**Chapter 43**
**California Crisis (5)**
"Kewineight! Hurry up and follow!"
"Yes..."
Kewineight, the Chumash boy, kept looking back.
"Father..."
His father, sentenced to hard labor, had left, promising to return to the village.
About 500 Chumash people were grouped together and forced to leave their homeland.
The road away from their homeland was filled with sadness, but not harsh.
That's because dozens of Mexicans followed them, providing food.
"Where are we going?"
Kewineight asked Camuliyalset, who had become the village chief because he could speak Spanish.
"···I only heard that it's the north of Baja California."
Baja California? Kewineight had never heard of it. A Mexican who was included in the group chimed in.
"It seems like the boy is asking something. What is it? If you have any questions, I'll answer them."
"He's asking where we're going."
"Well... You wouldn't know even if I told you, so just tell him that it's only a week's journey from here."
"Yes."
The Crown Prince, who had split the Chumash tribe into dozens of groups, sent along Mexican government officials, guides, architects, and guards (they're probably more like surveillance guards).
They were not starving thanks to the food they were given, but they were afraid and uncomfortable.
There were only 30 soldiers, but they were an overwhelming force for the Chumash group, who only had boys and old men and had been stripped of all their weapons.
"At least this village was assigned to a warm place, so it's a good situation. There are villages assigned to the northernmost part of California."
"···Thank you."
It was a difficult journey for Camuliyalset, who was 30 years old but limped when he walked due to a severe knee injury he had suffered as a child.
The only young men left in the village were those with serious disabilities. He was in a better situation because he was given the position of chief for being able to speak Spanish.
The settlement they arrived at was a harsher place than their homeland.
"It can't be helped. The good lands are already owned."
The official said so. If he says so, then it must be true.
Camuliyalset, who had become the chief by accident, had to appease the villagers.
"If you work hard to develop this land, you can grow crops here. Let's live well from now on."
It was a lie he didn't believe himself.
After all, even if they farmed, wouldn't they take it all away? But there was no way out unless they revolted and all died.
The official consulted with the architects, determined the location for the government office and other facilities, and began assigning land to each family.
"Is this really all my land?"
"Yes, it is. You're going to be the chief, so you were instructed to get 50% more than everyone else."
"How much land is this?"
"You'll get 240 acres, and other families will get 160 acres."
The official and the architects even drove stakes into the boundary lines. The villagers were stunned, but they didn't let their guard down.
"What good is it if they take all the crops after giving us this?"
The Chumash tribe had originally been semi-nomadic, hunting and gathering, but they had learned about farming in detail through decades of living at the mission.
Construction began the next day. They said they would build the government office first.
"We'll build this first and then build your houses, so don't worry too much."
Every villager, without exception, was made to participate in construction.
Once the government office was completed, they said they would build the chief's house, Camuliyalset's house.
"This is how we're going to build it, is that alright?"
They kindly asked Camuliyalset's opinion.
"Th...architects, could you possibly add decorations to the building with this kind of feel?"
Camuliyalset, gathering his courage, showed them the pattern drawn on a piece of wood and asked.
If he had been at the mission, he would have been whipped just for asking. But this architect was kind.
"Yes, of course. Sit down here and let's adjust the design together."
"Thank you."
The village began to take shape, albeit slowly due to the lack of young men.
They started farming too.
"These are all provided by His Majesty the Emperor, so receive them with gratitude."
As promised by the Crown Prince, they were actually given farm equipment and seeds.
"Thank you."
Several months passed.
Everyone had farming experience, but they were also developing the land, so the harvest wasn't large.
"Mister, this is barely enough for our family to survive... Can you ask if we can take some?"
Kewineight asked.
"I was going to ask anyway. Don't worry."
As the harvest season approached, tension filled the village. Everything depended on what the official said.
"Oh, didn't I tell you? You're tax-exempt for the next five years. That means you don't have to pay anything."
"Yes?"
Camuliyalset doubted his ears.
"···Are you saying that they'll take everything after five years?"
"Don't worry, it's not that bad. Taxes aren't as high as you think."
Then what are these Mexicans doing here?
The officials, architects, and even the soldiers helped a lot with the construction of the village. But they're not getting anything?
"Woohoo!"
When he told them the news, smiles appeared on the faces of the villagers for the first time in a year.
"···It doesn't make sense no matter how you think about it, did you misunderstand Spanish?"
"No, sir. I asked several times."
"Hmm."
"That's good, that's good."
Some of the elders shed tears.
The Chumash tribe had a festival to celebrate the harvest.
The harvest was small, but many people wanted to celebrate.
Camuliyalset went to the government office again and asked the official.
"You two just have to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor. And obey the laws of the Empire. I've brought the law book, so check it yourself."
