Seven historical vignettes about the sociocultural dynamics in Otavalo during early 19th century

Abstract

This article analizes the socio- cultural dynamics of everyday life in Otavalo during early XIX century, at the time Alexander Von Humboldt visited this city. The article is composed by seven historic vignettes that ilustrate the most important social dynamics and phenomena during this era. The methodology is based on the cualitative analysis and codification of records of judicial processes. The data was collected at the Archivo Nacional de Ecuador y el Instituto Otavaleño de Antropología historic archives. These vignettes illustrate the complexity of Otavalo society in terms of colonial administration, ethnicity, religion, slavery, hacienda, everyday life, and social prestige. This information is useful to understand the evolution of local socio-cultural dynamics.