History of Mexico (Bancroft)/Volume 3/Chapter 16

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

 

CHAPTER XVI.

NUEVA GALICIA.

1601-1803.

Boundaries of the Territory — Its Governors — The Audiencia of Guadalajara — Its Jurisdiction and Powers — Local Government — Corregimientos and Alcaldias Mayores — Cities, Towns, Villages, and Mining Districts — The Capital — A City of Office-holders — Treasury Department — Industrial Progress — Mines — Quicksilver Monopoly and its Effects — Agriculture and Stock-raising — Labor, Commerce, and Ship-building — Population and Local Statistics.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Nueva Galicia almost coincided with the territory which now forms the states of Jalisco, Aguas Calientes, and Zacatecas. On the south, however, those parts of the Ávalos provinces that lay south of Autlan and Zayula, now forming part of Jalisco, appear to have then belonged to New Spain, and were subject to the viceroy, while in the north-east Nueva Galicia included the western portion of what is now San Luis Potosi, the boundary line running near Charcas and Matehuala. The territory was under the political rule of a governor, who was also president of the audiencia of Guadalajara, and was appointed by the king, though nominally subject to the viceroy.^[1] In case of his death or inability to perform his duties the senior oidor of the audiencia ruled ad interim until a new appointment could be made.

In the seventeenth century the governors were usually lawyers, and their duties in connection with the civil administration of the country were by no means arduous. Later, military men were more frequently appointed, and held under the viceroy the rank of captain-general; but their responsibilities were light, for peace prevailed throughout the land except in Nayarit, where a comandante was stationed, subject in military matters to viceregal orders, and in political and judicial affairs to the governor and audiencia. The election of subordinate local officials seems to have belonged originally to the audiencia; but after long disputes between that body and its president, during which both parties several times appealed to the crown, the latter received the right of making appointments—a license which he had gradually usurped.^[2]

The governor subsequently named the alcaldes mayores and corregidores of the different districts, with the exception of Zacatecas and perhaps one or two others, where the king, for some special reason, retained the privilege. He also appointed, down to 1646, many of the officials of Nueva Vizcaya. All this power would seem, however, to have been vested in him as president of the audiencia, for the revenues were administered by special treasury officials appointed by the king, the governor receiving a regular stipend.^[3]

There are few incidents worthy of record concerning the governors of Nueva Galicia, and these relate for the most part to trivial matters, as the quarrel of one with a bishop about some petty formality; the unusual brilliancy of the bull-fights at the installation of another, while the building of a church or even the transfer of a sacred image during a ruler's administration was considered by the chroniclers of this period an event sufficiently remarkable to place his name side by side with that of a viceroy. Many of them were able men, as was the case with Juan de Villela, whose rule lasted from 1607 to 1613.^[4] The administration of Diego Nuñez de Morquecho, who held office from 1629 to 1632,^[5] is noteworthy from the fact that he enforced the laws which forbade the ill-treatment of Indians. The custom had become prevalent of practically evading the royal decrees against slavery by advancing to native workmen sums of money which they could never pay, and which thus became a life-lien upon their labor. The governor accomplished his purpose by limiting the amount of a native's credit to five pesos.^[6] Antonio de Abarca, who was appointed in 1702, was the last of the legal profession who held office as governor,^[7] and Toribio Rodriguez de Solis, whose administration lasted until 1716, the first who bore the title of captain-general.^[8]

The audiencia of Guadalajara held jurisdiction over all the regions occupied by the Spaniards north-west of Nueva Galicia, including also the Ávalos provinces, and at times Colima.^[9] It claimed jurisdiction as well over the north-western region of Coahuila and Texas, but the king's decision in 1679 was adverse to this pretension.^[10] It does not appear that the authority of the audiencia in Nueva Galicia differed in any respect from that in Nueva Vizcaya, although on account of distance and consequent expense, only cases of considerable importance came as a rule from the latter territory.^[11] The oidores of the audiencia were alcaldes in criminal proceedings, but had no voice in matters pertaining to war and exchequer; and after the time of Governor Ceballos, who ruled during the latter part of the seventeenth century, they lost the power of making higher appointments which originally they seem to have held. The president, who, as we have seen, was also political governor of Nueva Galicia, simply held the right of presiding over the court, and of taking the place of honor on occasions of state, but had no vote in judicial matters.^[12]

