Meta tags:
Headings (most frequently used words):
of, the, works, sources, years, history, work, fray, juan, de, torquemada, contents, life, literary, see, also, references, external, links, early, missionary, activity, 1588, 1602, at, tlatelolco, 1603, 1612, last, 1613, 1624, monarquía, indiana, minor, administrator, engineer, architect, historian, introduction, vision, and, purpose, method, subject, matter, publication, dedication, diffusion, subsequent, text, critical, appraisal,
Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (665), and (236), torquemada (96), was (86), his (83), for (70), indiana (49), from (48), which (48), that (46), juan (45), #monarquía (42), mexico (42), see (41), work (40), with (39), spain (36), león (36), portilla (35), new (31), edition (31), edit (30), had (30), fray (27), this (27), history (27), their (27), but (26), tlatelolco (25), who (25), historia (23), spanish (22), been (22), del (21), published (21), franciscan (20), los (20), city (20), works (20), méxico (19), vol (19), iih (19), were (19), mendieta (19), convent (19), century (18), general (18), other (18), not (18), sources (17), first (17), page (16), las (16), time (16), francisco (15), two (15), are (15), also (15), one (15), santiago (14), cap (14), second (14), only (14), have (14), guardian (14), church (14), its (14), text (13), title (13), lib (13), order (13), indigenous (13), life (13), indians (12), book (12), san (12), part (12), has (12), these (12), him (12), province (11), gurría (11), lacroix (11), edn (11), more (11), written (11), between (11), date (11), known (11), under (10), year (10), retablo (10), garcía (10), quoted (10), que (10), volume (10), friars (10), three (10), main (10), years (10), well (10), among (10), historian (10), all (9), nueva (9), instituto (9), unam (9), university (9), north (9), dated (9), bautista (9), online (9), taken (9), books (9), took (9), especially (9), manuscript (9), into (9), missionary (9), various (9), about (8), use (8), cs1 (8), 1624 (8), victoria (8), investigaciones (8), moreno (8), icazbalceta (8), alcina (8), franch (8), una (8), historical (8), preliminares (8), critical (8), proemio (8), king (8), than (8), before (8), salva (8), where (8), view (7), wikipedia (7), language (7), chronicles (7), miguel (7), anales (7), 1990 (7), doi (7), toscano (7), 1983 (7), american (7), without (7), own (7), provincial (7), 1609 (7), dates (7), santo (7), those (7), died (7), july (7), following (7), 1610 (7), can (7), original (7), high (7), many (7), most (7), peoples (7), central (7), may (6), articles (6), links (6), indies (6), relación (6), account (6), lópez (6), link (6), rubial (6), antonio (6), hispanic (6), mexican (6), históricas (6), nacional (6), studies (6), 1969 (6), cline (6), january (6), both (6), over (6), con (6), phelan (6), review (6), great (6), relevant (6), dedication (6), printed (6), nahuatl (6), although (6), passages (6), 1612 (6), madrid (6), plagiarism (6), large (6), sus (6), early (6), when (6), members (6), then (6), conquest (6), made (6), while (6), culture (6), publication (6), there (6), almost (6), purpose (6), last (5), maint (5), authors (5), location (5), people (5), 16th (5), pedro (5), cosas (5), sahagún (5), library (5), research (5), xvi (5), mexicana (5), press (5), colonial (5), s2cid (5), universidad (5), america (5), 234 (5), brading (5), documents (5), chapter (5), prólogo (5), introduction (5), parts (5), himself (5), 1613 (5), chronicler (5), letter (5), whom (5), charge (5), evangelio (5), printer (5), within (5), few (5), tlaxcala (5), february (5), activity (5), even (5), 1602 (5), lost (5), such (5), said (5), subsequent (5), now (5), out (5), conducted (5), east (5), world (5), subject (5), franciscans (5), toggle (4), contents (4), search (4), available (4), names (4), missing (4), españa (4), díaz (4), andrés (4), bernardino (4), josé (4), xvii (4), americas (4), jstor (4), 2307 (4), autónoma (4), habig (4), provinces (4), joaquín (4), education (4), cite (4), para (4), 1973 (4), letters (4), october (4), discussed (4), 1606 (4), 351 (4), más (4), royal (4), god (4), ever (4), former (4), our (4), body (4), 2nd (4), says (4), 1723 (4), issued (4), including (4), april (4), she (4), chimalpahin (4), addition (4), essay (4), modern (4), bernardo (4), modo (4), particular (4), name (4), end (4), santa (4), details (4), death (4), quoting (4), fate (4), aparicio (4), article (4), feast (4), same (4), later (4), period (4), prologue (4), how (4), writing (4), 1579 (4), ordination (4), age (4), references (4), writings (4), unpublished (4), seville (4), friar (4), them (4), generally (4), positive (4), given (4), appraisal (4), materials (4), old (4), held (4), far (4), volumes (4), since (4), after (4), places (4), 19th (4), what (4), texcoco (4), administrator (4), leading (4), post (4), born (4), indian (4), architect (4), west (4), engineer (4), hide (4), move (4), sidebar (4), languages (3), table (3), terms (3), archive (3), list (3), publisher (3), statements (3), short (3), historians (3), palencia (3), 17th (3), indios (3), baltasar (3), diego (3), indias (3), gómara (3), crónica (3), data (3), removed (3), monarquia (3), 1996 (3), guadalupe (3), 1994 (3), institute (3), echave (3), 1565 (3), sobre (3), 2002 (3), 1971 (3), texts (3), 1970 (3), fuentes (3), 1629 (3), latin (3), jorge (3), universal (3), 1977 (3), 1570 (3), 1962 (3), 243 (3), college (3), native (3), 372 (3), howard (3), por (3), monarchy (3), state (3), bancroft (3), version (3), 1620 (3), ibid (3), footnote (3), obra (3), era (3), completed (3), project (3), should (3), kind (3), decision (3), colegio (3), verse (3), regi (3), saeculorum (3), 469 (3), sermons (3), este (3), mistakes (3), 1725 (3), permits (3), presence (3), acting (3), iii (3), motolinía (3), vetancur (3), xii (3), xiv (3), provincia (3), biblical (3), classical (3), style (3), todo (3), john (3), otras (3), dios (3), government (3), 1601 (3), 1615 (3), coloniales (3), map (3), comprised (3), puebla (3), catholic (3), panel (3), occurred (3), day (3), events (3), dating (3), aztec (3), spaniards (3), division (3), institution (3), 1600 (3), election (3), confraternity (3), gerónimo (3), cited (3), regarded (3), birth (3), hombre (3), chiauhtla (3), theological (3), active (3), mentioned (3), could (3), living (3), holy (3), sebastián (3), 1605 (3), value (3), fact (3), sometimes (3), above (3), however (3), author (3), study (3), western (3), framework (3), evangelisation (3), translation (3), numerous (3), oral (3), would (3), until (3), previously (3), method (3), according (3), eclesiástica (3), seven (3), wrote (3), third (3), another (3), facsimile (3), reprint (3), good (3), franco (3), print (3), stated (3), least (3), guatemala (3), did (3), printing (3), some (3), being (3), resident (3), they (3), read (3), course (3), specific (3), identified (3), used (3), gave (3), community (3), put (3), considered (3), viceroy (3), nations (3), followed (3), religion (3), together (3), matter (3), divine (3), record (3), personal (3), man (3), information (3), literary (3), help (3), hand (3), altar (3), successor (3), during (3), carved (3), 1604 (3), notable (3), still (3), lake (3), jalisco (3), michoacán (3), galicia (3), zacatecas (3), 1603 (3), 1588 (3), 1562 (3), tools (3), conduct (2), contact (2), privacy (2), policy (2), non (2), wikimedia (2), foundation (2), commons (2), categories (2), template (2), abbreviated (2), multiple (2), french (2), wayback (2), unsourced (2), december (2), 2024 (2), description (2), wikidata (2), mesoamericanists (2), scholars (2), retrieved (2), verdadera (2), noticias (2), decades (2), cortés (2), castellanos (2), comentarios (2), bernal (2), castillo (2), open (2), states (2), national (2), authority (2), 2009 (2), archived (2), external (2), villalba (2), pre (2), américa (2), estéticas (2), orio (2), rodríguez (2), siglo (2), cultura (2), preibish (2), contributions (2), historiography (2), syracuse (2), merrim (2), creole (2), subjects (2), empires (2), mathes (2), 1607 (2), 980184 (2), hoberman (2), louisa (2), 1974 (2), flood (2), journal (2), 1944 (2), continued (2), 978338 (2), ediciones (2), 470 (2), 467 (2), plagiario (2), foin (2), casa (2), 219 (2), mexique (2), 1580 (2), dec (2), estarellas (2), problem (2), higher (2), 367072 (2), quarterly (2), historiographical (2), 386 (2), 980319 (2), castañeda (2), paz (2), parte (2), códice (2), carman (2), purdue (2), york (2), 1890 (2), hubert (2), howe (2), arroyo (2), salvador (2), website (2), accessed (2), 2014 (2), iglesia (2), handbook (2), editorial (2), 1988 (2), descubrimiento (2), científico (2), 978 (2), isbn (2), middle (2), documentos (2), alegatos (2), 27f (2), sermonario (2), lengua (2), contexto (2), dentro (2), conquista (2), republished (2), 117 (2), 2010 (2), applauded (2), woodrow (2), borah (2), 565 (2), modernise (2), remarks (2), private (2), collection (2), recite (2), immortal (2), invisible (2), ages (2), inmortali (2), invisibili (2), amen (2), psalm (2), vulgate (2), special (2), describes (2), words (2), jesus (2), christ (2), lord (2), dico (2), ego (2), opera (2), mea (2), iesu (2), christo (2), countless (2), paragraph (2), identifying (2), each (2), departure (2), licence (2), granted (2), xochimilco (2), senior (2), oversight (2), confessor (2), publ (2), return (2), lacking (2), point (2), discusses (2), tezozomoc (2), 114 (2), borrowed (2), herrera (2), much (2), material (2), tables (2), analysis (2), 109 (2), ecclesiastical (2), xxi (2), xxii (2), religiosos (2), santos (2), reinos (2), origen (2), provincias (2), han (2), demás (2), 646 (2), mil (2), sin (2), 364 (2), 501 (2), xxix (2), copy (2), tierra (2), 281 (2), clara (2), upon (2), violence (2), 216 (2), ethnic (2), social (2), seventeenth (2), citing (2), against (2), know (2), described (2), based (2), lithograph (2), reproduced (2), fig (2), inaugurated (2), sunday (2), celebrated (2), roman (2), diario (2), quotes (2), completion (2), building (2), causeways (2), built (2), arrivals (2), president (2), 499 (2), guardianship (2), decline (2), officio (2), heavy (2), burdens (2), talents (2), tulancingo (2), offering (2), accepts (2), habit (2), aged (2), valeriano (2), tlacopan (2), long (2), eventually (2), perspective (2), examination (2), scenes (2), mostly (2), thousands (2), none (2), survived (2), lady (2), soledad (2), shortened (2), miracles (2), cruz (2), brother (2), minor (2), prehispanic (2), cortes (2), interesting (2), important (2), merit (2), oblivion (2), very (2), etc (2), contrast (2), arrived (2), elementary (2), mere (2), interest (2), readers (2), assessment (2), particularly (2), context (2), par (2), greece (2), rome (2), egypt (2), role (2), deep (2), digressions (2), supposed (2), ancient (2), contemporary (2), traditions (2), restored (2), classic (2), 1870 (2), unknown (2), fall (2), content (2), 20th (2), team (2), direction (2), six (2), analytic (2), indices (2), reading (2), series (2), employing (2), rather (2), errors (2), itself (2), must (2), don (2), because (2), greater (2), run (2), shipwreck (2), copies (2), eight (2), lack (2), pages (2), possesses (2), here (2), noted (2), diffusion (2), length (2), nuestro (2), returned (2), oversee (2), land (2), present (2), despite (2), marred (2), praise (2), similar (2), personally (2), having (2), precise (2), trip (2), presumptively (2), comisario (2), comprises (2), nevertheless (2), considerable (2), raised (2), chronicle (2), customs (2), instructions (2), accusation (2), ordered (2), superiors (2), famous (2), correspondence (2), scholar (2), diversity (2), employed (2), reported (2), survey (2), 1576 (2), mortality (2), destroyed (2), entire (2), place (2), focus (2), south (2), specifically (2), gulf (2), five (2), origin (2), organisation (2), assigned (2), laws (2), military (2), constitute (2), libros (2), rituales (2), conversion (2), sic (2), expressed (2), converted (2), kingdoms (2), others (2), tasks (2), synthesis (2), cultures (2), curiosity (2), skill (2), monumental (2), human (2), achievements (2), past (2), vision (2), calling (2), elderly (2), way (2), official (2), voluminous (2), access (2), olmos (2), minister (2), heart (2), 1614 (2), elected (2), gospel (2), 1617 (2), dispute (2), peninsular (2), became (2), criollos (2), encountered (2), travels (2), dome (2), four (2), local (2), inundations (2), labourers (2), establishment (2), headquartered (2), generation (2), numbers (2), destined (2), guadalajara (2), related (2), sent (2), pacific (2), area (2), theology (2), taught (2), 1587 (2), english (2), cardinal (2), appearance (2), upload (2), file (2), changes (2), subsection (2), log (2), create (2), donate (2), menu (2), add, topic, mobile, cookie, statement, statistics, developers, code, legal, safety, contacts, disclaimers, additional, apply, using, site, you, agree, registered, trademark, profit, organization, inc, creative, attribution, sharealike, license, rendered, parsoid, edited, september, 2026, utc, hidden, deprecated, range, webarchive, containing, different, deaths, 1560s, births, aztecs, https, org, index, php, fray_juan_de_torquemada, oldid, 1373975637, category, toribio, benavente, descripción, miscelánea, antártica, cabello, balboa, itinerario, armada, grijalva, aguilar, historiales, simón, jacinto, carvajal, sumario, gonzalo, fernández, oviedo, peter, martyr, anghiera, actos, hazañas, valerosas, cadena, tapia, descubrimientos, obregón, cartas, hernán, yucatán, landa, bartolomé, casas, elegías, perú, cieza, reales, inca, garcilaso, vega, naufragios, álvar, núñez, cabeza, vaca, yale, lux, idref, israel, sweden, italy, bnf, france, united, worldcat, fast, gnd, viaf, isni, international, control, databases, encarta, picture, cloister, monastery, digital, félix, jiménez, azteca, valle, museo, pintor, tiempo, núm, 