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124-648: Sebastián Vizcaíno (c. 1548–1624) was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain , the Baja California peninsula , the California coast and Asia . Vizcaíno was born in 1548, in Extremadura , Crown of Castile ( Spain ). He saw military service in the Spanish invasion of Portugal during 1580–1583. Coming to New Spain in 1583, he sailed as
248-457: A corregidor (also known as an alcalde mayor ) or a cabildo (town council), both of which had judicial and administrative powers. In the late 18th century the Bourbon dynasty began phasing out the corregidores and introduced intendants , whose broad fiscal powers cut into the authority of the viceroys, governors and cabildos . Despite their late creation, these intendancies so affected
372-565: A baptismal name upon converting to Catholicism . In the years 1613 through 1620, Hasekura headed the Keichō Embassy ( 慶長使節 ), a diplomatic mission to Pope Paul V . He visited New Spain and various other ports-of-call in Europe on the way. On the return trip, Hasekura and his companions re-traced their route across New Spain in 1619, sailing from Acapulco for Manila , and then sailing north to Japan in 1620. Although Hasekura's embassy
496-543: A 1597 letter, writing "The black elephant in particular I found most unusual." On 25 July, 1609, the Manila galleons San Francisco , Santa Ana , and the flagship ( almiranta ) San Antonio set sail from Cavite , then a major Philippine shipyard during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, towards Acapulco. The ships ran into storms on 10 August around the Islas de los Ladrones (present-day Northern Mariana Islands ); only
620-631: A Japanese delegation led by Tanaka Shōsuke from Mexico back to Japan. In an ambassadorial capacity, Vizcaíno met with the shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada and his father, the retired first shōgun, Tokugawa Ieyasu , founder of the Tokugawa dynasty. However, diplomacy soured due to a rumor that the Spanish intended to use the Japanese Christian minority to overthrow the shogunate and take control of Japan. After taking his leave in 1612, he surveyed
744-587: A Japanese embassy accompanied by Luis Sotelo . The galleon, named San Juan Bautista , took 45 days to build, with the participation of technical experts from the Bakufu (the Minister of the Navy Mukai Shōgen , an acquaintance of William Adams with whom he built several ships, dispatched his chief carpenter), 800 shipwrights , 700 smiths , and 3,000 carpenters . The daimyō of Sendai , Date Masamune ,
868-472: A Japanese embassy would be sent to the Spanish court. A Franciscan friar named Luis Sotelo , who was proselytizing in the area of what is now modern Tokyo, convinced Tokugawa Ieyasu and his son Tokugawa Hidetada to send him as a representative to New Spain (Mexico) on one of their ships, in order to advance the trade treaty. Rodrigo de Vivero offered to sail on the Japanese ship in order to guarantee
992-508: A Spanish city, sixteenth-century Puebla had Indians resident in the central core. Hasekura Tsunenaga Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga ( 支倉 六右衛門 常長 , 1571–1622) was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune , the daimyō of Sendai . He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu . Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura , Felipe Francisco Faxicura , and Philippus Franciscus Faxecura Rocuyemon in period European sources, as he took
1116-625: A diplomatic mission to Pope Paul V and Europe from 1613 through 1620. It was preceded by the Tenshō embassy ( 天正使節 ) of 1582. Crossing the Pacific aboard the San Juan Bautista —a ship built for the purpose by Masamune —Hasekura traveled to New Spain (now Mexico ), arriving in Acapulco and departing from Veracruz . He visited various other ports-of-call in Europe on the way. On
1240-726: A few sailors found some locals from Yubanda at a nearby rice paddy field, who took the survivors to their hamlet. The captain of the San Francisco , Rodrigo de Vivero , was recognized as a former governor of the Philippines, and was granted an audience with the retired shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu . de Vivero drafted a treaty, signed on 29 November 1609, whereby the Spaniards could establish a factory in eastern Japan, mining specialists would be imported from New Spain, Spanish ships would be allowed to visit Japan in case of necessity, and
1364-507: A localized network. Even where infrastructure was improved, transit on the Veracruz-Puebla main road had other obstacles, with wolves attacking mule trains, killing animals, and rendering some sacks of foodstuffs unsellable because they were smeared with blood. The north-south Acapulco route remained a mule track through mountainous terrain. Veracruz was the first Spanish settlement founded in what became New Spain, and it endured as
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#17327877655341488-731: A merchant on a Manila galleon to the Spanish East Indies in 1586–1589. In 1587, he was on board the Santa Ana as one of the merchants when Thomas Cavendish captured it, robbing him and others of their personal cargoes of gold. In 1593, the disputed concession for pearl fishing on the western shores of the Gulf of California was transferred to Vizcaíno. He succeeded in sailing with three ships to La Paz, Baja California Sur , in 1596. He gave this site (known to Hernándo Cortés as Santa Cruz) its modern name and attempted to establish
1612-471: A region of nomadic and semi-nomadic indigenous populations, which do not easily support human settlement. In the 1540s, the discovery of silver in Zacatecas attracted Spanish mining entrepreneurs and workers, to exploit the mines, as well as crown officials to ensure the crown received its share of revenue. Silver mining became integral not only to the development of New Spain, but also to the enrichment of
1736-523: A settlement. However, problems of resupply, declining morale, and a fire soon forced its abandonment. In 1601, the Spanish viceroy in Mexico City , Gaspar de Zúñiga, 5th Count of Monterrey , appointed Vizcaíno general-in-charge of a second expedition: to locate safe harbors in Alta California for Spanish galleons to use on their return voyage to Acapulco from Manila . He was also given
1860-543: A ship at Veracruz bound for Europe. In October 1615, Vizcaíno commanded 200 men at the port of Salagua against an attack by 200 Dutch pirates led by Joris van Spilbergen . In the afternoon, both sides ran out of ammunition. Vizcaíno's men retreated after the Dutch returned with more ammunition. Sebastián Vizcaíno died in 1624 in Mexico City, New Spain. In 1888, botanist Edward Lee Greene published Viscainoa , which
