CÉSAR MANRIQUE FIGUEROA

From Antwerp to Veracruz

Looking for books from the Southern Netherlands in Mexican
colonial libraries1
❦

During the last three decades, the major boost that French historiography has given to
cultural history, especially concerning the history of the book and its complex universe,
has inspired several works in different countries that give us an idea of the numerous
relationships between readers and books during the Early Modern period, as well as the
commercialization, circulation, reception and diffusion of written culture. The Hispanic
American World is not an exception and remarkable works covering book circulation in
Spain,2 Peru,3 and Mexico4 have recently appeared. Due to this strong French influence
on the historiography, some authors think that ‘Roger Chartier and Robert Darnton have
defined the field of study on the history of the book’.5
Commerce between Europe and the New World offers several possibilities for study:
oceanic navigation, emigration, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, as well
as the trade itself. A great majority of scholars have focused on the economic and emigra-
tion angles, in particular with reference to the quantification of immigrants, ships, mer-
chandise and precious metals. In the meantime, there exists a lack of studies about the
cultural and artistic objects that were on board the galleons crossing the ocean, objects
that contributed to the genesis and development of Spanish American society.6
However, with the growth in cultural studies experienced during the last few years,
some of the most fruitful contributions and novelties come from the study of westerniza-
tion as displayed in colonial Latin America. Here, without a comparable precedent, Spain
improvised a system of maritime commerce and governed a transoceanic empire that
included the emerging societies of the continent,7 and brought about the diffusion of
European culture in the New World.
Authors such as: Leonard,8 Elliott,9 Brading,10 Alberro,11 and Gruzinski,12 ‘have stud-
ied and confronted spectacular and fascinating dimensions, such as the imposition of the
European imaginary in the Indies, where typography along with discovery were nor-
mally together in this acculturation process’.13
The cultural objects shipped to the Americas between the 16th and 18th centuries are
an example of the vast trade and cultural relations within the immense Habsburg Spanish
Empire where, as Gruzinski states, ‘the first globalized processes took place within the
geographic space of this global monarchy.’14 Following these theoretical considerations,
this article explains the regular presence of books from the Southern Netherlands in
Mexican repositories during the colonial period.15

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 The Southern Netherlands and the Hispanic countries

The presence and circulation of cultural goods of the Southern Netherlands within the
Hispanic world is a fascinating subject with several possibilities for researchers:16 graphic
material – printed or manuscript – such as books, woodcuts and engravings, as well as
paintings, tapestries, sculptures and textiles exported from Antwerp found their way to
the New World via Seville, the gateway to America, where many Flemish artists and print-
ers lived and worked.17 Today, many examples of books from the Southern Netherlands,
artistic objects or replicas can still be admired in Latin American libraries, museums,
churches and convents in situ from Mexico to Bolivia.18
From the 15th century onwards, commercial contacts between the Southern Nether-
lands and Spain took place on a regular basis and by the 16th century these had increased
in a spectacular way. The Iberian Peninsula was perceived as a profitable market, espe-
cially the large urban centers such as Lisbon and Seville. ‘Castile and other territories of
the Spanish monarchy had an extraordinary economic potential − both for consumers
and producers − for Flemish financial activities, due especially to economic hostility and
direct competition, Flanders could not count on France’.19 On the other hand, products
imported from Spain, and later from Spanish America, were mostly raw materials and
foodstuffs that stimulated local industries and retail commerce.20 If one looks into mer-
chant letters from 16th-century Antwerp, one observes that they were eagerly awaiting the
arrival of the American fleet at Seville, loaded with silver and other products, and com-
plaining on other occasions when they knew it was not very rich. ‘It will be very convenient
if the American fleet comes as rich as normally said, especially in this time of shortage of
money’.21
As Herman Van der Wee and Jan Materné state: ‘The extensive integration of the South-
ern Netherlands in the Spanish Habsburg empire strengthened Antwerp’s role as a distri-
bution centre: the city became a centre of business on the frontier between north and south
and at the same time the nucleus of a widely-branched European network of native and
foreign merchants, who were active in the colonial trade of the Iberian World’.22
The shifting character of exchange in Antwerp also affected its market in luxury goods,
which was booming in the 16th century, with the city’s international trade facilitating the
export of locally-made items to markets abroad.23 The export of luxury goods via Spain
was not only oriented towards the privileged social levels but operated on a much larger
scale from the Spanish monarchy to the middle classes, who displayed a strong taste for
Flemish art.24 All these Flemish works were sold in fairs such as those at Medina del
Campo, Barcelona, Valencia and, of course, Seville, and then sent from this great Atlantic
metropolis to America.25 Here, the Flemish iconographic production had long since been
used for purposes of Christianization and for the development of local artistic schools.
This commercial boom also included books and ‘around the middle of the 16th cen-
tury Antwerp evolved into one of the most important printing centres in Europe after
Venice and Paris. Antwerp printers worked increasingly for the international market’.26

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 Books from the Southern Netherlands and the Spanish market27

Spanish-language editions printed in Antwerp made this city one of the most important
centres in Europe for Hispanic books. As Bécares Botas states, the origin of Spanish edi-
tions in Antwerp is strongly associated with the Spanish community of merchants or
Consulado español established in the cosmopolitan port town.28 They doubtlessly con-
sumed and even inspired a large number of Spanish publications. On the one hand, this
was a community of potential readers, and on the other, they could promote the shipment
of these books to Spain, looking to create commercial ties.29
1534 is considered an important year in Spanish-language productions, with printer
Jean Steelsius’ Quinque linguarum, latinae, teuthonicae, gallicae, hispanicae, italicae, dilu-
cidissimus diccionarius and the Libro aúreo de Marco Aurelio emperador by Antonio Gue-
vara appearing in that year.30 According to Robben, the first dictionaries and colloquia
were edited in Antwerp in order to facilitate contact between merchants and intellectuals
in this cosmopolitan and polyglot city. Likewise, in the time of the Emperor Charles v, the
Spanish community frequented Antwerp’s libraries looking among other things for the
works of Erasmus.31 As the 16th century evolved, the Antwerp printing presses published
new works and reprints in Spanish: poetry, classic authors, chronicles, and devotional
books.
The numbers offered by Robben for the Spanish authors published between 1470 and
1600, in Spanish and Latin, prove that Antwerp was the second most productive typo-
graphic centre with 593 editions, just after Salamanca (709), but before Venice (522), Seville
(374), Alcala de Henares (354), Paris (353), Rome (340), Lyon (294), Barcelona (286) and
Madrid (250).32 It seems that Northern Europe got in contact with Spanish Literature
mainly through the printing presses of the Southern Netherlands.33
Spanish authors printed in Antwerp or Brussels found their way abroad, and one of the
special characteristics of the local production was its language variety. ‘While in France
books were published in French and Latin, Italy edited in Italian and Latin, and Germany
in German and Latin, the Antwerp presses published books in Latin, Dutch, French, Span-
ish, German and English, not only for the regional market but also for international
export’.34 That is why, among the lists of titles exported abroad, we find Greco-Roman
classics, Flemish and German theologians and scientists published in Latin. The exported
books dealt mostly with religion, but they also included science and secular literature.
Among the large first category one finds: Biblical texts and commentaries; Church Fathers;
theology; liturgical books, confessionals, sermons, hagiographies, spiritual treatises, and
devotional books. One also finds books about canon and civil law; arts and philosophy;
medicine; grammar and rhetoric; medieval and modern historians; secular literature and
Greco-Roman authors.