In Nueva Galicia there were in the middle of the eighteenth century thirty-two districts under corregidores and alcaldes mayores, although a century earlier, according to Calle's list, they numbered forty-one. There were three cities, Guadalajara, Zacatecas, and Compostela; eight towns, Lagos, Aguas Calientes, Jerez, Fresnillo, Purificacion, Villagutierre de Águila or Villanueva, Sombrerete, and San José de Montezuma, near Tepatitlan; and twenty-one reales de minas, or mining towns.^[13] So-called pueblos and other small settlements scattered over the territory numbered upward of two hundred. The officers who ruled the large towns with their districts annexed, known as alcaldías or corregimientos, were with few exceptions appointed by the president of the audiencia, and received salaries. Under these officials in each city and town were one or more ordinary alcaldes, an alguacil mayor, four regidores, and a notary, forming virtually an ayuntamiento, though not often called by that name. There seem to have been no salaries attached to these minor positions, and that of alguacil, or constable, was nearly always sold at auction, at different times and places. Ordinarily alcaldes in some, and perhaps all the towns, were elected yearly, requiring, in the larger places at least, confirmation by the president.

Guadalajara, the capital of Nueva Galicia, the cathedral city, the seat of the audiencia, and the place where the royal treasury was kept, swarmed with officials, and he was a humble Spaniard indeed, who filled no public position. It is not necessary to enter more fully into the details of the municipal machinery or the somewhat intricate relations of the different branches of power in this much governed city.^[14] The treasury department was under a staff of officers whose chief duty it was to receive, tax, and stamp silver bullion, and to deliver quicksilver for use in the mines. At one time the administration of the exchequer seems to have been intrusted to the governor and audiencia, but they did not long retain control, for the king always took care that the precious metals in transit between the mines and the royal coffers in Spain should pass through as few hands as possible. A branch treasury was also established at Zacatecas, where the revenue for a single decade, commencing in 1730, amounted to nearly four million pesos.

Before 1600, as we have seen, rich mines were discovered, and during the next two centuries many were developed, often with rich returns in spite of great disadvantages. They were nearly all of silver-bearing ore, though according to Mota-Padilla, very fine gold was taken out at Mezquital, and in such abundance as to be used secretly in trade throughout the country. This yield ceased however toward the middle of the eighteenth century. Respecting methods of mining and of reduction we have little or no contemporaneous information, while of the yield we have for statistics only a few meagre, disconnected, and doubtless in most instances inaccurate statements bearing upon different localities at different periods.

Bullion was presented at the treasury at Guadalajara, Zacatecas, and in later years at Llerena, and was there properly stamped after the royal dues had been paid. Thence it must be transported to Mexico for sale as there was no nearer mint.^[15] The labor was mainly performed by Indians, under Spanish overseers, nominally working for wages of from two to five pesos a month, yet practically held in bondage during much of the time and in many sections.^[16] The severest toil, however, fell to the lot of negro slaves.

Notwithstanding the richness of the ores, the mining industry was well nigh paralyzed by the government monopoly of quicksilver, which restricted the production of that metal to the mines of Almaden in Spain. Rich deposits are said to have been discovered in Nueva Galicia, especially in the Sierra de Pinos, but its extraction was prohibited by cédula of 1730. The immediate effect was of course to make the price of quicksilver so excessive that only the most productive mines could be profitably worked, to say nothing of the occasional failure of the supply on account of interrupted communication with Mexico. But these were not the only disadvantages of the monopoly; for not only must the quicksilver be brought directly from the government officials, but must be bought only in large quantities. No subsequent transactions were allowed, nor any retail trade in this commodity. It was not enough, however, that quicksilver must be bought in large quantities and at exorbitant rates; the purchaser must at the same time become responsible for the payment of the tax on the amount of silver bullion which the supply purchased would enable him to produce! This was intended to prevent frauds in evading the payment of taxes and tithes; but the practical effect was that if the discoverer of a mine happened to be a man without means he was compelled to take others into partnership; and when the mine proved valuable, litigations would follow, and the discoverer would too often lose his interest.^[17]

