Juan de Zumárraga, OFM (1468 – June 3, 1548) was a Spanish

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

and the first Bishop of Mexico. He was also the region's first

inquisitor An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literall ...

. He wrote ''Doctrina breve'', the first book published in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

by a European, printed in Mexico City in 1539.

Biography

Origins and arrival in New Spain

Zumárraga was born in 1468 or 1469 of a noble family, in Durango in the

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

province in

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. He entered the

Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

, and in 1527 was custodian of the convent of Abrojo. Shortly afterwards he was appointed one of the judges of the court for the examination of witches in the Basque province. From his writings it would appear that he looked upon witches merely as women possessed of hallucinations. By this time more detailed accounts of the importance of the conquest of

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...

began to be received, and on December 20, 1527, Zumárraga was recommended by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

for the post of first bishop of Mexico. Without having been consecrated and with only the title of bishop-elect and

Protector of the Indians Protector of the Indians (Spanish: ''Protectoría de Los Indios'') was an administrative office of the Spanish colonies that deemed themselves responsible for attending to the well-being of the native populations by providing detailed witness acco ...

, he, accompanied by Fray

Andrés de Olmos Andrés de Olmos (c.1485 – 8 October 1571) was a Spanish Franciscan priest and grammarian and ethno-historian of Mexico's indigenous languages and peoples. He was born in Oña, Burgos, Spain and died in Tampico in New Spain (modern-day Ta ...

, left Spain with the first civil officials, magistrates (''

oidor An ''oidor'' () was a judge of the Royal ''Audiencias'' and ''Chancillerías'', originally courts of Kingdom of Castile, which became the highest organs of justice within the Spanish Empire. The term comes from the verb ''oír'', "to hear," referr ...

es''), towards the end of August 1528, and reached Mexico on December 6. Thirteen days after, two of these judges, Alonso de Parada and Diego Maldonado, men of years and experience, died. Their companions,

Juan Ortiz de Matienzo Juan Ortiz de Matienzo was a Spanish colonial judge and an original member of the first Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo, in 1512. From December 9, 1528 until January 9, 1531, he was a member of the first Real Audiencia of Mexico, which took over ...

and

Diego Delgadillo Diego Delgadillo (b. Granada, Spain, d. 1533, Granada) was a judge of the first Real Audiencia of Mexico, which took control of the governance of New Spain from the conquistadors from December 9, 1528 to January 9, 1531. Delgadillo was a native ...

, assumed their authority, which was also shared by Nuño de Guzmán, who had come from his territories in the Pánuco Valley. Their administration was one of the most disastrous epochs in

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 ...

and one of great difficulty for Zumárraga.

"Protector of the Indians"

Although Zumárraga was appointed bishop on August 20, 1530, he was not consecrated until April 27, 1533. Zumárraga, as Protector of the Indians, endeavored to defend them. His position was a critical one; the

Spanish monarchy , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

had defined neither the extent of his jurisdiction nor his duties as Protector of the Indians. Moreover, he had not received official consecration as bishop, and was thus at a disadvantage when he attempted to exercise his authority. The Indians appealed to him as protector with all manner of complaints. His own Franciscans, who had so long labored for the welfare of the Indians, pressed him to put an end to the excesses of the ''

es''. It was clear that he must have had an open conflict with the civil officials of the colony, relying only on his spiritual prerogatives, which commanded no respect from these immoral and unprincipled men. Some members of other religious orders, perhaps envious of the influence of the Franciscans, upheld the persecution of the Indians. Bishop Zumárraga attempted to notify the Spanish court of the course of events, but the ''oidores'' had established a successful censorship of all letters and communications from New Spain. Finally, a Basque ("Biscayne") sailor concealed a letter in a cake of wax which he immersed in a barrel of oil. Meanwhile, news reached Mexico that Cortés had been well received at the Spanish court and was about to return to New Spain. Fearful of the consequences, Audiencia president Nuño de Guzmán left Mexico City on December 22, 1529, and began his famous expedition to

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

, and Sinaloa. The remaining ''oidores'' retained power and continued their outrages. In the early part of 1530 they dragged a priest and a former servant of Cortés from a church, quartered him and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

d his servant. Zumárraga placed the city under

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...

, and the Franciscans retired to Texcoco. At Easter the interdict was lifted, but the ''oidores'' were excommunicated for a year. On July 15, 1530, Cortés, now titled Captain General of New Spain, reached Vera Cruz. The Crown appointed new ''oidores'', among them

Sebastián Ramírez de Fuenleal Sebastián Ramírez de Fuenleal (, Villaescusa de Haro, Cuenca, Spain – January 22, 1547, Valladolid, Spain) was bishop of Santo Domingo ''(in Latin)'' and president of the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo from 1528 to 1531. He was al ...

