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The Last Years of Archbishop Pedro Moya de Contreras, 1586-1591

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

Stafford Poole C.M.
Stafford Poole C.M.*
Affiliation:
Los Angeles, California
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Extract

Any historian who sets out to write a book faces two dangers. The one might be called the “one more document syndrome,” the obsession with research that is so exhaustive that nothing further can be found. The other is the prospect of publishing a work, only to have further documentation come to light that was lacking in his original research or alters his conclusions. Perhaps the latter is the lesser danger because it at least permits part of the historical record to reach the public. It may be that I am prejudiced in that regard, having suffered this very experience. In a recent biography of Pedro Moya de Contreras, the first inquisitor of New Spain, third archbishop of Mexico, and interim viceroy, I wrote of his last years in Spain “one can only hope that future research and perhaps fortuitous discoveries will complete that part of his life's story.” The fortuitous discoveries were made within a few months after publication, happily by the author himself. They consist for the most part of a collection of documents in the library of the Instituto de Valencia de Don Juan in Madrid, especially the papers of Mateo Vázquez de Leca (1543-1591), Philip II's private secretary and an indefatigable hoarder of valuable documents.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Americas , Volume 47 , Issue 1 , July 1990 , pp. 1 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1990

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References

1 Stafford Poole, CM., Pedro Moya de Contreras: Catholic Reform and Royal Power in New Spain, 1571–1591 (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1987), 215 Google Scholar. For the sake of convenience, hereinafter cited as PMC.

2 Hereinafter cited as IVDJ. The author wishes to thank the administration of the Instituto, especially Don Gregorio de Andrés, the librarian, for their help. All citations of these documents are made with the permission of the Instituto. The documents are stored in boxes which are labeled envíos, which in turn are subdivided into cajas. The documents in the envíos are sometimes foliated, sometimes not. The foliation is inconsistent. At times it refers to a single leaf, at times to folders of more than one leaf.

3 Archivo de la Universidad de Salamanca, hereinafter cited as AUS, Matrículas, libro 268, f. 45v; libro 269, f. 41r; libro 270, f. 44v. Some details of Moya de Contreras’s life as given here differ from those in PMC. This is because of corrections made on the basis of more recent research.

4 The standard source of the names of bartolomicos is Historia del Colegio Viejo de S. Bartholome 1 mayor de la celebre universidad de Salamanca. Primera parte escrita por el Ill.mo S.r D. Francisco Ruiz de Vergara. Corregida y aumentada en esta segunda edicion por Don Joseph de Roxas y Contreras, 2 vols. (Madrid, 1766). It does not mention Moya de Contreras as a bartolomico. In IVDJ, envío 90, caja 127, there is a fragmentary report on the universities of Spain and their most illustrious graduates, apparently drawn up under the direction of Cardinal Diego de Espinosa. It contains a great deal of information about alumni of San Bartolomé but does not mention Moya.

5 The date usually given for his appointment as inquisitor is based on a royal cédula of 16 August 1570 and titles of appointment by Cardinal Espinosa of the same date (PMC, 29). The royal appointment can be found in Un cedulario mexicano del siglo XVI, with prologue and notes by Francisco González de Cosío (Mexico City, 1973), 180–81, and the Espinosa letters in Carreño, Alberto María Un desconocido cedulario del siglo XVI perteneciente a la catedral metropolitana de México (Mexico City, 1940), 430–32Google Scholar. These, however, were actually second appointments. The first was made on 3 January 1570 (AHN, Inquisición, libro 352, f. 32r–v). The promise that the appointment would be temporary is found in a letter from Espinosa to Moya de Contreras, from Córdoba, 19 April 1570 (ibid., f. 32v). Moya reminded Vázquez de Leca of the promise in a letter of 20 November 1582 (IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 251). There are discrepancies between the dates in the documents given by Carreño and González de Cosío and those in the IVDJ and the AHN. In the IVDJ collection, those dated 16 August 1570 are (1) a cédula to the royal authorities in New Spain proclaiming the establishment of the Inquisition, (2) a cédula establishing in general terms the exemption of the familiares from royal justice, and (3) a cédula defining in precise terms the exemption and its limits. Another cédula defining the exemption of the familiares, dated 20 August 1570, is also to be found among these papers (IVDJ, envío 57, caja 77, ff. 490r–98v). In AHN, Inquisición, libro 352, f. 33r, the second appointment, signed by Espinosa and Vázquez de Leca, is dated 18 August 1570 and delineates Moya’s jurisdiction, that is, the archdiocese of Mexico and the dioceses of Oaxaca, Nueva Galicia, Michoacán, Tlaxcala, Yucatán, Guatemala, Chiapas, Vera Paz, Honduras, Nicaragua, and all their environs. Moya’s salary as inquisitor was 800,000 maravedís a year (IVDJ, envío 57, caja 77, f. 422r–v).

