Container List

Mexico City famine manuscript. Recollection of maize in the intra-lake region and central valleys.

1r-4r Start of 1st notebook. Viceroy Figueroa y Salazar orders Chalco hacienda owners to send maize surplus to Joseph Francisco de Aguirre Espinosa. n.d.

4v Joseph Francisco de Aguirre y Espinosa appoints scribe Phelipe Antonio de la Peña to report on price of maize being sold in the market. 1741/01/19

5r Viceroy orders Aguirre y Espinosa to execute orders in a number of different jurisidictions and under several other local judges. 1741/01/18

5v Order for neighboring Tenant General and other government officials to assist in the administration of justice in Chalco. 1741/01/22

6r Auto ordering all shippers of maize are to presesent declarations of their produce and redirect it to the "Alhondiga" of Mexico City. 1741/01/23

6v Maize being sold between twenty eight and twenty nine and half reales, higher than the average price of twenty six reales. 1741/01/23

7r Declaration of Santiago Garcia, administrator for the San Joseph "embarcadero" owned by Don Manuel Rivas Cacho. 1741/01/23

7v Ignacio Aristizabal presents his declaration at Don Lucas Serafin Chacon's embarcadero, unable to ship due to lack of corn sacks. 1741/01/23

8r Don Francisco Recalde, administrator of the San Juan Baptista embarcadero owned by Antonio de Messa. 1741/01/23

8v Dionisio de Bustos presents declaration at Nuestra Señora de los Remedios embarcadero, also known as Gordon. 1741/01/23

9r Declaration of Don Miguel de Acosta, administrator for the embarcadero La Coleturia that houses the Church's maize tithes. 1741/01/23

9v Corn sacks or "costales" purchased in order to send six canoes of maize from Chalco to the Mexico City alhóndiga. 1741/01/23

10r Diego Alonso de Matheos de Baena responds to Aguirre's letter as the commissary of Ayotzingo, not as tenant. 1741/01/24

10r Tentant general for the province, Marcos de Anayo, arrives in Chalco as according to Aguirre's previous letter. 1741/01/24

10v Declaration taken from Benito Arias, manager for the embaracadero Santa Barbara in the town of Ystapaluca. 1741/01/24

11r Don Fernando Texada from Ystapaluca declares to only have two canoes of maize in Bartolome de Rivera's embarcadero. 1741/01/24

11v Investigation to collect information on the prices and harvests of Tierra Calienta and to have all produce brought directly to Chalco. 1741/01/24

12r Santiago Garcia declares that during November and December of 1740 maize prices averaged between 28 and 29.5 reales. 1741/01/25

12v Don Miguel de Acosta states that the hightest maize prices have reached 31 reales, but only averaged 26 reales in the last weeks. 1741/01/25

13r Antonio Ponze, canoe transporter or "trajinero" from Mexico City, declares that prices maize prices have remained at 26 reales. 1741/01/26

13v Ignacio de Aristizabal declares that maize prices in Tierra Calienta average three to four reales less than in Chalco. 1741/01/26

14r-16r Tenant general of Chalco to vist the "comarca" lake region and expedite the transportation of canoes in the town of San Francisco. 1741/01/26

16r Aguirre orders guards to protect the transportation the road coming from Mexico City due to recent thefts of maize. 1741/01/26

16v Five men hired for the purpose of guarding the corn entering Chalco, especially at the Paso de San Francisco. 1741/01/26

17r Public announcement forbidding the shipping of corn from Chalco to Mexico City without a proper declaration form or "voleta." 1741/01/27

17v Aguirre orders investigation into the number of canoes and of the prices and quality of the maize sold at the alhóndiga in Mexico City. 1741/01/27

18r Francisco Recalde declares that no more maize has been stored since Aguirre's last inspection of the embarcadero. 1741/01/28

18v Miguel de Acosta declares that the only maize left in the embarcadero belongs to the Church and will be sent to its own alhóndiga. 1741/01/28

19r Santiago Garcia swears under oath that he has received no new maize except for that belonging to a few begging priests, "limosneros." 1741/01/28

19v Ignacio Aristizabal states that he received a canoe of maize from Joseph Martin Ramirez which will be shipped out to Mexico City. 1741/01/28

20r Declaration from Nicolas Narvaes in the town of Tetelco, announcing that his recently- purchased hacienda has no stored maize. 1741/01/29

20r Domingo Muñoz states he has not received any maize since his embarcadero normally stores firewood, fruit and honey. 1741/01/29