At this period the industries of agriculture and stock-raising were fairly prosperous. There was no lack in Nueva Galicia of fertile land, which produced an abundant food-supply, while in ocean and river there were excellent fisheries. Several small vessels were built on the coast for expeditions to California, the workmen being sent from Mexico and encamping at some suitable spot near the mouth of a river, where they felled the timber, built the craft, and then abandoned their camp. Of manufactures there were none, except the rude articles made by the natives for their own use, and the commerce of the country was carried on by native carriers, pack-mules, and wagon-trains, by means of which agricultural products were carried to the nearest market, ore and bullion forwarded from the mines, and tools, machinery, quicksilver, and clothing brought overland from the city of Mexico. To the capital were also sent the few articles of produce which would pay the cost of freight, together with herds of live-stock. At times the privilege of killing and exporting cattle was restricted by the governor on complaint of the ecclesiastical authorities that the amount of tithes was thereby diminished.

The city of Mexico derived much greater benefit from the resources of Nueva Galicia than did the province itself. In the capital alone could any products except those of mine or field be exchanged for money.^[18] Men were not wanting who understood these disadvantages, and foremost among them was Mota-Padilla, who never ceased his efforts to separate the country from New Spain, to obtain for her ports a trade with China and with Central and South America; to establish a mint, and make Guadalajara a centre of trade; but the pressure brought to bear on the king from the New World metropolis was always too strong, and the interests of the province were disregarded.^[19]

The total population of Nueva Galicia in the middle of the eighteenth century was estimated at not less than two hundred thousand, of which number sixty thousand were Indians and the remainder of Spanish and mixed blood. Though this seems a comparatively high figure, Mota-Padilla certainly had excellent apportunities for obtaining correct statistics.^[20] During the second half of the century the population seems to have increased more rapidly; for we find that at the beginning of the nineteenth century the population of Guadalajara was variously estimated at from nineteen to thirty-five thousand, and that under the jurisdiction of the audiencia as high as six hundred and thirty thousand.^[21]

It will be remembered that at the close of the sixteenth century Zacatecas was the new El Dorado which attracted settlers and adventurers from all parts; the population rapidly increased; mines were being discovered and developed, and a great future seemed to be in store for the new colony. At that time the site of the city of Zacatecas seemed anything but pleasant to the Spaniards. The soil was little adapted to the cultivation of wheat, maize, or even fruit, excepting the Indian fig, the cactus apuntia covering the neighborhood in every direction. Nevertheless its location had many advantages. The climate, though changeable, was healthy, being never excessively hot or cold. In the vicinity variety of temperature favored the cultivation of different agricultural products. Cattle-raising became an important feature at an early day, and besides silver, copper lead and other metals were found in abundance.'^[22]

City of Zacatecas.

The three or four persons in charge of the treasury, and the corregidor, appointed directly by the king, were the only officials who were paid a salary at Zacatecas, and the salable offices brought at auction from six to eight thousand pesos.^[23] The province had also a lieutenant captain-general, and a force of troops for protection in case of outbreaks among the natives.^[24] In wealth and probably in population the city was superior to the capital of Nueva Galicia.^[25]

The mining districts of Fresnillo, Sombrerete, Pinos, Nieves, Mazapil, and Zacatecas were all alcaldías mayores, subject to a corregimiento, to which grade, in 1736, the so-called province of Zacatecas was raised, the districts of Aguas Calientes and Juchipila being added three years later. When the alcaldías mayores and corregimientos were abolished by the ordinance establishing intendencias, these latter districts were made a part of the intendencia of Guadalajara, until joined to that of Zacatecas by royal decree of December 30, 1791.

The town of Aguas Calientes derived its name from the thermal springs in its immediate vicinity.^[26] In 1794 it had a parish church and three convents with about thirty friars, and as many other clergymen. There was also a public school supported by funds bequeathed by a resident of that town. Toward the end of the eighteenth century the population was rapidly increasing,^[27] and mining, commerce, agriculture, and stock-raising had made great progress. Fresnillo had at this period about five thousand inhabitants and was governed by a lieutenant under the

Zacatecas, Aguas Calientes, San Luis Potosí

alcalde of Jerez; there was a large parochial church and a Dominican hospice. The site was little better than that of Zacatecas. The mines in the hills of Proaño, south-west of the town, belonged for the most part to the marquis of Apartado.^[28]

