"Alguns dirão que os índios são vagabundos". Classificações sociais e expectativas de ordem na Nova Espanha da década de 1540

In light of the promulgation of the New Laws (1542-1543) in New Spain, debates surrounding encomiendas intensified, intertwined with controversies regarding the alleged idleness of the indigenous population. Conquistadors, settlers, and churchmen expressed their opinions, positioning themselves in response to the changes sought by the crown. This paper scrutinizes these debates and argues that the judgments vocalized therein brought forth categories (vagabonds, lazy, idle) that sought to qualify and classify the indigenous people. These judgments were linked to certain expectations of order, chaining time (past, present, and future) according to the interests of their proponents. Consequently, this paper elucidates the conditions in the 1540s that facilitated the categorical assertion that all indigenous individuals were vagabonds.