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Exploration

4. The expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609-1614 reduced revenues, and the effects of a series of economic depressions from 1623 to 1650 followed by a period of severe inflation from 1664 to 1680 were compounded by a tax system that served only to increase the need for more revenue. Moreover, Spain's standing armies required maintenance, and wars had to be funded. Bottineau, Iberian-American Baroque , p. 5.

5. Ibid., p. 6. [BACK]

4. The expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609-1614 reduced revenues, and the effects of a series of economic depressions from 1623 to 1650 followed by a period of severe inflation from 1664 to 1680 were compounded by a tax system that served only to increase the need for more revenue. Moreover, Spain's standing armies required maintenance, and wars had to be funded. Bottineau, Iberian-American Baroque , p. 5.

5. Ibid., p. 6. [BACK]

6. The necessity for Christianization efforts in Mexico was realized within a few years after the Conquest. In a letter to Charles V dated October 15, 1524, Cortés restated the need for "some religious of good life and example; but, up to the present, only a few have come, or none, so to speak, and, since their coming would be of very great usefulness, I beg Your Majesty to send them with as little delay as possible" (p. 20). Missionaries would be best; the expense of supporting bishops and regular clergy would be excessive. The mission of the "Twelve Apostles," members of the Friars Minor of the Observance, arrived in Mexico City on 17 or 18 June 1524, but more missionaries were needed (p. 21). The conditions in Mexico in the early sixteenth century were not unlike those in New Mexico decades later. "In 1561, the second bishop of New Galacia, Fray Pedro de Ayala, begged Philip II to send him some Franciscans for his poor diocese, because the religious at his disposal were aged and worn out, and the new ones preferred to remain in easier and more agreeable dioceses, such as Mexico and Michoacán" (p. 81). Richard's general description of the Mexican religious enterprise also could serve as a characterization of the evangelical project further north, particularly the patience and flexibility necessary to sustain the spirit in trying circumstances: "one sees the character of moderation and common sense, that defiance of systematic and absolute theology, that eclecticism, which seem to be the dominant traits of the Mexican mission" (p. 95). Ricard, The Spiritual Conquest of Mexico . [BACK]

7. See Kubler, "Two Modes of Franciscan Architecture," pp. 39-48. "When Quiroga became Auditor of New Spain in 1530, his first concern was to realize in America the Utopian speculations of his English contemporary, in two urban creations, one near Mexico City, and the other on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro in Michoacan. Quiroga expressly stated in later life that he had modelled these communities, designated as 'Hospitals,' upon the Utopia . They were dedicated to the attainment of Christian perfection, and served to propagate the faith among unsettled groups of new converts. Property was held communally; the Indians were relieved from personal service and tribute; subsistence was provided from agriculture and the exercise of the crafts. . . . The Mendicants adopted its form in their urban foundations throughout western Mexico, and as late as the eighteenth century, the landholding system, the community meetings, and other arrangements were maintained intact in many areas" (p. 45). [BACK]

8. Mundigo and Crouch, "The City Planning Ordinances," p. 260. [BACK]

9. Simmons, New Mexico , p. 11. [BACK]


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