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Profiles the 506 known encomenderos in New Spain (present-day Mexico) during the years 1521-1555, using their life histories to chart the rise, florescence, and decline of the system

Table of Contents

• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Part One: The Encomenderos as a Group
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. The Encomenderos’ Backgrounds: Regional Origins, Social Standing, and Experience
  • 3. Cities and Encomiendas
  • 4. The Integration of the Encomenderos into Local Society: Patterns of Association through Marriage, Officeholding, and Encomienda Sharing
  • 5. Comparisons and Conclusions
• Part Two: The Individual Encomenderos
  • Introduction
  • The Biographies
• Appendixes
  • A. Roster of First Conqueror Encomenderos
  • B. Roster of Conqueror Encomenderos
  • C. Roster of Poblador Antiguo Encomenderos
  • D. Roster of Poblador Encomenderos
  • E. Roster of Indian Encomenderos
  • F. Citizenship of the Encomenderos
  • G. Methodological Essay
• Notes
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index

About the Author

Robert Himmerich y Valencia is Associate Professor of History at the University of New Mexico, where he also serves as Editor of the New Mexico Historical Review.

Reviews

Himmerich’s near definitive compilation of the early encomenderos is a solidly researched and meticulously realized work that will be essential reading and reference for students and scholars of the period for years to come. (Ethnohistory) Every college and university offering course work in colonial Latin American history should purchase this study. General readers interested in the conquest of Mexico will also find it highly informative, clearly written, and sometimes fascinating. (Choice)