopted a moreoffensive posturewitha campaignto the southmodeled
closelyon colonialentradas.Duringthisfour-year campaign,Rodriguez
and his men invadedIndianterritory threetimesbutsucceeded in found-
ing onlyone new fort,FuerteIndependencia(present-day Tandil).
Nine years later the new governorof Buenos Aires, General Juan
Manuel de Rosas, again interestedin pacifyingthe frontierto assure
greaterproductionof cattleproducts,began another"desertcampaign."
Rosas was a prominentrancherand industrialist. He was also a consum-
mate, ruthlesspoliticiancommitted to extendingthe grazinglands ofthe
provinceofBuenosAiresand willingto allyhimselfto so-called"friendly"
Indians to achieve his ends. His goal was to free those lands between
the Salado Riverto the northand the Coloradoand Negroriversand the
cordillerato the southfromhostileIndianencroachment.'0
Rosas was successful.He added to BuenosAiresprovincean area ex-
tendingtwo hundredleagues west to the Andes and southbeyond the
Rio Negro." Moreover,as leaderofone ofthreedivisionsinvolvedin the
1833-34 campaign,he was able to returnwitha largenumberofpeople
previouslycapturedby the Pampas Indians.Rosas' division,responsible
forthe leftflankoftheinvasion,advancedfromhis ranchat Los Cerrillos
to the island of Choele-Choel on the Rio Negro and fromthereto the
mouthoftheRio Colorado.Here thetroopssplit,withone groupcontinu-
ing southalong the coast to the Rio Negroand thenup thisriverto the
confluenceofthe Limayand theNeuquen. Othertroopsmarchedinland,
followingthe Colorado intoareas "neverbeforeseen by the Christians."
The captivesthatRosasbroughtbackto "civilization" wereall encountered
in thislargeregion.

The Takingof Captives

The factthatRosasencounteredSpanishcaptivesin his "desertcampaign"
is hardlysurprising,forone of the constantsof Spanish-Indianwarfare
in the Rio de la Plata throughoutfourcenturieshad been the taking

10. Arturode Carranza,La campaiia del desiertode 1833 (Buenos Aires, 1969). John
Lynch,ArgentineDictator:Juan Manuel de Rosas, 1829-z852 (Oxford:ClarendonPress,
1981),39-41 discussesRosas' recruitment ofIndiansforhis ownpoliticalends.
11. On Rosas' conquest,Lynch,ArgentineDictator,54. On the captives,Relaci6nde
los cristianossalvados del cautiveriopor la divisionizquierdadel ejercitoexpedicionarioal
mandodel SeiiorBrigadierGeneralD. JuanManuelde Rosas (BuenosAires:Imprentadel
Estado, 1835). A facsimileeditionentitledJuan Manuel de Rosas y la redenci6nde cauti-
vos en su campana al desierto(1833-1834) was publishedby the AcademiaNacionalde la
Historia (Buenos Aires, 1979).

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 79
of captivesby both parties.Whetherit was the Ava-Chiriguanos to the
north,the tribesofthe Chaco thatassaultedSpanishsettlements, or the
Indian groups to the south, all seemed to be interestedin two types
of booty-livestock and human captives.'2As early as 1577, the Avd-
Chiriguanosattackedthe newlyfoundedSpanishsettlement ofTarijaand
carriedoffsome 40 people.
By capturingSpaniardsand mestizostheAva'-Chiriguanos were in fact
continuingtheirtraditionalculturalpatterns,fortheyhad alwaystaken
captivesfromotherIndiantribes.'3Althoughofficially forbiddenby Span-
ish law, these Indian prisonersofwarwere sold as slavesto Spanishand
mestizolandowners.Spanishand mestizocaptives,suchas twoveryyoung
girlsand a youngmestizofreedin 1590, were eitherransomedor recap-
tured by the Spanish and returnedto Spanish society.More than two
centurieslater,theAva'-Chiriguanos werestillresistingSpanishencroach-
mentand stilltakingcaptives.In 1809,theAva'-Chiriguano chiefCumbay,
angered that fivecaptiveshad been turnedover to the comandante of
Santa Cruz, mentionedthat"since olden times,it has been the custom
to ransom[captives]forone silverpeso apiece." Althoughin the peace
treatysignedwiththe Spaniardsthesame yearCumbaypromisedto turn
over all Christiancaptiveswithintwoyears,by i8ii thisclause had not
yetbeen honored.
In the south,in the pampas region,probablythe firstreferenceto
takingcaptives concerneda Spanish sailor capturedby the Tehuelche
Indiansin theearlyi6oos.'4 Bythebeginningoftheeighteenth century,if

12. On Indiancaptives,CarlosA. Mayo,"El cautiverioy sus funcionesen una sociedad

de frontera:el caso de Buenos Aires (1750-1810), Revista de Indias 45:175 (1985), 235. On
Tarija, ThierrySaignes, "Andalucesen el poblamientodel sur boliviano:en tornoa unas
el fundadorde Tarijay sus herederos,"II Jornadasde Andalucia y
figurascontrovertidas,
AmericaII, 186.
13. Saignes,"Metis et sauvages,"89, 93, 118, 119. In generalthe Spanishdid notenter
intoformalwrittentreatieswithIndiansuntilafter1763,farlaterthaneitherthe Frenchor
the English. LawrenceKinnaird,"SpanishTreatieswithIndianTribes,"WesternHistorical
Quarterly 10 (1979), 39-48.
14. The sailor'scaptivitystoryis toldin SilvestreAntoniode Rojas, "Derroterode un
viaje de Buenos Aires a los Cesares," Colecci6nde obras y documnentos, comp. Angelis,
2:537-48. On the freeingof captives,see forexamplethe 1738 letterof Juande Santisso
y Moscosa to the Marques del Torrenuevadetailinginvasionsand the takingofcaptivesin
C6rdoba and Tucuman(ArchivoGeneralde Indias, Seville [hereafter AGI], Audienciade
Buenos Aires 49); the letterof Miguel de Salcedo to Josede la Quintanamentioningthe
takingof "some captives"in an Indian raidon the Arrecifearea of the provinceof Buenos
Airesin 1740 (AGI, Audienciade BuenosAires42); theletterfromthe Cabildo ofAsunci6n
describingthe invasionofthe nationsofthe GranChaco and theirtakingofcaptivesin 1761
(AGI, Audienciade BuenosAires48). As late as 1789,Rafaelde Sobremonte,the intendant
ofC6rdoba,referred to Indianinvaderstaking"somewomencaptivesalongthe RioTercero"
(AGI, Audienciade BuenosAires50). Foran exampleofthefreeingofcaptivessee theletter
ofJuanVictorinoMartinezde Tineo to thecrown(AGI, Audienciade BuenosAires49).

