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Manuscript/Mixed Material Hans Peter Kraus Collection: Royal cedula to the audiencia of Mexico

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About this Item

Title

  • Hans Peter Kraus Collection: Royal cedula to the audiencia of Mexico

Names

  • The Princess [Juana, Princess of Spain and Portugal]

Created / Published

  • Valladolid, March 16, 1556

Headings

  • -  Latin America--History
  • -  New Spain--Politics and government
  • -  Catholic Church--Clergy--Appointment, call, and election
  • -  Catholic Church--Corrupt practices
  • -  Manuscripts

Genre

  • Manuscripts

Notes

  • -  Juan Ruiz Rubio, representing the archbishop of Mexico, has reported that many friars in New Spain have built sumptuous friaries in out-of-the-way places where there are only two friars, and that what one superior built another would tear down, all at the expense of the Crown and Indians. He accused them of using groups of 200 to 300 Indians in rotation without giving them food or anything else. As a result, many Indians were fleeing and were asking for secular priests rather than friars. The friars reportedly were also making excessive expenses ornamenting their churches, e.g., for retables, monstrances, and cruets. Ruiz Rubio requested the Crown to command that the friars show moderation in their buildings, that the plans of the friaries should be approved by the Viceroy and the prelate of the diocese, that the plans should be proportionate to the place and the number of friars, that friars should not be allowed to tear down what had been built, except with the approval of the Viceroy and prelate after consulting with artisans, that moderation be observed in the ornamentation, such as vestments of gold, silk, silver, and brocade and crosses, chalices, and monstrances, so that the caciques would not lay the burden of it on the common people. The Council of the Indies having considered this, a decision was reached to command the audiencia to look into the matter and to decree what would be best for the service of God and the Crown and the good of the natives.

Medium

  • 1 leaf

Source Collection

  • Hans Peter Kraus collection of Spanish American documents, 1433-1877

Repository

  • Manuscript Division

Digital Id

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The materials in Parallel Histories: Spain, the United States, and the American Frontier are in the public domain and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Parallel Histories: Spain, the United States, and the American Frontier.

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For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Princess Juana, Princess Of Spain And Portugal. Hans Peter Kraus Collection: Royal cedula to the audiencia of Mexico. Valladolid, 1556. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/mss31013-04700/.

APA citation style:

The Princess Juana, P. O. S. A. P. (1556) Hans Peter Kraus Collection: Royal cedula to the audiencia of Mexico. Valladolid. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/mss31013-04700/.

MLA citation style:

The Princess Juana, Princess Of Spain And Portugal. Hans Peter Kraus Collection: Royal cedula to the audiencia of Mexico. Valladolid, 1556. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/mss31013-04700/>.