Francisco Burgoa (b.

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

, c.1600; d. Tepozotlán in 1681) was a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

of the Dominican Order in Mexico. He entered the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

on 2 August 1629, and soon became a master in theology. The voluminous books written by him on the past of his native Mexican province of Antequera, (now called Oaxaca), are very rare and valuable, though not absolutely reliable on several topics. Burgoa utilizes material on particular Dominicans from

Agustín Dávila Padilla Agustín Dávila Padilla (Mexico City, 1562–1604) was a Mexican Dominican, a writer and Bishop of Santo Domingo. ''(in Latin)'' Works Dávila Padilla was not the author of numerous works, but his ''Historia de la Fundación y Discurso de la Pr ...

, but emphasizes their work in Oaxaca.Ernest J. Burrus, "Religious Chroniclers and Historians: A summary with Annotated Bibliography," in ''Handbook of Middle American Indians'', vol. 13, ''Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources'', part 2. Austin: University of Texas Press 1973, pp. 156-157. Burgoa was

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

of several Indian parishes and his knowledge of the native languages, the Zapotec and

Mixtec The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...

, is stated to have been very thorough. In 1649 he became

Provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

of the Province of San Hipólito and took part in the chapter general of his order in Rome in 1656. Returning to Mexico with the title of vicar-general, a member of the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

, and Commissary and Inspector of Libraries of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

(Mexico), he again became Provincial of Oaxaca in 1662. He was interested in several ecclesiastical foundations and improvements, and was highly respected at the time of his death. The two historical and geographical works through which he is best known are the ''Palestra histórica, ó Historia de la Provincia de San Hipólito de Oaxaca, de la Orden de Predicadores'' (Mexico, 1670), and the ''Descripción geográfica de la América setentrional'' etc. (Mexico, 1674). He published a number of sermons and also wrote ''Itinerario de Oaxaca á Roma y de Roma a Oaxaca''.

Sources

* Pinelo, ''Epitome de la biblioteca oriental y occidental'' (Madrid, 1737) *

Nicolás Antonio Nicolás Antonio (31 July 1617 – 13 April 1684) was a Spanish bibliographer born in Seville. Biography After taking his degree in Salamanca (1636–1639), he returned to his native city, wrote his treatise ''De Exilio'' (which was not printe ...

, ''Bibliotheca hispana nova'' (Madrid, 1733–38) * Eguiara, ''Biblioteca mexicana'' (Mexico, 1755) * Beristain, ''Biblioteca hispano-americana'' etc. (Amecameca, 1883) * Brasseur de Bourbourg, ''Bibl. mexico-guatemalienne'' (Paris, 1871). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgoa, Francisco 1681 deaths Catholic Church in Mexico Historians of Mexico 17th-century Mexican historians Mexican people of Basque descent Novohispanic Mesoamericanists Historians of Mesoamerica 17th-century Mesoamericanists Dominican scholars People of New Spain Year of birth unknown