Puntos de la Buena Doctrina de los Indios de Nueva España.

£7,250 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

A rare, early seventeenth-century message from the Marquis de Montesclaros (1571-1628) , Viceroy of Nueva Espana, to Fray Diego de Soto, Provincial of the Province of Michoacan on the subject of the spiritual care and welfare of the Indigenous population . Born in Guadalajara, the Marquis de Montesclaros fought in the Portuguese campaign under the Duke of Alba and was awarded the Order of Caballero de Santiago in 1591. He was appointed governor of Seville, during which time he became interested in New Spain and became Viceroy of New Spain from 1603 to 1607 and thereafter governed Peru in the same capacity from 1607 to 1615. This important communication conveys the terms of the Royal reformation the procedure for the conversion of the Indigenous population (most of whom would have been Purépecha) to the Provincial Diocese of Michoacan. A short preamble is followed by the five-part Royal message. The King and his counsellors hoped the spiritual and temporal welfare of the Indigenous people would evolve with the least possible inconvenience to them . As such, it was desirable to gather those who were scattered in mountain passes and wild places into communities, where they might be taught the doctrines of Christianity in an atmosphere of cleanliness and in climates to which they were accustomed. On the other hand, those who already lived in communities where facilities existed for their conversion to the Faith, should not be removed to other places. In cases where Indians had be

• Binding: Hardcover

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