20v Don Francisco Caravallo in the town of Ayotzingo declares that the only maize from Tierra Caliente has passed through his embarcadero. 1741/01/29

20v Juan Francisco Lopez de la Torre of the Convent's embarcadero swears he has only received sugar, honey and fruit from Tierra Caliente. 1741/01/29

21r Auto promulgated by Aguirre collects all local farmers' declarations for Chalco province regarding their maize harvests and their shipping. 1741/01/30

22v-27r Chalco farmers present their declarations to Aguirre, arguing that they have sent all their surplus corn to the Mexico City alhondiga. 1741/01/31

28r-28v Phelipe Narvarte excuses clarifies incorrect declarations made by his hacienda's administrator and agrees to sell Aguirre his maize at set price. 1741/02/05

29r-29v Order suspending Chalco inquiries of farmers' maize production, investigation now to focus on neighboring town of Tlayacapan. 1741/02/07

30r-31r Manuel de Castro, mayor of Tlayacapan to present himself in four days before the Viceroy in Mexico City to answer charges of mismanagement. 1741/02/08

32r-34v Local hacienda administrators account for the percentages of production given to the church as tithe and part consumed for workers. 1741/02/09

34v-36r Series of autos imposing ten day deadline for farmers to send half their maize surplus to Mexico City or pay a 2000 peso fine to the Viceroy. 1741/02/11

36v-39r Hacienda owners officially notified of Aguirre's promulgation and ordered to comply or present legitimate excuses for non-compliance. 1741/02/14

39v Auto forbidding shipping authorities from detaining or stopping without reason the maize- filled canoes in transit to Mexico City. 1741/02/18

39v-43r Hacienda administrators request more time to comply with Aguirre's order due to distance needed to travel and the present lack of mules. 1741/02/19

43r-43v From the tenth of February, 7479 fanegas of maize have been sent to the Mexico City alhóndiga at set price of thirty reales. 1741/02/20

44r-47r Diligencia proclaimed ordering hacienda owner to present himself before Aguirre and his scribe Antonio de la Peña to present declaration. 1741/02/26

47r-48r Aguirre forbids guards from taxing the corn coming from Tierra Calienta and heading towards "El Pozito" in Mexico City. 1741/03/03

48r General call to all neighbors of Chalco to declare how much corn they harvested and to whom, where and when they sold their corn. 1741/03/05

48v-52r Chalco "peujaleros," full-time hacienda workers, accept Aguirre's order and will sell the remainder of their maize to the alhondiga. 1741/03/07

52r-52v Aguirre orders Antonto de Acosta to inspect houses in the town of Totolapan in search of maize storage containers called "cuitlapiles." 1741/03/08

53r-54v Joachin de Longara and Domingo Leutaria declare on their harvests for the year, several other farmers are absent from their houses. 1741/03/08

54v-55r Town of Tlayacapan will receive all the surplus maize that has been declared by the region's farmers, same process to occur in Totolapan. 1741/03/09

55v-56r Juan Bruno, Cayetano Cruz, Juan Frias, Miguel Perez accused of diverting maize to Cuernavaca despite orders to send it to Mexico City. 1741/03/09

56r-61r Missing Totolapan peujaleros present their declarations to Aguirre, alleging that all their surplus corn has been sold to Chalco and/or Mexico City. 1741/03/10

61-62r Auto imposing a 1000 peso fine to any peujaleros that have failed to declare their maize harvests or failed to sell them to the alhondiga. 1741/03/12

62r-66r Amecameca and Ozumba farmers declare that after contributing the tithe, all their surplus maize is needed to feed their families and workers. 1741/03/13

66r-67r Tenant of Ozumba ordered all corn to be sold at the prices stipulated by the Mexico City alhondiga, six reales lower than local market prices. 1741/03/16

67r-68v Bonifacio de Bargas and Franciso Ruiz de Castañeda presented their respective haciendas' declarations to the scribe Antonio de la Peña. 1741/03/20

68v-69r Antonio de Acosta nominated "regulador" for the inspection of the haciendas production for Chalco province. Acosta accepts the position. 1741/03/21

70r-79v Acosta and de la Peña conduct province-wide inspection of the Chalco's haciendas with annotations of the number of maize fanegas produced. 1741/03/21

79v Temporary suspension of hacienda investigation due to owners and administrators absence for the upcoming "Semana Santa" celebrations. 1741/03/29

