“Haven’t We Come To Kill the Spaniards?” The Tule Upheaval in Eastern Panama, 1727-1728

Investigates a Tule Indian uprising that took place in eastern Panama in 1727. The Indians\u27 motivations for this uprising were varied and complicated and not simply the result of the instigations of mestizo pirate Luis García (as was alleged by the governor of Darién and historians, who have read his account of the events). The violence that spread across the isthmus was caused by the instability inherent in the Spanish colonial policy of tribalization. This policy relied on the Spanish authorities\u27 co-opting men who claimed to be tribal leaders. These leaders, however, were unable to contain the Indians once they believed that the mestizo colonial officials in whom they placed their trust had ceased to understand, care about, or address their needs to higher authorities. Based on documents in the Archivo General de Indias, Seville, and the Archivo Histórico Nacional de España, Madrid; 30 notes, biblio