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.[1] The administration of Diego Nuñez de Morquecho, who held office from 1629 to 1632,[2] 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.[3] Antonio de Abarca, who was appointed in 1702, was the last of the legal profession who held office as governor,[4] and Toribio Rodriguez de Solis, whose administration lasted until 1716, the first who bore the title of captain-general.[5]
The audiencia of Guadalajara held jurisdiction over
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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