Camuliyalset was suddenly forced to read a thick law book. He read the book carefully.
"···According to the law, it seems like there shouldn't be any problem with the festival as long as you don't injure anyone."
"Really? That's good."
They were able to hold their traditional festival, albeit slightly modified. It was something they couldn't even dream of at the mission.
After that, Camuliyalset started opening the law book whenever something happened. That's because the villagers kept asking him if they could do things.
A few days after the harvest festival ended, the first outsider came.
"The traveling judge is here, everyone come out."
He rode a horse, leading 200 soldiers, and looked down at the villagers from his horse.
"Well, there haven't been any crimes in the past year, have there?"
The official answered.
"No, there haven't been any."
He shook his head and said,
"No, the chief will answer directly."
"There haven't been any."
"Hmm."
He carefully looked around the village.
"It seems there's nothing unusual. Captain, let's go to the next village."
"Yes, Your Honor."
The man who looked like the military commander answered and then said to the villagers.
"Don't even dream of it, we'll track down anyone who commits a crime. That's all."
He warned them and disappeared.
A few weeks after they left, more outsiders arrived.
They were from Rios Express.
Merchants also came with them. They were merchants who had the courage to come all the way here.
Camuliyalset's workload increased.
"So, you're saying if I sell this much, it's 10 pesos? One of these things is 1 peso?"
"Yes, that's right, sir."
By this point, some people were even learning Spanish because they were frustrated with themselves.
Camuliyalset couldn't handle everything alone anymore, so he started teaching Spanish.
***
I was teaching the officials at the Los Angeles government office.
The basic policy towards the natives is still carrots and sticks. However, I won't just start hitting them with a stick unless they attack first.
"The expression 'holding out the stick and waving the carrot' is appropriate."
The map showed the territories of various tribes in California.
"As expected, most of the fertile land is included in their territories."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Mashofshuno, the former chief of the Chumash tribe, answered.
He was not sentenced to hard labor because he didn't participate in the battle, but he wasn't sent to a pioneer village either.
He doesn't seem to be willing to, but he might be a rallying point for the Chumash tribe to reunite.
His knowledge has been quite helpful to my work.
"But this tribe is only a little over 2,000, right? They consider this entire territory theirs?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I understand that."
2,000 people, even if they only had 10% of this land, it would be more than enough for everyone. But that's from our perspective, as farmers. It's not the case with their traditional way of life.
"If they're not going to give up this land, we have no choice but to change their way of life."
That's why we need a huge stick and a huge carrot.
I got permission from my father to use more troops.
The condition was that we would use them to develop the land and collect taxes after five years.
Unlike Americans, treating natives as "labor" is something that can be easily understood in Mexico. That's because it's already that kind of country.
"There was also the Valladolid debate."
The Junta de Valladolid.
This debate took place in 1550 after Cortés conquered the Aztecs.
The issue was whether or not to recognize the existence of "reason" in the Indians.
If they don't have reason, then it's okay to dominate and rule them by force. If they do have reason, then they must be converted through persuasion and education.
This debate, which heated up Spain, eventually came to a conclusion when the Pope's envoy intervened.
Indians also have "reason," and they should not be enslaved.
"That's why the landlords of the large farms treat them as tenant farmers, not slaves, and missions, nominally, are based on conversion. Well, this only applies to Indians, blacks are treated as slaves."
Not all whites think the same way. At least for the Spaniards, the Native Americans are not targets for indiscriminate slaughter.
In fact, this decision was inevitable, because the colony itself could not be sustained if they treated them all as slaves.
Central Mexico, where the Aztec Empire was located, was the most densely populated area in the Americas.
Cortés was able to conquer the Aztecs only with the tremendous help of the Tlaxcaltec tribe. What would happen if you suddenly declared that you have no reason and are my slaves?
Even with superior weapons, it's impossible for just a few hundred people to defeat millions of natives. That's why they had to acknowledge the existing rights of the natives to some extent.
The Spaniards successfully built a system where they could efficiently exploit the majority of the natives by cooperating with the native elite. Therefore, they couldn't declare that "all natives" were "reasonless beasts."
"The key is that natives as labor are acceptable."
That's why many natives were able to leave the large farms and settle in California, receiving land, after the mechanical reaper was introduced. That's because they could expect them to develop the empty land and pay taxes.
"I have to persuade this tribe this week."
They just have to swear allegiance to the Emperor and live as Mexicans who obey the laws of the Empire. Then, they can live prosperously in their "homeland," which they cherish more than their lives.
Those who are the elite of the tribe, who will be heavily involved in the decision, will be guaranteed much larger plots of land.
We'll teach them how to farm, give them farm equipment and seeds. We won't touch their culture, as long as they don't break the law.
Thousands of troops will only play a role in slightly assisting their decision.
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