, Bishop of Santo Domingo, and the lawyer

Vasco de Quiroga Vasco de Quiroga (1470/78 – 14 March 1565) was the first bishop of Michoacán, Mexico, and one of the judges (''oidores'') in the second Real Audiencia of Mexico – the high court that governed New Spain – from January 10, 1531, to April 16, ...

, who later became the first

Bishop of Michoacán The Archdiocese of Morelia ( la, Archidioecesis Moreliensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western central Mexico.Audiencia'', the ensemble of ''oidores'', reached Mexico and, with them, an era of peace for both Zumárraga and the Indians. Matienzo and Delgadillo were sent to Spain as prisoners, but Nuño de Guzmán escaped, being then absent in Sinaloa. Meantime the calumnies spread by the enemies of Zumárraga and the partisans of the first ''oidor'' had shaken the confidence of the Spanish Court, and he set sail in May 1532 under orders to return to Spain. On his arrival he met his implacable enemy Delgadillo, who, though still under indictment, continued his calumnies. As a result of Delgadillo's charges, Charles V held back the Bull of Clement VII, originally dated September 2, 1530, that would have named Zumárraga bishop. Zumárraga, however, had little difficulty vindicating his good name, and was consecrated bishop at

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

on April 27, 1533, by Diego Ribera de Toledo, Bishop of Segovia, with Francisco Zamora de Orello,

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Brefny'', and Francisco Solís,

Bishop of Drivasto The Diocese of Drivasto or Diocese of Drivast ( la, Dioecesis Drivastensis) was a Roman Catholic bishopric with see in the town of Drivasto (modern day Drisht in Postribë, 16 km north of Scutari, northern Albania) from circa 400 to 1650 and ...

, as Co-Consecrators.Catholic Hierarchy: "Archbishop Juan de Zumárraga, O.F.M."
retrieved November 11, 2015 After another year in Spain working for favourable concessions for the Indians, he reached Mexico in October 1534, accompanied by a number of mechanics and six female teachers for the Indian girls. He no longer held the title of Protector of the Indians, as it was thought that the new ''oidores'' would refrain from the abuses of prior regimes. On November 14, 1535, with the arrival of the first

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

Antonio de Mendoza Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco (, ; 1495 – 21 July 1552) was a Spanish colonial administrator who was the first Viceroy of New Spain, serving from 14 November 1535 to 25 November 1550, and the third Viceroy of Peru, from 23 September 1551, ...

, the rule of the new ''oidores'' ended. While bishop, he was the principal consecrator of

Juan Lopez de Zárate ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

Bishop of Antequera, Oaxaca The Archdiocese of Antequera, Oaxaca ( la, Archidioecesis Antequerensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Mexico. The cathedral church is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in the epis ...

(1537); Francisco Marroquín Hurtado, Bishop of Santiago de Guatemala (1537); and

Bishop of Michoacán The Archdiocese of Morelia ( la, Archidioecesis Moreliensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western central Mexico.Toribio de Benavente Motolinia Toribio of Benavente, O.F.M. (1482, Benavente, Spain – 1565, Mexico City, New Spain), also known as Motolinía, was a Franciscan missionary who was one of the famous Twelve Apostles of Mexico who arrived in New Spain in May 1524. His publis ...

, the number of baptized Indians in Mexico in 1536 was five million. The multitude of Indians who asked for baptism, said to have greatly increased after the apparition of

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

in 1531, forced the missionaries to adopt a special form for administering this sacrament. The catechumens were arranged in order, with children in front. Prayers were recited in common over all, salt, saliva, etc., applied to a few, and then water was poured on the head of each without using the customary holy

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

chrism Chrism, also called myrrh, ''myron'', holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Anglican, Assyrian, Catholic, Nordic Lutheran, Old Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Latter Day Saint churches in ...

. The practice faced no opposition while the Franciscans were in charge of the missions, but as soon as members of other religious orders and some secular ecclesiastics arrived, doubt began to be cast upon the validity of these baptisms. To put an end to the dispute Bishop Zumárraga submitted the case to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and on June 1, 1537,

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

issued the

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

''Altitudo divini consilii'', which declared that the friars had not sinned in administering baptism in this form, but decreed that in the future it should not be thus administered except in cases of urgent need. Another difficulty arose regarding marriage. The pre-Columbian religions had permitted

polygyny Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...

and the taking of

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

s, and when Natives were converted the question arose as to which were legitimate wives and which were concubines, and whether any of the marriages had been valid at all. The Franciscans knew that certain rites were observed for certain unions, and that in some cases, where separation or divorce was desired, it was necessary to obtain the consent of the authorities, while in other cases the consent of the interested parties sufficed. These customs, they argued, meant that there were valid marriages among the Indians. Others denied that this was the case. Bishop Zumárraga took part in all these discussions until the case was submitted to the Holy See. Pope Paul III decreed in the ''Altitudo'' that the converted Indians should keep the first woman wed as their wife. A third important difficulty concerned the position of the

secular clergy In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogra ...

