Kathryn Burns Colonial Habits talks about the roles played by three convents, the Santa Clara, the Santa Catalina and the Carmelite Santa Teresa as they helped with the economic and social life of Cuzco from the mid-sixteenth century through to the nineteenth century. Burns’ sources were primarily from the convents' own archives and she talks about how the ties between the convents and local elite families allowed the nuns to play an important role in Cuzco’s economic development. The convents not only helped the country economically but also provided a safe haven for women and orphaned children, as well as providing an education for the children of elite families. The convents also reflected the different social hierarchies of the colonial
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As civilians started to take advantage of the credit system “… the nuns were willing to show considerable flexibility when times were hard and people feel behind on payments. The nuns could resort to legal action against anyone who failed to make two consecutive years worth of payments on censo;”(Burns, pg.145). With a lack of enforcement authority and the lack of trust from the community, there was no way for the nuns to consistently collect money lent out in the first place. Not only this, but also these convents prided themselves on the fact they were separated from the secular, materialist, economically motivated world by the grille in the locutarios. “The locutarios of Cuzco were anything but backwaters, however…the archival record suggests that as Santa Clara and Santa Catalina grew into conventos grandes, their entryways and locutarios became alive, even boisterous with activity.”(Burns, pg.103). It was fascinating to read of how quickly these locutarios went from being innocent visiting centers, to formal meeting areas that conduct business that takes place in the secular world. Through the nuns implementation of the credit system to maintain and add on to their economic prosperity, they in a sense lost the purity they originally had when they cut themselves off from material concerns and found solace in the confines of
As civilians started to take advantage of the credit system “… the nuns were willing to show considerable flexibility when times were hard and people feel behind on payments. The nuns could resort to legal action against anyone who failed to make two consecutive years worth of payments on censo;”(Burns, pg.145). With a lack of enforcement authority and the lack of trust from the community, there was no way for the nuns to consistently collect money lent out in the first place. Not only this, but also these convents prided themselves on the fact they were separated from the secular, materialist, economically motivated world by the grille in the locutarios. “The locutarios of Cuzco were anything but backwaters, however…the archival record suggests that as Santa Clara and Santa Catalina grew into conventos grandes, their entryways and locutarios became alive, even boisterous with activity.”(Burns, pg.103). It was fascinating to read of how quickly these locutarios went from being innocent visiting centers, to formal meeting areas that conduct business that takes place in the secular world. Through the nuns implementation of the credit system to maintain and add on to their economic prosperity, they in a sense lost the purity they originally had when they cut themselves off from material concerns and found solace in the confines of