Looking for books from the Southern Netherlands in Mexico

To have a more precise idea about the presence of Flemish books in colonial Mexican
libraries, it is necessary to look into Mexican book repositories, especially those with
historical collections that typically come from the libraries of former convents, diocesan

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 collections, and educational institutions such as colleges and universities. Almost all the
colonial era libraries were incorporated into public collections of the Mexican state during
the difficult 19th century. 35 This occurred with the proclamation of the ‘reform laws’
1859−1860 (under president Juárez’ government),36 calling for the nationalization of church
property. The goal was to weaken the financial hold the church had on Mexico; all cem-
eteries were secularized, monastic orders banned and all church properties were national-
ized resulting in the complete separation of church and state. The government assumed
control over the libraries, leaving intellectuals in charge of collecting and caring for the
books. 37
This is why today, several cities in different states in Mexico have at least one public
library with historical collections, and it is not a coincidence that we find the richest librar-
ies in those geographical regions where the most important urban and cultural centers
had flourished and developed in the colonial era, with the development of academic,
religious and civil libraries: Mexico City and its surroundings38; the Puebla-Tlaxcala
region39; the cities established along the ‘Silver Route’, like Querétaro,40 the Bajío’s region,41
and the important mining centers of Zacatecas and Guanajuato;42 in the western side of
the large bishopric of Michoacán and its capital Valladolid;43 and also the region of the
Audiencia of New Galicia with its capital Guadalajara;44 in the Southern part of the coun-
try, Oaxaca city; the remote bishopric of Chiapas,45 and the Northern city of Monter-
rey.46
One must not forget the Sutro Collection, a part of the California State Library in San
Francisco, acquired between 1885 and 1887 by Adolph Sutro in Mexico City from one of
the most important book stores of the Mexican capital, the Abadiano family bookstore,
which happened to have a huge collection coming from the best bookstores in Mexico of
that time. This Mexican bookstore intrigued the rich Californian bibliophile, so he decid-
ed to buy the entire collection.47 This is why today the Sutro section has a very interesting
Mexican book repertory, which includes almost the whole content of the first academic
library, not only in Mexico but on the American continent, that of the 16th-century College
of Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco.48
The wealth of book collections from cities like Mexico, Puebla, Morelia or Guadala-
jara contrasts with the poor panorama offered by other regions, like Yucatan and the Baja
California Peninsulas, as well as vast areas in Northern Mexico.49 Difficult geographical
conditions, a late and slow Hispanic acculturation, constant uprisings and rebellions, and
the lack of permanent human settlements have resulted in the fact that almost no his-
toric libraries have been preserved. However, this apparent lack of libraries does not mean
that they did not exist. They did, even in hostile or unwelcoming regions. A look at the
bitter letters and accounts written by the Jesuit or Franciscan missionaries reveals the
deplorable situation of the libraries in their missions in Northern Mexican territories: ‘The
rest of the books and papers from the first missionaries was lost in 1640, this year was the
uprising in which [...] we lost the biggest and the best part of the library in this region,
which was a very large and excellent/rich one because of the studies and efforts of the
missionaries.’50
However, in the notable Mexican bibliographical heritage that still exists, in spite of the
ravages of centuries, moisture, dust, book-worms, earthquakes, floods and later the

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 destructive strife of the wars of independence and civil struggles among new democracies,
we still see the presence of books from the Southern Netherlands.

Following traces of books in the archival documents

References to books from the Southern Netherlands in Mexico can also be located in the
archives and for this research archival documents are fundamental sources.51 Colonial
institutions have left a rich documentary record, very useful for those interested in the
history of the book.
One must begin by referring to the Inquisition sources; as Liebmann writes, ‘it is impos-
sible to write of colonial Mexico without recourse to the Inquisition documents, for they
cover practically every facet of life in New Spain’.52 The entire viceroyalty was under the
jurisdiction of the Inquisition, or Tribunal del Santo Oficio, of Mexico City, established in
1571. Prior to that date, bishops had exercised inquisitorial powers. It is a paradox that
through this ‘scrupulously detailed documentation’ we have access to details of private
life.53 Inquisition documentation provides various sources of information concerning book
collecting and reading

The archival records contain lists of books confiscated from private libraries belonging to
people accused of heresy, Lutheranism, Judaism, heterodoxy or witchcraft. In Mexico,
possibly the most famous of these documents is the trial against the architect Melchor
Pérez de Soto, who was arrested in Mexico City on charges that he was a practitioner of
judicial astrology and that he owned prohibited books on the subject.54 On the same day
that Pérez de Soto was arrested, representatives of the Holy Office searched his house for
books and found 1592 volumes, and the inventory of the library made by the clerks of the
Inquisition reveals what was probably one of the finest private collections of books in
seventeenth-century Mexico.55 The case ended in a tragedy, however, because after sev-
eral weeks in solitary confinement, the Mexican architect began to show signs of excessive
melancholy and the Inquisitors ordered that another prisoner should be placed in his cell
with him. The next day, Pérez de Soto was found dead due to a fight between the two
prisoners.56
Other important sources are the ‘memorials’ presented by the booksellers of colonial
Mexico. These book lists were typically requested by the Inquisition in order to have con-
trol over the stock available in Mexican bookstores.57 According to Pedro Rueda, the
inquisitorial tribunal was in charge of the control over the printed works exported from
Seville from 1550 onwards.58 As it was mandatory to have a license from the Tribunal to
ship books to the Americas, the records of these licenses can be reviewed in the Archivo
General de Indias in Seville.59
At the same time, both the National Archive of Mexico and the Archive of Indies in
Seville have inventories of goods from people in the civil and clerical spheres, like public
functionaries or priests, and some of them had interesting libraries. One must also remem-
ber the so-called post mortem inventories, ‘bienes de difuntos'. The deceased person’s
belongings were sold in public almonedas,60 ‘auctions that took place − in public squares
all over the Spanish Empire − upon the death or legal bankruptcy of an individual’. There,

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 it was possible to acquire books, furniture, clothes and paintings.61 Such public auctions
put into circulation all these second hand items, allowing the members of lower classes
access to different kinds of goods.62
Thanks to the description of the items sold in the auctions, it is possible to identify
books from the Southern Netherlands. In 1655 for instance, Rodrigo Cavellón, Spanish
cleric from the Canary Islands, died in the city of Merida, Yucatan, where he had been a
canónigo in the cathedral.63 He possessed 15 books which were sold in the public auction,
3 of them from Antuerpia: a Roman Breviary (1648); two golden Diurnos or prayer books
that contain the canonical hours (1650), and finally another liturgical book, an Oficium
Hebdemade Sante (1652).
Another group of sources to be explored in the future is the Protocolos or Notarial
Archive in Seville, where one can find the contracts between printers from the Netherlands
and the Spanish booksellers.64