6 The various cédulas concerning Moya’s appointment and the number and exemptions of the familiares were read to the audiencia of Mexico on 22 October 1571 by Pedro de los Ríos, the Inquisition’s notary. One oidor, Céspedes de Cárdenas, wrote an individual protest on 29 October 1571 (IVDJ, ibid., ff. 486f–89r; 492r–98r).

7 IVDJ, ibid., f. 423r. A second copy of the decisions, with an additional note that the viceroy and audiencia should favor the Inquisition, is on f. 484r–v. Other copies can be found in AHN, Inquisición, libro 352, ff. 48r–63v. On 13 March 1572 a cédula was sent to the judges and justices of New Spain, telling them not to interfere in Inquisition cases (AHN, ibid., f. 52r).

8 On 15 June 1573 Ovando wrote to Moya to ask him to continue as inquisitor until the pending cases had been completed (PMC, 39). On 31 January 1574 Archbishop Gaspar de Quiroga, Espinosa’s successor as president of the supreme council of the Inquisition, wrote to ask the same thing (AHN, Inquisición, libro 352, f. 80r).

9 On 6 November 1S76 he wrote to Vázquez de Leca that the great distance from Spain “chills any kind of good judgment…here we are all pilgrims and outsiders.” (IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 249). On 20 November 1584 he wrote the royal secretary that he wanted to get out of “this New World, from which I receive no little grief” and spoke of “the times when I have remembered with great affliction how much better off I was as inquisitor because it was an office that did not shut the door to my returning to die in the Promised Land.” (Ibid., f. 251).

10 The correspondence between the papal nuncio in Madrid and Cardinal Rusticucci can be found in the Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Secretaria di Stato, Nunziatura di Spagna, volume 19, no. 36; 98, 34:440, 525, 605, 628, 616, 873.

11 See PMC, 197–203; also Stafford Poole, CM., “Opposition to the Third Mexican Council,” The Americas 25 (October, 1968): 11–59.Google Scholar

12 PMC, chapter VI, and Stafford Poole, CM., “La visita de Moya de Contreras,” Memoria del Segundo Congreso Venezolano de Historia, 3 vols. (Caracas, 1975), 2:417–41.Google Scholar

13 For two differing views of Farfán, see Agueda María Rodríguez, O.P., “Pedro Farfán,” Revista de Indias 2 (July-December 1971): 221–309 Google Scholar, and Stafford Poole, CM., “Institutionalized Corruption in the Letrado Bureaucracy: The Case of Pedro Farfán (1568–1586),” The Americas 38 (October 1981). 149–71CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

14 PMC, 105.

15 Ibid., 206.

16 Moya de Contreras to Francisco Sopando de Valmaseda, escribano de cámara of the Council of the Indies, from Córdoba, 21 December 1568, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 254.

17 Moya de Contreras to Vázquez de Leca, from Illescas, 9 January 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 41, f. 393. It is written on the back of Vázquez’s letter.