(non-order affiliated) and their privileges.

Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI ( la, Hadrianus VI; it, Adriano VI; nl, Adrianus/Adriaan VI), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his d ...

on May 9, 1522, issued the bull ''Exponi nobis fecisti'' to Charles V, in which he transferred his own

Apostolic Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

authority in all matters to the Franciscans and other mendicant orders when they judged it necessary for the conversion of the Indians, except for acts requiring episcopal consecration. This provision affected regions where there was no bishop, or where it required two or more days of travel to reach one. Pope Paul III confirmed the bull on January 15, 1535. The bishops found their authority much limited, and a series of assemblies followed in which Zumárraga with his customary prudence tried to arrive at an understanding with the regulars without openly clashing with them. Various modifications were adopted with the consent of the regulars on condition that these "should not impair the privileges of the regulars". The question therefore remained open. In 1535, Bishop Zumárraga received the title and powers of Apostolic Inquisitor of the diocese of Mexico from the Inquisitor General, Álvaro Manrique, Archbishop of Seville, including that of delivering criminals to the secular courts. He never availed himself of the title and did not establish the tribunal, although he did indict and deliver to the secular courts a lord of Texcoco, known as Don Carlos Ometochtzin Chichimecatecuhtli, accused of having "reverted to idolatry" and of offering human sacrifices. Meanwhile, Fray Las Casas had gone to Spain and obtained from the Junta of Valladolid (1541–1542) the approbation of the celebrated "''Nuevas Leyes''". These laws conclusively and decisively prohibited the enslavement of the Indians, withdrew all grants from all corporations, ecclesiastical and

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

, and from those who were or had been

Viceroys A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

s, or employees of any description whatsoever; previous grants were reduced; Indians were taken from owners who had ill-treated them; all governors were deprived of the faculty to " encomendar" (a system of patents which permitted forced labor of the Indians); owners were compelled to live upon their own possessions; and in all newly discovered territory no grants could be made. Francisco Tello de Sandoval, commissioned to carry out the

New Laws The New Laws (Spanish: ''Leyes Nuevas''), also known as the New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians (Spanish: ''Leyes y ordenanzas nuevamente hechas por su Majestad para la gobernación de las Indias y buen t ...

, reached Mexico on March 8, 1544. The gravest difficulties confronted him. Those affected by the new laws were almost all the Spaniards of the colony, many of them far advanced in years, who had passed through all the trying period of the conquest, and whom the new laws would leave in abject poverty. These had recourse to Bishop Zumárraga to intercede with Tello to obtain a suspension of the order until they could be heard before the Spanish Court. The representatives of the colonists found the emperor,

, at

Mechlin Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

, on October 20, 1545. In virtue of the situation as explained to him, he modified the general tenor of the laws so that while still correcting the principal abuses, they would not bear too heavily on the Spaniards of the colony. Through the prudent intervention of Bishop Zumárraga and the compliance of Tello, Mexico was undoubtedly saved from a bloody civil struggle such as engulfed Peru on account of the enforcement of these same laws and from which the Indians emerged worse off than they were before.

Later years

The last years of Bishop Zumárraga's life were devoted to carrying out the numerous works he had undertaken for the welfare of his diocese. Among the chief of these should be mentioned: the school for Indian girls; the famous ''Colegio de Santa Cruz'' in Tlatelolco; the introduction of the first printing press into the New World; the foundation of various hospitals, especially those of Mexico and Vera Cruz; the impetus he gave to industries, agriculture, and manufactures, for which he brought trained mechanics and labourers from Spain; and the printing of many books. At the instance of the emperor,

separated (February 11, 1546) the See of Mexico from the metropolitan See of Seville, and erected the

Archdiocese of Mexico The Archdiocese of Mexico ( la, Archidioecesis Mexicanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that is situated in Mexico City, Mexico. It was erected as a diocese on 2 September 1530 and elevated to ...

, appointing Bishop Zumárraga first archbishop and designating the dioceses of

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 ...

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, and Ciudad Real de Chiapas, as suffragans. The Bull of appointment was sent on July 8, 1548, but Bishop Zumárraga had died one month previously. Bishop Zumarraga is also credited with chocolate becoming a popular drink among Europeans. A community of nuns in Oaxaca, after encountering a recipe of cocoa mixed with sugar, prepared it for the bishop. Prior to this, ground cocoa had not found a role in European diets.Mercier, Jacques. ''The Temptation of Chocolate'', p. 57, Lannoo Uitgeverij, 2008

Biography

Origins and arrival in New Spain

"Protector of the Indians"

Later years

References

Further reading