22201, iie, 18703062e, destrucción, religiosa, sagrada, conciencia, colectiva, chang, raquel, coordinadora, veintiuno, editores, 371, 325, literatura, letrada, andré, alcedo, associates, viii, courier, alejandra, 1961, vindicación, stephanie, sor, juana, criolla, bauer, ralph, eds, carolina, 218, 193, identities, michael, save, desague, huehuetoca, apr, 438, 147354029, 419, 108, biografía, autonoma, bureaucracy, disaster, nov, 230, 145774918, 1017, s0022216x00008968, 211, marion, 251411991, bibliografía, 465, 455, accusación, 1853, diccionario, geografía, charles, 3406, 2249, mélanges, velázquez, crise, apostolat, franciscain, nouvelle, galice, 147210540, enciclopedia, 56409, 016, note, methods, 146935548, maría, 2008, grupo, tira, peregrinación, copias, duplicaciones, uso, cronistas, 214, 183, tlalocan, revista, conocimiento, culturas, indígenas, glen, 2006, romance, literatures, rhetorical, conquests, renaissance, imperialism, 1991, cambridge, patriots, liberal, 1492, 1867, 1891, paris, pour, servir, histoire, boban, eugène, company, publishers, essays, miscellany, guilliem, companion, posted, inah, antropología, originally, barcelona, anthropos, austin, texas, 275, 292, 70153, 256, guide, ethnohistorical, excerpts, 44f, 46f, along, 1892, 125, 240, franciscanos, siglos, colección, carried, previous, 343f, ronald, morgan, tucson, arizona, saints, rhetoric, identity, librarian, luso, brazilian, bibliographer, 505, algo, versión, censurada, visión, universalista, estudio, indígena, bien, náhuatl, insertaba, civilización, altura, grecia, roma, egipto, texto, histórico, especulación, teológica, surgida, explicar, esquema, filosófico, occidental, existencia, americanos, papel, evangelización, jugaron, salvación, home, warmly, aug, 1985, 564, borne, rich, yield, wish, seminars, reservations, presentación, advertencia, jesuits, imperial, 431, 435, phrase, tim, autem, soli, deo, honor, gloria, saecula, honour, glory, pauline, epistles, 468, comparable, heavenly, appears, teacher, friend, opens, unworthy, servant, offers, repeated, engraving, nazareno, eñor, uestro, ofrece, indigno, siervo, ioan, baptista, singular, amigo, índices, son, verdad, utilidad, erudición, formidables, ojalá, actualidad, omitiera, tipo, aparato, obras, similares, margins, vii, whole, chapters, less, cuerpo, márgenes, eran, innumerables, faltas, recommendations, request, arribas, valencia, council, castile, philip, xxif, evidence, resides, unfortunately, 122, 213, esp, 189, 193f, earlier, passim, 112, quote, comes, observes, cervantes, salazar, derived, impertinent, superfluous, squander, moral, indignation, levelled, 1697, transfer, asserted, response, teatro, mexicano, menologio, franciscano, 127, elsa, cecilia, frost, 267, 274, listed, appendices, bíblicas, clásicas, contemporaneas, rodolfo, acuna, soto, machine, 2007, epidemics, hemorrhagic, fevers, 1545, 1815, overview, 377, accents, word, breaks, introduced, medial, vidas, tantos, graves, como, también, nuevamente, convertidos, ritos, ceremonias, leyes, repúblicas, gobiernos, conservación, conversación, reyes, ciudades, señoríos, principios, división, diversidad, lenguas, riquezas, sustentos, ellos, dioses, adoraciones, mucha, particularidad, ministros, tuvieron, principio, aquellas, conversiones, cómo, proseguido, prosiguen, ellas, entrada, tienen, administración, sacramentos, donde, tan, copioso, fruto, cogido, notables, ésa, pudieren, verificar, sacar, limpio, poniéndolo, vuestra, reverencia, buen, estilo, historial, obituary, finan, november, 653, tuscano, 502, 342, 344, 347, fuera, diligencia, grande, inquisición, verdaderas, madureza, menor, conferir, dudosas, computar, tiempos, prudencia, señalada, tratar, unas, estamos, menester, ánimo, desembarazado, pretender, agradar, sólo, aguardar, hombres, premio, algún, interés, 115, 506, 508, 349f, 114f, 503, 361, xxxi, requisite, tax, certificate, xxxvii, respectively, advance, attacked, 431f, hechos, islas, firme, mar, océano, beebe, rose, marie, senkewicz, robert, 2001, berkeley, heyday, 890771, lands, promise, despair, california, 1535, 1846, 47f, asserts, hesitantly, notes, understood, parecer, 259, unos, colonialies, 1948, 182, remarking, harshness, denouncing, lies, injustice, 220, 1908, consolidated, southern, 223, harrison, morales, background, 60f, terminal, service, 42f, 258, appointment, composition, 36f, comments, gratuitous, congruent, everything, else, character, disposition, 1861, manuel, ramírez, photograph, 111f, attributes, design, conventos, suprimidos, explicit, consecration, eve, julio, seiscientos, diez, años, siendo, vísperas, apóstol, calendar, anonymous, accepting, preferred, relying, passage, 