1984-446: A steady stream of tax revenues by supplying the huge Mexican demand, so the crown limited zones of tobacco cultivation. It also established a small number of factories of finished products, and licensed distribution outlets ( estanquillos ). The crown also set up warehouses to store up to a year's worth of supplies, including paper for cigarettes, for the factories. With the establishment of the monopoly, crown revenues increased and there
2108-686: A surname. The embassy of Hasekura Tsunenaga was the subject of numerous publications throughout Europe. The Italian writer Scipione Amati, who accompanied the embassy in 1615 and 1616, published in 1615 in Rome a book titled History of the Kingdom of Woxu . This book was also translated into German in 1617. In 1616, the French publisher Abraham Savgrain published an account of Hasekura's visit to Rome: " Récit de l'entrée solemnelle et remarquable faite à Rome, par Dom Philippe Francois Faxicura " ("Account of
2232-662: Is a genus of flowering plants from Mexico belonging to the family Zygophyllaceae and was named in Sebastián Vizcaíno's honour. New Spain New Spain , officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( Spanish : Virreinato de Nueva España [birejˈnato ðe ˈnweβa esˈpaɲa] ; Nahuatl : Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl ), originally the Kingdom of New Spain , was an integral territorial entity of
2356-492: Is evidence that despite high prices and expanding rates of poverty, tobacco consumption rose while at the same time, general consumption fell. In 1787 during the Bourbon Reforms Veracruz became an intendancy , a new administrative unit. Founded in 1531 as a Spanish settlement, Puebla de los Angeles quickly rose to the status of Mexico's second-most important city. Its location on the main route between
2480-531: The Amsterdam stock market , the first in history and whose origin is owed precisely to the need for funds to finance pirate expeditions, as later by the London market. The above is what some authors call the "historical process of the transfer of wealth from the south to the north." In the colonial period, basic patterns of regional development emerged and strengthened. European settlement and institutional life
2604-576: The Archbishop of Toledo , Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas , though he was too ill to actually carry this out, and the Duke of Lerma – the main administrator of Phillip III's rule and the de facto ruler of Spain – was designated as Hasekura's godfather . The embassy traveled across Spain during the summer of 1615 at royal expense. They eventually received permission to travel for Rome in August, and left at
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#17327877655342728-873: The Cayman Islands , Trinidad , and the Bay Islands . New Spain also claimed jurisdiction over the overseas territories of the Spanish East Indies in Asia and Oceania: the Philippine Islands, the Mariana Islands , the Caroline Islands , parts of Taiwan , and parts of the Moluccas . Although asserting sovereignty over this vast realm, it did not effectively control large swaths. Other European powers, including England, France, and
2852-669: The Manila galleon . In the Philippines Manila near the South China Sea was the main port. The ports were fundamental for overseas trade, stretching a trade route from Asia, through the Manila galleon to the Spanish mainland. These were ships that made voyages from the Philippines to Mexico, whose goods were then transported overland from Acapulco to Veracruz and later reshipped from Veracruz to Cádiz in Spain. So then,
2976-578: The Metropolis (mother country) due to Spanish Roman Catholic Monarchy's frequent preoccupation with European wars (enormous amounts of this wealth were spent hiring mercenaries to fight the Protestant Reformation ), as well as the incessant decrease in overseas transportation caused by assaults from companies of British buccaneers , Dutch corsairs and pirates of various origin. These companies were initially financed by, at first, by
3100-531: The Mexica (Aztec) Empire . Central Mexico became the base of expeditions of exploration and conquest, expanding the territory claimed by the Spanish Empire. With the political and economic importance of the conquest, the crown asserted direct control over the densely populated realm. The crown established New Spain as a viceroyalty in 1535, appointing as viceroy Antonio de Mendoza , an aristocrat loyal to
3224-569: The San Antonio managed to successfully reach Acapulco, while the Santa Ana was almost entirely destroyed and had to land at Bungo Province (present-day Ōita Prefecture ). The San Francisco was severely damaged, losing its mast and leaking water, and later struck a reef nearby the hamlet Yubanda (likely present-day Iwawada, in Onjuku , Chiba ). Fifty-six sailors drowned; the rest survived by clinging to floating wreckage. Upon getting to land,
3348-805: The Santa Barbara Channel Islands , Point Conception , the Santa Lucia Mountains , Point Lobos , Carmel River and Monterey Bay (obliterating some of the names given these same features by Cabrillo in 1542). He was the first person in recorded history to note certain ecological features of the California coast such as the Monterey cypress forest at Point Lobos. The commander of the Tres Reyes , Martín de Aguilar , became separated from Vizcaíno and continued up
3472-602: The Spanish Empire , established by Habsburg Spain . It was one of several domains established during the Spanish conquest of the Americas , and had its capital in Mexico City. Its jurisdiction comprised a large area of the southern and western portions of North America, mainly what became Mexico and the Southwestern United States, but also California , Florida and Louisiana ; Central America,
3596-732: The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521) to the collapse of Spanish rule in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821). Beginning with the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521 by Hernán Cortés , Spanish rule was established, leading to the creation of governing bodies like the Council of the Indies and the Audiencia to maintain control. It involved the forced conversion of indigenous populations to Catholicism and
3720-528: The entrepôt of Manila in the Spanish possession of the Philippines. There, the silver was used to purchase spices and trade goods gathered from throughout Asia, including (until 1638) goods from Japan. The return route of the Manila galleons, first charted by the Spanish navigator Andrés de Urdaneta , took the ships northeast into the Kuroshio Current (also known as the Japan Current) off
3844-488: The evangelizing of the country in 1549, as well as by the opposition of the Portuguese and Dutch who did not wish to see Spain participate in Japanese trade. However, some Japanese, such as Christopher and Cosmas , are known to have crossed the Pacific onboard Spanish galleons as early as 1587. It is known that gifts were exchanged between the governor of the Philippines and Toyotomi Hideyoshi , who thanks him in