Most of the settlements in the province of San Luis Potosi were founded toward the close of the sixteenth and during the early part of the seventeenth century, and there is nothing that requires record concerning their progress. The capital of the same name is situated on the eastern declivity of the great plateau of Anáhuac, in a fertile and extensive valley, bounded on the west by the mountains of San Luis. The oldest records of the town council date back to 1612, the title of city being awarded by the king in 1656.^[29] The population in 1604 consisted of eight hundred Spaniards and some three thousand Indians; and about the middle of the eighteenth century, Villa-Señor states it at sixteen hundred families. Most of the natives were distributed among the mines of San Pedro and the neighboring haciendas, and from this time forward the population seems to have increased rapidly.^[30]

San Pedro, Charcas, Villa del Valle, Guadalcázar, Panuco, and other towns were also in a flourishing condition.^[31] The mining town of Catorce, so named on account of the murder of fourteen soldiers by savages in ancient times, appears to have been founded in 1772,^[32] though some place the date as early as 1738. Cedral was established in 1780, and became a doctrina in 1790.^[33]

The alcalde mayor of San Luis Potosí held the title of lieutenant captain-general, the appointment being made on account of the proximity of that province to the Chichimec frontier, where, however, the friars were actively engaged in the work of conversion. The ayuntamiento of the capital consisted of twelve regidores, alcaldes, alguaciles, and other necessary officials.^[34] The title of city was granted by viceroy Alburquerque in 1656, and was confirmed by Felipe III. August 17, 1658. On the 25th of October 1787 the province was made an intendencia.^[35]

Of the mining and other industries I shall have occasion to speak later. The only disturbances which seem to have occurred in San Luis Potosi are those on the occasion of the Jesuit expulsion in 1767. When these were suppressed, the province made extraordinary progress, remaining free from political convulsions until in 1810 the country was aroused by the revolution of Dolores.^[36]

 

 