Number of books from the Southern Netherlands

in Mexican repositories

Is it possible to have an idea of the number of books from the Southern Netherlands in
colonial Mexican libraries? The answer is not easy since one must not forget that these
books were among many coming from Paris, Lyon, Basel, Venice, Rome, Cologne, Madrid,
Salamanca, Seville, Lisbon, and other European cities, such as Amsterdam and London,
not to mention local production.65 However, some studies have analyzed the proportions
in some libraries and inventories, so we can have a partial idea about percentages.
We already mentioned the first academic library in Mexico, that of the College of the
Santa Cruz Tlatelolco,66 which still exists in a collection in the United States. Different
scholars have studied it,67 and they noticed that out of 277 titles, 255 were in Latin, only 20
in Spanish. As a general trend, Latin dominates during the first half of the 16th century
and theology, philosophy and biblical texts comprise the majority.The origin of the books
is revealing: Paris counts 51 editions, Lyon 51, Venice 35, Salamanca 22, Antwerp 20, Basel
19, and the rest of the cities are Spanish.68 The supremacy of French editorial centers such
as Paris and Lyon is unmistakable. Venice, Antwerp and Basel were also important book
suppliers and we can see that from Spain only Salamanca appears as an important Span-
ish printing center. In this regard, it is well known that Spanish editorial production in
the 16th century was not sufficient to supply books and engravings, since America was an
immense territory that lacked books, and where a growing book market, eager to consume
graphic materials, quickly appeared.69 This high demand could only be satisfied by the
introduction of French, Flemish, Italian, and German books, and even books from
Basel.
But if we compare this early 16th-century library with documents from the next cen-
tury, we can observe interesting shifts concerning the origin of books. In 1939, with the
celebration of the 4th centenary of the establishment of the printing press in Mexico, the
National Archive of Mexico published 40 inventories of books found in the Inquisition
section, most of them from the period 1655−1661.70 These book lists were the result of two
inquisitorial inspections or visitas ordered in 1654 and 1660.71 Recently, some of these

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 inventories have been carefully analyzed,72 those that came from the most important
bookstores of the period received special attention.73 These inventories show the biblio-
graphic supply of Mexico City´s bookstores during the middle part of the 17th century and
allow us to know the different origins of the material on sale in the capital of the New
Spain viceroyalty.
Let us take a look at a representative sample: table 1 lists the origin and publication date
of the titles found in the Widow of Calderón's bookstore, the most important bookseller
and publisher in the city, whereas table 2 gives an overview of the printing centers that
supplied more than 20 titles:74

Tab. 1 Place and date of publication

Publication 16th century 1601–1620 1621–1660 Total
Place
France 95 34 38 15.19%
Netherlands 38 9 9 5.09%
Italy 44 17 11 6.55%
Germany 15 4 2 1.91%
Subtotal 192 64 60 28.75%
New World 10 67 67 8.82%
Iberian Peninsula 187 197 302 62.42%

Tab. 2 Cities with more than 20 titles

City 16th century 1601–1620 1621–1660 Total %
Madrid 34 46 142 20.20%
Lyon 75 24 32 11.91%
Salamanca 56 28 11 8.64%
Seville 20 32 42 8.55%
Alcala 27 17 9 4.82%
Antwerp 31 7 9 4.27%
Venice 28 10 2 3.63%
Barcelona 1 13 14 2.54%
Zaragoza 7 7 13 2.45%
Valencia 6 4 14 2.18%
Paris 18 4 1 2.09%

It is remarkable that the number of 16th-century books published outside the Iberian
Peninsula was slightly higher than the number of Spanish editions. While this confirms
the tendency shown in the Tlatelolco library, we can also see the important place of French,
Italian and Flemish books. However, by the 17th century, the predominance of the Iberian
Peninsula's books is clear: after 1621, for each non-Spanish book in stock, 6 Spanish books
were circulating, half of them from Madrid75.

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 In these samples, one can see that the more we advance in time, Lyon´s preponderance
changes drastically in favor of Madrid, whose printing industry was growing stronger.
Antwerp's case is a very interesting one because it had a significant place in the 16th cen-
tury, but it seems that during the 17th century its importance declined and the Southern
Netherlands were no longer a main book source for the Spanish Empire, due, among other
things, to the vigorous growth of the Spanish printing industry.
Nevertheless, if one looks at the Mexican catalogues, books printed between the first
half of the 17th century and the last decades of the 18th century are found everywhere.
These are not only liturgical books (nuevo rezado) from the Officina Plantiniana, but also
of different genres introduced into the market by dynasties such as the Verdussen family
or other editorial houses, located not only in Antwerp but also in Brussels.76 This confirms
that, even after the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, Antwerp’s trade with Spain and its colo-
nies survived as an important export market.77 Yet it remains true that Madrid and other
Spanish printing centers largely dominated the book supply to the American possessions,
especially as the 17th and 18th centuries advanced. But the presence of titles from the
Southern Netherlands in Mexican colonial libraries, and likewise in Peru and elsewhere,
remained discreet but constant until almost the end of the 18th century. Their occurrence
never lapsed in this period, it was simply exceeded in volume by the productions of the
Spanish press.
Some other cities were completely eliminated from the Mexican panorama. Basel for
instance, the great center of humanism and protestantism, whose books were at hand in
large numbers in the early colonial libraries of the first half of the 16th century, but it is
hardly present within these lists with only 5 titles, all of them from the 16th century and
expurgated by the Inquisition.78
By the 18th century, the presence of books from the Southern Netherlands remains
small but constant and within the novelties we find works printed in French, especially
scientific and philosophical books. Some private libraries of bishops, intellectuals and
public functionaries from the 18th century have recently been studied in Mexico.79 ‘The
importance of these particular libraries is that through them we can study the personal-
ity of the owner, the cultural context and the intellectual influences he received'.80 For
example, the library of one of the oidores or judges of the Royal Audiencia in Guadalajara,81
Joseph de la Garza Falcón, (d. 1763) had a library of 515 titles, 11 of them printed in the
Southern Netherlands.82 The same pattern appears in the library of the Bishop of Oaxaca,
Antonio Bergosa y Jordán.83 The inventory of his library of 569 titles was made in his home
in Mexico City at the beginning of the 19th century, 1801−1802,84 showing 191 editions from
Madrid (33.57%), 74 from Mexico city, 25 from Venice, 22 from Lyon, 15 from Valencia, 13
from Paris, 10 from Cologne, 9 from Barcelona, 8 from Valladolid, 6 from Zaragoza, 5
from Antwerp, and 5 from Salamanca.85 These numbers confirm the predominance of the
Spanish printing industry in Mexico at the very end of the colonial period, but also show
the permanent presence of other European printing cities like Lyon, Paris, Cologne, Ven-
ice, Rome, and, of course, Antwerp. As Gómez Álvarez states, in this library, books pub-
lished on the American continent, particularly Mexico City, occupied the second
place.86

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 The clerical libraries: the Jesuit case