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3968-554: The minister of the Navy Mukai Shōgen , and named San Sebastian – left for Mexico on 9 September 1612 with Luis Sotelo onboard as well as two representatives of Date Masamune, with the objective of advancing the trade agreement with New Spain. However, the ship foundered a few miles from Uraga , and the expedition had to be abandoned. The shōgun had a new galleon built in Japan to bring Vizcaíno back to New Spain , together with
4092-468: The port of Veracruz . Alexander von Humboldt called this area, Mesa de Anahuac , which can be defined as the adjacent valleys of Puebla, Mexico, and Toluca, enclosed by high mountains, along with their connections to the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz and the Pacific port of Acapulco , where over half the population of New Spain lived. These valleys were linked trunk lines, or main routes, facilitating
4216-612: The shōgun . Once in New Spain, Alonso Muños met with the Viceroy Luis de Velasco , who agreed to send an ambassador to Japan in the person of the famous explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno with the added mission of exploring the "Gold and silver islands" (" Isla de Plata ") that were thought to be east of the Japanese isles. Vizcaíno arrived in Japan in 1611 and had many meetings with the shōgun and feudal lords. These encounters were tainted by his poor respect for Japanese customs,
4340-662: The " First Japanese Embassy to Europe " in 1862. Hasekura Tsunenaga was born in year 2 of the Genki era (1571) in Ushū, Okitama-no-kōri, Nagai-sō, Tateishi-mura (now part of modern day Yonezawa in Yamagata Prefecture . He was the son of Yamaguchi Tsuneshige [ ja ] ( 山口常成 ), who had ancestral ties with Emperor Kanmu . He was a mid-level noble samurai in the Sendai Domain in northern Japan who had
4464-457: The 1530s sugar production was underway. New Spain's first viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza established an hacienda on lands taken from Orizaba. Indians resisted cultivating sugarcane themselves, preferring to tend their subsistence crops. As in the Caribbean, black slave labor became crucial to the development of sugar estates. During the period 1580–1640 when Spain and Portugal were ruled by
4588-471: The Captaincies General of the Philippines (established 1574) and Guatemala (established in 1609), which were joint military and political commands with a certain level of autonomy. The viceroy was captain-general of those provinces that remained directly under his command. At the local level there were over two hundred districts, in both indigenous and Spanish areas, which were headed by either
4712-469: The Caribbean, and northern parts of South America; several Pacific archipelagos, including the Philippines and Guam . Additional Asian colonies included " Spanish Formosa ," on the island of Taiwan . After the 1521 Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , conqueror Hernán Cortés named the territory New Spain, and established the new capital, Mexico City, on the site of Tenochtitlan , the capital of
4836-578: The Convent of San Francisco. Altogether 63 of them received confirmation on 25 April. Hasekura waited for his travel to Europe to be baptized there: Chimalpahin explains that Hasekura left some of his compatriots behind before leaving for Europe: The fleet left for Europe on the San Jose on 10 June. Hasekura had to leave the largest parts of the Japanese group behind, who were to wait in Acapulco for
4960-528: The Holy Office of the Inquisition , the merchants' guild ( consulado ), and home of the most elite families in the Kingdom of New Spain. Mexico City was the single most populous city, not just in New Spain, but for many years the entire Western Hemisphere, with a high concentration of mixed-race castas . Significant regional development grew along the main transportation route from the capital east to
5084-823: The Japanese and the Spaniards, especially Vizcaíno, apparently due to some disputes on the handling of presents from the Japanese ruler. A contemporary journal, written by the Nahuatl annalist Chimalpahin , relates Vizcaíno was seriously wounded in the fight: Following these fights, orders were promulgated on 4 and 5 March to bring peace back. The orders explained that "the Japanese should not be submitted to attacks in this Land, but they should remit their weapons until their departure, except for Hasekura Tsunenaga and eight of his retinue ... The Japanese will be free to go where they want, and should be treated properly. They should not be abused in words or actions. They will be free to sell their goods. These orders have been promulgated to
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5208-559: The King a letter from Date Masamune, as well as offer for a treaty . The King responded that he would do what he could to accommodate these requests. Hasekura was baptized on 17 February by the royal chaplain Diego de Guzmán in the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales , and renamed Felipe Francisco Hasekura in honor of the king and Sotelo's order. The baptism ceremony was to have been conducted by
5332-624: The King of Spain. The Roman Senate also gave to Hasekura the honorary title of Roman Noble and Roman Citizen, in a document he brought back to Japan, and which is preserved today in Sendai. Sotelo also described the visit to the Pope, book De ecclesiae Iaponicae statu relatio (published posthumously in 1634): Besides the official description of Hasekura's visit to Rome, some contemporary communications tend to indicate that political matters were also discussed, and that an alliance with Date Masamune
5456-461: The Netherlands established colonies in territories Spain claimed. Much of what was called in the United States the "Spanish borderlands", is territory that attracted few Spanish settlers, with less dense indigenous populations and apparently lacking in mineral wealth. Huge deposits of gold in California were discovered immediately after it was incorporated into the U.S. following the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). The northern region of New Spain in
5580-416: The Pope two gilded letters, one in Japanese and one in Latin , containing a request for a trade treaty between Japan and Mexico and the dispatch of Christian missionaries to Japan. These letters are still visible in the Vatican archives. The Latin letter, probably written by Luis Sotelo for Date Masamune, reads, in part: The Pope agreed to the dispatch of missionaries, but left the decision for trade to
5704-438: The Pope, brought by Hasekura, he wrote: "I'll offer my land for a base of your missionary work. Send us as many padres as possible." Sotelo, in his own account of the travels, emphasizes the religious dimension of the mission, claiming that the main objective was to spread the Christian faith in northern Japan: The embassy was probably, at that time, part of a plan to diversify and increase trade with foreign countries, before