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8o I HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

notearlier,mostIndiangroupsincludedsomecaptivesamongtheirpopu-
lation.Reportsofmyriadincursionsby hostileIndiansnormallyincluded
mentionof the takingof captives,while Spanishentradasoftenfreedat
leastone or two. It was fromtheranksofex-captiveswho had learnedthe
languagesand customsof theircaptorsthatthe Spanishoftenrecruited
interpretersand scouts.
Sporadichostagetakingcontinuedalongwithsporadicraiding.Some
of these hostageswere incorporatedinto Indian society,but otherses-
caped, and stillotherswere ransomedbackto Spanishsociety.Governors
and viceroyswere oftencalled upon to contribute to fundsforthe ransom
of captives.In 1788, forexample,ViceroyLoreto donateda totalof 663
pesos 31/2realesto ransomfromIndiancaptivity Spaniardswho had prob-
ably been capturedin the 1786 San Luis raids. From the entriesin his
accountbooks,thepriceforrescuinga captiveseemsto have rangedfrom
50 pesos 41/2 reales paid fora womanin April1788 to ioo pesos paid for
a man two monthsearlier.'5 The viceroyalso paid 512 pesos 7 reales for
eightcaptivesfreedin Salinasin December 1788,an averageof64 pesos
per individual.
Such relativelylarge privategiftswere not the onlysourceof money
forfreeingSpaniards.Afterreceivinggovernment permission,individual
citizensalso ransomedmembersoftheirfamilieswhohad been takencap-
tive. In addition,all people drawingup wills in colonialRio de la Plata
donatedat least two reales to the Fund forthe Redemptionof Captives,
one ofthemandasforzasasoriginally envisionedto aid in freeingcaptives
in the Holy Land. In the Rio de la Plata thismoneywas used to ransom
local people.
Indianswere nottheonlyones to takecaptives.Spanishofficials were
not averse to holdingIndiansas hostagesin an attemptto coerce local
tribes. Afterlearningof an Indian raid in 1582, forexample,Pedro de
Segura, corregidorof Tomina,held hostagea groupof Ava'-Chiriguano
chiefswho had come to visit.16 It is also clearthatthroughout theRio de la

15. Torres,Diario de gastosdel Virrey.

i6. On Segura, Saignes,"Metis et sauvages,"88. An6nimo,"Viaje al Rio de la Plata y
Chile (1752-1756),"Revistade la Juntade EstudiosHist6ricosde Mendoza9:2 (1980), 367,
mentionsthat"the SpanishsoldiersattacktheIndians,enslavingthosewhomtheycapture."
Recentlypublishedresearchshowsthatduringthe seventeenthand eighteenthcenturies
Spaniardstook Indian captivesin the Tucumanarea. See Gast6nGabrielDoucet, "Sobre
cautivosde guerray esclavosindiosen el Tucuman:Notasen tornoa un ficherodocumental
salteniodel sigloXVIII," Revistade Historiadel Derecho 16 (1988), 59-152, foran interest-
ing discussionofhow the Spanishauthority used Indiancaptivesas slavesand fordetailed
information about Spanishcaptureof bothCalchaquisand Guaranis.On the Salta official,
GuillermoFurlong,PedroJuanAndreuy su carta a MateoAndreu(BuenosAires:Libreria
del Plata, 1953), 123.

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 81

Plata many Indians whom the Spanish managed to capture in battle were
enslaved. In 1750, the JesuitAndreu mentioned a governmentofficialin
Salta who had captured some Indian children and was selling them for
ioo pesos apiece. In addition, Indians held in prison by Spanish authori-
ties or workingin religious institutionsor private homes in Spanish towns
and cities commonlybelieved themselves to be captives of the Spaniards.
The finedistinctionsbetween captivityand imprisonmentor between cap-
tivityand Christianization escaped many Indians.'7 From time to time,
captives were exchanged. In 1783 Pedro Pablo Maldonado was sent to the
Lujain fortby his Indian captors to deliver a message offeringto exchange
two Christians fortwo specific Indians. If the exchange were effected,the
Indians would consider it a sign of peace, but if the Spaniards failed to
release these two captives, the Spaniards would be attacked when they
made their yearly visit to the Salinas salt flats.
Spanish society probably took captives as booty,forprofit,and to teach
a lesson to those whom they considered "heathen savages."' 8 Although
the Spanish colony often sufferedfroma scarcityof labor, Indian slaves
were too few in number and too intractable to offera viable solution to
Spanish society. Indian societies probably took captives forprofit,to gain
a medium of exchange with other Indian groups and the Spanish, and to
increase their labor force. Adult male captives were oftenenslaved, or at
least thought of themselves as being in some type of serfdom. In the sur-
viving captivity declarations, both men and women referto their "amo,"
their Indian master.
Surviving documents furtherattest to the use of the captives, espe-
cially children, as a medium of exchange or as goods to be bought, sold,
or bartered.'9 In 1790, for example, the Auca Indians approached the

17. On Indians'confusion aboutcaptivity:"One Indianand one Christianwho said they

had escaped fromthe Rancheriaarrived[in the Indiancamp],and theytold how thevhad
been held withhandcuffs (grillos).Latertwogirlswhoescaped fronmtheResidenciabygoing
overthe roofcame, and theytoldus how muchtheyhad been made to workon thelooms."
Carlos A. Mayo, Fuentespara la historiade la frontera:declaracionesde cautivos(Uni-
versidadNacionaldel Mar del Plata, 1985), 19, Declaraci6nde Andresde Rodriguez,San
Juande Chascomus,Feb. 20, 1781. On theChristian-Indian exchange,idem., 23, Declara-
ci6n de Pedro Pablo Maldonado,Fronterade Lujan, Aug.26, 1783.
18. For the sale of Indian captives,so-calledpiezas in Tucuman,see Doucet, "Sobre
cautivos,"lo-12. Accordingto Mayo (Fuentes,1), captiveswere used as slaves,as partof
intertribalcommerce,as hostages,as messengers,and as peace offerings. See "amo" refer-
ences in, forexample,the testimony ofRafaelde Soto (BuenosAires,June14, 1752) and of
JuanMacias (Fuertede NuestraMadrede Cristoy Fronteradel Zanj6n, Dec. 31, 1768), in
Mayo,Fuentes, 3, 11.
19. The testimony ofJuanPascualZurita,Guardiadel Zanj6n,Dec. 26, 1768, in Mayo
(Fuentes,9), alludes to Indians"who had fiveChristiancaptivesto sell." Nicolas Romero,
afterspendingtwo monthsas a captiveof the Pampas,was sold to the Pehuenchesfora
poncho. Mayo, Fuentes,17, Declaraci6nde Nicolas Romero,Guardiadel Monte,Jan. 15,

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82 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

small Spanishgarrisonin Patagoniaoffering to trade"a girlaged 4 or 5,

daughterof Christians,"for"aguardiente,flannelbaize, yerba, yellow
tinfoil,shavingbowls,and othergoods."The government respondedby
supplyingblue glass beads, baize, littlemirrors,smallbells, ribbonsof
variouscolors,and blue woolenstuff fromthe royalwarehouse,and pur-
chasingaguardiente,hats,spurs,bridles,smalltinbasins,thimbles,large
ringsforreins,tobacco,yerba,and driedfigsforthe Indians.The entire
shipment,worth295 pesos 6 reales,was dispatchedsouth,whilefundsto
coverthisexpensewere transferred fromthe Fund forthe Redemptionof
Captivesto theWar Department.Preparations werealso made to receive
the child in the Buenos Airesorphanagewhilewaitingto see ifher par-
entsor anyrelativeclaimedher.Althoughthegovernment warnedagainst
"havingcaptivitybecome a branchof commerce,"that,in part,is what
it had alwaysbeen. The veryfactthatthe RoyalWarehousestockedsuch
itemsas glass beads and smallbells atteststo an ongoingtradefueledby
the ransoming ofSpanishcaptives.In addition,captiveswereoccasionally
used in intertribaltrade; Pampas Indians,who did not themselvesprac-
tice formalbondage, providedthe Araucanianswithslaves.20Captives,
ransomedback to the Spaniardsor exchangedbetweenaboriginalgroups,
provideda mediumofexchangeforIndiancommerce.
The periodic returnof captivesto Spanishsocietycould sometimes
serveeitheras a ritualdemonstration thatan Indiangroupwas willingto
enterintopeace negotiations withthelocal authoritiesor as an affirmation
ofthatpeace.21Captiveswere also used by Indiangroupsas a vehiclefor
signalingtheirwillingnessto come intomissions.In the mid-eighteenth
century,forexample,as soon as a provisionalpeace was signedbetween
the Spaniardsand an Indiangroupin whichthe Indiansrequestedthata
missionarybe sentto them,theyvoluntarily releasedanycaptivesliving
among them.As GovernorJosede Andonaeguireportedto the Spanish
government, when the Indiansrequesteda reduccion,"theybringwith
them,at the same time,a largenumberof Christiancaptives."22Indeed