18 Moya de Contreras to Vázquez de Leca, 22 January 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 41, f. 393. Information on these men is found in Schäfer, Ernst El real y supremo consejo de las Indias: su historia, organización y labor administrativa hasta la terminación de la casa de Austria, 2 vols. (Seville, 1935–1947)Google Scholar. On Vega, who had formerly been president of the Council of Finance, see 1:352; Gasea de Salazar, who later moved to the Council of Castile, 1:355; Valcárcel (also spelled Valcázar), 1:356. Great confusion arises in attempting to identify two different men, both named Francisco de Villafañe, who were contemporaries. Doctor Francisco de Villafañe served on the Council of the Indies from 1567 to 1570 and then went to the Council of Castile, where he served until his death in 1587 (1:355). This Villafañe also began the visita of the Council of the Indies. Licenciado Francisco de Villafañe was first an accountant of the Contaduría mayor of the Council of the Indies and then a councilor from 1582 to 1589 (1:356). The only way of distinguishing the two, aside from the rare occasions when the documents specify which one is meant, is the difference in academic title. This distinction, however, is not always observed in the documents.

19 IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 32.

20 Vega to Philip II, from Madrid, 12 January 1587, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, f. 170. The law cited was from the Recopilación de Toro, law 36, title 4, book 2.

21 Ibid.

22 Zúñiga had formerly been president of the Casa de Contratación in Seville and was a member of the Council of the Indies from 1576 to 1582 ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 1:355 Google Scholar). Valilo was a councilor from 1578 to 1587 (1:356). Medina was on the Council from 1586 to 1591 (ibid.).

23 Vega to Philip II, from Madrid, 25 January 1586, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, f. 174.

24 Villafañe to Vázquez de Leca, 29 January 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 41, f. 392.

25 Vega to Philip II, from Madrid, 21 January and 9 February 1587, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, ff. 173, 188.

26 IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 114.

27 Consulta of 22 March 1587, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, f. 185. The alcalde’s name is also given as Díaz Tudanza. He was later a councilor (1589-1595,) and then a member of the Council of Castile ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 1:356).Google Scholar

28 A similar accusation had been made by the Franciscans of Mexico City after the suspension of the oidores. See PMC, 100.

29 García de Palacio and Farfán to the Council of the Indies, Madrid, both undated, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, f. 208.

30 Vázquez de Leca to Vega, from Aranjuez, 8 May 1587; Vega to Philip n, from Madrid, 10 May 1586, ibid.

31 In PMC, 114,1 speculated that it perhaps indicated disagreement with the sentences, a speculation that must now be abandoned.

32 Moya de Contreras to Philip II, from Madrid, 15 June 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 256.

33 Ibid., f. 264.

34 Valtodano to Vázquez de Leca, 25 October 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 41, f. 395. Valtodano was fiscal from 1586 to 1589, after which he was a member of the Council ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 1:367 Google Scholar). He mentioned names that do not appear in the visita documents in the Archivo General de Indias (hereinafter cited as AGI), such as Juan Pérez de Erenozu, Jacome Ondarra, and Bartolomé de la Rentería. Hence their part in the various accusations and indictments remains unknown. Valtodano also urged speedy action in the case of Jorge de Arando, who had been returned to Spain under sentence of death. See PMC, 104–05.

35 Vega to Philip II, from Madrid, 4 November 1587, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, f. 269.

36 Vega to Philip II, 29 November 1587, ibid., f. 280. Vega mentioned that he had learned from Moya de Contreras that the usual number of oidores in Mexico was seven. It would be supposed that as president of the Council of the Indies, he would be aware of that fact.

37 It is interesting that Vega used the same phraseology “confessed at the foot of the gallows” that Moya de Contreras did. Ibid. See PMC, 104.

38 Vega to Philip II, from Madrid, 4 November, 1587, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, f. 269. Espadero, a former judge of the prestigious chancillería of Valladolid, was a councilor from 1572 to 1589 ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 1:355 Google Scholar). González was one councilor who had had experience in the Indies as president of the audiencia of Guatemala (ibid., 2:423). He was later president of the audiencia of Santa Fe de Bogotá (ibid., 2:498).

