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Figure 7-6: Codex Mendoza, fol. 66r, detail showing a ‘tepotzoicpalli), after he was taken prisoner. The Bodleian

Figure 7 -6: Codex Mendoza, fol. 66r, detail showing a ‘tepotzoicpalli), after he was taken prisoner. The Bodleian

Related Figures (15)

At the time the Beinecke Map was made in the mid-six- teenth century, indigenous men of royal blood still held high office in Mexico City. The office, however, had been demoted to the third tier in the power structure of the city—they headed one of two indigenous cabildos, or town councils, in the city; theirs was called Mexico Tenochtitlan, and that of their counterparts to the north of the city was Tlatelolco.’ Both were under the control of the Spanish viceroy and in competition with and often subordinate to the Spanish cabildo, which con- trolled the center of Mexico City. Nonetheless, their power was considerable. Even after the devastating plagues of the 1545-48, the naturales, as the indigenous residents were called, “outnumbered the Spanish by about ten to one” across the city; in the subsection of Mexico Tenochtitlan alone, over which the native gover- nors ruled, the population was 45,335 in 1562, almost four times the number of the 12,000 Spaniards and three times the number of blacks, mestizos, and mulat- tos combined in the greater city.2 Soon after the con- quest, the residents of the former altepetl (Nahuatl altepétl) of Tenochtitlan had been pushed to the mar- gins of the city, and by midcentury this indigenous sub- section came be called Mexico Tenochtitlan and itself was divided in four zones (see Figure 1-1). Spanish docu- ments call these native zones barrios, neighborhoods, or parcialidades, parts, or simply refer to them by their new names, which conjoined a Christian saint with the old altepetl name: San Juan Moyotlan, San Pablo Teo- pan, San Sebastian Atzacualco, and Santa Maria (la
At the time the Beinecke Map was made in the mid-six- teenth century, indigenous men of royal blood still held high office in Mexico City. The office, however, had been demoted to the third tier in the power structure of the city—they headed one of two indigenous cabildos, or town councils, in the city; theirs was called Mexico Tenochtitlan, and that of their counterparts to the north of the city was Tlatelolco.’ Both were under the control of the Spanish viceroy and in competition with and often subordinate to the Spanish cabildo, which con- trolled the center of Mexico City. Nonetheless, their power was considerable. Even after the devastating plagues of the 1545-48, the naturales, as the indigenous residents were called, “outnumbered the Spanish by about ten to one” across the city; in the subsection of Mexico Tenochtitlan alone, over which the native gover- nors ruled, the population was 45,335 in 1562, almost four times the number of the 12,000 Spaniards and three times the number of blacks, mestizos, and mulat- tos combined in the greater city.2 Soon after the con- quest, the residents of the former altepetl (Nahuatl altepétl) of Tenochtitlan had been pushed to the mar- gins of the city, and by midcentury this indigenous sub- section came be called Mexico Tenochtitlan and itself was divided in four zones (see Figure 1-1). Spanish docu- ments call these native zones barrios, neighborhoods, or parcialidades, parts, or simply refer to them by their new names, which conjoined a Christian saint with the old altepetl name: San Juan Moyotlan, San Pablo Teo- pan, San Sebastian Atzacualco, and Santa Maria (la
Figure 7-1: Beinecke Map, detail, Viceroy don Luis de Velasco | (left) with don Esteban de Guzman. Figure 7-1: Beinecke Map, detail, Viceroy don Luis de Velasco | he Order of Santiago, contrasts with the vivid horizon- al red-and-white stripes of Guzman’s tilmatli (Nahuatl ilma'tli), or cloak. Despite the mutual engagement sug- sested by their pointing fingers and the small speech crolls emerging from their mouths, the two seem, yddly, to exist in two worlds. Guzman floats somewhat ibove the viceroy, as if in a different spatial setting, his all vertical staff defining its boundary. He seems to ngage not with the person of the viceroy but more lirectly with the crown, the symbol of royal author- ty that hovers above his counterpart’s head. These two seople—similar in their naturally endowed physical orms, but different in their cultural trappings of dress, ind talking right past each other—seem to embody the 1istorical contest that took place across the early mod- rn New World, a struggle nowhere more keenly felt han in Mexico City, where the Spanish viceregal capital vas built over the vacated streets of the conquered city of Tenochtitlan and Spaniard and Nahua, speaking dif- erent languages and following mutually unintelligible cultural codes, were yoked together, for better or worse, n the new creation of the colony. Dn a, Oe os ee, ee, ee ee