1781. On the younggirl,AGNA, Tribunales,Legajo 227, Expediente17, IX-38-9-2. The

Royal Exchequer frequently mentionedsupplyingsimilargoods to the Patagoniagarrison
"so thattheycan buy horsesand otherlivestock... fromthe infidelIndians."Accordingto
the 1781testimony ofa womancaptive,"manyofthewomencaptiveswhichthe Indiantook
were exchangedforclothand aguardientein theSpanishoutpostalongthe Patagoniancoast;
theyalso exchangedcattle."Mayo,Fuentes,21, Declaraci6nde MariaPaula Santana,Fortin
de Areco, Feb. 23, 1781.
20. On the PampasIndians,K. Jones,"Conflictand Adaptation,"34. On captivesas an
exchangemedium,Mayo,"El cautiverio,"237.
21. Mayo,"El cautiverio,"
238.
22. AGI, Audienciade Buenos Aires49, letterof Andonaeguito Ensenada, June24,
1749. See also Acevedo, "El GobernadorMartinezde Tineo," 34, forthe same behavior
amongthe Chunupies.

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 83
the Spaniardslostno timein interpreting thisconductas an indicationof
the Indians'willingnessto leave all "savage"customsbehind.
The morethansixhundredcaptivesfreedduringRosas' lengthycam-
paignweretakenfromPampas,Tehuelche,and Araucaniangroups.23 Mili-
taryofficialsinterrogated the captivesone by one, askinga fixedset of
questionsto elicit basic information about them and theirexperience.
Upon his returnto Buenos Aires,the governorhad a list of those freed
printedand widelydistributed in thehope ofhelpingthesemen,women,
and childrento findtheirkinfolk. The publishedlistis an excellentsource
ofinformation on the demography ofcaptivity. Each captiveis described
by name,sex,age, yearsin captivity, and abilityto speak Spanish.Several
entriesare enhancedby moredetailedphysicaldescriptions.Because of
the uniformity of the questionsasked, the listoffreedcaptivesprovides
comparableand quantifiable data on theentiregroup.There is everyrea-
son to believe thatthosefreedby Rosas were representative of a typical
groupofcaptives.

DemographicAnalysisof Rosas' List

of Freed Captives
The most strikingcharacteristic of those ex-captiveswho had not been
born in captivitywas thatwomenoutnumberedmen by almosttwo to
one. Of the totalof 634 such individuals,389 (6i percent)were female;
245 (39 percent)were male. Indeed the 1833 groupofcaptivesprobably
had a largerproportionofmen thanmostcaptivegroups,suggestingthe
possible presence of Spanishrenegadesamongthose Rosas classifiedas
captives. In 1764, forexample,the outgoinggovernorof Tucumarnre-
ferredto 33 SpanishraidsintotheChaco thathad freed"20 maleChristian
captives . . . [and] . . . 240 womenand youngchildren."24Another73
unspecified"childrenbornin captivity" (presumably mestizos)werefreed
in the 1833 campaign,bringingthetotalnumberreturnedtocreolesociety
to707.
The overwhelming predominanceofwomenin the captivegroupcan
in part be attributedto the Indians' systematically
takingwomen and
childrenwhile killingmen.25In the wordsof a mid-eighteenth-century

23. On the Chaco raids,K. Jones,"Conflictand Adaptation,"112.

24. AGI, Residenciade Coronel Don JuanVictorinoMartinezde Tineo, 1764, Audi-
encia de Buenos Aires49. Data citedby Axtell("The WhiteIndians,"6o-61) suggestthat
NorthAmericanIndiansalso preferred womencaptives.Two listsofcaptivesfreedin 1764
contain107 "men"and 170 "womenand children."Vaughanand Richterdisagree.
25. Much the same patternofcapturing womenand childrenand annihilating
men can
be seen in the SpanishcaptureofIndiansin theTucumanregion.Doucet, "Sobre cautivos,"

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84 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

Scottishtravelerto the Rio de la Plata,"thedeathofthemenis certainif,

by some misfortune, theyare capturedby the savages,fortheysacrifice
all the Spanishmen exceptthe children."The same treatment ofSpanish
male captiveswas stillin effectin 1803; accordingto a freedmale captive,
the Indiansraided"to rob fromthe haciendasand to take the boys they
encountercaptive,bringingthemup accordingto theircustoms,and kill-
ingtheadults."Twenty-five yearsearliertheviceroyoftheRio de la Plata
reportedthat"the Indiansare so inhumanethattheydelightin killing,
makingno exceptionsbecause ofage or sex,and onlysometimesreserving
thelifeofthewomen,whomtheytakewiththemin orderto indulgetheir
abominablevices."
Specificor approximateages are givenfor97.8 percentofthecaptives.
The mean age forwomenis 21.3 years,whilethatformen is only 13 1.
The same typeofage discrepancycan be seen in the medianage, 19 for
womenand 13 formen. When menand womenare dividedintoten-year
age groups,below the age of io therewere moremalesthanfemales(see
Table i). The largestgroupofcaptivesfallsintothe 10-19 age group;this
groupis also the modal groupforbothfemaleand male captives.Above
the age of 19 the male and femaleprofilesdiffergreatly.For example,
betweenthe ages of30-39 and 40-49 thereare sizable groupsoffemale
captivesbut virtuallyno males.
Regroupingthedataintotwosets-o to 14 (childhood)and 15+ (adult-
hood)-we can again see thatwhile therewere slightlymore male chil-
drenthanfemaleamongthecaptivegroup,in theadultpopulationwomen
predominated(Table 2).
Only 35 percentof the femalecaptiveswere children.The rest,in-
deed the largestgroupin captivity, were adultwomen.The nextmajor
groupwerewhitemalesbelowtheage of15. Amongmalesonly38 percent
were adults.While therewas a slightly largernumberofmalesamongthe
totalunder-1sage group,the over-15groupwas dominatedby females.
Thus Indiancaptivesconsistedofwomenofall ages and youngboys. Even
among the over-15male captives,onlyfourwere above the age of 25.
Interestingly, thesefour"older"men were somewhatatypical:two were
Paraguayansand two,Chileans.
The Indian preferenceforfemalecaptiveswas probablybased on a
combinationofsexual,strategic,and economicreasons.Possibly,women
could help the Indian tribesreplenishtheirpopulation.Spanishwomen,

114-16. For the Scottishtraveler,see An6nimo,"Viaje al Rio de la Plata,"367. For the 1803
report,AGNA, Testimoniodel expediente. . . Hacienda, Legajo 122, Expediente3081,
IX-34-5-8.For the viceroy'sreport,AGI, Audienciade BuenosAires307, LetterofViceroy
Cevallosto Jos6de Galvez, Nov. 27, 1777.

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 85
TABLE 1: Age and Sex ofCaptives

Women Men
Age N percentage N percentage
0-9 67 17.7 79 32.7
lo-1g 135 35.4 137 56.6
20-29 8o 20.9 22 9.1

30-39 61 16.o 1 .4
40-49 30 7.9 1 .4
50+ 8 2.2 2 .8

Total 381 (100o0) 242 (100.0)

Note: Onlycases thatincludedgood age datawere includedin thistable.