5828-432: The Pope, from Date Masamune, Lord of the Sendai Domain, Mutsu Province, Japan". Many picturesque details of their movements were recorded: The visit of Hasekura Tsunenaga to Saint-Tropez in 1615 is the first recorded instance of France–Japan relations . The Japanese Embassy arrived at Rome on 20 September 1615 and was received by Cardinal Burgecio; the delegation met Pope Paul V on 3 November. Hasekura remitted to
5952-399: The Provincias Internas (1776) (analogous to a dependent captaincy general). Two governorates , third-level administrative divisions, were established, the Governorate of Spanish Florida (Spanish: La Florida ) and the Governorate of Spanish Louisiana (Spanish: Luisiana ). The high courts, or audiencias , were established in major areas of Spanish settlement. In New Spain the high court
6076-403: The Spanish crown claimed on the mainland of the Americas much of North America south of Canada, that is: all of modern Mexico and Central America except Panama ; most of the United States west of the Mississippi River, plus the Floridas . The Spanish West Indies , settled prior to the conquest of the Aztec Empire, also came under New Spain's jurisdiction: Cuba, Hispaniola , Puerto Rico, Jamaica,
6200-433: The Spanish crown, which marked a transformation in the global economy . New Spain's port of Acapulco became the New World terminus of the transpacific trade with the Philippines via the Manila galleon . New Spain became a vital link between Spain's New World empire and its East Indies empire . From the beginning of the 19th century, the kingdom fell into crisis, aggravated by the 1808 Napoleonic invasion of Iberia and
6324-424: The Spanish king requested that the Viceroy ask for the proceeds to be spent on Mexican goods, except for an amount of 12,000 pesos and 8,000 pesos in silver, which Hasekura and Yokozawa respectively were allowed to bring back with them. In April 1618, the San Juan Bautista arrived in the Philippines from Mexico, with Hasekura and Luis Sotelo on board. The ship was acquired by the Spanish government there, with
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#17327877655346448-463: The Spanish, the Indians, the Mulattos , the Mestizos , and the Blacks, and those who don't respect them will be punished". The embassy remained two months in Acapulco and entered Mexico City on 24 March, where it was received with great ceremony. The ultimate mission for the embassy was to go on to Europe. The embassy spent some time in Mexico, and then went to Veracruz to board the fleet of Don Antonio Oquendo. Chimalpahin gives some account of
6572-523: The United States in the nineteenth century. Regional characteristics of colonial Mexico have been the focus of considerable study. For those based in the vice-regal capital of Mexico City, everywhere else were the "provinces." Even in the modern era, "Mexico" for many refers solely to Mexico City, with the pejorative view that anywhere outside the capital is a hopeless backwater. "Fuera de México, todo es Cuauhtitlán" ["outside of Mexico City, it's all Podunk"], that is, poor, marginal, and backward, in short,
6696-442: The Viceroyalty); Panama (1st one, 1538–1543); Guatemala (1543); Guadalajara (1548); Manila (1583). Audiencia districts further incorporated the older, smaller divisions known as governorates ( gobernaciones , roughly equivalent to provinces ), which had been originally established by conquistador -governors known as adelantados . Provinces which were under military threat were grouped into captaincies general , such as
6820-449: The ample tithe income indicates, plus manufacturing woolen cloth for the domestic market. Merchants, manufacturers, and artisans were important to the city's economic fortunes, but its early prosperity was followed by stagnation and decline in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The foundation of the town of Puebla was a pragmatic social experiment to settle Spanish immigrants without encomiendas to pursue farming and industry. Puebla
6944-462: The beginning of the same month. After traveling across Spain, the embassy sailed on the Mediterranean aboard three Spanish frigates towards Italy. Due to bad weather, they had to stay for a few days in the French harbour of Saint-Tropez , where they were received by the local nobility, and made quite a sensation on the populace. The visit of the Japanese Embassy is recorded in the city's chronicles as led by "Philip Francis Faxicura, Ambassador to
7068-445: The blending of Spanish and indigenous cultures. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Spanish settlers founded major cities such as Mexico City, Puebla , and Guadalajara , turning New Spain into a vital part of the Spanish Empire. The discovery of silver in Zacatecas and Guanajuato significantly boosted the economy, leading to conflicts like the Chichimeca War . Missions and presidios were established in northern frontiers, aiding in
7192-404: The capital and the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz , size and complexity of indigenous populations, and the presence or absence of mineral resources. Central and southern Mexico had dense indigenous populations, each with complex social, political, and economic organization, but no large-scale deposits of silver to draw Spanish settlers. By contrast, the northern area of Mexico was arid and mountainous,
7316-399: The coast of Japan, and then across the Pacific to the west coast of Mexico, landing eventually in Acapulco . Spanish ships were occasionally shipwrecked on the coasts of Japan due to bad weather, initiating contacts with the country. The Spanish wished to expand the Christian faith in Japan. Efforts to expand influence in Japan were met by stiff resistance from the Jesuits , who had started
7440-441: The coast to present-day Oregon as far as Cape Blanco and possibly to Coos Bay . After Vizcaíno passed Cape Mendocino , he turned back, with some of his men suffering from scurvy and starvation. Half of the crew members, some 45 men, died during the expedition. Much of what we know about Vizcaíno's Pacific Coast voyage is from the diary of Antonio de la Ascensión, a Carmelite friar, chronicler and cosmographer who traveled with
7564-465: The colonial era was considered marginal to Spanish interests compared to the most densely populated and lucrative areas of central Mexico. To shore up its claims in North America in the eighteenth century as other powers encroached on its claims, the crown sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest , which explored and claimed the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. Religious missions and fortified presidios were established to shore up Spanish control on
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#17327877655347688-415: The crown to oversee the Church in all aspects save doctrine. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was created by royal decree on October 12, 1535, in the Kingdom of New Spain with a viceroy appointed as the king's "deputy" or substitute. This was the first New World viceroyalty and one of only two that the Spanish Rmpire administered in the continent until the 18th-century Bourbon Reforms . At its greatest extent,