1. During the latter part of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century their titles were gobernador, presidente de la real audiencia, comandante general, and intendente. See Cedulario, MS., i. 114, 209; iii. 176, 238; Real Orden, in Mayer MSS., no. 2; Ugarte y Loyola, Rel, in Soc. Mex, Geog., Boletin, 2d ep., iii. 307.
2. Mota-Padilla, Conq. N. Gal., 508, is the authority for this usurpation, and he gives the number of appointments in 1742 as above 32; but Calle, Mem. y Not., 92, states that a century earlier the governor had the appointment of 54 officials in Nueva Galicia and Nueva Vizcaya.
3. The revenue collected in Guadalajara from all sources from 1730 to 1740 was 2,332,335 pesos. Mota-Padilla, Conq. N. Gal., 318. The same author boasts of the promptness with which Nueva Galica always paid her quota of taxation.
4. His predecessor was Santiago Vera, who was in office from 1600 to 1606, and it is said that he interested himself in the conversion of the Indians in the north-western sierra, but it is not recorded that he accomplished much. On March 6, 1610, Francisco Pacheco de Córdoba y Bocanegra was appointed adelantado of Nueva Galicia, but his name does not appear as one of the governors. In 1612 his wife and his son obtained a rental on the Mexican treasury of 1,312,500 maravedís and in the following year his daughter received an encomienda of Indians in New Spain. Calle, Mem. y Not., 90.
5. His predecessors were Alonso Perez Merchan, who was in power from 1613 to 1617, and Pedro de Otarola, who held office from the latter date to 1629. Daring the rule of the former, earthquakes and floods occurred in the province. Otarola was a religious enthusiast, and is said to have committed a kind of pious suicide, since he died of fasting.
6. His successor was Juan Canseco y Quiñones, who was governor from 1636 to 1643. It is said that he squandered the revenues of the state on bull-fights, and festivities for the populace, although he spent large sums on public improvements.
7. It is said that he died of melancholy, caused in part by the impression made on his mind by a tragedy styled 'Life is a Dream,' which was performed at his reception. The partial destruction of the governor's palace by fire may have increased his malady. On state occasions he made his appearance so shabbily apparelled as to cause the audiencia to make complaints at court.
8. He was appointed in 1708. His successor, Tomás Teran de los Rios, who undertook the task of bridging the Rio Grande, or Tololotlan, was in office from 1716 to 1724. Governor Nicolás de Ribera y Santa Cruz, who ruled from 1724 to 1727, was constantly involved in difficulties with subordinates, equals, and superiors. He escaped removal at the hands of the India Council only by death, and was succeeded by his son. The few and meagre records that have been handed down to us concerning these officials are taken from Mota-Padilla, the original historian of Nueva Galicia.
9. In 1790 Colima was subject in civil affairs to Nueva Galicia. In matters ecclesiastic it was entirely under the bishop of Michoacan till August 8, 1790, when it was finally decided that it belonged to the diocese of Guadalajara; and thus Colima continued belonging in all branches of administration to Nueva Galicia. Colima, Representacion, MS., 4. During the 17th and 18th centuries the province of Colima made little progress owing to its isolated position. The Villa de Colima continued to hold its rank as the chief town and capital of the province and was the residence of the principal part of the Spanish population. Some dozen or more smaller towns composed the remaining settlements, whose inhabitants, for the most part natives, were employed in farming. Besides the usual agricultural products, a limited amount of sugar and cotton was produced; a few natives were employed in the manufacture of matting; considerable salt was made, and a variety of fruits, among which were the cocoanut and plantain, grew in abundance. Upon the establishment in 1787 of the system of intendencias this province became a part of the intendencia of Guadalajara. Humboldt, Essai. Pol., i. 259; Calle, Mem. y Not., 78; Gac. de Mex., i. 273; ii. 282, 342; Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro Am., ii. 83-8.
10. According to royal cédula of October 15, 1778, the audiencia of Guadalajara then had jurisdiction to a certain degree over six provinces: Nueva Galicia, Zacatecas, Nueva Vizcaya, Sonora, New Mexico, and the Californias. Cédulario, MS., iii. 9-10.
11. The audiencia was composed of four oidores, or judges, and a fiscal, or attorney, each with a salary of 2,000 ducats. There was also quite a number of minor officials of whom a few were appointed and received a salary, but most of them bought their offices at auction, paying from 1,000 to 10,000 pesos, according to the privileges and emoluments connected with each.