80r Auto reinitiating hacienda investigation as soon as hacienda owners return to their properties, declarations to resume the following day. 1741/04/05

80r-82r Acosta completes his inspection of the province with visit to five hacienda and four ranches whose administrators had not yet declared. 1741/04/06

82r-82v Aguirre liquidates the Viceroy's debt with the regions' corn growers and renews the order to send all surplus maize to Mexico City. 1741/04/23

83r Auto ordering all surplus maize to be sent to Mexico City within eight days, a 500 peso fine will be assesed to any recalcitrants. 1741/07/11

83v-84r Ignacio de Aristizabal and Francisco Recalde state that they have already sent all their corn to the Mexico City alhondiga. 1741/07/12

84v Aguirre anounces that Viceroy has issued the order that all corn in a twenty-league radius will be sold at the prices stipulated by Mexico City. 1741/07/13

84v-85v Maize merchants and shippers protest that their losses are caused by buying their maize at four pesos six reales and selling them at five pesos. 1741/07/14

85v-86r Commissary orders de la Peña to notify the region's producers of the corn scarcity in Mexico City and to send their maize under penalty of law. 1741/07/14

86r-88v Corn growers receive de la Peña's notification and retort that they have already sold all their surplus corn to the alhondiga. 1741/07/17

89r-90r Matheo Joseph de Larre, Secretary of the Viceroy writes to assure Chalco's hacenderos that they will receive rational prices for their corn. 1741/07/15

90r-96v Antonio de la Peña reviews the account books or "manifestaciones de maizes" used to calculate shipping of corn fanegas to Mexico City. 1741/07/21

96v-97r Auto ordering delinquent hacienda owners to pay the fine imposed by the Viceroy on February 12th and to account for missing maize. 1741/07/23

97r-102r Aguirre personally visits hacienda owners, forcing them to open their storage spaces "troxes" and verifying veracity of their arguments. 1741/07/23

102r-102v Agurre cancels the March 16th order proclaimed Ozumba's tenant, as a result all corn will be bought on a weekly basis at the market. 1741/07/27

103r-108r Corn farmers have their storehouses inspected once more, they argue they no longer have enough corn with which to survive the year. 1741/08/02

109r Oversized chart listing each hacienda, name of the owner, total production, church tithe, surplus maize, expenses, amount sold and "old corn" 1741/01/18

110r-113r Start of 2nd notebook. New Spain's "Real Audiencia" renews Aguirre Espinosa's commision for the province of Chalco and nearby jurisdictions. 1741/09/02

113v-114r Aguirre Espinosa rehires Antonio de la Peña as his scribe and presents the Royal Audience's dispatch before Marcos Francisco de Anaya. 1741/09/05

114r-115r Aguirre issues an order requiring all shipping managers to present their transport logs to de la Peña and declare what has been sent to Mexico. 1741/09/06

115r-117v De la Peña transcribes the amount of corn shipped to the Mexico City alhondiga as documented in shippers' or "embarcadero" transport logs. 1741/09/06

118r-119v Real Audiencia of Mexico alerts Aguirre that there is only tolontle maize of poor quality sufficient for six days, urges to send more immediately. 1741/09/06

119v-124r Mexico City auto enforces penalties against hacienda owners for not contributing maize, scribe tallies local contributions to the alhondiga. 1741/09/07

124r-128r Cayetano Martinez de Mereles replaces Antonio de Acosta as inspector "regulador," visits all neighboring haciendas to verify their compliance. 1741/09/10

128r-131r Francisco de Ibarra, manager for Captain Manuel de Ribas Cacho's hacienda, is discovered to have presented false declarations to de la Peña. 1741/09/14

131r-132r Great numbers of Indians and poor farmers arrived in Chalco to beg for maize, 50 loads of corn sold at piecemeal according to alhondiga prices. 1741/09/15

132r-139r Ambrosio Melgarejo, "oidor" of the Real Audiencia, authorizes Aguirre to purchase corn at elevated prices in order to supply the alhondiga. 1741/09/16

140r Estegan Rengifo named inspector for the province of Chalco and Cayetano Martinez de Mereles for the jurisidicition of Tescuco (Texcoco). 1741/09/16

140v-141v Regular maize contributors, Joseph Gutierrez de Castro and Juan Augustin de Esquivel, have ceased sending their daily maize contributions. 1741/09/17

142r-143v Farmers' reticent to sell their maize despite having removed price restrictions, request for Judge and General Procurador immediate presence. 1741/09/18