TABLE 2: GroupedAge and Sex ofCaptives

Percentage Percentageof Percentage Percentageof

ofall womenin this ofall menin this
Age Women women age group Men men age group Total

0-14 133 34.9 47.0 150 61.9 53.0 283 (ioo.o)

15+ 248 65.1 72.9 92 38.2 27.1 340 (ioo.o)

Total 381 (100o0) (100o0) 242 (100o0) (100o0) 623

liketheirIndian counterparts, wereeconomically productivemembersof

nativesociety.They were moredocile and physicallyeasier to manage.
Once capturedby Indianstheyshowedlittletendencyto escape back to
SpanishsocietywithreportsofIndianmilitary preparations,as did Span-
ish men. Of course,thoseSpanishwomenwho had bornechildrenwhile
in captivitywould have been even less willingto escape, as thatwould
have obligedthemto leave theirchildrenbehind.
The data on age at the timeof captureare farscantier,in parta re-
sultofthe longyearsofcaptivity thatdimmedthe memoryofthosetaken
captive young (see Table 3). The averagefemalewas i6.2 years old at
the timeof her capture,while the averagemale was only7.6 yearsold.
It is interesting
to note thatfemalerespondentshad a muchhigherrate
of recall,in parta functionoftheirusuallybeing olderthanmales when
takencaptive.While 62 percentofthefemalesquestionedcould givethe
approximatelengthof time of theircaptivity,only 37.3 percentof the
malescould supplythe same information. Nevertheless,thedata indicate
thatmales were overwhelmingly boysbelow the age of io at the timeof
capture. Young children,both male and female,were attractiveto the

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86 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

TABLE 3: Age at Capture by Sex of Captives

Women Men
Age N percentage N percentage
0-9 88 37.5 69 75.8
lo-19 63 26.8 '9 20.9
20-29 40 17.0 2 2.2
30-39 39 16.6
40-49 5 2.1 1 1.1

Total 235 (100o0) 91 (100.0)

Indians because they could be more fullyacculturated into Indian society;

yet the data show a relative preference for capturing male rather than
female children.26In other words, females were at riskto be taken captive
at any age, while the older a male was, the more probable it was that he
would be killed ratherthan captured.
Because of the relatively greater age at time of capture among the
female population, it is not surprising that a sizable number of women
captured at age 15 or above were already married (2i percent or 52/
248) or widowed (another ii percent or 28/248) at the time they were
taken. Indian raiders displayed no culturalbias against takingwomen who
had been previously married or women with children. Indeed, women of
proven fecunditymight have been more attractiveas prospective sexual
partners.
Did female gender help assure better treatmentonce captured? At
least one source suggests that neithernative nor captive women were well
treated, both being flogged "in a most barbarous manner" if they lost
any of the animals under their care.27On the other hand, Spanish captive
women were often taken as wives or concubines by a cacique or warrior
among both the Chaco and Pampas tribes,althoughamong certain groups,
such as the Chaco Guaycuruans, captives had such a low status that only

26. For example,in 1832 Indian raiderscirculating

in a zone ofquintasnear Santa F6
killedeightmen,tenwomen,and one infantin twochacraswhiletakingthreeorfouryoung
boyscaptive.Urbanode Iriondo,"Apuntes,"95.
27. On flogging,K. Jones,"La Cautiva,"91. On Spanishwomenas wives and concu-
bines, Saeger,"AnotherView ofthe Mission,"503; Mayo,"El cautiverio,"240. For mention
of"an Indian marriedto a womancaptive"see the Testimony of SebastianGonzalez (Fron-
teradel Pago de la Magdalenay Fuertedel Zanj6n,Nov. 24, 1770), Mayo,Fuentes, 13. On
statusamongthe Pampas,Raul Mandrini,"La agricultura indigenaen la regi6npampeana
y sus adyacencias(siglosXVIII y XIX),"AnuarioIEHS 1 (1986), 12. It has been suggested
thatonlycaciques could affordto provideformorethanone wifeand anychildrenshe might
bear. On avoidingthe brideprice,Mayo,"El cautiverio,"240.

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 87

menwho could do no bettertookthemas mates.The practiceofpolygamy

in Chaco and Pampas Indian societyas well as among the Patagonian-
based Tehuelches,especiallyamongthecaciques,made iteasierto absorb
women into the nativefamilystructure.Indeed amongcertainPampas
groups,having"manywives,manyhead ofcattleand muchsilver"were
all signsof power and wealth,and therefore of social standing.In some
tribesthe availabilityof Spanishwomenas matesallowed men to avoid
the paymentofthe "brideprice"thattheywould have had to pay foran
Indianwoman.Seen in thislight,captivewomenrepresented an attractive
alternativeforIndianmenofmarriageable age.
The practiceof Indian men takingSpanishwives was beginningto
change somewhatin the early nineteenthcenturyas largergroups of
AraucaniansfromChile came to dominatethe pampas,restructuring the
indigenouspampa tribesin the processof "Araucanizingthe Desert."28
The Araucaniansdisplayeda widespreadculturalproclivity forcreating
male-centeredmythsabout the sexual skillsof femalesof anothercul-
ture. They prized Spanish women for theirspecial erotic talentsand
as a result tended to incorporatefemale Spanish captives into their
societyas slave-concubines,ratherthanas wives. Nevertheless,women
held by Araucanizedtribesas consortsor slaves also providedpower,
wealth, and status to their captors. The net result was that Spanish
women,throughone formofsexualliaisonor another,formedbondswith
theirIndian captorsthatwere usuallynotcreatedbetweenSpanishmen
and Indian women. CapturedSpanishadultmen were rarelyallowed to
takeIndianwives,but ratherforcedto endureinvoluntary celibacy.
Even thoughcapturedin harrowing raids,manySpanishwomencame
withtheircaptors,preferring
to identify to live amongthe Indiansrather
thanreturnto "civilization."This was especiallytrueofwomencaptured
as younggirls.The aforementioned anonymousScotsmanalluded to the
case of two girlswho were capturedas youngchildrenand subsequently
ransomed,but who soonafterward escaped fromSpanishsocietyto rejoin
the Indians.29As earlyas theend ofthesixteenth centurySpanishsoldiers

28. K. Jones,"La Cautiva,"7, 93.

29. On the twogirls,"Viaje al Rio de la Plata,"367. For anotherexampleofa Spanish
womanwho preferredto returnto Inidiansociety,see Mayo,"El cautiverio,"242. In 1573,
the Toledo expeditionreportedon "a mestizawho had remainedwiththe chiriguaneswhen
theykilled captainAndresManso . . . when the otherIndianwomenfledintothe monlte,
she wentwiththem.Althoughsome Spaniardswho knewher,advisedher to remain[with
them],she did notwantto return,choosingto followtheothers,and untiltodayshe remainls
withthe Indians,havingbecome a chiriguana."Aftertenyearsamongthe Indians,she had
no second thoughtsabout her loyalty.Reginaldode Lizairraga,Descripcio6n breve de toda
la tierrade Peru, Tucuman,Rio de la Plata y Chile, chap. 38 (Madrid: Ediciones Atlas,
1968), quoted by Saignes,"Metiset sauvages,"85.