12. About 1670 there was a quarrel between the president and the audiencia as to the right to appoint a governor ad interim of Nueva Vizcaya. The king at first decided in favor of the president, but later reversed his decision; and later still, gave the president and fiscal a vote on the subject. Mota-Padilla, Conq. N. Gal., 400-1. See also on audiencia Recop. de Ind., i. 320; Calle, Mem. y Not., 91-2.
13. In Calle's time, 1646, there was yet a villa de Espíritu Santo at Tepic; Fresnillo was only a real de mina; and neither Villagutierre nor San José had been founded. This author names 13 reales de minas.
14. Villa-Señor, Teatro, ii. 204-6, names the secular cabildo of Guadalajara in 1745 as consisting of twelve regidores, alférez real, alguacil mayor, two alcaldes, contador, procurador, and notary. He also speaks of a custom house staff.
15. In 1607 a royal order was obtained ordering a mint to be established at Zacatecas, but nothing was done in the matter. Bernardez, Zac., 38; Villa Señor, Teatro, ii. 223.
16. Dampier, Voyage, i. 269, speaks of some hundreds of Indian slaves who worked in the silver mines near Centizpac in 1686, carrying ore to Compostela and supplies back to the mines.
17. 'Ya se tiene por cierto que cuando se litiga sobre mina se pierden las leyes.' Mota-Padilla, Conq. N. Gal., 321.
18. ’Mexico se ha hecho garganta precisa por donde haya de pasar todo.' Mota-Padilla, Conq. N. Gal., 263-4.
19. From 1748-53, according to the Noticias Biog. of Icazbalceta, the historian made efforts to have the four jurisdictions of the coast, Purificacion, Tepic, Acaponeta, and Centizpac, formed into a new government, to be placed under himself as ruler.
20. Mota-Padilla's actual basis is the number of Indian tributaries, which was 8,000, representing 16,000 persons, not including chiefs, the aged, or children. Conq. N. Gal., 509. Gil, Soc. Mex. Geog., viii. 493, says the population in about 1750 was estimated at about 115,000.
21. Gil, in Soc. Mex. Geog., viii. 493, insists however that in 1807, on taking tribute, the population was found to be only 130,000, having increased but 15,000 since 1750. There is no doubt that there was a misunderstanding as to the territory included. Humboldt, Essai Pol., 155, and New Spain, ii. 180-3, gives for the intendencia of Guadalajara 630,500, and for the city 19,500; 6,381 square leagues with 623,572 inhabitants are mentioned in Tribunal del Consulado, 1805. Ortiz, Mex. Indep., 79, gives 630,000 for 1803. According to Navarro, in Soc. Mex. Geog., 2da ép., i. 291, in 1810 the intendencia of Guadalajara comprised 9,612 square leagues; 28 partidos, 100 curacies, 9 missions, 2 cities. 7 towns, 326 villages, 33 mining districts, 370 haciendas, 1,511 ranchos, and 118 stock ranches. There were 29 convents and 7 nunneries; 441 clérigos, 192 friars, and 225 nuns; there were 164,420 Spaniards, 172,676 Indians, and 179,720 of mixed blood, making a total population, including the religious, of 517,674.
22. The veins around Zacatecas city yielded in 1608 an average of more than two ounces per cental. There were 20 haciendas de minas, whose owners were worth from 30,000 to 100,000 pesos each, and employed about 100 Spaniards, the same number of negroes, and 1,500 Indians. Each hacienda worked about 80 centals a day. No smelting was done, and only mule power was used. Zacatecas, Rel., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ix. 182-7. At San Andrés General Mendiola tore down his stone buildings, the material yielding three marks per cental. The product of the mines at Zacatecas had declined considerably in 1732; there were only 24 reduction works; the expenses 1,300,000 pesos per year; and the king received 257,350 pesos. Bernardez, Zac., 42-50. In 1750 the mines did not yield more than 500,000 pesos; but the output increased in a few years to ten times as much through the efforts of one Laborde. Jacobs' Hist. Inq., ii. 153. The wealthiest inhabitant of Zacatecas was Agustin de Zavala, who in 20 years had paid in silver king's fifths to the amount of 800,000 pesos, which shows that during that time he had sent to be marked 4,000,000. Salgado, Vida, 23. This is the same Zavala who was governor of Nuevo Leon.
23. Zacatecas, Rel., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ix. 184-6. Mier y Campo, in Revista Lien., ii. 111, says the royal treasury was established in 1767.
24. In 1608 Cristóbal de Cardivar is named as holding the position of 'teniente de capitan general.' Ibid. The same writer speaks of a governor of Zacatecas appointed every six years by the council of the Indies. A 'capitan á guerra' is also mentioned about 1745 in Villa-Señor, Teatro, ii. 223.