In order to have a more complete vision of the presence of Flemish books in Mexico, one
must take into account that not all circulating books were in bookstores, because the large
clerical libraries ordered their books directly from Spain.87
The Jesuit case is quite interesting in this respect, because their educational system
implied large numbers of books. The strong reputation of the Jesuit colleges perfectly
complemented the educational development of the local elites. The Jesuits’ well-defined
educational project was, from the outset, oriented towards the preparation of the criollos,
the descendants of the Spanish colonizers,88 through a network of colleges established in
different urban centers throughout the viceroyalty, resulting in the consolidation of Latin
studies in Mexico, in almost 200 years of education for the local elite, . and in the forma-
tion of magnificent libraries.89 When the Jesuits arrived in Mexico (1572), some decades
had passed since the first religious orders had established themselves: Franciscans (1524),
Dominicans (1528), and Augustinians (1533); the early colonization and evangelization
period was already finished. The educational projects conceived for the indigenous inhab-
itants by the Franciscans and the early ecclesiastic authorities, too, were already in decline.90
Before the Jesuit establishment, the absence of colleges and schools devoted to basic and
intermediate education, not only for the indigenous people but also for the criollos, was
evident.
The Jesuit colleges founded in cities like Mexico and Puebla were cultural centers with
an active academic life; these institutions consumed large numbers of books, both for their
libraries and for the educational activities of their professors and students. And indeed,
the students needed numerous, specialized editions.91
Supplying books for the growing Jesuit student community was not easy since local
colleges depended for a large part on shipments from Europe. Professors in Mexico wrote
several letters to their headquarters in Rome, complaining about the lack of books, and in
1575 the General of the order replied:

‘We understand that in the Mexican college there is a great necessity of books, this is not a small
issue and will be bigger if the problem is not solved soon, because without large numbers of good
books it is not possible to carry out our aims. That is why I want you to solve this situation as
soon as possible. The easiest way to do it, is to send a good amount of money to the general envoy
of Indies in Seville, with a list of the necessary books; the envoy will order all that is needed and
will bring it from Antwerp…’92

This fragment shows some interesting things; the envoys or ‘Procuradores’ were members
of religious or civil groups that were sent to Spain in order to resolve legal, juridical and
practical issues. These envoys were necessary in a time when long distances and slow
communications between America and Europe resulted in very lengthy and tedious legal
processes.
Among other things, the Jesuits’ envoys were in charge of supplying books to the Amer-
ican colleges. Via intermediaries they bought books in the main printing centers in France
– Lyon or Paris – and other cities such as Antwerp. In the instructions to these envoys we
can read: ‘You can easily have a good provision of books: order them in Flanders, with the

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 help of merchants, and you must be careful to keep informed about good titles that could
be useful for our purposes’.93
One can imagine the busy job of these envoys, getting books from Europe. Finally, when
they collected the requested books, they followed the usual procedure to ship them in
Seville: the books were sent in the annual fleet to New Spain or to Peru after receiving the
Inquisitions’ license. In the Mexican case, this meant that, once arrived in the port of
Veracruz, the rector of the local Jesuit college received all the boxes and delivered them to
Puebla, Mexico City or elsewhere.
As previously mentioned, the Archivo General de Indias of Seville holds several ship-
ment licenses requested of the Inquisition by these envoys, although sometimes they also
used intermediaries. On 23 June 1699, the Inquisitor gave a license to the Jesuit Juan de
Vargas to transport two boxes with different kinds of books: ‘preaching, moral and sacred
books, and also books about human stories, to ship them in the vessel Jesús María y José
and to deliver them in Mexico City to Francisco de Borja y Aragón, priest of the Com-
pany of Jesus’.94
Sometimes the envoys or the intermediaries sent a large order of one single edition. In
the same fleet of 1699, for instance, on 12 June, Don Juan Bautista de Arregui, inhabitant
of Seville, asked permission of the Inquisition to deliver four boxes with 254 books to
Sebastián de Estrada, rector of the novitiate in Mexico City.95 These 254 books were the
Sermones exornatorios y de Cuaresma by Juan Rodríguez Coronel, published in Madrid
in 1694 by Juan García Infazón.
Another possibility was to bring books as part of one’s personal belongings. In the same
fleet of 1699, the Jesuit Juan de Esteyneffer asked permission to ship one box of his prop-
erty containing different Latin and scholastic books for his own use.96 In the documents
one can also see a ‘typical Jesuit book-list’. For instance, in October 1723, Ignacio Echayde
requested permission to send books to the rector of the Jesuit College in the port of Cart-
agena.97 The lists of books to be sent contains among others Busembaum, Diego de Aven-
daño, Archdekin, and Señeri, as well as religious books such as officium, and octavarium.98
These envoys, by the way, did not only send books but all the other goods needed in the
convents and colleges, such as relics, stamps, woodcuts, rosaries, agnus, necklaces and
other devotional objects.99
The vast academic activity developed by the Jesuits was tangible in their large libraries.
However, everything ended in tragedy. According to the royal decree of Carlos iii, all the
regulars of the Company of Jesus were expelled from Spain and all Spanish possessions.
The vice-regal authorities in Mexico performed this action during the dawn of 25 June
1767. This drastic procedure was carried out in such an effective way that all the Jesuits’
properties, convents, colleges and missions were left empty. Their expulsion ended a long
educational effort that had started with the establishment of the order in Mexico in 1572.
After the expulsion, legally, all Jesuit possessions, including their large libraries, were left
in the legal status of an ‘open succession’ or a inheritance ab intestato.100

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 From the Renaissance to the Enlightenment
and from Antwerp to Brussels

Research in libraries and archives has helped us to build a database with books located in
important repositories,101 books printed in cities like Antwerp, Brussels, Leuven, Ghent,
Bruges and Liège. This now includes more than 1,600 religious, secular and scientific titles.
In the database, the usual bibliographic references have been included (author, title, city,
printer, year), as well as the library where the books were found or the document where
the books were referenced, and the holdings. Fortunately, in many cases, these books still
retain their brands (marcas de fuego) and ex-libris left by printers, binders, booksellers,
librarians, owners and collectors. In some other cases, we mention if the Inquisition expur-
gated the titles, a fact that can be traced by the manuscript mark left by the official that
purged the book. All of these traces allow us to search for the ‘life’ of a book.
The majority of books come from the large clerical libraries: cathedrals, conciliar sem-
inaries, convents and monasteries of the Franciscans, Jesuits, Augustinians, Dominicans,
Carmelites, Mercedarians, and the Secular Congregation of San Felipe Neri. But we also
have books from educational institutions such as universities and also from individual
readers.
Concerning language, within the 16th century editions Latin has a great supremacy,
showing ‘a direct contact with the academic and scientific European culture'.102 The more
we advance into the 16th century, the stronger the Spanish language becomes, including
new titles and reprints. Finally, a third important language, French, shows up in the 18th
century at the expense of Latin and even at the expense of Spanish, but never surpassing
the Spanish production that clearly dominates.
In this database, the oldest edition identified until now is a Metamorphoseon by Ovid,
printed in Antwerp in 1529 by Godefridus Dumaeus,103 and the last entry is an Oficio de
la Semana Santa segun el missal y Breviario Romanos, published in Antwerp by the Offi-
cina Plantiniana in 1795.104
Thus, the database goes from the third decade of the 16th century until the end of the
18th century, and looking carefully at it, we have a list of names such as Plantin and the
Moretus family, Steelsius, Nutius, Aertssens, Bellerus, Gymnicus, Van Meurs, Potter,
Woons and the Verdussen from Antwerp; Foppens, Vivien and Bousquet from Brussels;
Nempe, Stryckwant, the Typography of the Immaculate Conception and the Michel fam-
ily from Leuven; and Hovius and Hoyoux from Liege. This plethora of names gives us an
idea of the typographic history of the Southern Netherlands.
Once this database is completed, my intention isto have a general and more precise idea
of the diffusion of books from the Southern Netherlands in colonial Mexico, to know the
more popular editions in Mexican circles or readers, to better understand the typograph-
ic circuits in the Antwerp–Seville–Veracruz–Mexico axis, and finally,.to confirm the fun-
damental influence of typographic material from the Southern Netherlands for the
cultural, academic, and juridical life of the viceroyalty of New Spain.

