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Antonio de Espejo and the Mexican Inquisition 1571-1586

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

Richard E. Greenleaf
Richard E. Greenleaf*
Affiliation:
Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
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Extract

AFTER the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition was established in Mexico in 1571, one of its functionaries, Antonio de Espejo, became a wealthy cattle rancher and entrepreneur in the Bajío (lowlands) region north of Mexico City, an area which today stretches from San Juan del Río through Querétaro to Aguascalientes. During November 1582 until September 1583, Espejo made a reconnaissance of New Mexico and he became a strong contender for the royal contract to colonize New Mexico as the Spanish king and the Mexican viceroy began to screen suitable applicants. It is probable that Antonio de Espejo would have been awarded the New Mexico patent had he not fled central Mexico for the north in the spring of 1581, because there was a warrant out for his arrest on a murder charge. As a Familiar of the Inquisition Espejo attempted to claim immunity from criminal persecution. His uncle and legal representative, Francisco de Santiago, handled his affairs during the civil trial and as the Inquisition investigated the murder charges, because Espejo had already gone to the Nueva Vizcaya frontier.

Type
Dedication
Information
The Americas , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , January 1971 , pp. 271 - 292
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1971

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References

1 For the institution of the Familiatura in Spain, consult 1 For the institution of the Familiatura in Spain, consult Lea, Henry C., A History of the Inquisition of Spain(4 vols.; New York, 1908), 2, 263–283.Google Scholar

2 “Cédula of Philip II, August 16, 1570, Regulating the Privileges of Familiars in New Spain,” Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid, Sección de MXX, X, 159, f. 240, as reproduced in Lea, Henry C.,The Inquisition in the Spanish Dependencies (New York, 1908), pp. 536–538.Google Scholar

3 Royal Library of Munich, Cod. Hispan. 79 as cited in Ibid., p. 247.

4 Wagner, Henry R. , The Spanish Southwest 1524–1794: An Annotated Bibliography (Berkeley, 1924), p. 76.Google Scholar

5 “Legitimación de Juana de Espejo, 22 de marzo de 1575 ” Archivo General de Indias (AGI), Audiencia de Méjico, Leg. 100. The petition was granted on September 23, 1575.

6 Conway, G.R.G., “Antonio de Espejo as a Familiar of the Mexican Inquisition, 1572–1578,” New Mexico Historical Review, 5 (1931), 1–20.Google Scholar

7 “Proceso contra Antonio de Espejo, por descato con el Corregidor de México Licenciado Obregón, Archivo General de la Nación, México (AGN) Inquisición, Tomo 84, exp. 12. Conway, op. cit., analyzes and translates part of the sixteen-page process.

8 “Proceso contra Antón de Espejo familiar del Santo Oficio sobre la Muerte de Marcos Ramos y de otro Indio,” AGN, Inquisición, Tomo 90, exp. 25.

9 AGI, Audiencia de Méjico, Leg. 109.

10 Mecham, John Lloyd, “Antonio de Espejo and His Journey to New Mexico,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 30 (1926), 114–138. See pages 115–117 for Mecham’s summary of the trial.Google Scholar

11 He had been involved in the slaughterhouse fracas in 1578.

12 “Información sobre lo contenido en la Información, 26 de abril 1581.”

13 “Memoria de lo que monta el salario y derechos, 23 de Mayo 1581. AGN, Inquisición, Tomo 90, exp. 25, f. 336.

14 The originals of the Audiencia trial are found in AGI, Audiencia de Méjico, Leg. 109, in three sets of records: ““Información sobre la muerte de oficio en Querétaro, 6 de abril de 1581”; “Sentencia de Prueba, México, 3 de junio de 1581”; “Sentencia de Revista, México, 24 de mayo de 1582.” Filed with these documents are the various Espejo petitions for the years 1582–1586.

15 “Sentencia de Prueba, 3 de junio de 1581.”

16 “Sentencia de revista, México, 24 de mayo de 1582.”

17 “Carta de Eugenio Salazar al Rey, 22 de enero de 1583.”

18 Hammond, George P. and Rey, Agapito, The Rediscovery of New Mexico, 1580–1594 (Albuquerque, 1966), pp. 15–28, 153–231.Google Scholar

19 Hammond, George P. and Rey, Agapito, trans, and ed., Obregón’s History of Sixteenth Century Explorations in Western America (Los Angeles, 1928), pp. 338–339.Google Scholar

20 AGI, Audiencia de Méjico, Leg. 109, fs. 1080–1081.

21 “Power of Attorney to Pedro González de Mendoza, April 23, 1584,” Hammond, and Rey, , The Rediscovery of New Mexico, pp. 234–235.Google Scholar

22 Wagner, , The Spanish Southwest, p. 77.Google Scholar See also Wagner, Henry R., Juan Gonzales de Mendosa. Historia de la Cosas Mas Notables, Ritos y Costumbres del Gran Reyno de la China and El Viaje que Hizo Antonio de Espejo (Berkeley, 1924).Google Scholar

23 “Espejo to the Archbishop of Mexico, October, 1583,” Hammond, and Rey, , The Rediscovery of New Mexico, pp. 232–233.Google Scholar

24 “Espejo to the King, April 23, 1584,” Ibid., p. 233.

25 “Fray Pedro Oroz to the King and the Council of the Indies, April 22, 1584,” Ibid., p. 236.

26 “Fray Diego Rengel to His Majesty King Philip, Our Sovereign, In Person,” Ibid., p. 237.

27 AGI, Patronato, leg. 22. See also Ibid., pp. 238–239.

28 “Antonio de Espejo pide perdón,” AGI, Audiencia de Méjico, Leg. 109 as translated by Hammond, and Rey, , Ibid., p. 242.Google Scholar

29 Wagner, , The Spanish Southwest, p. 77.Google Scholar

30 Consult Greenleaf, Richard E., The Mexican Inquisition of the Sixteenth Century (Albuquerque, 1969), pp. 169–171, 174–182Google Scholar; and Greenleaf, Richard E., “The Little War of Guadalajara 1587–1590,” New Mexico Historical Review, 40 (1968), 119–135 for more data on the fmniliatura on the northern frontier.Google Scholar