75f, partly, 33f, 212, 222, 425, 428, 221, low, number, onwards, 228, mis, assigns, start, 240f, emphasises, boast, show, accomplished, comparatively, magnum, opus, starting, provided, luis, váez, aprobación, founding, septima, mentions, 498, probable, arguments, herself, does, discuss, impression, 256f, 1563, 1559, profession, crédito, relating, 277, 273, chroniclers, include, found, apologetic, 1621, argue, canonical, subjected, diocesan, bishops, mendicant, orders, playlets, perform, chapel, space, adjacent, accommodate, persons, pieces, naturales, comedias, reprecentaciones, lifetime, whose, reputation, exemplary, resulted, 1789, dávalos, presses, vida, milagros, confesor, cristo, beatification, lay, hagiography, statue, blessed, sebastian, gudiña, marginal, hodgepodge, facts, fiction, tedious, disquisitions, reasons, compilation, mentioning, plundering, thus, saving, jeronimo, included, any, change, proved, useful, pot, pourri, specialist, thought, 1583, sentences, devoted, offered, observation, representative, opposite, tendency, rises, monk, strives, variety, topics, treatment, receives, inconsiderable, aid, descriptive, power, rare, occurrence, confreres, faults, remain, concise, enough, narrative, abandons, inappropriate, deviations, wordy, argument, revels, learned, opinions, diverge, judicious, broadly, ethnologist, censored, inserted, civilisation, speculation, developed, explain, philosophical, existence, play, salvation, importancia, sido, debidamente, reconocida, especialistas, pero, aquellos, estudiado, profundidad, coinciden, hacer, valoración, muy, positiva, importance, properly, recognised, specialists, concur, recently, neither, ponderous, erudite, nor, obscure, genuine, extraordinary, assemblage, tracing, unwittingly, salvaging, reports, forever, beyond, recall, opinion, ideas, deserves, position, eminence, esteem, thereafter, prestige, combined, vigorous, denunciation, predecessor, caused, disrepute, commentators, disparaged, gone, rehabilitating, assessing, significance, 1956, revised, leddy, substantively, autonomous, 1975, assembled, task, establishing, benefit, located, publishing, tracking, orthography, punctuation, facilitate, scholarly, fifth, magnificent, paper, exemplar, formerly, owned, porrúa, fourth, 1943, chávez, hayhoe, omissions, reference, discloses, effective, gonzález, barcia, nicolás, informed, exemplars, survive, exist, libraries, europe, frontispiece, ninth, exists, divided, owner, reprints, sub, section, 1714, say, copiously, occasion, eleven, exceptionally, dedicated, sacred, majesty, heaven, explaining, why, knew, normal, nobles, dignitaries, usually, patrons, announces, sacratísima, magestad, rey, cielo, señor, carta, nuncupatoria, mathias, clavijo, select, arrange, matters, actual, check, suggests, arrangements, choice, type, layout, might, weeks, giving, visit, doubt, explains, happened, lacked, headings, contained, specify, blemishes, unstinting, greatly, enriched, commentator, expressing, hope, omit, scientific, apparatus, usefulness, erudition, formidable, galley, proofs, once, final, shape, invited, send, confidence, relative, latest, proper, back, officiated, wedding, placed, again, approval, officials, approved, termini, occasionally, resurfaces, obliquely, association, entirety, throughout, acknowledged, prior, ximénez, indisputably, extensively, credit, appeared, examines, doing, motoliniá
Text of the page (random words):
y excerpted the works of carmelite friar antonio de la ascensión es 31 the work is a remarkably dense text because of its theological digressions contradictions and anachronisms since torquemada incorporated material without resolving contradictory and competing points of view from his sources 32 in addition to the texts written by spaniards torquemada draws on the work of mestizo tlaxcala patriot diego muñoz camargo and texcoco indigenous nobility fernando alva ixtlilxochitl juan bautista pomar and antonio de pimentel and the account of the conquest from the tlatelolco point of view compiled by bernardino de sahagún he incorporates a large quantity of information taken from indigenous pictographs and manuscripts 33 torquemada interviewed elderly indigenous people about their ancestors and recorded their oral traditions the monarquía indiana is the best work on what was known of the indigenous past at the beginning of the seventeenth century it is considered an especially important source on the mexica totonac pipil and nicoya cultures at the time of its publication torquemada referred