Origin

After the conquest of Tenochtitlan and the distribution by the Spanish Crown of lands in New Spain, which attempted to safeguard indigenous lands by prohibiting their possession by the Spanish, there was a systematic violation of this provision, even granting livestock grants, by the viceroys, in these lands. hacienda*.[15]​ The word Hacienda appears used for the first time in New Spain, in the second half of the century, in the plans of some properties of this type.[16]​.

Starting in the 19th century, the hacienda constituted, in the words of Terán Bonilla, a productive unit with a complex organization,[17]​ with very specific structural characteristics:[18]​.

The main boom of these constructions took place in the 19th century, especially in the Puebla-Tlaxcala area, where more than a hundred of them still remain. They had a very important role in the history and economy of New Spain and, in many cases, they specialized productively: cattle ranches, sugar factories, indigo or cocoa producers, etc.

In Yucatán, Mexico, the henequen farms are famous, which gained popularity in the second part of the century and the beginning of the 20th, because the henequen agroindustry was born and developed there, giving a decisive economic boost to the state of Yucatán and the peninsular region as a whole, particularly during that turn of the century era. The wealth produced by these productive units helped finance the war campaigns of the Constitutionalist Army, commanded by Venustiano Carranza during the initial stage of the Mexican Revolution, thanks to the intervention of General Salvador Alvarado in the government of Yucatán.[19] Many of these haciendas have been converted into luxurious hotels that attract international tourism and elegantly show their past glory.[20]​.

Typology

There are three basic types of haciendas, depending on the layout of the buildings that make them up:

Mexican haciendas usually have a stately house, usually called a "casco", arranged in the shape of a square, L or U, around the patio; Very often, these towns or stately homes are architecturally very relevant buildings, of good size, usually with two floors and careful ornamentation, including gardens and other elements linked to luxury. They also have other auxiliary buildings: The calpanerías (the equivalent of the Andalusian farmers' houses); the barns or grain and seed warehouses; the threshing floors, usually located next to the barn, normally delimited by a wall; the Macheros (for draft animals) and Stables (for cows), in the form of a shed that overlooked a secondary patio; the Tinacales, buildings used for the production of pulque; in addition to the administrative buildings and the aforementioned chapel. These haciendas, particularly those of the livestock type, due to their size, had a certain number of ranches, villages or estancias, where the cowboys could spend the night due to the work of caring for the cattle (which could reach thousands of heads), which required the presence of the foreman and his cowboys on the plains of the property for several days.

Featured Architecture

Various Mexican haciendas present unique architectural elements, which have turned them into historical and tourist references.

Notable examples are:

These sets reflect the stylistic diversity that ranges from the viceregal architecture of the century to the eclectic adaptations of the century.

One of the personalized variants of the Andalusian hacienda model in Latin America are the so-called patron houses of Chile, complex peasant constructions within their sobriety and simplicity. The establishment of these new haciendas began as a consequence of the land grants granted by the Spanish governors in the different townships, consolidated by the assignment of Indians through encomienda.

Around 1650 the first walls of patron's houses were built. In these units, hundreds of people lived under the tutelage of their owners, including employees, foremen, tenants, outsiders and even slaves.[21] It was between 1750 and 1900, when the houses acquired stature and became true architectural complexes in the style of haciendas, often replacing the owner's home with buildings of palatial pretensions.

The axis of the design was, of course, the patio, whose contour was closed by various buildings: the owner's residence, offices and services (including in many cases a school), blacksmith shops, warehouses, stables... The materials used for the constructions were, for the most part, from the area: * Bolón stone for the foundations; mud and straw to cut the adobes; wood to carve beams, lintels, windows and doors, and also to assemble doors and windows. The tiles and bricks for the floor were made with clay of a certain quality. The dust and lime "Lime (material)") finally cover the adobe*.[22]​ From a conceptual and material perspective, it is therefore architecture of a popular and regional nature. As a peculiar element, compared to other forms of Hacienda, the access avenue and the esplanade stand out, which, as an imitation of an urban plaza, served as an arrival and control point.

The agro-economic characteristics of most of the areas that made up New Granada (Colombia and, to a large extent, Venezuela), very limited compared to New Spain or Peru, are clearly reflected in the rural architecture. The great extension in this area of ​​the form of agricultural work by direct agreement between landowners and indigenous people, and the appearance of a mestizo peasantry, gave rise to the existence of forms of exploitation of the land, such as sharecropping, unusual in other areas.[23] This peculiarity affected Colombian familiar architecture.

The Andalusian influence remains very strong, especially in the organization of buildings and technological criteria, although in Nueva Granada an extraordinary dimensional and aesthetic reduction is carried out, with marginal architectural treatment. Comparatively to the Andalusian and Mexican models, the largest haciendas of New Granada would hardly be secondary annexes in those.[24] In fact, the term hacienda was applied in the Colombian area to any exploitation that exceeded 20 hectares. The volume and appearance of the colonial-era hacienda houses that still remain date basically from the second half of the century, and correspond to a clearly popular typology.

They are arranged, as in all cases of American haciendas, around a central patio, although it is usual that one of its sides is not closed with construction. The complex was organized based on undifferentiated or generic spaces, a very functional solution for subsistence economies, and only when the built area exceeded 500-700 square meters, a certain functional hierarchy of the spaces appeared. Some hacienda houses incorporated distinctive elements with respect to other areas, such as the caney or gallery "Gallery (room)") open free of the house, used for tobacco processing; or the trapiche, a primitive sugar cane mill. A typical element, of clear Andalusian origin, are the walls that delimit the complementary spaces of the houses.

