History Microforms

Part 1: The Andean Collection (13 Reels)

This collection includes manuscripts and printed works which can be used to study the history of Peru from the prehispanic period to the middle of the nineteenth century. The materials document the cultural history of the Andean people before the Spanish conquest; colonial civil administration; the role of the Catholic church in colonial society; the Bourbon reforms, the war of independence; the anarchy of the early republican period and the war of the Confederation Peru-Bolivia.

On the history of the Andean people before the conquest, the collection includes copies, complete and partial, of various accounts written by chroniclers Juan de Polo de Ondegardo, Juan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti, Antonio de la Calancha and Fernando de Montesinos.

The materials related to the colonial period are numerous and varied, and document the central area of the Peruvian viceroyalty (currently Peru and Bolivia) and its other areas such as Quito, New Granada, Chile and Rio de la Plata. To study the colonial civil administration during the 17th and 18th centuries, the reports written by the viceroys are valuable sources. There are also account books and legal writs which can be used to analyze the economic and political role of the Church in the colonial milieu, in particular the role of the Jesuit and the Mercedarian orders. The Bourbon reforms which took place in the Peruvian viceroyalty are especially well-documented in the numerous royal and vicergal decrees, issued mostly in the second half of the 18th century.

Concerning the War of Independence period, there are letters, reports and administrative texts by prominent personages such a Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín, Juan de Berindoaga and Antonio José de Sucre. The turbulent initial years of the republican period can be reconstructed from correspondence by generals Agustín Gamarra and Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente. Finally, there are several letters and military reports on the war of the Confederation Peru-Bolivia, an ambitious political plan to create a union between the two countries led by the General Andrés de Santa Cruz.

This collection is arranged in 2 parts; materials in each part are arranged alpahbetically by country, and by date within each country.

Part 2: The Mexico Collection (30 Reel)

The Mexico Collection is comprised of both originals and copies of government documents, including letters, decrees, edicts, ordinances, accounts and reports; church documents; correspondence; legal writs; political writings, and literary texts. The materials document the history of Mexico from the pre-Columbian period to the beginning of the 20th century, and illustrate the history of the peoples before the arrival of Spaniards; the Spanish conquest; the colonial civil and judicial administration; the role of the Catholic church in colonial society, the Bourbon reforms; the movement for independence; the First Mexican Empire, and the early republican period.

On the history of the peoples who inhabited the Mexican territory before the arrival of Spaniards, the collection includes originals and copies of works written by authors in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are texts by the historian Mariano Fernández de Echeverria y Veytia and the travelers Brantz Mayer and Brasseur de Bourbourg. Concerning the Spanish conquest, the collection includes a copy of Crónica de la Nueva España by Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, the most prominent humanist in Mexico during the 16th century. Although unfinished, Cervantes's text is a detailed and fascinating account of the military enterprise of Hernán Cortes and his comrades.

The texts concerning the colonial period constitute the core of the collection. To study the colonial civil administration during the 17th and 18th centuries, the reports written by viceroys and local authorities are valuable documents. The numerous legal writs are outstanding sources for understanding judicial administration and the literary culture of lawyers. Legal writs and decrees also provide rich information to analyze the economic, social and political significance of the Catholic church and the Jesuit, Franciscan, Dominican, Mercedarian, and Augustinian orders. The Bourbon reforms undertaken by colonial administration in the Mexican viceroyalty are extensively documented in the numerous royal and viceregal decrees, edicts, and ordinances promulgated mostly in the second half of the 18th century.

On the independence movement, there are letters, reports, accounts and administrative texts by some of its leading protagonists, including Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Agustín de Itúrbide, and Viceroy José de Iturrigaray. The correspondence of the Itúrbide family represents, for instance, an exceptional primary source documenting the social and political turmoil of that time. Additionally, the account written by Gregorio Melero y Piña, a follower of Miguel Hidalgo, is vivid personal testimony of military and political conspiracies in San Luis Potosi. There are also original texts written about the political milieu by Carlos María Bustamante, the most important Mexican historian of the early 19th century.