39 IVDJ, envío 63, caja 85, ff. 55v-57r; Vega to Philip II, from Madrid, 11 November and 16 December 1587, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, ff. 145, 287.

40 He had asked again to be excused from hearing these cases on 2 January 1588. IVDJ, envío 23, caja 40, f. 271.

41 Some of the standard sources on the visita mention that there was at least one death sentence that was carried out in Spain. This was probably it.

42 IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 46.

43 Moya de Contreras to Philip II, from Madrid, 2 May 1588, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 278. On the origins of the Junta of Presidents, see Lovett, A. W. “Juan de Ovando and the Council of Finance (1573–1575),” Historical Journal 15, 1 (1972): 8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

44 There is some uncertainty as to when the verdicts on the treasury officials were delivered. In a consulta of 19 October 1589 Moya mentioned that though the cases had been decided, the sentences had not yet been published. The fiscal of the Council of the Indies, Alonso Pérez de Salazar, who had been appointed in August 1589 and who wanted full rigor in the sentences, had asked for a brief delay in publication so that he could see the evidence. Moya recommended accepting the request. IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 180.

45 Consulta of 7 October 1588, from Madrid, ibid., f. 147.

46 On the number and quality of these verdicts, see PMC, 111–14.

47 Sande came from an upwardly mobile hidalgo family of Càceres. See Miramón, Alberto El Doctor Sangre (Bogotá, 1954)Google Scholar; Airman, Ida Emigrants and Society: Extremadura and Spanish America in the Sixteenth Century (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, 1989), 53 Google Scholar, 79, 136, 217–18, 243, 260–61.

48 For further details on this case, see PMC, 97–98.

49 On Espadero, see Altaian, , Emigrants and Society, 128 Google Scholar, 130. Espadero had been one of the executors of Juan de Ovando’s will.

50 Vega to Philip II, Madrid, 12 January 1587, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, f. 171.

51 Consulta of 28 March 1588, from Madrid, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 277.

52 Consulta of 30 March 1588, from Madrid, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 61.

53 Consultas of 20 September and 2 November 1589, IVDJ, envío 88, caja 124, f. 546.

54 Consultas of 20 September, 1589, 11 January and 22 February 1590, ibid.

55 Consultas of 11 January and 22 February 1590, ibid. Pérez de Salazar had had experience in the Indies as oidor of the audiencia of Mexico, 1588–1589, and of the audiencia of Santa Fe de Bogotá, 1582–1588 ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 2:453 Google Scholar, 500). He was fiscal of the Council from 1589 to 1594 and then a councilor, 1594–1596 (ibid., 1:367, 356).

56 Consulta of 26 March 1590, ibid. This type of juro would have meant that the royal treasury would have paid out 500 maravedís annually with the promise that eventually the entire debt would be paid. Given the financial situation of the Crown, the interest payments could have gone on indefinitely. See Ulloa, Modesto La hacienda real de Castilla en el reinado de Felipe II (Madrid, 1986), 118–19.Google Scholar

57 For a fuller treatment of this question, see PMC, 176–87; Stafford Poole, C.M., “The Church and the Repartimientos in the Light of the Third Mexican Council, 1585,” The Americas 20 (July 1963): 3–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

58 The original Recarte memorial can be found in Mariano Cuevas, S.J., Documentos inéditos del siglo XVIpara la historia de México (Mexico City, 1914), 354–85Google Scholar. The consultas to the Third Mexican Provincial Council are to be found in the Bancroft Library, Berkeley, California, Mexican Manuscript 269, ff. 114r–61v, and are reprinted in José Llaguno, S.J., La personalidad jurídica del indio y el III Concilio Provincial Mexicano (1585) (Mexico City, 1963), 235–70Google Scholar. The Franciscan memorial is also summarized in “The Franciscan Attack on the Repartimiento System (1585),” in John F. Bannon, S.J., ed., Indian Labor in Spanish America: Was There Another Solution? (Boston, 1966), 66–75.Google Scholar

