Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Biography
Scope and Content
Indexing Terms
Related Material
Descriptive Summary
Title: Documents concerning the Investigation Dispute between Bishop Bernardino de Cardenas and the Jesuits of Paraguay
Date (inclusive): 1664-1665
Collection number: 170/461
Creator:
Romero, Antonio
Extent:
130 leaves : paper ; 315 mm xn 220 mm, bound to 325 mm x 230 mm
Abstract: Book of testimonies compiled by the "oidor" (judge) of the Buenos Aires Audiencia, Don Pedro de Rojas y Luna, in his investigation
of the 1644 conflict between the Jesuits of Paraguay and the Bishop Bernardino de Cardenas.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary 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.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Phillipps Manuscript 16172, 17405.
Processing Note
Cataloged by Pablo Sierra; finding aid with assistance from Kelley Bachli in the Center for Primary Research and Training
(CFPRT).
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Documents concerning the Investigation Dispute between Bishop Bernardino de Cardenas and the Jesuits
of Paraguay (Collection 170/461). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Despite Don Pedro de Rojas y Luna's notorious achievements as an efficient colonial administrator in Spanish South America,
relatively little is known about the central figure in this manuscript before his arrival to Buenos Aires. Considered a highly
qualified individual for the demanding post of "oidor", Rojas already had ample experience as an administrator in the kingdom
of Naples. In "Historia de la Conquista del Paraguay, Rio de la Plata y Tucuman," the historian Pedro Lozano highlight Rojas'
inclusion as one of the original members of the Buenos Aires Audiencia (established in 1663). As oidor of the Audiencia, Don
Pedro de Rojas y Luna was commissioned by the Crown to investigate the 1659 uprising of the indigenous people of Arecaya.
In compliance with a royal decree dated August 25, 1662, Rojas was to prosecute and imprison Governor Alonso Sarmiento de
Sotomayor y Figueroa, accused of excessive violence in his repression of the revolt. Rojas was succesful in this endeavor,
as Sarmiento spent two years in jail before being pardoned for his actions. The 1665 manuscript in question was prepared during
Rojas y Luna's stay in Paraguay, although its relation to Sarmiento's actions are not at all clear since the dispute between
Bishop Cardenas and the Jesuits took place in 1644, nearly twenty years before. Don Pedro Rojas y Luna died in the port city
of Buenos Aires in 1667, two years after the completion of the manuscript.
Scope and Content
The manuscript is organized chronologically, the earliest documents date from October 1664 but include copies of letters written
in 1661. The bulk of the investigation was carried out during the first half of 1665, therafter one finds increasing gaps
in the collection of testimonies. While the initial testimonies and exhortations produced lengthy and extremely detailed transcripts,
towards the end of the manuscript these accounts become significantly shorter. The investigation was carried out nearly twenty
years after the fact, and had already been preceded by the efforts of other officials (most notably Don Andres Garavito de
Leon).
Text in Spanish.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Genres and Forms of Material
Manuscripts.
Related Material