The history of the first Mexican Empire, established by Agustín de Itúrbide after independence was achieved, is documented generally in several letters and official reports which trace its establishment, political opposition to it, and the abdication of Itúrbide. On the initial decades of the Mexican Republic, there are diverse and numerous materials, including military and diplomatic reports, constitutional texts, and administrative papers.

This collection is arranged in 2 parts; materials in each part are arranged chronologically.

Part 3: The Spain Collection (9 Reels)

The Spain Collection is comprised of both originals and copies of materials from Spain. The collection includes state documents such as decrees, ordinances and reports; ecclesiastical texts; correspondence; accounts of events; political writings and literary texts. They cover a broad period of Spanish history, from the beginning of the 15th century to the middle of the 18th century. The texts document important events and aspects of the reigns of Philip III, Philip IV, Philip V, Ferdinand VI and Charles III.

On the reign of Phillip III (1598-1621) the collection includes letters by the Duke of Lerma, the powerful private secretary (privado) to the King; documents related to state loans; and memorials. Memorials constitute outstanding sources for studying the political, social and economic conditions of the Spanish monarchy in the two first decades of the 17th century. Although a long tradition of writing memorials existed in Spain, Philip III's reign was particularly rich in the composition of such texts. They addressed such issues as the origin of the "decadence" of Spain, and important political and economic problems and their solutions. There are also texts on the conduct of foreign policy by Antonio Pérez; royal policy towards Portuguese "conversos" by Martín González de Cellorigo; and the duties of the King's private secretary by Pedro Madonado.

Documents on the reign of King Philip IV (1621-1665) are the most numerous of the collection. The main political and social events of that period, including the death of King Philip III; the political downfall of three major figures of the reign of King Philip III; the Duke of Lerma, the Duke of Osuna, and the Marquis of Siete Iglesias; the ceremonies proclaiming Philip IV King of Spain; the political career of the Duke of Olivares, the private secretary of the King; the plan for a matrimonial alliance between Spain and England; the economic efforts of the Spanish crown to finance its participation in the Thirty Years War; the Castilian monetary reforms; the Spanish intervention in the Netherlands war; and the political relations between the Spanish crown and its Italian allies in Milan, are described in handwritten and printed texts.

Important aspects of the history of the reigns of three Bourbon monarchs, Philip V (1700-1746), Ferdinand VI (1746-1759), and Charles III (1759-1788) are also documented in the collection. With no direct descendants, King Charles II named Philip, Duke of Anjou, a grandson of King Luis XIV of France, as his successor. The election of a French prince was not recognized by other European states, which had potential candidates of their own for the Spanish throne and were concerned about the expansion of French power on the continent. The war of the Spanish Succession and the efforts of Philip to consolidate his rule are illustrated in an extensive account of the period from 1712 to 1725, entitled "History of the Reign of King Philip V of Spain," and in other documents. Once the war was concluded, Philip started an ambitious program to reform the social, political, and economic structures of the Spanish monarchy. The so-called "Bourbon Reforms" encouraged crown ministers and other citizens to develop and write projects and plans to promote the social and economic development of Spain and its empire. Interesting examples of such writings are "España Despierta" and "Nuevo Sistema de Gobierno Económico para la América", by José del Campillo y Cosio a famous minister of Philip V.

The Bourbon Reforms were continued by Philip V's successors, Ferdinand VI and Charles III. Additional informative examples of Reform plans and projects, from the reign of Ferdinand VI, are included... There are also various documents on tax reform during Ferdinand's reign, and on the relationship between Inquisition and local powers. Of particular note regarding Charles III's reign is "Aniceto a Cándido" a discourse on the need to reform Spain; and an extensive "Memorial", addressed to the King, on the long controversy between the Society of Jesus and prelates and secular clergy over the payment of tithes. In addition, there are documents on the crown's attempt to exercise tight control over the Spanish Catholic church.

This collection is arranged in 2 parts; materials in each part are arranged chronologically.

Location Code & Call Number: MCK-PER M-FILM F1408.25.L28 1993 (197 Reels)

Click to see full description

Entire guide to contents for the collection appears on first reel.

Print Guide to the collection is located in the Mckeldin Library Reference Microform Manuals, call number F1408.25.L28 1993 Guide