59 PMC, 184.

60 Cuevas, , Documentos inéditos, 24.Google Scholar Mendieta to king, from Puebla de los Angeles, 15 April 1587, AGI, Méjico, leg. 287; another copy is in IVDJ, envío 44, caja 54, ff. 37–42. In that same letter Mendieta congratulated Philip II for simplifying court etiquette, so that the king was now addressed as señor rather than majestad. See Kamen, Henry Spain 1469–1715: A Society of Conflict (London, 1983), 150 Google Scholar. The change was made by a pragmática of 8 October 1588. See Heredia, Antonia Herrera Catálogo de las consultas del Consejo de Indias (1529–1591) (Madrid, 1972), 1:6.Google Scholar

61 Response appended to Vega’s letter to Philip II, from Madrid, 24 February 1587, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, f. 190.

62 Moya de Contreras to Vázquez de Leca, from Madrid, 19 December 1587, IVDJ, envío 44, caja 57, ff. 37–42.

63 Ibid.

64 lbid.

65 Ramírez had caused a furor at the beginning of the Third Mexican Provincial Council by violating an order not to preach against the repartimiento. PMC, 180.

66 Recarte to Guzmán, from Salamanca, 29 December 1587, IVDJ, envío 44, caja 57, ff. 37–42. The papers are not individually foliated. The numbering is on the packet that holds them.

67 Ibid.

68 Moya de Contreras to Vázquez de Leca, from Madrid, 8 January 1588; the king’s comment is on Vázquez’s letter of 7 January, ibid.

69 On the subsequent history of the repartimiento, see PMC, 179.

70 In PMC, 206, I stated that he was appointed an advisor. There is, however, no documentary evidence for this. Also, in view of the secrecy which surrounded so many of the consultas it is hardly conceivable that Moya held an official position. It is also clear that he was not a member of the Council of the Indies at this time. See AGI, Indiferente general, leg. 866.

71 Quoted in Lovett, , “Juan de Ovando,” 71.Google Scholar

72 Quoted in Parker, Geoffrey Philip II (London, 1988), 29 Google Scholar. Ovando wrote a similar complaint to Philip II on 25 November 1573, IVDJ, envío 101, f. 214r.

73 Thus, for example, on 6 July 1587, Philip II secretly sent Moya a large number of consultas from the Council of the Indies concerning appointments to offices in the New World. See IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 257.

74 IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, ff. 37–171. There are two additional consultas for 1588 in envío 25, caja 40, f. 280, and envío 55, caja 73.

75 IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, ff. 172–80.

76 IVDJ, envío 23, caja 36, f. 520; envío 78, caja 103, ff. 183–89. According to a generic guide drawn up by Antonio Paz y Meli between 1911 and 1915 (2:413v–414r), envío 109, caja 153 at one time contained an account of the descendants of the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma drawn up by Moya on 12 October 1590. Unfortunately, it cannot now be located.

77 Such as the one the Council wanted to grant to Alonso Vázquez de Avila Arce, 12 December 1587, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 33.

78 18 February 1588, ibid., f. 39.

79 Ibid., f. 184.

80 Consulta of 9 March 1588, ibid., f. 42. On Moya’s conflicts with the religious of New Spain, see PMC, chapter 5.

81 18 February 1588, ibid., f. 39.

82 Consulta of 9 March 1588, ibid., f. 45.

83 Consulta of 17 March 1588, ibid., f. 47.

84 Consulta of 20 March 1588, ibid., f. 51.

85 Consulta of 18 February 1588, ibid., f. 39.

86 Consulta of 18 September 1590, ibid., f. 186.

87 Ibid., f. 184.

88 Consulta of 14 January 1591, ibid., f. 192.

89 Consulta of 18 September 1590, ibid., f. 185.

90 Consulta of 27 February 1589, ibid., f. 175. The king’s marginal notation was not to make a decision at that rime.

91 Consulta of 15 October 1589, ibid., f. 181. The exemption had first been granted by a royal cédula of 28 June 1583.

92 Consulta of 14 September 1590, ibid., f. 182.

93 Consulta of 10 January 1591, ibid., f. 191.

94 When Juan de Ovando became president of the Council of the Indies in 1571, he secured a royal cédula that effectively barred the Council from such nominations. As president he alone had the right to suggest names for higher offices and the virtual right of appointment to lower offices (Philip II to President and Council of the Indies, from Madrid, 6 October 1571, AGI, Indiferente general, leg. 582, f. 3r–v). The councilors chafed under this situation but could nothing about it. See Heredia, Herrera Catálogo, 1:11. During Vega’s presidency both systems were used.Google Scholar