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88 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

came acrosscaptiveSpanishwomenwho had been completelyaccultur-

ated into Indian societyand who, when giventhe chance, preferredto
remainwiththeirso-calledcaptors.
An instructive episode is providedby Luis de la Cruz, a Spanishmili-
taryofficer sentto surveya trans-Andean routebetweensouthernChile
and BuenosAiresin 1806.30 TwentydaysafterleavingSantiago,between
Guacaque and Puelee, a womanwhomhe firstbelievedto be an Indian
was broughtto de la Cruz. Upon lookingmorecloselytheofficer realized
thatshe had Spanish features,and he proceeded to questionher. Her
namewas PetronilaPerez, and she was a nativeofPergamino,one ofthe
fortsalongthe BuenosAiresfrontier. She was a captiveofthe Pehuelches
and the wifeof the Indian Marifian,havingbeen previouslymarriedto
Carrilon,brotherofthecacique, whohad sincedied. Petronilarecounted
how she had been takencaptiveas a youngchildalongwitha sisterand
two stepbrothers in a raid along the Buenos Aires post road, in which
her motherand stepfather had been killedby the Indians. De la Cruz,
amazed at her abilityto speak Spanish,asked her how she had come to
learn it. "I've had dealingswithotherwomencaptiveswho taughtme
how to speak as theydid," Petronilaresponded,testifying notonlyto the
existenceofa groupofSpanishwomencaptiveswithinIndiansocietybut
also to theirawarenessofbeinglinguistically and culturally different
from
theircaptors.
While the firstpartofde la Cruz's interview withPetronilasuggestsa
self-conscious attemptby Spanishwomencaptivesto preserveand trans-
mit theirculture,theirsubsequentconversationrevealsotherlevels of
complexity. It is interesting to notethatde la Cruz himselfcould notde-
cide whetherto treatPetronilaas a Spaniardor an Indian. He enticedher
to returnforfurther questioningby offering her "manygifts,"the tradi-
tionalSpanishapproachto influencing Indians.Petronilain captivityhad
livedin the Salinasarea, a regiontraversedbyannualSpanishexpeditions
to the salt marshesand a zone of increasingSpanishencroachment.She
admittedthatoverthe yearsshe had seen severalSpaniards,and thatin
facteveryyearhertwobrothers, whohad subsequently been freed,came
to visither at her home. Clearlythe frontier was a permeablezone with
Indians visitingSpanishsettlements and SpaniardsvisitingIndian ones.
At this pointde la Cruz could no longercontainhis amazement."Why
didn'tyoujoin themand returnto theChristians?" "I didn'twantto leave
because I love mychildren,"was hermosthumananswer.

30. BibliothequeNationalede Paris,Fonde espagnol179, "Diario e informesde Luis

de la Cruz sobrela aperturade un caminodesde el surde Chile hastaBuenosAires,a trav6s
de los Andes"(i8o6).

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 89
We do notknowhow Indiansocialmoresdictatedthata mantreathis
wife,or whetherwomen,eitherIndianor Spanish,had anysay in choos-
ing theirmarriagepartners.3' If capturedwhile stillyoung,as the above
examplesdemonstrate,Spanishwomencould be integratedinto Indian
societywell enoughthattheypreferredit to the "Christian"world.This
preferenceprobablyresultedfromtheirloyaltyto theirIndian husbands
and children,and fromfearof returningto a Spanishworldthatmight
brandthemas socialoutcasts.
Regardlessof their motivation,theirbehaviorwas inexplicableto
European men, who could onlyinterpretit as a signof femininesexual
passion and weakness."They preferto live like slaves and satisfytheir
passions, than reside among those of theirrace (so corruptis human
nature)."32While womenwho preferredIndian lifewere licentiousand
corrupt,menwho chose "captivity" over"freedom"were seen as outlaws
or traitors.To the Spaniards,captivitywas furthermore a punishment or-
dained by God; one femalecaptivereportedthather daughterhad spent
thelastyearsas a beata in the House ofReligiousRetreatin BuenosAires
beseechingGod thather motherbe freed,and doingpenance.
Both men and womencapturedby the Indianswere expectedto par-
ticipatein the Indian economy.Amongthe Guaycuruansto the north,
Indianwomenand captivesofbothsexesparticipatedin spinning,weav-
ing, preparingwild honeyand carob beans forfermentation intointoxi-
cants,and otherdomesticchores.33 To the southfemalecaptivesworked
alongwithIndian womenat herdinglivestock,mountedon horsebackto
tendthecattleand sheep dayand night.Amongthosetribesthatpracticed
agriculture,Spanishwomenwere involvedin cultivating wheat,barley,
and beans. They probablyalso joined in the preparationof raw hides,
wool, skins,tallow,grease,and ostrichfeathersfortradeto Spanishmar-
kets,as well as in artesanalproductionof wovenfabrics,leathergoods,
and silverobjects. Nativewomenand captiveswere also responsiblefor
all housekeepingchores, includingcookingfood, saddlinghorses, and
settingup the tents(toldos)thatservedas nativehousing.
31. NorthAmericanIndians, accordingto Axtell,were mostcivil to white women,
allowingthemas widea latitudeofchoicein marriagepartnersas theydid Indianwomen.He
also arguesthatin NorthAmericathe IndianistreatedtheirEnglishcaptiveswithkindness,
adoptingthemintoIndianculture."The WhiteIndians,"65, 67 passim.,78.
32. The quote is fromAn6nimo,"Viaje al Rio de la Plata," 367. On the beata, see
Relaci6nde los cristianossalvados,6.
33. On the Guaycuruans,Saeger,"AnotherView ofthe Mission,"496, 504. On herd-
ing, K. Jones,"La Cautiva,"91. On agricultural
tasks,Mandrini,"La agriculturaindigena,"
14. On goods fortrade,K. Jones,"La Cautiva,"92. See also Mandrini,"La agriculturaindi-
gena," 13. On housekeepingtasks,AlcidesD'Orbigny,El hombreamnericano (BuenosAires:
EditorialFuturo,1944), 244; Raul Mandrini,Los araucanos de las pampas en el siglo XIX
(BuenosAires:CentroEditorde Am6ricaLatina, 1984), 13.

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9
go HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

TABLE 4: PhysicalAttributes
ofCaptives

Women Men

N percentage N percentage

Skincolor
White 92 69.2 50 50.5
Swarthy (triguefio) 28 21.0 25 25.5
Dark (moreno) 4 3.0 12 12.0
Not given 9 6.8 12 12.0
Total 133 (100o0) 99 (ioo.o)
Hair color
Blond 46 34.6 14 14.2
Red 37 27.8
Brownor black 37 27.8 43 43.4
Not given 13 9.8 42 42.4
Total 133 (100o0) 99 (ioo.o)
Eye color
Blue 13 9.8 11 11.1
Brown 87 65.4 64 64.7
Green 2 2.0
Not given 33 24.8 22 22.2
Total 133 (100o0) 99 (ioo.o)

The Indians certainlychose theircaptiveswitha view towardwho

could best servetheirneeds whenacculturated intotheirsociety.A modi-
cum of physicalpreferencemayalso have been at workin determining
who would be capturedor at least who would survive.Rosas' list pro-
vides physicaldescriptionsfor34 percentofthe women(133/389)and 41
percentofthemen(99/245)to aid in identification(See Table 4). An analy-
sis demonstrates a strongpreferenceforpeople describedby the soldiers
freeingthemas fair-skinned and/orblond(rubio).Blue eyes (ojos azules)
were also a popular feature.This descriptionof the captivepopulation
is ratherstartlinggiventhe overwhelming predominanceofdark-skinned
(triguenioor moreno),dark-eyedsettlersalongthefrontier. Analyzingthe
physicalattributesby the sex of the captives,thereis a suggestionthat
faircomplexion,probablyequated withexoticphysicalbeauty,was even
moreprizedin thechoice offemalethanmale captives.
In additionto thosewomendescribedas "dark"weretwoslavewomen
(one negraand theothermorena),a morenaex-slave,and a parda. Among
the men, one was classifiedas a mulatilloand anotheras a black. The
captivegroupalso includedthreehispanizedmale Indiansand a woman
described as havingbeen born in the AbiponReduccion.At most this
groupofnon-espaiiolesnumberedten. The vastmajority (98.5 percent)of
the captivesperceivedthemselvesas raciallySpanish.