César Manrique Figueroa   From Antwerp to Veracruz 11

Figueroa.indd 11 23-11-2009 08:55:06

 1 This article derives from my doctoral research in the
department of Modern History at kuLeuven, under
the supervision of Dr. Werner Thomas. Dr. Thomas
invited me to elaborate my thesis within the project
The Infrastructure of Globalization. The Printing Press in
the Southern Netherlands and the Construction of the
Spanish Colonial Empire in Latin America, 1500–1800.
2 Recently the operation of the book trade between
Spain and its colonies in the Americas has become an
important subject studied by a group of scholars from
the University of Seville: C.A. González Sánchez, Los
mundos del libro. Medios de difusión de la cultura occi-
dental en las Indias de los siglos xvi y xvii, Seville 2001;
Orbe Tipográfico: el Mercado del Libro en la Sevilla de la
Segunda Mitad del Siglo xvi, Gijón 2003; Atlantes de
Papel, Barcelona 2008; P. Rueda Ramírez, Negocio e
intercambio cultural: El comercio de libros con América
en la Carrera de Indias (siglo xvii), Seville 2005; C. Álva-
rez Márquez, La impresión y el comercio de libros en la
Sevilla del quinientos, Seville 2007; N. Maillard Álvarez,
Difusión y circulación de la cultura escrita en Sevilla,
1550–1600, Doctoral thesis, University of Seville
2007.
3 T. Martínez Hampe, Bibliotecas privadas en el mundo
colonial: la difusión de libros e ideas en el virreinato del
Perú,(siglos xvi–xvii), Frankfurt 1996; P. Guivobich
Pérez, ‘Bibliotecas de médicos en Lima colonial’ in Del
autor al lector. i Historia del libro en México, ii. Historia
del libro, Mexico 2002. 293–304.
4 Recently some collections of essays have appeared in
Mexico with interesting contributions from several
scholars: Del autor al lector. i Historia del libro en Méx-
ico, ii. Historia del libro, C. Castañeda and M. Cortés
coord., Mexico 2002; Grafías del imaginario. Repre-
sentaciones culturales en España y América (siglos xvi–
xviii), C.A. González, E. Vila coord., Mexico 2003;
Impresos y libros en la historia económica de México
(siglos xvi–xix), M.P. Gutiérrez Lorenzo coord., Guad-
alajara 2007.
5 C. Castañeda, Del autor al lector. I Historia del libro en
Méxicoii. Historia del libro, Mexico 2002, 7.
6 C.A. González Sánchez, ‘La casa de la contratación y
la historia cultural’ in La casa de contratación y la
navegación entre España y las Indias, Seville 2003,
545.
7 I. Leonard, ‘Spanish ship-board reading in the six-
teenth century’ in Hispania, 32 (1949) 1, 53.
8 Irving Leonard was a prominent American professor,
his work the Books of the Brave, Harvard 1949, is a pio-
neering study in the commerce of European books in
the Hispanic-American territories. Likewise his book:
Baroque times in old Mexico, Ann Arbor 1959, is still a
classic for those interested in Mexican baroque cul-
ture.
9 John Elliot, Oxford professor emeritus, is considered
another eminent Hispanist and a major figure in devel-
oping Spanish Historiography for his outstanding
contributions to the history of Spain and the Spanish
Empire in the early modern period. His most impor-
tant works are The Old World and the New, 1492–1650,
Cambridge 1970; and The Count-Duke of Olivares, Yale
1986.
10 David Brading is lecturer of Latin America History at
Cambridge. The main area of his research has been
12 César Manrique Figueroa   From Antwerp to Veracruz
Figueroa.indd 12
eighteenth-century Mexico, and in the course of his
work he has studied the emergence of Creole patriot-
ism, an idea that expresses the quest of Spaniards
born in Mexico and Peru to define their American
identity. See: The first America 1492–1867, Cambridge
1991.
11 Solange Alberro’s research is about history of colo-
nial society in Mexico, dealing with the Inquisition,
popular religiosity, and the growth of Creole identity
in New Spain. Inquisition et société au Mexique, 1571–
1700, Mexico 1988; Les Espagnols dans le Mexique colo-
nial: Histoire d'une acculturation, Paris 1992.
12 Serge Gruzinski’s interest is in colonial Latin America
focusing on a study of the acculturation process that
shows different kinds of cultural relations – métissages
–, where we can find the first manifestations of globa-
lization: La colonisation de l’imaginaire, Paris 1988; La
pensée métisse, Paris 1999; Les quatre parties du monde,
Paris 2004.
13 C.A. González Sánchez, Atlantes de papel, adoctrina-
miento, creación y tipografía en la Monarquía Hispánica
de los siglos xvi y xvii, Barcelona 2008, 7–9.
14 S. Gruzinski, Les quatre parties du monde, Paris 2004.
15 The conquest of the Aztec empire was finished in 1521,
and this year is considered the beginning of the colo-
nial period. However, the different geographical
regions of the country were occupied or colonized
throughout the 16th and even the 17th century. Some
areas even remained without an important Spanish
presence. On the other hand, the Independence
period starts in 1810 and ends officially in 1821.
16 In studyin the relationship between the Southern
Netherlands and the Hispanic World, it is necessary
to read J. A. Goris, Étude sur les colonies marchantes
meridionales (portugais, espagnols, italiens) à Anvers
de1488 a 1567. Contribution a l’Histoire des débuts du
capitalisme moderne, Leuven 1925 ; E. Stols, De Spaanse
Brabanders of De handelsbetrekkingen der Zuidelijke
Nederlanden met de Iberische wereld 1598–1648, Brus-
sels 1971; Encuentros en Flandes, Relaciones e intercam-
bios hispanoflamencos a principios de la Edad Moderna,
W. Thomas, R. Verdonk, eds., Leuven 2000. Also very
helpful are the collections: America: bride of the sun:
500 years Latin America and the Low Countries, Paul
Vandenbroeck ed., Antwerp 1992, and; Flandre et
Amérique latine. Flandria extra muros / 500 ans de
confrontation et métissage. E. Stols, coord., Antwerp
1993.
17 E. Stols, Gens des Pays-Bas en Amérique Espagnole aux
premiers siècles de la colonisation, Leuven 1975.
18 F.Vermeylen, ‘Exporting art across the globe. The Ant-
werp Art Market in the Sixteenth Century’ in Neder-
lands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek, Kunst voor de Markt, 50
(1999), 19; J. de Mesa, ‘The Flemish Influence in Andean
Art’ in America: bride of the sun: 500 years Latin Amer-
ica and the Low Countries, Antwerp 1992, 179–188.
19 E. Stols, W. Thomas, ‘La integración de Flandes en la
Monarquía Hispánica’ in Encuentros en Flandes, Relaci-
ones e intercambios hispanoflamencos a principios de la
Edad Moderna, Leuven 2000, 28.
20 E. Stols, W. Thomas, ‘La integración de Flandes en la
Monarquía Hispánica’ in Encuentros en Flandes, Relaci-
ones e intercambios hispanoflamencos a principios de la
Edad Moderna, 62–65.
23-11-2009 08:55:07
 21 Letter from Benedetto Bernardino Bonvisi, commer-
cial agent based in Antwerp, to Simon Ruiz, castellan
merchant based in Medina del Campo. Antwerp, 23
August, 1575. In V. Vázques de Prada, Lettres March-