144r-147v Aguirre responds to a report from Mexico City which states that due to its scarcity, maize is being scalped at eight to ten pesos (64-80 reales). 1741/09/18

147v-149v Ambrosio Melgarejo orders Aguirre to purchase as much corn as possible at "precio libre" and to remove all possible charges against farmers. 1741/09/20

149v-150v Joseph de Arinaga, Joaquin de Vargas, Bartholome de la Cueba, Francisco de Rivera, and Esteban de Rivera hired to supervise corn production. 1741/09/22

150v Aguirre authorizes the inspection and embargo of maize in the haciendas belonging to Anna Basquez de Cabrera and Joseph Martin Ramirez. 1741/09/22

151r-158r Esteban Rengifo conducts inspection of Chalco and Tescuco's cornfields, compiling a list of their total and estimated production for October 1741. 1741/09/24

158v-160v Aguirre calls together all the major hacienda owners, who must provide the Alhondiga with 20,000 fanegas of maize at 4 pesos 4 reales per load. 1741/09/26

160v-162r In violation of the farmers' pact with Aguirre, several labradores sent sacks of rotten corn to the alhondiga, which was rejected and returned. 1741/10/02

162r-163r New meeting of hacienda owners leads to dispute as to whether labradores or the "Posito" itself will pay for the "desgranado" of maize. 1741/10/08

163v-164v Don Miguel Perez Mercadillo confronts the Regent Commissary, Francisco de Aguirre, for having separated and returned maize of poor quality. 1741/10/09

164v-166v Ambrosio de Melgarejo announces that the alhondiga will need 30,500 fanegas of maize, 500 of which will be supplied on a daily basis. 1741/10/14

167r-167v Commissary Judge, Joseph Francisco Aguirre Espinosa y Cuebas, sets out for Mexico City having nothing more to do in Chalco for the year. 1741/10/31

167v-168v Aguirre returns to Chalco, liquidates all outstanding debts with the region's hacienda owners and farmers before returning to Mexico City. 1742/01/02

169r-173v Start of 3rd notebook. Viceroy Figueroa y Salazar sets the maximum price of maize at five pesos for a distance of 20 leagues from the capital. 1741/06/22

174r-175v Letter from the Real Audiencia to Francisco Leite, ecclesiastic judge for Chalco province, urging him to cooperate with Aguirre and send all corn. 1741/09/05

176r-176v Aguirre enforces the Viceroy's June 22nd edict, setting the price of maize at three reales less than the current prices of the Mexico City alhondiga. 1741/09/08

177r-178v Managers for Lucas Seraphin Chacon, Manuel de Rivas Cacho, Antonio de Mesa's "embarcaderos" interrogated for selling above stipulated prices. 1741/09/09

178r Start of 4th notebook. Cover page for Aguirre Espinosa's autos, carried out as Commissary Judge for Tescuco (Texcoco) in the year 1741. 1741

179r-180r Antonio de Acosta, citizen of Chalco, hired as "regulador" for the inspection of Texcoco's maize production in service of Aguirre Espinosa. 1741/04/10

180r-190r Tescuco hacienda owners and administrators present declarations on the poor corn harvests resulting from frosts earlier during the year. 1741/04/12

191r-191v Aguirre Espinosa orders Texcoco labradores to sell all their surplus corn within their jurisdiction, otherwise will be penalized 1000 pesos. 1741/04/22

192r-193r Start of 5th notebook. Auto imposing 1000 peso fine for Tierra Caliente labradores selling maize outside the province (not going to Chalco). 1741/01/20

193r-193v Don Antonio Perez del Castillo y Rio appointed as Commissary by Joseph Francisco Aguirre Espinosa for the province of Tierra Caliente. 1741/02/02

194r-194v Manuel Sanchez, "theniente de Alcalde Mayor," appointed as representative of Antonio Perez del Castillo for the province of Tierra Caliente. 1741/03/13

195r Perez del Castillo orders that all labradores send their surplus maize only to Chalco or risk losing their produce and transport mules. 1741/02/03

195v-196r Thomas Valentin Delgadillo, merchant, and Miguel Antonio Cabrera, labrador, declare that the price of maize has risen from 16 to 20 reales. 1741/02/03

196v-197r Perez del Castillo calls all Tierra Caliente hacienda owners, "pehujaleros" and labradores to present declarations on their maize harvests. 1741/02/04

197r-204v Farmers from Apanque Salco, Huasopa, Apizaco and Ozumba report to the city of Yautepec in response to Perez del Castillo's auto. 1741/02/04