95 Consulta of 6 July 1587; Moya to Philip II, 7 July 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 257.

96 Consulta of 17 December 1587, ibid., f. 268. The king’s marginal note said that it would be better to name the Conde’s successor before recalling him.

97 Vázquez de Leca to Moya de Contreras, from Madrid, 27 December 1587, ibid., f. 268; consulta of 27 December 1587, ibid., f. 269.

98 Moya de Contreras to Philip II, from Madrid, 5 January 1588, ibid., f. 268.

99 Moya de Contreras to Philip II, from Madrid, 6 August 1588, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 115.

100 The two were Licenciado Gaso and Doctor Agero. Consulta of 9 March 1588, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 40. Agero received the appointment on 14 May 1588 ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 2:474).Google Scholar

101 His nominee was Doctor Diego Núñez de Avendaño, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 43. He received the appointment on 14 May 1588 and served until 1591, after which he was named an oidor ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 2:480).Google Scholar

102 This was Licenciado Cristóbal de Villaroel (IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 44. He received the appointment on 14 May 1588 but declined it ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 2:486).Google Scholar

103 Consulta of 5 January 1591, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 190. He apparently received the appointment. In 1598 he was named governor of Cuman ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 2:543).Google Scholar

104 Consulta of 5 January 591, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 190.

105 Consulta of 17 March 1588, ibid., f. 47.

106 Consulta of 9 May 1588, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 257. López de Vivero took up his position as corregidor on 29 November 1590. See Actas de Cabildo de la Ciudad de México. Edición del “Municipio Libre” publicada por su Propietario y Director Ignacio Bejarano, 29 vols. (Mexico City, 1889–1906), 10:33.

107 Those nominated were Juan de León Chaves, O.P., Bartolomé Muñoz, O.P., (bishop of Tierra Firme, whom he later nominated for Popayán and the Nuevo Reino de Granada), Licenciado Caseco (a fellow of San Bartolomé of Salamanca), Doctor Otade (professor of canon law at the University of Alcalá de Henares), and Pedro de Ocampo, O.S.B. Consulta of 12 December 1588, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 170; Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 2:582.Google Scholar

108 Consulta of 10 February 1589, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 287; Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 2:572.Google Scholar

109 The dead bishops were Fray Luis Zapata of the Nuevo Reino de Granada and Fray Agustín de la Coruña of Popayán. Consulta of 23 November 1590, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 189.

110 Consulta of 10 December 1588, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 280; 15 December 1588, IVDJ, envío 55, caja 73, f. 269r–v, 170; 19 and 28 January 1589, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 173; 27 February 1589, ibid., í. 175.

111 Undated consulta, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 123.

112 Consulta of 15 June 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 255.

113 Consulta of 11 December 1587, ibid., f. 265.

114 Consulta of 19 May 1589, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 178.

115 The first reference to this visita was made in a consulta of 27 December 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 268.

116 Consulta of 5 January 1588, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 37. In PMC, 207, I mentioned that Bonilla had incurred Moya’s displeasure in Mexico City. For Moya’s unfavorable comments on Bonilla, see Hanke, Lewis “El visitador licenciado Alonso Fernandez de Bonilla y el virrey del Perú, el Conde del Villar (1590–1593),” in Memoria del Segundo Congreso Venezolano de Historia, 2:18 Google Scholar. It is clear, however, that whatever enmity may have existed had long since disappeared. Moya always spoke of Bonilla in the highest terms. Hanke’s study is the best and most thorough that there is of Bonilla’s visita, but he did not have at hand the documents of the IVDJ which give additional information on Bonilla’s appointment. Though the full surname is Fernández de Bonilla, the documents always refer to him simply as Bonilla.