Origin

After the conquest of Tenochtitlan and the distribution by the Spanish Crown of lands in New Spain, which attempted to safeguard indigenous lands by prohibiting their possession by the Spanish, there was a systematic violation of this provision, even granting livestock grants, by the viceroys, in these lands. hacienda*.[15]​ The word Hacienda appears used for the first time in New Spain, in the second half of the century, in the plans of some properties of this type.[16]​.

Starting in the 19th century, the hacienda constituted, in the words of Terán Bonilla, a productive unit with a complex organization,[17]​ with very specific structural characteristics:[18]​.

The main boom of these constructions took place in the 19th century, especially in the Puebla-Tlaxcala area, where more than a hundred of them still remain. They had a very important role in the history and economy of New Spain and, in many cases, they specialized productively: cattle ranches, sugar factories, indigo or cocoa producers, etc.

In Yucatán, Mexico, the henequen farms are famous, which gained popularity in the second part of the century and the beginning of the 20th, because the henequen agroindustry was born and developed there, giving a decisive economic boost to the state of Yucatán and the peninsular region as a whole, particularly during that turn of the century era. The wealth produced by these productive units helped finance the war campaigns of the Constitutionalist Army, commanded by Venustiano Carranza during the initial stage of the Mexican Revolution, thanks to the intervention of General Salvador Alvarado in the government of Yucatán.[19] Many of these haciendas have been converted into luxurious hotels that attract international tourism and elegantly show their past glory.[20]​.

Typology

There are three basic types of haciendas, depending on the layout of the buildings that make them up:

Mexican haciendas usually have a stately house, usually called a "casco", arranged in the shape of a square, L or U, around the patio; Very often, these towns or stately homes are architecturally very relevant buildings, of good size, usually with two floors and careful ornamentation, including gardens and other elements linked to luxury. They also have other auxiliary buildings: The calpanerías (the equivalent of the Andalusian farmers' houses); the barns or grain and seed warehouses; the threshing floors, usually located next to the barn, normally delimited by a wall; the Macheros (for draft animals) and Stables (for cows), in the form of a shed that overlooked a secondary patio; the Tinacales, buildings used for the production of pulque; in addition to the administrative buildings and the aforementioned chapel. These haciendas, particularly those of the livestock type, due to their size, had a certain number of ranches, villages or estancias, where the cowboys could spend the night due to the work of caring for the cattle (which could reach thousands of heads), which required the presence of the foreman and his cowboys on the plains of the property for several days.

Featured Architecture

Various Mexican haciendas present unique architectural elements, which have turned them into historical and tourist references.

Notable examples are:

These sets reflect the stylistic diversity that ranges from the viceregal architecture of the century to the eclectic adaptations of the century.

One of the personalized variants of the Andalusian hacienda model in Latin America are the so-called patron houses of Chile, complex peasant constructions within their sobriety and simplicity. The establishment of these new haciendas began as a consequence of the land grants granted by the Spanish governors in the different townships, consolidated by the assignment of Indians through encomienda.

Around 1650 the first walls of patron's houses were built. In these units, hundreds of people lived under the tutelage of their owners, including employees, foremen, tenants, outsiders and even slaves.[21] It was between 1750 and 1900, when the houses acquired stature and became true architectural complexes in the style of haciendas, often replacing the owner's home with buildings of palatial pretensions.

The axis of the design was, of course, the patio, whose contour was closed by various buildings: the owner's residence, offices and services (including in many cases a school), blacksmith shops, warehouses, stables... The materials used for the constructions were, for the most part, from the area: * Bolón stone for the foundations; mud and straw to cut the adobes; wood to carve beams, lintels, windows and doors, and also to assemble doors and windows. The tiles and bricks for the floor were made with clay of a certain quality. The dust and lime "Lime (material)") finally cover the adobe*.[22]​ From a conceptual and material perspective, it is therefore architecture of a popular and regional nature. As a peculiar element, compared to other forms of Hacienda, the access avenue and the esplanade stand out, which, as an imitation of an urban plaza, served as an arrival and control point.

The agro-economic characteristics of most of the areas that made up New Granada (Colombia and, to a large extent, Venezuela), very limited compared to New Spain or Peru, are clearly reflected in the rural architecture. The great extension in this area of ​​the form of agricultural work by direct agreement between landowners and indigenous people, and the appearance of a mestizo peasantry, gave rise to the existence of forms of exploitation of the land, such as sharecropping, unusual in other areas.[23] This peculiarity affected Colombian familiar architecture.

The Andalusian influence remains very strong, especially in the organization of buildings and technological criteria, although in Nueva Granada an extraordinary dimensional and aesthetic reduction is carried out, with marginal architectural treatment. Comparatively to the Andalusian and Mexican models, the largest haciendas of New Granada would hardly be secondary annexes in those.[24] In fact, the term hacienda was applied in the Colombian area to any exploitation that exceeded 20 hectares. The volume and appearance of the colonial-era hacienda houses that still remain date basically from the second half of the century, and correspond to a clearly popular typology.

They are arranged, as in all cases of American haciendas, around a central patio, although it is usual that one of its sides is not closed with construction. The complex was organized based on undifferentiated or generic spaces, a very functional solution for subsistence economies, and only when the built area exceeded 500-700 square meters, a certain functional hierarchy of the spaces appeared. Some hacienda houses incorporated distinctive elements with respect to other areas, such as the caney or gallery "Gallery (room)") open free of the house, used for tobacco processing; or the trapiche, a primitive sugar cane mill. A typical element, of clear Andalusian origin, are the walls that delimit the complementary spaces of the houses.