andes D´Anvers, Paris 1960, 153–154.
22 H. Van der Wee, J. Materné, ‘Antwerp as a world mar-
ket in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries’ in
Antwerp story of a metropolis, 16th-17th century, Ant-
werp 1993, 25. Van der Wee and Materné also state
that: after 1540 the new role that the Antwerp market
had, was as a world centre of distribution for the
extended range of standard quality products and
expensive luxuries from the rural and urban industries
of northern France, Flanders, Hainaut, Brabant, Hol-
land, and Zeeland. Increases in real incomes had
stimulated demand in the home market in the Low
Countries for products of domestic manufacture. The
demand for these kinds of manufactures had risen
steeply in some foreign countries as a result of their
increased income from overseas and continental trad-
ing.
23 E. Honing, Painting and the market in early modern
Antwerp, Yale 1998, 13.
24 F. Vermeylen, ‘Exporting art across the globe. The
Antwerp art market in the sixteenth century’ in Neder-
lands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek, Kunst voor de Markt, 50
(1999), 18. Vermeylen states that the analysis of the
export registers of 1543-5 makes clear that the Iberian
Peninsula was the most prominent importer of paint-
ings from the Antwerp market accounting for a third
of all exports.
25 M. Falomir, ‘Artists’ responses to the emergence of
markets for paintings in Spain, c. 1600’ in Mapping
markets for paintings in Europe, 1450–1750, Turnhout
2006, 145.
26 F. De Nave, ‘A printing capital in its Ascendancy Flow-
ering and Decline’ in Antwerp story of a metropolis,
16th-17th century, Antwerp 1993, 88.
27 Among the bibliography devoted to the Antwerp
book trade and the Hispanic world: Christophe Plantin
et le monde ibérique, Antwerp 1992; Cristóbal Plantino,
Un siglo de intercambios culturales entre Amberes y
Madrid, Madrid 1995; V. Bécares Botas, Arias Montano
y Plantino, el libro flamenco en la España de Felipe ii.
Leon, 1999; more recently: Een wereld op papier: Zuid-
Nederlandse boeken, prenten en kaarten in de Spaanse
en Portugese wereld, W. Thomas, E. Stols eds., Leuven
2009. Also published in Spanish: Un mundo sobre
papel. Libros y grabados flamencos en el imperio His-
panoportugués (siglos xvi–xviii), Leuven 2009.
28 The first Spanish merchants settled in Bruges and
Antwerp in the first half of the 15th century. The Span-
ish community became an important economic force,
not only of merchants, but also professionals and
handcrafts, and also the numerous merchants that
came temporarily to arrange their personal business.
See: J. A. Goris, Étude sur les colonies marchandes
meridionales (portugais, espagnols, italiens) à Anvers,
5–-55.
29 V. Bécares Botas, Arias Montano y Plantino, el libro
flamenco en la España de Felipe ii, 28-29; See also W.
Thomas, E. Stols, ‘La integración de Flandes en la
Monarquía Hispánica’ in Encuentros en Flandes, Relaci-
Figueroa.indd 13
ones e intercambios hispanoflamencos a principios de la
Edad Moderna, 34.
30 J. Moll, ‘Plantino y la industria editorial española’ in
Cristóbal Plantino, Un siglo de intercambios culturales
entre Amberes y Madrid. 17.
31 F.M.A. Robben, ‘L’Univers du livre à Anvers et ses
relations avec l’Espagne aux xvie et xviie siècles’ in
Christophe Plantin et le monde ibérique, Antwerp 1992,
45.
32 Robben, ‘L’Univers du livre à Anvers et ses relations
avec l’Espagne aux xvie et xviie siècles’, 48.
33 W. Thomas, C. Manrique, ‘La infrastructura de la glo-
balización. La imprenta flamenca y la construcción del
imperio hispánico en América’ in Encuentros, desen-
cuentros, reencuentros: Flandes, Países Bajos y el mundo
hispánico en los ss. xvi-xvii, in press.
34 W. Thomas, C. Manrique, ‘La infraestructura de la
globalización. La imprenta flamenca y la construcción
del imperio hispánico en América’ in Encuentros,
desencuentros, reencuentros: Flandes, Países Bajos y el
mundo hispánico en los ss. xvi-xvii, in press.
35 The 19th century was an agitated one, not only for
Mexico but for all Latin American nations. The inde-
pendence wars started at the beginning of the cen-
tury, and during decades the young nations all over
the continent had similar problems such as the con-
solidation of their institutions and political parties;
fights between conservatives and liberals; civil wars
and foreign invasions.
36 One of the classics among the numerous bibliogra-
phies devoted to Benito Juárez is R. Roeder, Juárez y
su México, Mexico 1972.
37 P. Jones ‘Indispensable in a Civilized Society. Manuel
Payno’s. Las Bibliotecas de México’ in Libraries & the
cultural record, 42 (2007) 3, 280.
38 As the capital of the country, Mexico City has the big-
gest number of libraries with historical collections.
The largest and more important are: The National
Library of Mexico; The National Institute of Anthro-
pology and History Library located in the famous
Anthropology Museum; and the special collections of
the Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada Library. In the area
around Mexico City there are the Library of the
National Museum of the Viceroyalty in Tepotzotlán,
which was one of the richest Jesuit libraries; and the
Convent Library in the Museum of Zinacantepec
where they hold all the books coming from the con-
vents in the Toluca region.
39 In the city of Puebla there are three major collections,
the Palafoxiana Library; the Lafragua Public State
Library and the Franciscan Library in Cholula; not far
from Puebla we have the Library of the Historical
Archive of Tlaxcala which holds an interesting Fran-
ciscan collection.
40 Along the ‘Silver route’ lies the Regional Museum
Library in Queretaro.
41 The Bajío (The Lowlands) is a region of central Mexi-
co. During the Viceroyalty, the area was known as the
breadbasket of the country, the region experienced
substantial development due to the fast growth of
mining cities that needed supplies. Two interesting
libraries are still preserved in two former Augustinian
convents in this region, the first in the city of Cuitzeo
and the second in Yuriria.
César Manrique Figueroa   From Antwerp to Veracruz 13
23-11-2009 08:55:07
 42 The Armando Olivares Carrillo Library in Guanajuato
contains the historical collections from this important
mining city; and the Elías Amador Library in Zacatecas
is considered to be the largest historical library in
Northern Mexico.
43 Valladolid is today known as Morelia, the rich histori-
cal collection can be found at the Universidad Micho-
acana Library.
44 In the Western part of the country there is the Juan
José Arreola Public Library in Guadalajara.
45 In the Southern part of Mexico, there is the Francisco
Burgoa Library in Oaxaca located, in the former con-
vent of Santo Domingo, and the ecclesiastical collec-
tions in the Public Library of Chiapas in Tuxtla Gutier-
rez.
46 In Monterrey there is the remarkable collection of the
