The position of Andean women within pre-Spanish conquest and post Spanish conquest seems relatively rigid but this rigidity took vastly different forms. Elinor Burkett claims the impact on Andean people after the conquest affected rural Indian women more versus the affects it had on rural Andean men. She even speculates that Spanish conquest perhaps opened up different opportunities to Andean women that had not been open to them under Inca rule. This view seems somewhat controversial, and it seemed strange to me. It is my natural inclination to assume Spanish conquest had mostly negative consequences to all Andean people, that the relationships between Spanish men and women were in fact inherently coercive. There is no doubt in my mind that many or even most of those relationships, whether they be servants, mistresses, or wives, were the conquerors exercising their authority over the conquered. At the same time, there is also no denying that some women saw the benefits of such relationships. There were benefits of entering into such a realtionship willingly which leads me to believe that perhap not ALL of the relationships were inherently or intrinsically coercive, because some women most likely saw these interactions as a means of moving up the social ladder or gaining some sort of superiority previously unreachable, as her place within Incan society was often non-negotiable. Either way the situation is perceived, as soon as the first conquistador set foot on the soil of the “new world,” the lives of these people would forever change.
Andean society under Inca rule was built around the community as a whole, very unlike our individualistic culture today. The parallelism that existed within the society guaranteed everyone of each sex had a role to play and a job to fulfill whether it be within the home, or the political and religious structure. Each member of the ayllus was expected to pay tribute to the state based on the system of reciprocity. This was how they were able to survive in their diverse climate. If the tribute system is viewed in terms of the household, not the individual in which the man is merely the representative it is clear that each member is equally important to survival. In other words it is easy to see that women in Andean society were viewed as useful contributing members of their households. Marriage itself can be used as a way of reinforcing this idea. Instead of looking at the bride price as a sale of a woman from one man to another, it could also be recognition of the fact that when a woman leaves her previous household, that the house will suffer without her contribution, at least according to Burkett. So, while individuals often had no control “over their social and economic movement,” a female was not a fundamentally inferior member of society.
Enter the Spanish and suddenly life, especially for the women is drastically changed. This is not to say the entire system would change right away. Some communities were left virtually untouched by the new conquerors in the beginning, however when the Spanish enacted a new source of tribute, it would be the women whose lives would be most affected. Men under Inca rule were already expected to give themselves in physical labor for the state, but now women were expected or maybe a better description would be forced to give their personal services as well. “The rape of Indian women was an integral part of the drive for submission that characterizes all conquest,” or so Burkett so straight forwardly states and I agree. It seems a likely course of action for men to express their authority in this way, but it can’t be completely disregarded that some women were accepting or even invited relationships with the Spanish. The conquerors needed some level of acceptance in Inca society, so marriage to an Andean woman was logical or even necessary. It also presented benefits to the woman as well. Kinship was so important among the Andeans that a marriage or even a child with a Spaniard could possibly improve their position. These changes within society became all more evident with the existence of wills and documented court cases in which women defended their rights.
It seems the logical conclusion that women were exposed to Hispanic society in a far more intimate way than most men, even just as maids within a household; they were exposed to the habits and culture of the Spaniards. However, it could also be said that the Spaniard’s somewhat generic and narrow view of women allowed them this position. Viewed as submissive and relatively unaggressive, women servants were not considered a threat and men were sent to do hard labor while the women were sent into the parlor to dust.
The end result was the eventual and virtual decimation of the Inca culture. The parallel structure that had previously existed vanished within the new Spanish culture. Some flourished and many died but the Spanish had come and there was no turning back.
