Laws of the Indies

For this week’s blog, I studied the Settlement Ordinances in the Laws of the Indies by Philip II (1573), that the Spanish colonizers followed for the establishment of New World cities. 

For the location of the new town, colonizers had to choose land based on its fertility, its indigenous population, medium elevation, distance from ocean, and access to harbor for economic purposes. If towns were located by rivers, it was established on the eastern banks. 

Once the site is chosen, lots are measured and organized. Peonia and caballenas are two differently measured urban lots that are given measurements for the width and depth, but other forms of measurement were used for farmland and pastures. 

Farmland uses yields of bushels (156) of wheat or barley to determine its size while pastures have to hold a certain number of animals, such as 100 sheep and 20 goats. It seems odd that the land has two different forms of measurement instead of using feet, especially when the Spanish were attempting to design a more organized settlement. 

The town had to meet the above mentioned criteria, however, it was also specified that it should be fortified, open to the north wind and not lie where the sea was to the south or west of it. These ordinances, while strange at first, is similar to the native Mesoamericans who used cardinal points and sun positions to determine the orientation of their own cities. 

 The plaza was meant to be the starting point for the town. It was described as being square or rectangular and proportioned to the number of inhabitants. Dimensions were given, though many of the plazas were already built before these ordinances. There are 4 principal streets originating from the plaza and the plaza is oriented to face the 4 principal winds.  

 While the Spaniards were given these ordinances, they did use the old Mesoamerican cities as a template to perfect their own designs because the original cities were perfectly organized.

What I found interesting is the way the towns were carefully designed. It was taken into careful consideration how it was laid out (order), with the plaza as a key feature and nature (wind, rivers, elevation, etc.) playing a huge role in deciding where to plot the town, how it would be oriented and why it was built in such a way. 

That's all for now!

I'm off.