Cervantina Library.
47 M. Mathes, ‘La colección mexicana de la Biblioteca
Sutro de San Francisco, California’ in Revista Quinto
Centenario, 2 (1981) 213–218.
48 The college Santa Cruz of Tlatelolco, just outside
Mexico city, was the first European school of higher
education in the Americas. Built by the Franciscan
order at the initiative of the first Viceroy, Antonio de
Mendoza, and the first Bishop, Juan de Zumárraga, it
was established in 1536. The college was part of a proj-
ect that sought the superior education of the indige-
nous elite, and had financial support from the Crown.
But with time the project was no longer supported
and Indian education had many detractors who
thought this education was a threat, so the college fell
into decay by the turning of the 16th century.
49 The mission libraries have been studied by M. Mathes,
‘Oasis culturales en la Antigua California: Las bibliote-
cas de las misiones de Baja California en 1773’ in
Revista de Estudios de Historia Novohispana, 10 (1991)
369-442.
50 ‘Relation of the Mission of San Ignacio Torim (Sina-
loa), completed in 1744 by José Lorenzo García’ in
Misiones Mexicanas de la Compañía de Jesús, 1618–1745,
Cartas e informes conservados en la “Colección Mateu”,
Madrid 1982, 69.
51 For this research I have visited the Archivo General de
la Nación, agn (The general Archive of Mexico) in
Mexico city, the Inquisición section is particularly
interesting. Also the Archivo General de Indias, agi
(The General Archive of the Indies) in Seville has a vast
collection of lists of books shipped to America, in the
Contratación section.
52 S. Liebman, ‘The Jews of colonial Mexico’ in The His-
panic American Historical Review, 43 (1963) 1, 96–97.
53 The classic work on the Mexican Inquisition is S.
Alberro, Inquisition et société au Mexique, 1571–1700,
Mexico 1988.
54 D. Castanien, ‘The Mexican Inquisition censors a pri-
vate library, 1655’ in The Hispanic American Historical
Review, 34 (1954) 3, 374.
55 D. Castanien, ‘The Mexican Inquisition censors a pri-
vate library, 1655’ , 375.
56 D . Castanien, ‘The Mexican Inquisition censors a pri-
vate library, 1655’ , 374–375.
57 The most famous compilation of these documents is
the pioneering book of F. Fernández del Castillo,
Libros y libreros en el siglo xvi, of which a first edition
14 César Manrique Figueroa   From Antwerp to Veracruz
Figueroa.indd 14
appeared in 1914, and it is still a classic reference,
which has generated multiple articles and contempo-
rary research.
58 In 1550, the Spanish Crown ordered that packages of
books exported from Seville to the Americas must be
opened and checked before their shipment: P. Rueda
Ramírez, Negocio e intercambio cultural: El comercio de
libros con América en la Carrera de Indias (siglo xvii), 35;
P. Rueda Ramírez, ‘La vigilancia inquisitorial del libro
con destino a América en el siglo xvii’ in Grafías del
imaginario. Representaciones culturales en España y
América (siglos xvi-xviii), 53-71.
59 agi, Casa de la Contratación, Licencias del Tribunal de
la Inquisición.
60 A very complete analysis of these sources, concerning
Spanish emigrants who died in Peru and whose goods
were sold at public auction or almoneda is: C.A.
González Sánchez, Dineros de ventura: La varia fortuna
de la emigración a Indias (siglos xvi–xvii), Seville 1995.
Concerning the Mexican case see also: C.A. González
Sánchez, ‘Cultura escrita y emigración al Nuevo
Mundo: Nueva España en los siglos xvi y xvii’ in Del
autor al lector. i Historia del libro en México, ii. Historia
del libro, Mexico 2002, 21–43.
61 M. Falomir, ‘Artists’ responses to the emergence of
markets for paintings in Spain, c. 1600’, 143.
62 C.A. González Sánchez, Dineros de ventura: La varia
fortuna de la emigración a Indias (siglos xvi–xvii),82.
63 agi, Contratación 446, nr. 2, ramo 2. See also: C.A.
González Sánchez, ‘Cultura escrita y emigración al
Nuevo Mundo: Nueva España en los siglos xvi y xvii’,
42–43.
64 I am very thankful to Stijn Van Rossem from the Uni-
versity of Antwerp, who provided me with invaluable
information from his own archival research. Thanks to
him, I have some names of Spanish booksellers who
had contacts with the Verdussen family in Antwerp
and coincide with my list of names located in Seville.
This research will also lead me to the Plantin-Moretus
archive, which offers interesting lists of books shipped
to Mexico, see: D. Imhof, ‘Las ediciones españolas de
la Officina Plantiniana. Su comercialización en España
y América Latina en los siglos xvii y xviii in Un mundo
sobre papel. Libros y grabados flamencos en el imperio
Hispanoportugués (siglos xvi-xviii), W. Thomas, E.
Stols, eds., Leuven 2009, 63–82.
And finally, the Felix Archief in Antwerp has the inter-
esting insolvente boedels-section with correspondence
between the Flemish firms and their agents estab-
lished in cities like Seville or Cadiz, See: J. Denuce,
‘Archives commerciales privées: le fonds des faillites
a Anvers’ in Annales d’ Histoire Économique et Sociale,
Revue Trimestrielle, 16 (1932) 16, 372-377.
65 Mexico was the first city on the American continent
with a printing press, established in 1539, after 5 years
of negotiations and thanks to the intervention of the
first bishop of Mexico, Juan de Zumárraga (1533) and
the first viceroy Antonio de Mendoza (1535). They
were conscious of the great importance that the press
would have in helping the massive Christianization
process of this huge territory, so on 12th June 1539 a
contract was signed in Seville between the German
printer Johan Cromberger and Juan Pablos (Giovanni
Paoli) both neighbours in that city, in order to estab-
23-11-2009 08:55:08
 lish the first press in Mexico. See C. Griffin, The Crom-
bergers of Seville, Oxford 1988. See also J.Lafaye,
Albores de la Imprenta el libro en España y Portugal y
sus posesiones de ultramar (siglos xv y xvi), Mexico
2002.
66 The first bishop of Mexico, Juan de Zumárraga, who
was one of the College promoters, also donated
books to the library as we can read in some of his let-
ters to the emperor. See. F. Scholes, ‘Unpublished
letters of the first bishops of Mexico and Oaxaca 1537',
The Americas, vol. 1 (1944) 1, 105.
67 The most important work is M. Mathes, Tlatelolco,
primera biblioteca académica de las Américas, Mexico
1982. We can also check I. Osorio, Historia de las Bibli-
otecas novohispanas, México 1986.
68 J. Lafaye, Albores de la Imprenta. El libro en España y
Portugal y sus posesiones de ultramar (siglos xv y xvi),
Mexico 2002, 99-100.
69 P. Rueda Ramírez, Negocio e intercambio cultural: El
comercio de libros con América en la Carrera de Indias
(siglo xvii), Sevilla 2005, 63.
70 O’Gorman, ‘Bibliotecas y librerías coloniales 1585–
1694’ in Boletín del Archivo General de la Nación, x
(1939) 4, 663–907.
71 These Inquisitorial inspections or visitas were orga-
nized to improve the weak control that the inquisitors