25. The population of the province of Zacatecas for 1793 as given by Humboldt, Essai Pol., i. 57, 155, was 118,027; that of the capital, 25,495, and in 1803, 153,300 including city and province. For description of principal places see Id., 260-61; also Viagero, Univ., xxvii. 105-6. For the latter year the tribunal del consulado, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, ii. 6, gives 1681 square leagues and 151,749 inhabitants. Murillo, Geog. Hist., 814, gives 40,000 for the city in 1778-9, and Cancelada, Ruina, 73-5, the same figures as the consulado. Navarro, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2d ep., i. 291, has in 1810 for the intendencia of Zacatecas 2,355 square leagues, with 22,296 Spaniards, 40,872 Indians, and 77,555 other races; 6 partidos, 17 curates, a city, 2 villas, 28 pueblos, 19 reales de minas, 108 haciendas, 438 ranchos, and 10 cattle ranchos. See also Flint's Geog., ii. 132; Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, ix. 275; Berghes, Zac., 4; Zuñiga y O., Calend., 116-17; N. Esp., Brev. Res., ii. 319-20.
26. The town used the royal arms, having no coat of arms of its own. Aguirre, Doc. Antig., in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2d ep. iii. 19. For other details concerning it see Id., ii. 18; Dicc. Univ., i. 77-8; S. Miguel, Rep. Mex., i. 7.
27. In 1794 the town had 8,376 inhabitants. Aguirre, Doc. Antig., in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2d ep. iii. 21-5. See for other details Dias, Mex., v. 322; Gazeta Mex., i.-xv., passim.
28. The curacy of Fresnillo was said to be the most lucrative in Nueva Galicia, paying §12,000 per year. Morfi in Doc. Hist. Mex., 3d ser. iv. 333-5.
29. Iturribarria, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, vii. 300. According to Arlegui, 57, in 1666.
30. Statistics concerning the population of San Luis Potosi run widely apart. Humboldt, Essai Pol., i. 57, gives for 1793 in the city 8,571, and in the province 242,280; for 1803, 12,000 and 334,900 respectively. Castillo, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 3d ep.v. 497, gives 22,000 for the city in 1787—an absurd statement. Taladez, Not., in Id., 58, 61, in 1794 for the province 168,002. Not. de Esp., in Id., ii. 19, for 1805, 186,503; so Trib. Consul, in Id., 16; see for population at different periods Id., Id., ix. 272; for 1808. Cancelada, Ruina, 73-5, gives 311,503. Navarro, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2d ep. i. 291, gives for the intendencia of San Luis in 1810: 2,357 square leagues, with 22,609 Spaniards, 88,949 Indians, 62,007 of mixed race, a total of 173,651. There were 10 partidos, 23 curacies, and 19 missions; one city, 2 villas, 49 pueblos, 15 reales de minas, 124 haciendas, 431 ranchos, and 18 cattle ranchos. Properly there were 14 partidos, 10 under the viceroy, and four under the commander-general of the provincias orientales. See also Hassel, Handhuch, Mex. and Guat., 224-9.
31. In 1740 San Pedro had 100 families of Spaniards, mestizos, and mulattoes, with some 2,000 Indians in the vicinity; Charcas, 40 or 50, and Villa del Valle 240 Spanish families. Villa-Señor, Theatro, i. 54-9.
32. See Campo, Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2d ep. iv. 374. Five thousand inhabitants are given for the year 1776, in Ward's Mex., ii. 132-3, which seems exaggerated. According to Hassel, Handbuch, the mines were discovered in 1770.
33. See article on San Luis Potosi, in Dicc. Univ., x. 321, and Iturribarria, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, vii. 304.
34. At an early date the city had five convents and a Jesuit college. Calle, Mem. y Not, 77; Santos, Chron., 467.
35. The first intendente was Bruno Diaz Salcedo, who took possession on the same day. Castillo, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 3d ep. v. 497. See also in Id., ii. 19-20, 96-110; Humboldt, Essai Pol., i. 282-5; Zuñiga y O., Calend., 117; Gazeta Mex., i.-xvi., passim.
36. Besides Mota-Padilla the following authorities have been consulted for matters treated in this chapter: Torquemada, iii. 333-4, 342, 384; Apostolicos Afanes, passim; Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, ii. 204—26; Zacatecas, Rel., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ix., 179-91; Alegre, Hist. Comp., i. 205-29,440; ii. 24-5, 52-3, 81-2, 156-9, 241, 410 et seq.; iii. 20-1,64-9,91-2, 191-2; Arlegui, Cron. Zac., passim; Bernardez, Zac., 26-90; Michoacan, Prov., 95, 115-16; Arricivita, Crón. Seráf., 92, 590; Espinosa, Crón. Apost., 415, 499-507; Ayeta, Defensa Verdad, passim; Ribas, Hist. Triumphos, 729; Margil de Jesus, Notizie, passim; Venegas, Not. Cal., ii. 515-16; Dicc. Univ., iv. 375-9; ix. 800-2; x. 168, 1032-88; Instruccion Vireyes, 3, 12, 126; Iglesias, Rel., 289-316; Jalisco, Not., 16-23, 66, 141; Mofras, Explor., i. 266; Lazcano, Vida de Oviedo, 149-56; Alfaro y Piña, Cat. de Guad., 5-14; Castilla, Espejo, 1-297; Revista, Scien., ii. 110-11; Morfi, Diario., 329; Jacob's Hist. Inq., ii. 153; Dampier's Voy., i. 257-72; Salvador, in Doc. Hist. Mex., 3d series, iv. 653; Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 163-4; Museo Mex., 2d ep. i. 2; Funnell's Voy., 91; Gil, in Soc. Mex. Geog., viii 493.