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 91

TABLE 5: BirthplaceofCaptives

Province Male Female Total

Buenos Aires 107 143 250
San Luis 41 99 140
Chile 23 36 59
C6rdoba 11 43 54
Santa Fe 3 14 17
Santiago del Estero 2 10 12
Mendoza 7 7
Paraguay 3 -- 3
San Juan 2 1 3
Entre Rios 1 1
Tucuman 1 1
Unknown 52 40 92

Total 245 394 639

An analysis of geographical zones supplying captives shows that the

largest group of captives were people born in the province of Buenos Aires
(Table 5). Providing half as many captives was San Luis province to the
west of Buenos Aires. The next-largestnumber of captives were born in
Chile and Cordoba. The small numbers of paraguayos, tucumanos, and
san juaninos freed in the Rosas campaign is not surprisinggiven that the
captives found were all in an area to the south of Buenos Aires province,
and thus relativelyfarfromthe northernChaco areas. But the small num-
ber of mnendozinosis surprising, especially in contrast to the relatively
large number of captives born in neighboringChile.
The vast majorityof the captives were countrypeople, inhabitantsof
the agricultural and stock-raisingzones opening along the frontier.Only
sixteen individuals (nine women and seven men) had been born in a city;
all the others listed rural towns, estancias, and chacras as their places of
birth. Their modest origins show in that only eight of them referto their
fatherby the title "Don," a universal sign of respect, social standing, and
at least a modicum of wealth in the society. Only one captive made any
reference to owing propertyherself,and anotheridentifiedher husband as
a "wagon driver and owner."34Three city-bornwomen, two of whom were
related to arrieros, were taken while travelingfromone city to another.
On the whole, the captives were typical representativesof the rural popu-

34. The formerwas FelicianaGutierrez,a 50-year-oldwidowfromGuardia del Salto,

who declared thatshe had lefther two sons "and some goods comprisingher fortune"in
the place of her birth(Relaci6nde los cristianossalvados, 6). The latterwas Maria Angela
Benosa, nativeofthe cityofC6rdoba,who had been takenin the same raidon the Guardia
de Saltoas she and herhusbandwere returning fromBuenosAires(Ibid., 14).

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92 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

TABLE 6: RegionWhereCaptureOccurred

Region Male Female Total

Buenos Aires 37 97 134
San Luis 20 56 76
C6rdoba 6 29 35
Santa Fe 2 8 10
Chile 4 5 9
Mendoza 1 1

Total 69 196 265

lationofthe Spanishpampas,people ofmodestmeanswho tendedcattle

or raised crops foran absentee landowneror perhaps themselvesheld
smallparcelsofland. Theydiffered fromtheruralpopulationat largeonly
in the overrepresentation ofwomenin theirmidst.35
Comparinginformation on place of birthand place of captureoffers
someinsightsintotheruralpopulationofthepampa(Table6). Justas most
of the captiveshad been born in Buenos Airesor San Luis, mostwere
takencaptivethere.Those fewlistedas citydwellerswerecapturedin the
campo. The greatmajorityofcaptiveswere countrypeople takencaptive
in the veryzone or regionwheretheyhad been born,a reflection oflow
geographicalmobilityforthe populationat large. Seventy-one percentof
thewomenforwhominformation is completewere capturedin the place
of theirbirth(127/180); formen the numberwas 64 percent(44/69). A
groupof male and femaleruralmigrants fromSantiagodel Estero, Men-
doza, and Paraguayhad moved to the Buenos Aires-Cordoba-SanLuis
frontierin the hope offindingbettereconomicconditions.In spiteofthe
presence of femalemigrants,capturesofwomentendedto occur in the
regionoftheirbirth,suggestingless geographicalmobilityforthe female
ruralpopulation.
One hundredninety-five respondents suppliedeven morespecificin-
formation on where theyhad been captured.Overwhelmingly theyhad
been takenwhile on an estanciaor chacra (156 individuals),in a rural
chapel (6), or alonga road (8), thatis, in the countryside.
Anothergroup
had been capturedin or neara fort(5) or in posthouses(postas)(ii). Only
7 captivesdescribedtheplace wheretheywereseized as "in town,"while
another2 were foundhidingin a coal shed. Those takencaptivewere
overwhelmingly ruralpeople, performing ruraltasks.Their capturehad
probablytakenplace in muchthe same waythatAndreshad been taken
in 1803.

35. Axtellalso findsthattheNorthAmericanscapturedby Indianswerea typicalgroup

ofcolonistsexceptfortheprevalenceofwomen("The WhiteIndians,"57).

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 93
TABLE 7: Language RetentionofCaptives

Women Men Total

No Spanish 42 64 1o6
Knows only name in Spanish 3 5 8
Minimal Spanish 25 44 69
Total 70 113 183

Workingas an indenturedlaborer(conchabado)on theestanciawhich

belongs to Don PastorCornejoon the edge of the Rio Dorado along
theChaco frontier, a lineofseveralIndianwarriorssuddenlyappeared
a littleafternoon, and shoutingwar criesand makinga greatdeal of
noise,theymade me mounton a horse,threatening tokillme ifI didn't
do it, and theycarriedme awaywithan Indianleadingmymount.36
While it is difficult
to determinewhatpsychological processesthecap-
tivesunderwentduringtheircaptureand earlycaptivity, the listoffreed
captivesand otherevidence providessome interesting suggestionsas to
the abilityofthe captivesto surviveas culturally
Spanish.
One important indicatorofSpanishculturalpersistencewas thereten-
tionofspokenSpanish.Althoughless thana peifectindicationofculture,
it is a surrogatevariable.Amongthosefreedin the Rosas expeditionio6
people (or i6.7 percentofthegroup)couldnotspeakone wordofSpanish
(Table 7). Another77 were limitedto at mosta fewSpanishwords.
More strikingis the differencein languageretentionbetween male
and femalecaptives.While at least 28 percentof the male captives(69/
245) had suffered totallanguagedeprivation, the comparablepercentage
forfemaleswas only ii.6 percent(45/389).Females, who represented
6i. 5 percentofthe entiregroup,were only38 percentofthosewho had
sufferedlanguagedeprivation.Here, threefactorsseem to have been of
capital importance:age at timeof captivity, exposureto a sizable group
ofcaptiveswithinIndian society,and the captorsociety'sattitudetoward
the group.Those capturedyoungquicklyforgotnotonlytheirnativelan-
guage but even the namesof theirmotherand father.Conversely,those
held with othercaptiveswere able to maintaintheirlanguage in spite
of youthand long years among the Indians.37Finally,Indian societies
deemed women'slanguageto be different from,ifnotinferior to, thatof

36. AGNA, Testimoniodel expediente. . . Hacienda, Legajo izz, Expediente3081,

IX-34-5-8.
37. Althoughthe list of captivesfreedby Rosas givesno indicationof the numbersof
Spaniardsheld together,colonialsourcessuggestthatat least some Indian groupsheld as
manyas 30 to 50 captivesat a time.Mayo,"El cautiverio,"240-41.