7812-414: The discovery of silver in the north, the Spanish sought to conquer or pacify those peoples in order to exploit the mines and develop enterprises to supply them. Nonetheless, much of northern New Spain had sparse indigenous population and attracted few Europeans. The Spanish crown and later the Republic of Mexico did not effectively exert sovereignty over the region, leaving it vulnerable to the expansionism of
7936-467: The east coast of Japan and searched for two mythical islands called Rico de Oro and Rico de Plata. Failing to find them, he returned to Japan. In 1613, Vizcaíno accompanied the Japanese embassy led by Hasekura Tsunenaga to Mexico. In Acapulco, Vizcaíno was seriously injured in a fight with the Japanese, as recorded by 17th-century Aztec historian Chimalpahin in his journal, "Annals of His Time". The Japanese entourage continued to Mexico City, and embarked
8060-470: The establishment of economic societies, were part of the efforts to enhance efficiency and revenue for the crown. The decline of New Spain culminated in the early 19th century with the Mexican War of Independence. Following Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla 's 1810 Cry of Dolores , the insurgent army waged an eleven-year war against Spanish rule. The eventual alliance between royalist military officer Agustín de Iturbide and insurgent leader Vicente Guerrero led to
8184-455: The even worse treatment given to the black slaves. In colonial Mexico, Encomenderos de Negros were specialized middlemen during the first half of the seventeenth century. While encomendero (alternatively, encomenderos de indios) generally refers to men granted the labor and tribute of a particular indigenous group in the immediate post-conquest era, encomenderos de negros were Portuguese slave dealers who were permitted to operate in Mexico for
8308-407: The expansion and control of territories that later became part of the southwestern United States. The 18th century saw the implementation of the Bourbon Reforms , which aimed to modernize and strengthen the colonial administration and economy. These reforms included the creation of intendancies , increased military presence, and the centralization of royal authority. The expulsion of the Jesuits and
8432-412: The expedition. One result of Vizcaíno's voyage was a flurry of enthusiasm for establishing a Spanish settlement at Monterey , but this was ultimately deferred for another 167 years after the Conde de Monterrey left to become Viceroy of Peru and his successor was less favorable. A colonizing expedition was authorized in 1606 for 1607, but was delayed and then canceled in 1608. In 1611, Vizcaíno carried
8556-414: The forced abdication of the Bourbon monarch, Charles IV . This resulted in a political crisis in New Spain and much of the Spanish Empire in 1808, which ended with the government of Viceroy José de Iturrigaray . Conspiracies of American-born Spaniards sought to take power, leading to the Mexican War of Independence , 1810–1821. At its conclusion in 1821, the viceroyalty was dissolved and the Mexican Empire
8680-417: The formation of regional identity that they became the basis for the nations of Central America and the first Mexican states after independence . As part of the sweeping eighteenth-century administrative and economic changes known as the Bourbon Reforms , the Spanish crown created new administrative units called intendancies , to strengthen central control over the viceroyalty. Some measures aimed to break
8804-579: The ground. On the mainland, the administrative units included Las Californias , that is, the Baja California peninsula, still part of Mexico and divided into Baja California and Baja California Sur ; Alta California (modern Arizona , California , Nevada , Utah , western Colorado , and southern Wyoming ); (from the 1760s) Louisiana (including the western Mississippi River basin and the Missouri River basin); Nueva Extremadura (the modern states of Coahuila and Texas ); and Santa Fe de Nuevo México (parts of Texas and New Mexico ). The Viceroyalty
8928-457: The lack of state involvement in the development of physical infrastructure was to have lasting effects, constraining development until the late nineteenth century. Despite the road improvements, transit was still difficult, particularly for heavy military equipment. Although the crown had ambitious plans for both the Toluca and Veracruz portions of the king's highway, improvements were limited to
9052-531: The mandate to map in detail the California coastline that Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo had first reconnoitered 60 years earlier. He departed Acapulco with three ships on May 5, 1602. His flagship was the San Diego and the other two ships were the San Tomás and the Tres Reyes . On November 10, 1602, Vizcaíno entered and named San Diego Bay . Sailing up the coast, Vizcaíno named many prominent features such as
9176-412: The mines in the north of Mexico had a workforce of black slave labor and indigenous wage labor, not draft labor. Indigenous who were drawn to the mining areas were from different regions of the center of Mexico, with a few from the north itself. With such diversity they did not have a common ethnic identity or language and rapidly assimilated to Hispanic culture. Although mining was difficult and dangerous,
9300-554: The monarch rather than the conqueror Cortés. New Spain was the first of the viceroyalties that Spain created, the second being Peru in 1542, following the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire . Both New Spain and Peru had dense indigenous populations at conquest as a source of labor and material wealth in the form of vast silver deposits, discovered and exploited beginning in the mid-1500s. New Spain developed strong regional divisions based on local climate, topography, distance from
9424-503: The mounting resistance of the Japanese towards Catholic proselytism, and the intrigues of the Dutch against Spanish ambitions. Vizcaíno finally left to search for the "Silver island", during the search he encountered bad weather which forced him to return to Japan as his ship suffered heavy damage. Without waiting for Vizcaíno, another ship – built in Izu by the Tokugawa shogunate under
9548-418: The movement of vital goods and people to get to key areas. Even in the relatively richly endowed region of Mexico, the difficulty of transit of people and goods in the absence of rivers and level terrain remained a major challenge to the economy of New Spain. This challenge persisted during the post-independence years until the late nineteenth-century construction of railroads. In the colonial era and up until