to his history under the abbreviated title libros rituales y monarquía indiana or monarquía y historia indiana but others were already calling it the monarquía indiana the name by which it has generally been known ever since 34 vision of history and purpose of the work edit the leading motif of torquemada s monumental history elaborated by him in many places especially in the general prologue to the entire work can be characterised as the merciful action of divine providence in choosing the spanish to liberate the indians from their subjection to the devil who had deceived these innocent peoples into practising a religion marred by errors and polluted by abominations such as human sacrifice 35 on this interpretation the fall of the aztec monarchy was a divine chastisement and spain the rod 36 but for all that torquemada was sympathetic to the positive achievements of the indians and by situating their history and culture within the framework of the old testament and of the former glories of the empires of egypt greece and rome he encouraged the educated elite of the old world to recognise the indigenous nations of the new world as their peers 37 his history was of set purpose a laborious inquiry into the truth of things requiring as he says in his general prologue diligence maturation and the exercise of prudence in adjudicating among conflicting testimonies 38 it was not written as an entertainment or to satisfy mere curiosity but with a serious didactic purpose and to edify for he believed that the record of the events of the past constitute not only an antidote to human mortality and the brevity of life but also a hermeneutic key to understanding the present thereby offering man an opportunity to progress 39 method edit the distinguished scholar and administrator howard f cline who at the time of his death was director of the hispanic foundation of the library of congress in washington d c 40 gave in 1969 this positive assessment of torquemada s skill as an historian 41 historians generally see their tasks broken into three main stages as comprehensive as possible collection of relevant documentation followed by critical and evaluative appraisal of it and finally a synthesis based on verified data contrary to a considerable body of hostile secondary discussion critical examination of juan de torquemada s monarquía indiana indicates a surprisingly high level of workmanship in at least the first two phases although what he strove for in synthesis an accurate record that would place native mexican cultures on a par with ancient classical and for him modern societies is an early and interesting example of a comparative approach the classical and biblical citations he employed for such comparisons are now largely of curiosity value except as clues to his own ambience and personal outlook torquemada was a skilled and careful historian constrained only by some obvious usages and common attitudes of his age like others of his time he puzzled over the problems of fitting native peopling of the new world and their development into a biblical framework and seldom doubted authenticity of miracles or the providential intervention which accounted for cortes conquest as an expression of divine will but for the most part he went at his tasks with professional coolness and a rather high degree of historiographical craftsmanship subject matter edit salva s letter of 6 april 1609 itself expressed the full ambit of torquemada s work as eventually written including as regards the converted indians their rituals ceremonies laws governments and governors their mode of conservation and conversation their kings kingdoms cities and domains their origin and beginnings their division into provinces and kingdoms sic the diversity of their languages their riches and means of sustenance their gods and worship and with great particularity the manner in which friars and ministers initially converted them and how they have followed up on those conversions 42 the work was published in three hefty volumes under a title which gives a precise conspectus of its subject matter and author los veinte iun libros rituales i monarchia indiana con el origen y guerras de los indios ocidentales de sus poblaçones descubrimiento conquista conversion y otras cosas maravillosas de la mesma sic tierra discribuydos en tres tomos compuesto por f juan de torquemada ministro provincial de la orden de nuestro serafico padre san francisco en la provincia del santo evangelio de mexico en la nueva espana 43 the first volume comprises five books which principally treat of the creation of the world and the