Chapter 5 focuses on the early life of Don Diego de la Torre, a Muisca chief who traveled twice to Castile in the 1570s and 1580s, met personally with King Philip II, and gave him advice about the good government of the New Kingdom of Granada. Torre was the son of an encomendero and a Muisca noblewoman, and was heir to the prominent cacicazgo of Turmequé. A few years after being appointed cacique, he came into conflict with the encomendero over the tribute the community of Turmequé should pay. The audiencia magistrates derogated Torre from his cacicazgo, arguing he was not suited to serve as a cacique because he was a mestizo (a descendant of a Spaniard and an Indigenous person). Torre fled to the king’s court to appeal to his justice. Through Torre’s story, the chapter considers the changing meaning of Indigenous leadership three decades into the conquest.
Advertisement