9672-466: The multiethnic Indian populations in the Veracruz area and for that reason Spaniards imported black slaves as either an alternative to indigenous labor or its complete replacement in the event of a repetition of the Caribbean die-off. A few Spaniards acquired prime agricultural lands left vacant by the indigenous demographic disaster. Portions of the province could support sugar cultivation and as early as
9796-429: The objective of building up defenses against incursions from Protestant powers. In Manila , the archbishop described the deal to the king of Spain in a missive dated 28 July 1619: During his stay in the Philippines, Hasekura purchased numerous goods for Date Masamune, and built a ship, as he explained in a letter he wrote to his son. He finally returned to Japan in August 1620, reaching the harbour of Nagasaki. By
9920-501: The only viable Gulf Coast port, the gateway for Spain to New Spain. The difficult topography around the port affected local development and New Spain as a whole. Going from the port to the central plateau entailed a daunting 2000 meter climb from the narrow tropical coastal plain in just over a hundred kilometers. The narrow, slippery road in the mountain mists was treacherous for mule trains, and in some cases mules were hoisted by ropes. Many tumbled with their cargo to their deaths. Given
10044-477: The opportunity to directly serve the daimyō , Date Masamune , and received an annual stipend of 1200 koku . He spent his young adulthood at Kamitate Castle ( 上楯城 ) that was constructed by his grandfather Hasekura Tsunemasa ( 常正 ). The place of origin of the family name Hasekura was Hasekura Village ( 支倉村 ), now Hasekura Ward ( 支倉 ) in Kawasaki City. Hasekura and Date Masamune were of roughly
10168-689: The participation of Christians in the Osaka rebellion triggered a radical reaction from the shogunate, with the interdiction of Christianity in the territories it directly controlled, in 1614. Upon completion, the ship left on 28 October 1613 for Acapulco with around 180 people on board, including 10 samurai of the shōgun (provided by the Minister of the Navy Mukai Shōgen Tadakatsu ), 12 samurai from Sendai, 120 Japanese merchants, sailors, and servants, and around 40 Spaniards and Portuguese, including Sebastián Vizcaíno who, in his own words, only had
10292-417: The periphery. The picture is far more complex, however; while the capital is enormously important as the center of institutional, economic, and social power, the provinces played a significant role in colonial Mexico. Regions (provinces) developed and thrived to the extent that they became sites of economic production and tied into networks of trade. "Spanish society in the Indies was import-export oriented at
10416-523: The persecution of the Christian faith in Japan. Two years later, after their trip around Europe, the mission left Seville for New Spain (Mexico) in June 1616. Certain registration documents indicate that some Japanese could have stayed in Spain, which is possible given that they made their last stop in villages near Seville (Espartinas and Coria del Río ). In modern Spain, there are families with "Japón" as
10540-477: The population there, a far greater proportion than any other area of New Spain, and greater than even nearby Jalapa. In 1765 the crown created a monopoly on tobacco, which directly affected agriculture and manufacturing in the Veracruz region. Tobacco was a valuable, high-demand product. Men, women, and even children smoked, something commented on by foreign travelers and depicted in eighteenth-century casta paintings. The crown calculated that tobacco could produce
10664-566: The port of Acapulco and European goods via the flota (convoy) from the Spanish port of Cádiz . Spaniards also settled in the temperate area of Orizaba , east of the Citlaltepetl volcano. Orizaba varied considerably in elevation from 800 metres (2,600 ft) to 5,700 metres (18,700 ft) (the summit of the Citlaltepetl volcano), but "most of the inhabited part is temperate." Some Spaniards lived in semitropical Córdoba , which
10788-452: The port of Veracruz and the capital had some short sections paved and bridges constructed. The construction was done despite protests from some indigenous settlements when the infrastructure improvements, which sometimes included rerouting the road through communal lands. The Spanish crown finally decided that road improvement was in the interests of the state for military purposes, as well as for fostering commerce, agriculture, and industry, but
10912-474: The power of local elites in order to improve the economy of the empire. Reforms included the improvement of public participation in communal affairs, distribution of undeveloped lands to the indigenous and Spaniards, ending the corrupt practices of local crown officials, encouraging trade and mining, and establishing a system of territorial division similar to the model created by the government of France, already adopted in Spain. The establishment of intendancies
11036-492: The quality of a passenger. The ship sighted Cape Mendocino on 26 December 1613, continuing along the California coast and landing at Zacatula in Colima on 22 January 1614. The delegation arrived at Acapulco on 25 January, after three months at sea. The Japanese were received with great ceremony, but had to wait in Acapulco until orders were received regarding how to organize the rest of their travels. Fights erupted between
11160-412: The railroads were built in key areas in post-independence in the late nineteenth century, mule trains were the main mode of transporting goods. Pack mules were used because unpaved roads, mountainous terrain, and seasonal flooding could not generally accommodate carts. In the late eighteenth century, the crown devoted some resources to study and remedy the poor roads. The Camino Real (royal road) between
11284-633: The regions or provinces that had developed earlier in the center, South, and North. Many of the intendancy boundaries became Mexican state boundaries after independence. The intendancies were created between 1764 and 1789, with the greatest number in the mainland in 1786: 1764 La Habana (later subdivided); 1766 Nueva Orleans; 1784 Puerto Rico; 1786 México, Veracruz, Puebla de Los Ángeles, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Durango, Oaxaca, Guatemala, San Salvador, Comayagua, León, Santiago de Cuba, Puerto Príncipe; 1789 Mérida. The history of mainland New Spain spans three hundred years from
11408-753: The return of the embassy. Some of them, as well as those from the previous travel of Tanaka Shōsuke , returned to Japan the same year, sailing back with the San Juan Bautista : The embassy stopped and changed ships in Havana in Cuba in July 1614. The embassy stayed in Havana for six days. A bronze statue was erected on 26 April 2001 at the head of Havana Bay. Hasekura headed the Keichō Embassy ( 慶長使節 ) ,