Figure 7-1: Beinecke Map, detail, Viceroy don Luis de Velasco | (left) with don Esteban de Guzman. Figure 7-1: Beinecke Map, detail, Viceroy don Luis de Velasco | he Order of Santiago, contrasts with the vivid horizon- al red-and-white stripes of Guzman’s tilmatli (Nahuatl ilma'tli), or cloak. Despite the mutual engagement sug- sested by their pointing fingers and the small speech crolls emerging from their mouths, the two seem, yddly, to exist in two worlds. Guzman floats somewhat ibove the viceroy, as if in a different spatial setting, his all vertical staff defining its boundary. He seems to ngage not with the person of the viceroy but more lirectly with the crown, the symbol of royal author- ty that hovers above his counterpart’s head. These two seople—similar in their naturally endowed physical orms, but different in their cultural trappings of dress, ind talking right past each other—seem to embody the 1istorical contest that took place across the early mod- rn New World, a struggle nowhere more keenly felt han in Mexico City, where the Spanish viceregal capital vas built over the vacated streets of the conquered city of Tenochtitlan and Spaniard and Nahua, speaking dif- erent languages and following mutually unintelligible cultural codes, were yoked together, for better or worse, n the new creation of the colony. Dn a, Oe os ee, ee, ee ee
Figure 7-2: Map of Mexico City, showing the locations of San Francisco and Santiago Tlatelolco.
Figure 7-2: Map of Mexico City, showing the locations of San Francisco and Santiago Tlatelolco.
The political disorder and internecine quarrels in the capital were severe enough by the beginning of the 1560s for the Crown itself to send its own representa- tive, in the person of Jerénimo de Valderrama, who as general inspector (visitador general de Nueva Espajia) had wide-ranging powers.” He arrived to New Spain on July 31, 1563, and soon after entered Mexico City’s main plaza, where the imposing and even facades of the buildings that were arrayed around it belied the ten- sions of the peoples and groups within (A on Figure 7-3). Its eastern flank was occupied by the viceregal palace, where an aging and sickly Velasco lived and worked, summoning together the six judges (oidores) of the royal Audiencia on most days (B). Word of the corruption among the oidores must have reached Spain, for it was here that Valderrama would first investigate. This vice- regal palace was actually a secondhand one—bought in 1562 from the descendants of Hernan Cortés (d. 1547). Now the massive new palaces of the Cortés family faced off against those of the viceroy, occupying the width of an entire block on the plaza’s west side, their flanking towers adding to the palaces’ fortresslike appearance (C). Controlling their own fiefdom of the rich lands in the Marquesado, the lands and labor the king had con- firmed as Hernan Cortés’s holdings upon naming him firmed as Hernan Cortés’ holdings upon naming him But the contentious political history—well recorded 1 the historical archive—of Mexico City might not ave resulted in the eruptions of the 1560s had it not een for a development about which we have only the lost fragmentary record, and that is demographic col- pse. There are no reliable counts surviving in the his- tical record of native peoples before 1562: Spanish bservers tended to make breezy, offhand guesses about 1e population of the once-teeming native barrios of 1e city. Recent scholars, building on figures culled by 1e great historian of the Valley, Charles Gibson, and 10se of Sherburne F. Cook and Lesley Byrd Simp- mn, have suggested that the cocoliztli (a hemorrhagic ver) epidemic of 1545-48 may have killed 80 per- ont of the indigenous population across Mexico; thus, ative labor, once plentiful and cheap, easy to come by nd easy to abuse, would have been increasingly scarce 1 the 1550s and 1560s. Once accustomed to the bene- ts of enormous subject populations, different interest fits of enormous subject populations, different interest