origin of the peoples who occupied new spain i ii as well as the diverse nations constituting the aztec empire iii followed by its conquest by the spanish iv and its subsequent re organisation v to the second volume were assigned nine books which deal with the religion vi x government xi laws xii institutions xiii and social and military life of the indigenous peoples together with remarks on various geographical features and their cultural relevance xiv the subject of the seven books which constitute the third volume is the evangelisation of the indians with particular focus especially in the last three books upon the life work and fate of franciscan missionaries the main focus is on the history and culture of the peoples of what is now central mexico with particular attention given to texcoco azcapotzalco tlaxcala tlatelolco and tenochtitlan as well as the totonacs living further east towards the gulf of mexico nevertheless the work also includes among its subjects other peoples living in central america honduras and guatemala in the caribbean and in north and south america specifically florida new mexico venezuela colombia the andean civilisations and even parts of brasil 44 torquemada describes the 1576 epidemic in new spain in the following terms in the year 1576 a great mortality and pestilence that lasted for more than a year overcame the indians it was so big that it ruined and destroyed almost the entire land the place we know as new spain was left almost empty he reported that two million mostly indigenous people died according to a survey conducted by viceroy don martín enríquez de almanza 45 sources edit fragment of a pictograph known as a codex similar to the prehispanic historical materials utilised for the monarquía indiana the great diversity of sources employed by torquemada including precious indigenous documents now lost as well as colonial texts published and unpublished is fully laid out in exhaustive tables of analysis for each of the books in volume 7 of the iih critical edition following extensive study by the research seminar conducted under the leadership of miguel león portilla between 1969 and 1971 46 at the end of the 17th century a charge of plagiarism was raised by fray agustín de vetancur who claimed that torquemada had published under his own name the historia eclesiástica indiana a history written by jerónimo de mendieta which had never been published but the manuscript of which had been entrusted by mendieta to juan bautista and by him to torquemada the accusation was rejected by rodrígues franco in his proemio to the second edition of monarquía indiana but it was taken up by the famous mexican historian joaquín garcía icazbalceta in the 19th century after acquiring the manuscript of mendieta s work which he published in 1870 pointing out the areas of exact correspondence between both works 47 one 20th century scholar considered the charge to be 48 not completely justified in view of the fact that torquemada was ordered by his superiors to use all historical works available and that politically speaking it was desirable that the monarquía indiana should not be too closely identified with the historia eclesiástica indiana lest the oblivion of the latter overtake the former the various ways in which the accusation has been made are discussed in gurría lacroix essay acusación de plagiario in volume 7 of the iih edition as woodrow borah put it in his review 49 jorge gurría lacroix who died before this volume appeared examines at considerable length the old charge of plagiarism raised against fray juan in his use particularly of mendieta s chronicle and by doing so of mendieta in his use of motoliniá s writing the charges are disposed of one hopes definitively by making clear the customs of the time and the specific instructions to torquemada from his order chronicles were regarded as community property to be used as the order decided the charge occasionally resurfaces even if only obliquely and by association 50 almost the entirety of mendieta s history is reproduced throughout the course of books 15 21 of the monarquía indiana where it comprises about 80 of the text 51 but in the general prologue torquemada acknowledged his use of prior writings by francisco ximénez motolinía sahagún and mendieta and 66 specific references are made to mendieta in the course of the work only 36 of which have been identified nevertheless torquemada indisputably used these sources far more extensively than he gave credit for 52 publication edit once the work was in its final shape torquemada took the manuscript to spain personally despite