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94 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

men and seem to have toleratedSpanishwomencontinuingto speak a

differenttongue.
There is muchindirectevidencethatsome groupsof Spanishwomen
who spentmuchoftheiradultlivesin captivity neverlosttheirconscious-
ness ofbeing Spanishand theiruse ofthe Spanishlanguage.The above-
mentionedtestimonyof the capturedPetronilaPerez, the woman who
could speak Spanishbecause "otherwomencaptives"taughtit to her, is
evidence of the existenceof groupsof captivesaware of theirlinguistic
heritageand workingto preserveit amongotherSpaniards.In the 1833
group, at least eight women testifiedthattheyknew theirnames, the
namesoftheirparents,or detailsoftheircapture,as well as theirnative
language,because ofinformation givento thembytheir"companieras." In
someareas Spanishwomencaptivesseem to have been so numerousthey
almostformedtheirown subsociety, but apparentlythe same culturalor
information networkneverfunctioned amongmale captives.
The Spanishlanguagewas also maintainedbycaptiveskeptwithother
membersof theirfamilies.Althoughthis situationwas rare, at least 85
captiveswere takenwithat least one otherfamilymember.The largest
familygroup freedwas thatof Dofia Felipa Ortiz, a nativeof Antuco,
Chile, and the wifeof Don Pablo Castro.She was freedalongwiththeir
fourdaughtersand twosons,rangingin age from22 to 6.38Morefrequent
were the cases ofmotherstakencaptivewithone or twosmallchildren.
Given the predominanceofwomenamongthe captives,it is not sur-
prisingthata groupofchildrenwas bornin captivity to Spanishmothers
and Indian fathers.In additionto the 634 men, women, and children
another73 youngchildren"who are at the side
listed in the inventory,
of theirrespectivemothers"were also freed,and at least 2 more were
leftbehindwiththe Indians.39 Unlikethosedetailedin the publishedlist,
thesechildrenhad been bornin captivity.
Was one functionof captivesto help Indian tribesrecoverfromtheir
demographiclosses?The data suppliedbythe 1833list,whiletoo incom-
plete to allow forsophisticateddemographiccalculations,providesome
possible answers.The above-mentioned 75 childrenprobablyrepresent
mostof the survivingoffspring of the femalecaptives,as there is little
reasonto believe thatRosas was willingto leave morethana handfulof
these childrenwiththe Indians. Calculatingthe ratioof these surviving
childrento the numberofwomen(2io) betweenthe ages of 15 and 39-

38. Relaci6nde los cristianossalvados,50-51.

39. Ibid., 92, givesthetotalnumberofchildrenbornin captivity.The onlywomanwho
specificallymentionedleavingher childrenbehindwas ManuelaChasarreta,a 5o-year-old
widowwho had spent 14 yearsin captivity. Accordingto her declaration,"she has lefttwo
Indiansonsamongthe infidelsand has broughta Christiansonwithher"(Ibid., 38).

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 95
the childbearingyears-yields a roughestimateof.36 childrenbornand
surviving foreach woman.
Information on age at captivityand age at returnprovidesa rough
idea ofthe numberofwoman-years spentbetweenthe ages of 15 and 39
amongtheIndians;thatis, thenumberofyearsthefecundcaptivewomen
were "at risk"to be impregnatedby Indian males. The numberof sur-
vivingchildren,75, when dividedby the totalnumberofwoman-years,
1,148, gives a fertility
ratioof womento survivingoffspring of .o65. In
otherwords,in any one year a captivewomanhad an almost7 percent
chanceofbearinga childand havingthatchildsurvive.While admittedly
a roughcalculation,this fertility ratioand the above-mentionedchild-
womanratiosuggestthatcapturedSpanishwomendid not significantly
alterthe demography ofindigenoussocietybecause ofeitherlow fertility
or highinfantmortality. The data also suggesttwootherpossibilities.Per-
haps capturedwomen,althoughculturally assimilatedthroughmarriage
intoIndian society,were notparticularly attractiveas sexualpartnersfor
Indian men. It is also possible thatIndian societywas more concerned
withloss of resourcesthanwithloss ofpopulation.If thiswere true,the
Indiansmighthave practicedsome sortofbirthcontrol,perhapsinfanti-
cide or abortion,to preventa surpluspopulationfromstrainingreduced
resourcesor limitingthe physicalmobilityof a nonsedentary tribe. Un-
fortunately we do nothave enoughethnographic informationto testthese
hypotheses.
While our data do notprovidedirectinformation as to whether,once
captured,women had a betterchance of survivingbecause of favored
treatment, information suppliedby thecaptivesdoes allowus to calculate
the averagelengthof timespentin captivity(see Table 8). The average
termof captivityforthe entiregroupwas 8.8 years. If we analyze time
in captivityby sex we findlittledifference
betweenthe two groups,with
womenaveraging8.9 yearsand men8.6. Thissuggeststhationceadmitted
into native societymen and women experiencedsimilarsurvivalrates,
perhapsthe resultofsimilartreatment.
Information on lengthof theircaptivityalso allows us to trace an
approximatechronologyof Indian raids in the pampas. If Indian raids
had been constantthroughthe years,each succeedingyearshouldshow
slightlyfewercaptives,due to the effectsof mortality, especiallyamong
the older femalepopulation.But as Table 9 shows,the largestgroupof
captiveswas thoseheldfor10 to 15yearsand takenduringthetumultuous
earlyyearsof the i82os. Indeed, 54 captives(15. 1 percentofthe group)
had been in captivityfor14 years(see Table 8). This grouprepresentsthe
survivorsof those men and womentakenduringthe Carrera-Ranqueles
invasionof i82o, perhapsthemostdramaticIndianattackon whitesettle-

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96 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

TABLE 8: Yearsin Captivityand YearofCaptivity

Yearsin Year
Captivity Captured Female Male Total
0 1834 1 1 2
1 1833 17 9 26
2 1832 22 8 30
3 1831 17 8 25
4 1830 18 7 25
5 1829 14 4 18
6 1828 18 3 21
7 1827 4 4
8 1826 9 6 15
9 1825 5 4 9
10 1824 12 10 22
11 1823 7 8 15
12 1822 12 6 18
13 1821 31 7 38
14 1820 37 17 54
15 1819 15 3 18
16 1818 4 2 6
17 1817 1 1 2
18 1816 2 1 3
19 1815 -
20 1814 4 4
22 1812 1 1
28 18o6 1 1

TABLE 9: GroupedYearsin Captivity

Women Men Total RatioW:M

0-4 75 33 1o8 1:0.44

5-9 50 17 67 1:0.34
10-14 99 48 147 1:0.48
15-19 22 7 29 1:0.32
20+ 6 6

Total 252 105 357 1:0.42

ments.The numberofcaptiveswhohad been amongtheIndiansfor5 to 9

years was markedly smaller than the 10-14 or the 0-4 cohort, an indica-
tion thatthe raids had taperedoffduringthe middleof the i82os. The
large numberofcaptivestakenafteri828 reflectsthe growingnumberof
Indianattacksoccasionedin partbya majordroughtthatseverelyaffected
boththe Indian and the Spanisheconomiesofthepampas.These attacks
promptedRosasto undertakethe 1833campaign.Ironically, someofthose

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 97
takencaptivein 1829 werevictimsofthePampasIndianraids,whichwere
probablycarriedout withthe tacitsupportoftheRosas government.40
Analyzingthe captivesby sex and lengthofcaptivity, it appears that
Indianpreferences formaleorfemalecaptiveschangedovertime.The sex
ratiois approximately .3 malesto everyfemaleforthoseheld from5 to 9
and i5 to 19 years.A verydifferent patternis foundamongthosein cap-
tivityfromo to 4 and from10 to 14 years;thatis, thosecapturedbetween
i82o and 1824 or 1830 and 1834,yearsofintensecombatalong the fron-
tier.Duringthisperiodmale captivesare foundin greaternumbers,with
more than .4 males foreach female.Indeed duringthe 1820-24 period
thenumberofmalesrisesto almost.5 malesforeach female.These differ-
ing ratiossuggestthatduringrelativelypeaceable periodsIndianswere
mainlyinterestedin takingfemalecaptives,whileduringperiodsofwar,
theytookmoremale captives.These were, ofcourse,youngmales who,
the Indiansperhapshoped, could be assimilatedand trainedas warriors
in a relativelyshorttime.Takingadultmale captivesin timeofwar was
neverin the Indians'best interestbecause ofproblemsofphysicalcontrol.