11532-539: The return trip, Hasekura and his companions re-traced their route across New Spain in 1619, sailing from Acapulco for Manila , and then sailing north to Japan in 1620. He is conventionally considered the first Japanese ambassador in the Americas and in Spain. The fleet arrived in Sanlúcar de Barrameda on 5 October 1614. The Japanese embassy met with King Philip III in Madrid on 30 January 1615. Hasekura remitted to
11656-586: The safety of their reception in New Spain, but insisted that another Franciscan, named Alonso Muños, be sent instead as the shōgun 's representative. In 1610, Rodrigo de Vivero, several Spanish sailors, the Franciscan father, and 22 Japanese representatives led by the trader Tanaka Shōsuke sailed to Mexico aboard the San Buenaventura , a ship built by the English navigator William Adams for
11780-527: The same age, and it is recorded that several important missions were given to Tsunenaga as his representative. It is also recorded that Hasekura served as a samurai during the Japanese invasion of Korea under the Taikō Toyotomi Hideyoshi , for six months in 1597. In 1612, Hasekura's father, Hasekura Tsunenari ( 支倉 常成 ), was indicted for corruption, and he was put to death in 1613. His fief
11904-463: The same monarch and Portuguese slave traders had access to Spanish markets, African slaves were imported in large numbers to New Spain and many of them remained in the region of Veracruz. But even when that connection was broken and prices rose, black slaves remained an important component of Córdoba's labor sector even after 1700. Rural estates in Córdoba depended on African slave labor, who were 20% of
12028-499: The same name. It became the seat of the richest diocese in New Spain in its first century, with the seat of the first diocese, formerly in Tlaxcala, moved there in 1543. Bishop Juan de Palafox asserted that the income from the diocese of Puebla was twice that of the archbishopic of Mexico, due to the tithe income derived from agriculture. In its first hundred years, Puebla was prosperous from wheat farming and other agriculture, as
12152-454: The seventeenth century, but silver mining in Mexico out-performed all other Spanish overseas territories in revenues for the royal coffers. The fast red dye cochineal was an important export in areas such as central Mexico and Oaxaca in terms of revenues to the crown and stimulation of the internal market of New Spain. Cacao and indigo were also important exports for the New Spain, but
12276-513: The ships that set sail from Veracruz were generally loaded with merchandise from the East Indies originating from the commercial centers of the Philippines , plus the precious metals and natural resources of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. During the 16th century, Spain held the equivalent of US$ 1.5 trillion (1990 terms) in gold and silver received from New Spain. However, these resources did not translate into development for
12400-474: The slave trade. In Peru, the other discovery that perpetuated the system of forced labor, the mit'a , was the enormously rich single silver mine discovered at Potosí, but in New Spain, labor recruitment differed significantly. With the exception of silver mines worked in the Aztec period at Taxco , southwest of Tenochtitlan, the Mexico's mining region was outside the area of dense indigenous settlement. Labor for
12524-519: The solemn and remarkable entrance in Rome of Dom Philippe Francois Faxicura"). Hasekura stayed in Mexico for 5 months on his way back to Japan. The San Juan Bautista had been waiting in Acapulco since 1616, after a second trip across the Pacific from Japan to Mexico. Captained by Yokozawa Shōgen , the ship was laden with fine pepper and lacquerware from Kyoto, which were sold on the Mexican market. To avoid too much silver leaving Mexico for Japan,
12648-425: The successful campaign for independence. In 1821, New Spain officially became the independent nation of Mexico, ending three centuries of Spanish colonial rule. During the era of the conquest, in order to pay off the debts incurred by the conquistadors and their companies, the new Spanish governors awarded their men grants of native tribute and labor, known as encomiendas . In New Spain these grants were modeled after
12772-412: The time Hasekura came back, Japan had changed quite drastically: an effort to eradicate Christianity had been under way since 1614, Tokugawa Ieyasu had died in 1616 and been replaced by his more xenophobic son Tokugawa Hidetada , and Japan was moving towards the " Sakoku " policy of isolation . Because news of these persecutions arrived in Europe during Hasekura's embassy, European rulers – especially
12896-446: The transport constraints, only high-value, low-bulk goods continued to be shipped in the transatlantic trade, which stimulated local production of foodstuffs, rough textiles, and other products for a mass market. Although New Spain produced considerable sugar and wheat, these were consumed exclusively in the colony even though there was demand elsewhere. Philadelphia, not New Spain, supplied Cuba with wheat. The Caribbean port of Veracruz
13020-539: The tribute and corvee labor that the Mexica rulers had demanded from native communities. This system came to signify the oppression and exploitation of natives, although its originators may not have set out with such intent. In short order the upper echelons of patrons and priests in the society lived off the work of the lower classes. Due to some horrifying instances of abuse against the indigenous peoples, Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas suggested bringing black slaves to replace them. Fray Bartolomé later repented when he saw
13144-653: The very base and in every aspect," and the development of many regional economies was typically centered on support of that export sector. Mexico City was the center of the Central region, and the hub of New Spain. The development of Mexico City itself was vitally important to the development of New Spain as a whole. It was the seat of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the Archdiocese of the Catholic Church,
13268-466: The viceregal capital and the port of Veracruz, in a fertile basin with a dense indigenous population, largely not held in encomienda , made Puebla a destination for later arriving Spaniards. If there had been significant mineral wealth in Puebla, it could have been even more prominent a center for New Spain, but its first century established its importance. In 1786 it became the capital of an intendancy of
13392-466: The visit of Hasekura. Hasekura was settled in a house next to the Convent of San Francisco , and met with the Viceroy. He explained to him that he was also planning to meet King Philip III to offer him peace and to obtain that the Japanese could come to Mexico for trade. On Wednesday 9 April 20 Japanese were baptized, and 22 more on 20 April by the archbishop in Mexico, don Juan Pérez de la Serna , at