The political disorder and internecine quarrels in the capital were severe enough by the beginning of the 1560s for the Crown itself to send its own representa- tive, in the person of Jerénimo de Valderrama, who as general inspector (visitador general de Nueva Espajia) had wide-ranging powers.” He arrived to New Spain on July 31, 1563, and soon after entered Mexico City’s main plaza, where the imposing and even facades of the buildings that were arrayed around it belied the ten- sions of the peoples and groups within (A on Figure 7-3). Its eastern flank was occupied by the viceregal palace, where an aging and sickly Velasco lived and worked, summoning together the six judges (oidores) of the royal Audiencia on most days (B). Word of the corruption among the oidores must have reached Spain, for it was here that Valderrama would first investigate. This vice- regal palace was actually a secondhand one—bought in 1562 from the descendants of Hernan Cortés (d. 1547). Now the massive new palaces of the Cortés family faced off against those of the viceroy, occupying the width of an entire block on the plaza’s west side, their flanking towers adding to the palaces’ fortresslike appearance (C). Controlling their own fiefdom of the rich lands in the Marquesado, the lands and labor the king had con- firmed as Hernan Cortés’s holdings upon naming him firmed as Hernan Cortés’ holdings upon naming him But the contentious political history—well recorded 1 the historical archive—of Mexico City might not ave resulted in the eruptions of the 1560s had it not een for a development about which we have only the lost fragmentary record, and that is demographic col- pse. There are no reliable counts surviving in the his- tical record of native peoples before 1562: Spanish bservers tended to make breezy, offhand guesses about 1e population of the once-teeming native barrios of 1e city. Recent scholars, building on figures culled by 1e great historian of the Valley, Charles Gibson, and 10se of Sherburne F. Cook and Lesley Byrd Simp- mn, have suggested that the cocoliztli (a hemorrhagic ver) epidemic of 1545-48 may have killed 80 per- ont of the indigenous population across Mexico; thus, ative labor, once plentiful and cheap, easy to come by nd easy to abuse, would have been increasingly scarce 1 the 1550s and 1560s. Once accustomed to the bene- ts of enormous subject populations, different interest fits of enormous subject populations, different interest
Figure 7-5: Codex Mendoza, fol. 69r, Motecuhzoma in his palace. The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Ms. Arch.
Figure 7-5: Codex Mendoza, fol. 69r, Motecuhzoma in his palace. The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Ms. Arch.
Figure 7-7: Primeros Memoriales, fol. 51v, detail showing Tenochca rulers from, at top, Cuitlahua (r. 1520) to Huanitl. The first two share the full regalia of pre-Hispanic rulers of
Figure 7-7: Primeros Memoriales, fol. 51v, detail showing Tenochca rulers from, at top, Cuitlahua (r. 1520) to Huanitl. The first two share the full regalia of pre-Hispanic rulers of
Figure 7-8: Codex Mendoza, fol. 10r, showing Axayacatl’s reign, Arch. Selden A1. once again allowed members of the royal house to be given seats in Mexico Tenochtitlan. Mendoza, it should be recalled, was appointed to institute an orderly gov- ernment responsible to the Crown. Keenly aware of bloodline, that near-sacred Spanish ideal of sangre, Mendoza saw the importance of a strategy of gover- nance that included indigenous rulers. His first choice, made around 1538, was Huanitl, the grandson of the emperor Axayacatl and son-in-law of Motecuhzoma and the first ruler who appears in the Beinecke Map; his importance to the native community is signaled by