Conclusions
In the main, captiveswere people of ruraloriginseized in or near the
place of theirbirth.The groupwas predominantly female,but male and
femalecaptivesdisplayedmarkedlydifferent age patterns.Males were
usually captured young,while women of all ages seemed desirable to
Indian captors.As a result,and perhapsalso as a resultof different
pat-
ternsofsocializationonce captured,femalesseemedto retainthe Spanish
languageand culturebetterthanmales. Paradoxically, womenwere prob-
ablybetteracceptedbyIndiansocieties,marrying nativemenand bearing
theirchildren.
The relativelengthof captivityexperiencedby all membersof this
group raises questionsabout theirabilityto readaptto Spanish society.
Once freed, could these ex-captivesreincorporate themselvesinto the
worldtheyhad come from?This is a complexissue,dependenton the re-
actionsofboththeex-captivesand Spanishsociety.Throughout theperiod
under study,male ex-captivesseemed to experiencelittledifficulty in
reenteringwhite society.Manyof themwere able to take advantageof
skillslearnedduringtheiryearsofcaptivity;
theysettlednearthefrontier,
wheretheyservedas interpreters and guides.Theirexperienceamongthe

40. J.Anthony King,Twenty-Four

Yearsin theArgentineRepublic(London: Longman
et al., 1846),224.

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98 | HAHR I FEBRUARY I SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW

Indiansequipped themto perform a vitalserviceto the Spanishfrontier

communities.
In general,malecaptivesseemedmoreeagerto returnto Spanishsoci-
etythantheirfemalecounterparts. Althoughfarfewermen thanwomen
wereheld captive,amongthegroupofSpaniardswhoovertheyearsman-
aged to escape fromthe Indiansof theirown volition,the vast majority
were men.4'While this imbalanceperhapsreflectsa greaterdaringon
the partofmales, it also suggeststhatSpanishwomenwere less unhappy
in theirconditionof"cautivas"thantheirmale counterparts. Women,in
general,seemed less anxiousto returnto Spanish society,perhaps be-
cause thistransfer-moving froma positionas thewifeofan Indianchief
to that of a simple peasant-meant a loss in status.It is also doubtful
whetherthose women,victimsof "Indian captivityand sensuality,"re-
ceived a warmwelcomewhen theyreturnedto Spanishsociety,withor
withouttheirhalfbreedchildren.At least a handfulofwomenalwaysat-
temptedto go back to the Indiansaftertheirso-calledrescue. Ironically,
the captivewomenapparentlyspokemoreSpanishand probablyremem-
bered Spanishsocietybetterthandid the men. Womenhad strongerties
to bothsidesofthefrontier and musthavefaceda farmoredifficult choice
whenofferedtheirfreedom.
To whatdegree did Spanishfamiliesactivelyattemptto ransomtheir
childrenfromcaptivity? We have littledirectevidencefromeitherearlier
captivesor the Rosas group,and what we have is oftencontradictory.
Some parentsactivelysoughtthereleaseoftheirchildrenfromthebegin-
ning,welcomedthe returnofthesechildrenfromcaptivity, and probably
helped themto readaptto the Spanishworld.42 But manyof the female
captivesfreedby Rosas were unable to reestablishlinkswiththeirfami-
lies and were placed underthechargeofthe Sociedad de Beneficenciain
Buenos Aires.43The sex of the individual,the age of capture,the years
spentamongthe Indians,thebearingofchildrenfatheredby Indianmen,
and the degree to whichan individualhad been integratedinto native
societyall influencedtheeagernesswithwhichhe or she soughtto reiden-
tifywithSpanishsocietyand theease withwhichthissocietyacceptedthe
returnee.
The economiceffectsofcaptivity on eitherthe Indianor the Spanish
societiesare hardto ascertain.Atleastone scholarhas suggestedthatthe

41. For example,in Mayo, Fuentes,ofthe twelvecases of Spaniardswho successfully

escaped, thereis onlyone woman.
42. Claudio Sarmiento,14 yearsold, had been takencaptivewhile on the estanciaof
Don JuanCanario, "and while he was captive,his fatherwentto see if he could ransom
him."Relaci6nde los cristianossalvados,76.
43. K. Jones,"La Cautiva,"91-92.

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SPANISH CAPTIVES IN INDIAN SOCIETIES 99
laborofcaptivewomenhelped Indiansocietyto overcomea labor short-
age, but littlenumericaldata on eitherthe numbersof captivesor the
size of Indian societiesduringthe seventeenth and eighteenthcenturies
makethissuggestiondifficult to explore.The same authoralso pointsout
thatthe 1833-34ransoming of707 captivesfromAraucaniantribes,which
themselvestotaledabout 8,ooo, appears to have seriouslycrippledthe
nativeeconomy.44 It shouldbe rememberedthatonly340 of those cap-
tiveswere above the age of 14. Nevertheless,the loss of thisnumberof
productiveadultsmaywell have cripplednativegroupswho were at the
edge ofsubsistencemostofthetime.
How the loss of thesepeople affectedthe economyoftheirhome re-
gions is even more difficult to ascertain,in part because of the lack of
viable data on the population.The analysispresentedin thisessay shows
thatthe ruralpopulationlostmoreindividualsto captivity thandid cities.
The analysisfurther suggeststhatthe people takencaptivetendedto be
peones and smalllandowners,individualswho made an important contri-
butionto thelocal laborforcebutwerenotnecessarily perceivedas essen-
tial. Furthermore, the scatterednatureof the raids tended to diminish
theireconomicimpact.The provinceofBuenosAires,forexample,witha
totalfrontierpopulationof9,239 in 1836,providedonly134 captives,less
than1.5 percentofitspopulation,to the 1833-34group.45
Perhapsmostperplexingis therelativelackofdramaticreactionto the
continuousloss ofsettlersto captivityduringtheentireperiodundercon-
sideration.This silence prevailedperhapsbecause thosemostat riskto
be takencaptivewere ruralpeople, illiterate folkwithlittleor no political
power.Furthermore, because so manyofthecaptiveswerewomen,their
loss did not representa dramatically visiblereductionof the ruralwork
force.Nevertheless,the fearof Indian raids,withtheirresultantdeath,
destruction,and captivetaking,servedto dissuade frontier settlement.
Althoughcaptivesare infrequently mentionedin Spanishsources,their
loss had a powerfulpsychological effecton frontiersociety.Regardlessof
the actual risk,Spanish settlersfeltweak and vulnerableto Indian at-
tack,and to the appallingalternatives ofdeathor captivity, untilthe final
decades ofthe nineteenthcentury.

44. Ibid., 91.

45. ErnestoJ.A. Maeder, Evoluci6ndemogrdfica argentinade i8io a 1969 (Buenos
Aires:EditorialUniversitaria
de BuenosAires,1969),34.

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