had over the book circulation. They were very con-
cerned about the entrance of ‘prohibited’ books and
the diffusion of heretical ideas in the Spanish Territo-
ries, See: P. Rueda, ‘La vigilancia inquisitorial del libro
con destino a América en el siglo xvii’ in Grafías del
imaginario. Representaciones culturales en España y
América (siglos xvi–xviii), Mexico 2003, 53–71.
72 González, and Gutiérrez Rodríguez, ‘Libros en venta
en el México de Sor Juana y de Sigüenza 1655–1660',
103–132.
73 Among the Mexican booksellers notified by the Inqui-
sition in 1655 and 1659, who presented exhaustive lists
of their stock to the Mexican Tribunal, were Juan de
Rivera, Francisco Lupercio and his partner Agustín de
Santiesteban, Hipólito Rivera and Antonio de Calde-
rón. who was in charge of his mother's bookstore. His
mother was Paula de Benavides, widow of Calderón,
See: González, and Gutiérrez Rodríguez, ‘Libros en
venta en el México de Sor Juana y de Sigüenza 1655–
1660', 117–118.
74 These two tables have been copied from: González,
and Gutiérrez Rodríguez, ‘Libros en venta en el Méxi-
co de Sor Juana y de Sigüenza 1655–1660', 125–126.
75 González, and Gutiérrez Rodríguez, ‘Libros en venta
en el México de Sor Juana y de Sigüenza 1655–1660',
126.
76 For the relationship between the Verdussen and the
Hispanic world see: S. Van Rossem, ‘La imprenta de
los Verdussen y la comercialización de sus libros en el
mundo ibérico e iberoamericano’ in Un mundo sobre
papel. Libros y grabados flamencos en el imperio his-
panoportugues (siglos xvi–xviii), Leuven 2009,
83–100.
77 Van der Wee, Materné, ‘Antwerp as a World Market
in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries’ in Ant-
werp story of a metropolis, 16th-17th century, 25.
Figueroa.indd 15
78 González, and Gutiérrez Rodríguez, ‘Libros en venta
en el México de Sor Juana y de Sigüenza 1655–1660',
127.
79 For the Mexican case there are also studies concer-
ning private libraries, mostly from colonial govern-
ment employees and ecclesiastical authorities, espe-
cially from the 18th century: J.L. Barrio Moya, ‘La
librería de Don Antonio Álvarez de Castro, Presidente
de la Audiencia de Guadalajara (México) durante el
reinado de Carlos ii’ in Anuario de Historia del Derecho
Español, lix (1990), 489–496; R. Moreno, Ensayos de
biblografía mexicana. Autores, libros, imprenta, biblio-
tecas, México 1986; L Coudart, C. Gómez Álvarez,
‘Bibliothèques d'évêques du Mexique colonial (xviiie
siècle)’ in Histoire et Sociétés de l'Amérique latine, 8
(1998), 9–22; R. Diego Fernández, ‘Biblioteca del oidor
de la Audiencia de la Nueva Galicia Joseph Manuel de
la Garza Falcón (1763)’ in Anuario Mexicano de Historia
del Derecho, xi–xii (1999–2000), 91–160.
80 C. Gómez Álvarez, F. Téllez Guerrero, Una Biblioteca
Obispal, Antonio Bergosa y Jordán, 1802, Puebla 1997,
19.
81 The Real Audiencia or Royal Audience was a court that
functioned as an appellate court in Spain and its
empire; the Audience of Guadalajara was established
as early as 1548.
82 R. Diego Fernández-Sotelo, “Biblioteca del oidor de la
audiencia de la Nueva Galicia Joseph Manuel de la
garza falcón (1763)” in Anuario Mexicano de Historia
del Derecho, xi–xii (1999–2000).
83 Antonio Bergosa y Jordán was designated bishop of
Oaxaca in 1800; he arrived in Mexico in 1779 as Inquis-
itor. His library has been studied by Cristina Gómez
Álvarez.
84 Sources to study the private libraries of the bishops
in colonial Mexico are their inventories of goods
elaborated by civil authorities.
85 L. Coudart, C. Gómez Álvarez, “Las bibliotecas parti-
culares del siglo xviii: una fuente para el historiador”,
in Secuencia Revista de historia y ciencias sociales del
Instituto de Investigaciones Dr. José María Luis Mora, 56
(2003), 182.
86 C. Gómez Álvarez, F. Téllez Guerrero, Una Biblioteca
Obispal, Antonio Bergosa y Jordán, 1802, Puebla 1997,
32.
87 González, and Gutiérrez Rodríguez, ‘Libros en venta
en el México de Sor Juana y de Sigüenza 1655–1660',
118.
88 Criollo was the usual term applied to those born in
America from Spanish origin or in other words the
Spanish-American inhabitants.
89 I. Osorio, Historia de las Bibliotecas Novohispanas,
Mexico 1986, 25.
90 I. Osorio, Colegios y profesores jesuitas que enseñaron
latín en la Nueva España, (1572–1767), Mexico 1979, 18.
91 P. Rueda, Negocio e intercambio cultural: El comercio de
libros con América en la Carrera de Indias (siglo xvii),
172.
92 Letter from the General of the Order, Mercuriano to
Pedro Sánchez the Provincial in Mexico, 12 March
1576, in Monumenta Mexicana, I, p. 188, see as well, I.
Osorio, Colegios y profesores jesuitas que enseñaron
latín en la Nueva España, (1572–1767), 24.
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23-11-2009 08:55:08
 93 Pedro Rueda, Negocio e intercambio cultural: El comer-
cio de libros con América en la Carrera de Indias (siglo
xvii), 174-175.
94 agi, Contratación, Licencias del Santo Oficio, fol. 207r.
95 agi, Contratación, Licencias del Santo Oficio, fol. 194r,
this Juan Rodríguez Coronel (1618–1700), was a prea-
cher at the Imperial College in Madrid
96 agi, Contratación, Licencias del Santo Oficio, 213r. Juan
de Esteyneffer was a Moravian German lay Jesuit mis-
sionary sent to the Jesuit college at Chihuahua. He is
known for his 1711 work Florilegio Medicinal, published
in Madrid, which compiled a combination of New
World traditional medicine, European materia medica,
and 18th-century European medical diagnosis. See, M.
Artschwager Kay, ‘The Florilegio Medicinal: Source of
Southwest Ethnomedicine’ in Ethnohistory, 24 (1977)
3, 251–259.
97 Cartagena de Indias was one of the most important
harbors in South America, it was one of the points
were the ships to Peru stopped.
98 agi, Contratación, Licencias del Santo Oficio, fol.476r.
99 P.Rueda, Negocio e intercambio cultural: El comercio de
libros con América en la Carrera de Indias (siglo xvii), p.
174.
100 Today, in the agi in Mexico City, there are several
inventories of the Jesuit libraries made after their
expulsion, these catalogues show the rich biblio-
graphic collections from their colleges and convents:
See. agi Jesuitas iii 30. After the expulsion, Jesuit
libraries were distributed into several other libraries
such as those belonging to diocesan colleges and
universities in cities like Mexico, Puebla or Valladol-
id.
101 See footnotes 36-45.
102 E. González, V. Gutiérrez Rodríguez, ‘Libros en venta
en el México de Sor Juana y de Sigüenza 1655-1660’
in Del autor al lector, i Historia del libro en México, ii.
Historia del libro, Mexico 2002, 128.
103 This book has the brand from the Jesuit College in
Patzcuaro and it belongs to the Lerdo de Tejada
Library in Mexico city.
104 It has two ex-libris from two different priests, and
belongs to the Public Library Juan José Arreola in
Guadalajara.

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