Figure 7-8: Codex Mendoza, fol. 10r, showing Axayacatl’s reign, Arch. Selden A1. once again allowed members of the royal house to be given seats in Mexico Tenochtitlan. Mendoza, it should be recalled, was appointed to institute an orderly gov- ernment responsible to the Crown. Keenly aware of bloodline, that near-sacred Spanish ideal of sangre, Mendoza saw the importance of a strategy of gover- nance that included indigenous rulers. His first choice, made around 1538, was Huanitl, the grandson of the emperor Axayacatl and son-in-law of Motecuhzoma and the first ruler who appears in the Beinecke Map; his importance to the native community is signaled by
Figure 7-9: Codex Aubin, fol. 76v-77r, showing, at /eft, Huanitl; at right, Tehuetzquiti. © Trustees of the British Museum native histories. The Codex Aubin links him to Men- doza, whose figure appears beneath his, and captures him wearing the same turquoise diadem as his pre-His- panic forebears (Figure 7-9). In chapter 3 Maria Casta- fieda de la Paz argues that the artist’s choice to begin the ruler list with Huanitl is hardly accidental and was meant to underscore the ruling line that was conse- crated by viceregal authority. native histories. The Codex Aubin links him to Men- California in 1542-43, and Ruy Lopez de Villalobos to
Figure 7-9: Codex Aubin, fol. 76v-77r, showing, at /eft, Huanitl; at right, Tehuetzquiti. © Trustees of the British Museum native histories. The Codex Aubin links him to Men- doza, whose figure appears beneath his, and captures him wearing the same turquoise diadem as his pre-His- panic forebears (Figure 7-9). In chapter 3 Maria Casta- fieda de la Paz argues that the artist’s choice to begin the ruler list with Huanitl is hardly accidental and was meant to underscore the ruling line that was conse- crated by viceregal authority. native histories. The Codex Aubin links him to Men- California in 1542-43, and Ruy Lopez de Villalobos to
Figure 7-10: Genealogy of Diego de Mendoza Austria y Moctezuma, 1707. Archivo General de la Nacion, Mexico, Tierras, vol. 1586, exp. 1, fol. 2, 3.
Figure 7-10: Genealogy of Diego de Mendoza Austria y Moctezuma, 1707. Archivo General de la Nacion, Mexico, Tierras, vol. 1586, exp. 1, fol. 2, 3.
Figure 7-11: Codex Osuna, fol. 38r, showing the Mexico City tecpan. © Biblioteca Nacional de Espafia.
Figure 7-11: Codex Osuna, fol. 38r, showing the Mexico City tecpan. © Biblioteca Nacional de Espafia.
Figure 7-13: Beinecke Map, detail showing second-generation landholders (within white circles). Figure 7-13: Beinecke Map, detail showing second-generation rulers on the map were of the same dynasty as Cuauhte- moc, this 41-year count might function as a kind of lasso, roping Huanitl and his fellows to this dynastic post. In addition, the invocation of temporal passage seems to be a characteristic trope of the period; it per- meates even pedestrian land documents as a means of establishing authority. In a 1564 suit over lands, resi- dents of the parcialidad of San Pablo tried to protect their lands from seizure by the Spanish cabildo. They stated in a Spanish that was inflected by the poetic rep- etitions characteristic of their native tongue, Nahuatl: “We attest that the said lands are ours, and belong to us for being part of our patrimony and inheritance, hav- ing been given them by our fathers, our grandfathers, our ancestors, passing down through direct inheritance for more than ten, than twenty, than thirty, than forty years, for as long as men can remember."
Figure 7-13: Beinecke Map, detail showing second-generation landholders (within white circles). Figure 7-13: Beinecke Map, detail showing second-generation rulers on the map were of the same dynasty as Cuauhte- moc, this 41-year count might function as a kind of lasso, roping Huanitl and his fellows to this dynastic post. In addition, the invocation of temporal passage seems to be a characteristic trope of the period; it per- meates even pedestrian land documents as a means of establishing authority. In a 1564 suit over lands, resi- dents of the parcialidad of San Pablo tried to protect their lands from seizure by the Spanish cabildo. They stated in a Spanish that was inflected by the poetic rep- etitions characteristic of their native tongue, Nahuatl: “We attest that the said lands are ours, and belong to us for being part of our patrimony and inheritance, hav- ing been given them by our fathers, our grandfathers, our ancestors, passing down through direct inheritance for more than ten, than twenty, than thirty, than forty years, for as long as men can remember."
Figure 7-12: Beinecke Map, detail, showing year counts.
