Collection of Moctezuma family inheritance documents, 1661-1876

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Summary

Creators:
Moctezuma
Abstract:
Collection contains 241 letters, notarial documents, and accounts related to the Moctezuma inheritance from 1661 to 1876.
Extent:
9.4 linear feet (8 flat boxes)
Language:
Materials are in Spanish.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Collection of Moctezuma inheritance documents (Collection 2456). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection provides insight on the economic interests and procedures of Spanish aristocratic families in Mexico and Spain. The collection spans two centuries and focuses on the financial matters of the encomiendas and other income sources in Mexico, such as mayorazgos, an inheritance system where properties passed to the eldest male heir. It addresses issues like outstanding debts, challenges in collecting money from the indigenous people, and the complex logistics of transferring funds to Spain in the case of absentee rentiers like the Duques de Abrantes. Additionally, part of the correspondence covers disputes among different branches of Moctezuma's heirs over rents, inheritances, and patronage. A second section, consisting of 50 documents, includes accounts from 1661 to 1799, providing crucial insights into the economy of the encomiendas.The third section includes journals created with notarial documents, letters, and newspaper related to materials in the correspondence.

Source: Elena Gallego Rare Books, LLC. Invoice correspondence, May 2, 2022.

Biographical / historical:

This extensive collection of 241 documents from 1661 to 1876 chronicles the inheritance in Mexico of a branch of the Moctezuma family, descendants of the last Aztec emperor. A key part of the inheritance originated from Isabel de Moctezuma, Moctezuma's daughter, who inherited the encomienda of Tacuba, one of the largest encomiendas situated five miles west of Tenochtitlan in the Valley of Mexico. Before her baptism, she was known by her Aztec name, Tecuichpotzin Ichcaxochitzin, meaning "Cotton flower, the revered daughter of the lord." Hernán Cortés, after Moctezuma's death, granted Isabel the encomienda of Tacuba in 1525, which was considered a monopoly on indigenous labor that could be passed down through generations. Isabel, who had married several times and had children with Cortés, is seen as one of the early examples of mestizaje in Mexico. Her status allowed her to inherit property rights, which she passed on to her descendants, making her a subject of both historical and gender studies.

The origins of this collection trace back to King Philip III's 1609 edict dividing the encomiendas of Isabel de Moctezuma's heirs, with one of them later becoming the Duque de Abrantes, a title created in 1642. The collection highlights the wealth accumulation of the Duques de Abrantes, who expanded their holdings through inheritance and strategic marriages, acquiring not only the Tacuba encomienda but also several others, such as those in Tula, Campeche, and Otumba. Although the Duques lived in Spain, they held significant power in both Spain and Mexico, enjoying direct contact with the Colonial administration, including Viceroys, and wielding influence in ecclesiastical matters. The documents reveal the challenges of managing these encomiendas, such as the economic struggles in Campeche in 1712 and issues with the indigenous labor system. Notably, even after Mexico gained independence, payments for Isabel de Moctezuma's encomienda continued until the 1830s, and the Mexican government provided a pension to her descendants until 1933. This collection illuminates the economic ties between Mexico and Spain, the role of mestizo origins in colonial wealth, and the impact of absentee Spanish aristocrats on the exploitation of indigenous labor in the Americas.

Source: Elena Gallego Rare Books, LLC. Invoice correspondence, May 2, 2022.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Elena Gallego Rare Books LLC, 2022.
Custodial history:

This archive was previously owned by Collection Taxon De Font-Reaulx, (Redondo Beach, California - San Antonio, Texas), before arriving to Elena Gallego Rare Books LLC.

Processing information:

Processed by Astrid Alberto, under the supervision of Jasmine Larkin, 2025.

We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special Collections.

We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special Collections.

Arrangement:

This collection has been arranged in the following series:

Series 1: Cobros de encomiendas, 1670-1876.

Series 2: Cuentas, 1661-1777.

Series 3: Documentos notariales diversos, 1668-1853.

Original items numbers assigned by the seller were retained.

Physical location:
Held at UCLA Library Special Collections. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical objects belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Collection of Moctezuma inheritance documents (Collection 2456). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website