117 Vázquez de Leca to Moya de Contreras, from Madrid, 25 May 1588, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 78.

118 Consulta of 29 May 1588, ibid., f. 81.

119 Vázquez de Leca to Moya de Contreras, from Madrid, 6 July 1588, ibid., f. 95.

120 Consulta of 8 July 1588, ibid., f. 96.

121 Consulta of 25 August 1588, ibid., f. 121. On that same day, Vázquez de Leca wrote to Moya from the Escorial that Antonio González of the Council of the Indies had volunteered to make the visita. The king wanted Moya’s opinion, especially in view of the archbishop’s stated conviction that it would be less expensive to choose the visitador from among someone already in the Indies (ibid., f. 122).

122 Consulta of 17 September 1588, ibid., f. 143; Vega to Philip II, from Madrid, 23 October 1588, IVDJ, envío 22, caja 35, f. 135.

123 Consulta of 31 October 1588, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 155.

124 On the conflicts between Moya and Villamanrique over the visita, see PMC, 109–11.

125 Consulta of 23 November 1588,. IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 166.

126 These and the following details are taken from Hanke, , “El visitador Licenciado Alonso Fernández de Bonilla,” passim.Google Scholar

127 Consulta of the Council of the Indies and Vega to Philip II, both 22 July 1590, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 187. Bravo was oidor from 1585 to 1592 ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 2:445).Google Scholar

128 Ibid.

129 Ibid. A summary of his opinion, dated 13 August 1590, can be found in IVDJ, envío 23, caja 36, f. 520. Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 2:445.Google Scholar

130 Consulta of 6 August 1588, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 113.

131 Consulta of 7 November 1588, ibid., f. 160.

132 Consulta of 11 August 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 258. This was in response to a letter of complaint from the criollo Franciscans against Ponce. Moya was a consistent defender of the commissary.

133 Consultas of October (no day given) 1587, IVDJ, envío 44, caja 57, f. 21, and 12 October 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 259.

134 Vázquez de Leca to Moya de Contreras, from Madrid, 7 November 1587; Moya de Contreras to Vázquez de Leca, 9 November 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 260; consulta of 26 January 1588, ibid., envío 78, caja 103, f. 38. Saldierna de Mariaca had been appointed oidor in 1585 and served until 1593, when he was transferred to the audiencia of Guatemala ( Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 2:543).Google Scholar

135 Consulta of 30 December 1587, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 34.

136 Consulta of 25 April 1588, ibid., f. 68.

137 The king also agreed. Consulta of 7 November 1587, ibid., f. 158.

138 The IVDJ contains many papers concerning the Marqués de Villamanrique, Moya’s successor as viceroy of New Spain and an enemy. These include denunciations from the audiencia that Villamanrique had exceeded his powers and behaved arbitrarily. These can be found in envío 653, caja 85, ff. 45v–46v; 54v–55r; envío 23, caja 35, ff. 90, 104, 111, 130, 314. There is no indication that Moya de Contreras was consulted about any of this. Of special interest is the case of the Franciscan Francisco Jiménez, rector of the College of San Luis in Puebla de los Angeles, who on 9 February 1588 (10 February according to another source) wrote a letter denouncing Villamanrique for his treatment of the bishops at the Third Mexican Provincial Council (see PMC, 273, n. 97). Jiménez declared that the viceroy was excommunicated for having used violence against some of the bishops and accused him of being a Lutheran. Villamanrique forwarded a summary of the letter and his own defense to the Council of the Indies. The audiencia also supported him and some time early in 1588 Jiménez was arrested. On 19 March 1588 the students at the College of San Luis wrote to the viceroy to protest the arrest. Thereupon the audiencia ordered the friar to be sent back to Spain. On 27 November Vega wrote to the king, lamenting Jiménez’s letter as daring (temerario, a word often used to imply heresy) and harmful to the respect owed to viceroys. The king’s response was that the audiencia had acted correctly. IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, f. 151.