the comisario general de indias bernardo salva having previously invited him to send it 53 precise dates for the trip are not known but the termini within which the trip must have occurred can be stated with confidence among the documents torquemada took to spain with him were the various permits relative to the printing of the book which were issued in méxico the latest of which the licence proper was dated 17 may 1612 back in mexico he officiated at a wedding in xochimilco where he was now guardian on 10 october 1613 in between he can be presumptively placed in madrid on and before 4 february 1613 and again on and before 5 may of the same year those being the dates when written approval for the printing was granted by two officials resident in that city who stated they had read and approved the manuscript 54 the first edition was printed by mathias clavijo in seville in 1615 that is two years after torquemada had returned to mexico so his presence in seville can only have been to select and arrange matters with the printer and not to oversee the actual printing or check the galley proofs león portilla suggests these arrangements including the choice of type and the layout might have taken weeks at most giving torquemada time to visit madrid and other places in the land of his birth 55 that no doubt explains how it happened that the first edition lacked two passages present in the manuscript as well as words from some of the chapter headings and contained countless other mistakes which the printer of the second edition noted but did not specify in his proemio 56 despite the blemishes which marred the body of the first edition the printer of the second edition was unstinting in his praise of the analytic indices which he said greatly enriched the text according to a modern commentator expressing also the hope that similar works would not omit a scientific apparatus of this kind their usefulness and erudition are formidable 57 dedication edit exceptionally in the carta nuncupatoria torquemada dedicated his book to god a la sacratísima magestad del rey del cielo dios nuestro señor to the sacred majesty of the king of heaven god our lord explaining at length why he did so as he well knew the normal dedication of such works was to the king of spain to nobles or to ecclesiastical dignitaries usually the patrons of the author 58 the title page announces the same dedication dico ego opera mea regi saeculorum inmortali et invisibili 59 diffusion edit although as noted in the following sub section the greater part of the print run of the first edition was said to have been lost in a shipwreck the monarquía indiana was known in mexico as early as 1624 when it was first cited in a book published there in that year between then and 1714 that is to say before the second edition it was cited even copiously on occasion by at least eleven authors in works published for the most part in mexico but also in madrid and guatemala 60 subsequent history of the text edit title page of the second edition of monarquía indiana by fray juan de torquemada printed in three volumes in madrid 1723 1725 the fate of the first edition and details of the two subsequent facsimile reprints are stated here as given in the essay ediciones by jorge gurría lacroix in volume 7 of the iih critical edition 61 as nicolás rodríguez franco the printer of the second edition informed his readers in his proemio 62 few exemplars of the first edition survive because the greater part of the print run was lost in a shipwreck and only three copies were known to him 63 eight copies of the first edition exist in various libraries in north america and europe two of which lack the original frontispiece and the other six of which lack also the first 32 pages a ninth copy exists in mexico divided between one owner who possesses the first volume and another who possesses the other two the errors and omissions were made good in the second edition by reference to the original manuscript which so franco discloses was in the library of don andrés gonzález de barcia the second edition has the date 1723 on the title page but the proemio itself is dated 20 january 1725 so the effective publication date must have been later than that 64 a third edition a new facsimile reprint rather than a new edition was printed in mexico in 1943 by salvador chávez hayhoe the only addition was a title page identifying the data relevant to the reprint the fourth edition published by editorial porrúa in mexico in 1969 with an introduction by miguel león portilla was another facsimile reprint of the second edition but this time ...
|