Figure 7-12: Beinecke Map, detail, showing year counts.
pre-Hispanic emperor, in writing to the king directly to resist an attempt to put the city’s indigenous cabildo under the control of the Spanish one. The letter argues that Indian officials were both competent and loyal. In this letter and a later one of 1556, he joined other native elites to ask the king for a special protector of indig- enous interests and requested that Bartolomé de las Casas, the internationally prominent defender of native rights, be assigned to the post. Certainly some of the impetus for having a religious protector (and a Domin- ican at that) stemmed from the animosity that had quickly arisen over the collection of tithes between city
pre-Hispanic emperor, in writing to the king directly to resist an attempt to put the city’s indigenous cabildo under the control of the Spanish one. The letter argues that Indian officials were both competent and loyal. In this letter and a later one of 1556, he joined other native elites to ask the king for a special protector of indig- enous interests and requested that Bartolomé de las Casas, the internationally prominent defender of native rights, be assigned to the post. Certainly some of the impetus for having a religious protector (and a Domin- ican at that) stemmed from the animosity that had quickly arisen over the collection of tithes between city
Figure 7-16: Codex Osuna, fol. 38r, detail, don Esteban de Guzman (left) with Viceroy don Luis de Velasco |. © Biblioteca Naciona The inspection of Valderrama set off a series of events that led to a crisis of Spanish authority in the city, and it had much the same effect on the indigenous ruler of the city, Cipac, the last ruler on the map, who came to office a few months before Valderrama set foot in New Spain. At the time Cipac was seated, the indigenous res- idents of the city were particularly embattled over city lands. In addition, the Spanish cabildo tried to domi- nate more of the lands surrounding the central traza. The 1560 request of this cabildo to take over the inde- pendent indigenous government of the city would have given it authority over all the lands of the city. It was not granted, but the request still gives a sense of cabildo’s press of its prerogative over Mexico Tenochtitlan.” By 1564, a year into Cipac’s reign, the Spanish cabildo was claiming land in the parcialidad of San Pablo as ejidos, or collective lands, to be enjoyed by Spanish residents or collective lands, to be enjoyed by Spanish residents
Figure 7-16: Codex Osuna, fol. 38r, detail, don Esteban de Guzman (left) with Viceroy don Luis de Velasco |. © Biblioteca Naciona The inspection of Valderrama set off a series of events that led to a crisis of Spanish authority in the city, and it had much the same effect on the indigenous ruler of the city, Cipac, the last ruler on the map, who came to office a few months before Valderrama set foot in New Spain. At the time Cipac was seated, the indigenous res- idents of the city were particularly embattled over city lands. In addition, the Spanish cabildo tried to domi- nate more of the lands surrounding the central traza. The 1560 request of this cabildo to take over the inde- pendent indigenous government of the city would have given it authority over all the lands of the city. It was not granted, but the request still gives a sense of cabildo’s press of its prerogative over Mexico Tenochtitlan.” By 1564, a year into Cipac’s reign, the Spanish cabildo was claiming land in the parcialidad of San Pablo as ejidos, or collective lands, to be enjoyed by Spanish residents or collective lands, to be enjoyed by Spanish residents
Figure 7-17: Beinecke Map, detail, don Luis de Santa Maria and 6,433 fanegas (each about 15 bushels) of maize (Tla- telolco, with a tributary population of 8,312, paid pro- portionately less), and Cipac was responsible for the payment. When the time came for tribute collection in July 1564, riots broke out around the native cabildo build- ing, native officials were attacked, and the building—that symbol of pacific authority in the Codex Osuna—was pelted with stones and its outer walls broken down.” July 1564, riots broke out around the native cabildo build-
Figure 7-17: Beinecke Map, detail, don Luis de Santa Maria and 6,433 fanegas (each about 15 bushels) of maize (Tla- telolco, with a tributary population of 8,312, paid pro- portionately less), and Cipac was responsible for the payment. When the time came for tribute collection in July 1564, riots broke out around the native cabildo build- ing, native officials were attacked, and the building—that symbol of pacific authority in the Codex Osuna—was pelted with stones and its outer walls broken down.” July 1564, riots broke out around the native cabildo build-
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Mexico HistoryHistory of CartographyHistory of Colonial MexicoNahua History
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