139 Consulta of 14 August 1588, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 151.

140 Alonso Sánchez (1543–1593) entered the Society of Jesus in 1565. He went to New Spain in 1579 and served as rector of the Colegio de San Francisco in Puebla de los Angeles. In 1581 he went to the Philippines as a missionary and in the following year conducted a diplomatic mission in Macao. He returned to Spain in 1587 as a representative of both civil and ecclesiastical authorities to bring certain questions to the king. He died in Rome in 1593 while preparing to return to the orient. In 1584 Moya had forwarded to the Council of the Indies a report written by Sánchez about his journey to China, in which he expressed the opinion that Christianity could be brought to the Chinese only if accompanied by force of arms. See PMC, 123–24. On Sánchez’s, writings, see Biblioteca Hispánica Noua siue Hispan-orum Scriptorum qui ab anno MD ad MDCLXXXIV floruere notitia. Auctore D. Nicolao Antonio Hispalensi I.C. (Madrid, 1783).Google Scholar

141 Madrid, 27 December 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 270.

142 Moya de Contreras to Vázquez de Leca, from Madrid, 14 August 1588, ibid., ff. 150r–151v.

143 Sumario de las respuestas de el P. Alonso Sanchez a una de un obispo escrita contra el derecho de su M.d en las Indias, ibid., f. 150bis. F. 152 contains a listing by Sánchez of all the papal documents that could be of help to him in his arguments.

144 See Henry Raup Wagner, with the collaboration of Parish, Helen Rand The Life and Writings of Bartolomé de las Casas (Albuquerque, 1967), 236–37Google Scholar; 297, n. 78.

145 IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 139, with a second copy on f. 140.

146 Process of the Inquisition against Maldonado, 27 to 30 April 1567, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 143; Maldonado to the Supreme Council of Justice of Aragón, and another to the Supreme Council of Justice of Castile, and another to the king, all dated 4 May 1567, from Calatayud, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, ff. 145r–147v.

147 These can be found in IVDJ, ibid., ff. 141–43.

148 See PMC, 206.

149 Royal cédula of 9 December 1586 to Francisco de Villafañe, signed by the king and countersigned by Vázquez de Leca, IVDJ, envío 63, caja 85, ff. 14v–16v.

150 23 December 1586, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 36, f. 498.

151 A royal cédula of 23 October 1587 said that Doctor Francisco de Villafañe “of our council” had died. It seems safe to assume that this was the visitador. IVDJ, envío 63, caja 85, f. 51r.

152 Moya de Contreras to the Conde de Barajas, 1 December 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 41, f. 580.

153 Memoria de los papeles q. se entregaron al arobispo de Méx.co tocantes a la visita del Cons.o de Indias, 14 November 1587, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 263. None of the papers that were turned over has been located.

154 Ibid. Villafañe died on 4 June 1587. See Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 1:137.Google Scholar

155 Moya de Contreras to Philip II, 4 February 1588, ibid., f. 274.

156 AGI, Indiferente general, títulos de presidentes, 1579–1814, leg. 865. Vega was named the bishop of Córdoba. Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 1:112 Google Scholar, 352, gives the date as 7 January but does not cite a source.

157 Moya de Contreras to Philip II, from Madrid, 1 September 1591, AGI, Indiferente general, leg. 1624, ff. 630–631.

158 Ibid., 622r–v.

159 Consulta of 9 March 1588, IVDJ, envío 25, caja 40, f. 176, and 17 March 1588, IVDJ, envío 78, caja 103, f. 46.

160 Vega to Philip II, from Madrid, 11 November 1588, IVDJ, envío 23, caja 35, f. 145.

161 Schäfer, , El real y supremo consejo, 1:112 Google Scholar, 352, gives the date of his death as 14 January 1592 but does not cite a source for this information.

162 All of the material on the will and juros is found in AGS, Contaduría de mercedes, leg. 150.

163 Quoted in Parker, , Philip II, 34.Google Scholar