Aviso a su Majestad, de la provincia de Chiapa, de fray Juan de los Reyes, guardián, Ciudad Real, a 14 de enero de 1579

Abstract

Gudrun Lenkersdorf presents a Memorial text written by the Franciscan priest fray Juan de los Reyes. In her introduction, she notes that the priest provides a good description of the province of Chiapa in 1579, at the same time that he relates a number of problems as seen from the point of view of the Franciscans. In it, they blame all such problems on the Dominicans, their rivals, at times unjustly. In spite of this, the document provides a general and fairly complete idea of the changes introduced into the villages by the colonial regime. The Franciscans' opinions are expressed about their congregations, the election of local indigenous officials, the cofradías, the construction of churches, and the punishments inflicted on the Indians who did not obey them. One can see that in the last half of the 16th century, the work of the second generation of Santo Domingo friars did not correspond at all to the Lascanian principles of gentle persuasion. Those who once had been the protectors of the Indians had been transformed into a heavy burden for the autoctonous population. The manuscript of the Avisos is to be found in the Archivo General de las Indias in Sevilla, Audiencia de Guatemala section, legajo 56, as part of the "Relación de las derramas, Guatemala, 1582," folios 3 to 12v. A microfilm copy is in the archives of the Centro de Estudios May as of the Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas of the UNAM.