13516-469: The wages were good, which is what drew the indigenous labor. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was the principal source of income for Spain in the eighteenth century, with the revival of mining under the Bourbon Reforms . Important mining centers like Zacatecas , Guanajuato , San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo had been established in the sixteenth century and suffered decline for a variety of reasons in
13640-533: Was a kingdom and not a colony, subject to the presiding monarch on the Iberian Peninsula . The monarch had sweeping power in the overseas territories, with not just sovereignty over the realm but also property rights. All power over the state came from the monarch. The crown had sweeping powers over the Catholic Church in its overseas territories, and via the Patronato real , a grant by the papacy to
13764-433: Was administered by a viceroy residing in Mexico City and appointed by the Spanish monarch , who had administrative oversight of all of these regions, although most matters were handled by the local governmental bodies, which ruled the various regions of the viceroyalty. First among these were the audiencias , which were primarily superior tribunals, but which also had administrative and legislative functions. Each of these
13888-672: Was built in the Mesoamerican heartland of the Aztec Empire in Central Mexico. The South (Oaxaca, Michoacán, Yucatán, and Central America) was a region of dense indigenous settlement of Mesoamerica, but without exploitable resources of interest to Europeans, the area attracted few Europeans, while the indigenous presence remained strong. The North was outside the area of complex indigenous populations, inhabited primarily by nomadic and hostile northern indigenous groups. With
14012-520: Was confiscated, and his son should normally have been executed as well. Date, however, gave him the opportunity to redeem his honour by placing him in charge of the Embassy to Europe, and soon gave him back his territories as well. The Spanish started trans-Pacific voyages between New Spain (present-day Mexico and the U.S. state of California ) and the Philippines in 1565. The famous Manila galleons carried silver from Mexican mines westward to
14136-478: Was cordially received in Spain and Rome , it happened at a time when Japan was moving toward the suppression of Christianity . European monarchs refused the trade agreements Hasekura had been seeking. He returned to Japan in 1620 and died of illness a year later, his embassy seemingly ending with few results in an increasingly isolationist Japan. Japan's next embassy to Europe would not occur until more than 200 years later, following two centuries of isolation , with
14260-602: Was established in 1527, prior to the establishment of the viceroyalty. The First Audiencia was headed by Hernán Cortés 's rival Nuño de Guzmán , who used the court to deprive Cortés of power and property. The crown dissolved the First Audiencia and established the Second Audiencia. The audiencias of New Spain were Santo Domingo (1511, effective 1526, predated the Viceroyalty); Mexico (1527, predated
14384-481: Was established. Former royalist military officer turned insurgent for independence Agustín de Iturbide would be crowned as emperor. The Kingdom of New Spain was established on 18 August 1521, following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , as a New World kingdom ruled by the Crown of Castile . The initial funds for exploration came from Queen Isabella . Although New Spain was a dependency of Castile, it (Mexico)
14508-459: Was founded as a villa in 1618, to serve as a Spanish base against runaway slave ( cimarrón ) predations on mule trains traveling the route from the port to the capital. Some cimarrón settlements sought autonomy, such as one led by Gaspar Yanga , with whom the crown concluded a treaty leading to the recognition of a largely black town, San Lorenzo de los Negros de Cerralvo, later called the municipality of Yanga. European diseases immediately affected
14632-457: Was privileged in a number of ways, starting with its status as a Spanish settlement not founded on existing indigenous city-state, but with a significant indigenous population. It was located in a fertile basin on a temperate plateau in the nexus of the key trade triangle of Veracruz–Mexico City–Antequera (Oaxaca). Although there were no encomiendas in Puebla itself, encomenderos with nearby labor grants settled in Puebla. And despite its foundation as
14756-559: Was put in charge of the project. He named Hasekura to lead the mission: The objective of the Japanese embassy was both to discuss trade agreements with the Spanish crown in Madrid , and to meet with the Pope in Rome. Date Masamune displayed a great will to welcome the Catholic religion in his domain: he invited Sotelo and authorized the propagation of Christianity in 1611. In his letter to
14880-539: Was responsible to the Viceroy of New Spain in administrative matters (though not in judicial ones), but they also answered directly to the Council of the Indies . The Captaincy Generals were the second-level administrative divisions and these were relatively autonomous from the viceroyalty. The viceroy was captain-general of those provinces that remained directly under his command. Santo Domingo (1535); Philippines (1565); Puerto Rico (1580); Cuba (1608); Guatemala (1609); Yucatán (1617); Commandancy General of
15004-443: Was small, with its hot, pestilential climate not a draw for permanent settlers: its population never topped 10,000. Many Spanish merchants preferred living in the pleasant highland town of Jalapa (1,500 m). For a brief period (1722–76) the town of Jalapa became even more important than Veracruz, after it was granted the right to hold the royal trade fair for New Spain, serving as the entre for goods from Asia via Manila galleon through
15128-469: Was strongly resisted by the viceroyalties and general captaincies similar to the opposition in the Iberian Peninsula when the reform was adopted. Royal audiencias and ecclesiastical hierarchs opposed the reform for its intervention in economic issues, for its centralist politics, and the forced ceding of many of their functions to the intendants. In New Spain, these units generally corresponded to
15252-628: Was suggested as a way to establish Christian influence in the whole of Japan: For the second time in Spain, in April 1616 Hasekura met again with the King, who declined to sign a trade agreement, on the ground that the Japanese Embassy did not appear to be an official embassy from the ruler of Japan Tokugawa Ieyasu , who, on the contrary, had promulgated an edict in January 1614 ordering the expulsion of all missionaries from Japan, and started
15376-460: Was used through rather the vice royalties rather than contact with European countries due to piracy, and smuggling. The indigo industry in particular also helped to temporarily unite communities throughout the Kingdom of Guatemala due to the smuggling. There were two major ports in New Spain, Veracruz the viceroyalty's principal port on the Atlantic, and Acapulco on the Pacific, terminus of
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