Benson Latin American CollectionRare Books and
ManuscriptsInventory
Transcripts on the Indians of New Spain
Prepared by the Mexican Archives Project
February 2, 1995
Introduction
The Transcripts on the Indians of New Spain form part of the Genaro
García Collection, which was purchased by the University of Texas
in 1921 from the heirs of Genaro García. The transcripts were
described by the Benson's Mexican Archives Project in December 1993.
The physical extent of the transcripts is two folders. The materials are
in Spanish, and are also available on microfilm.
The following guide is available in Rare Books Reference:
Castañeda, Carlos E. and Jack Autrey Dabbs, eds., Guide to the
Latin American Manuscripts in the University of Texas Library.
Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1939.
The suggested citation for the materials is "Transcripts on the Indians
of New Spain, 1579-1797, Benson Latin American Collection, General
Libraries, University of Texas at Austin."
Scope and Contents Note
Transcripts of correspondence, records of court testimonies and
decisions, official instructions, and a summary of a letter concerning
Indians of New Spain. Testimonies and court responses include those of
three cases, one in which Balthazar de Vidaurre complains of the
mistreatment of the people of San Francisco Yxtlahuaca and of San Miguel
Temascalcingo by new mayor Pedro Joseph Crespo; a second in which Julian
Joseph Sánchez of Santa Bárbara of Cuautitlan complains of
mistreatment by his mayor, Jacinto María Castro González; and
a third in which a great-granddaughter of Moctezuma, María Cano de
Salazar, litigates for her part of the family property (filed as G15
Ms.). A document by Fernando Cortés pertaining to Moctezuma and
Moctezuma's daughters was read at the hearings for María Cano and
is recorded in the hearing documents.
The collection also contains transcripts of a letter from the priest
Joseph Montero Cruz concerning rebellious actions and the state of moral
affairs among the people of the mountains of the Puebla area; a summary
of a letter to Pope Paul III from Friar Julián Garcés
praising the religious inclination, behavior, and talent of the Indians;
and instructions by Colonel Fernando de la Concha, governor of the
province of New Mexico, advising his successor, Lieutenant Colonel
Fernando Chacón, on governing the native peoples under his
jurisdiction and on managing the garrison troops.
Series
The Transcripts on the Indians of New Spain were arranged into series by
the staff of the Mexican Archives Project, which completed the processing
of the materials in December 1993. The documents are organized into four
series by topic and are further divided into subseries by form of
material; they are arranged chronologically within folders. The series
are:
- Series, Documents about the descendants of Moctezuma (G15), 1579.
Records of testimonies and decisions.
- Series, Treatment of Indians by local officials, 1771-1778. Records
of testimonies and decisions.
- Series, Clergy's perceptions of the Indians. Correspondence dating
from 1774 and a undated summary of a letter probably written in 1537.
- Series, Governance of the inhabitants of New Mexico and New Spain.
Instructions and orders issued in 1794 and copied in 1797.
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