204v Authorization to document the investigation of Tierra Caliente corn production on common paper, due to lack of official stamped variety. 1741/02/11

205r-208r Local labradores report normal harvests to Perez del Castillo, argue that they must retain higher percentage of corn for their "gañanes." 1741/02/11

208r-208v Perez del Castillo sends agricultural reports of Tierra Caliente along with from the town of Tepoztlan to the Commissary Judge Aguirre Espinosa. 1741/03/02

209r Authorization to document investigation of Yautepec corn production on common paper, due to lack of official stamped paper in surrounding area. 1741/02/14

209r-214v Commissary uses nahuatl intepreter Diego de Mondragon to order Indian residents of Tepoztlan and Guauzopa to send surplus maize to Chalco. 1741/02/18

215r Resident labradores of Quautlan (Cuautla) del Valle de las Milpas must not sell their corn outside their jurisdiction, except to send it to Chalco. 1741/03/15

215r-216r Nicolas Maldonado, Juan Manuel de Borda and Juan Garcia Palacios declare price of corn rose from 16 to 20-22 reales in January and February. 1741/03/15

216r-216v Perez del Castillo announces that half of Cuautla's declared corn production will be sent to Chalco, the remainder to be kept by the labradores. 1741/03/15

217r-219r Quautlan farmers and merchants present their harvest production and portion to be sent to Chalco before the Commissary Perez del Castillo. 1741/03/16

219r-219v Antonio Perez del Castillo completes report for Tierra Caliente, which must be sent to Aguirre Espinosa along with the report from Cuernavaca. 1741/03/20

220r Start of 6th notebook. Orders carried out by Aguirre Espinosa for repairs to be made to Lake Chalco's road ("camino de la laguna de Chalco"). 1741/01/30

220r-221r Juan Leonardo de Castilla "alguacil mayor" sent out to investigate the reason for the bottleneck of canoes formed at the San Francisco pass. 1741/01/30

221r-222v Castilla reports that the San Francisco pass has been blocked by a marshy grass or "cesped," which impedes the canoes from getting across. 1741/01/31

222v-223v Carlos Gonzales, "trajinero" from Mexico City, suggests closing off the San Francisco pass and re-opening the old San Pedro Tlahuac pass. 1741/02/01

223v-224v Miguel Diaz, "trajinero" from Mexico City, states that the Indians "remeros" (rowers) began to use the San Francisco pass for contraband trade. 1741/02/01

224v-226r Guard for the capital's snow deposit declares that repairing the Tlahuac pass and the Mexicalzingo gate will restore the flow of commerce. 1741/02/04

226r-227r Joseph Veas, trajinero, reports that cleaning the Tlahuac pass of its "tules" grasses would enable canoes to reach Mexico City in 6-8 hours. 1741/02/04

227r-228r Antonio Ponze, trajinero, states that the San Fransciso pass only started to be frequented six years ago (1735) as a shortcut to Mexico City. 1741/02/06

228r-230v Alguacil mayor, Juan Antonio del Castillo, states that clearing out the San Francisco pass is useless unless a permanent investment is made. 1741/02/09

231r Start and cover of the 1st of three notebooks containing Ambrocio Melgarejo Santaella's autos as "oidor" of the Real Audiencia of New Spain. 1742/09/15

231r Real Audiencia appoints Ambrocio Melgarejo for the commission responsible for securing the maize supply for the Mexico City alhondiga. 1741/09/12

232r-233r Melgarejo reports that there are only 2,209 fanegas of corn left in the alhondiga, must purchase at least 40,000 fanegas to prevent starvation. 1741/09/12

234r-238r Report on the general state of the alhondiga. 90,000 pesos left for maize purchases, 547 fanegas sold per day at fixed price of 6 pesos, 48 reales. 1741/09/13

239r-239v Aguirre Espinosa commissioned with traveling to Tescuco and securing the maize harvests being hoarded by secular and ecclesiastic labradores. 1741/09/12

240r Gaspar Hurtado de Mendoza writes the Corregidor Pedro Manuel Enriquez for a high official to visit Tescuco immediately to enforce the law. 1741/09/02

241r-242v Aguirre Espinosa reports purchase of 1000 fanegas from the Church's holdings, certain labradores explicitly violate orders to send corn to Mexico. 1741/09/11

243r-243v Official request to post guards along the road behind the Colegio de San Pablo and Calzada del Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. 1741/09/19

244r-245v Ambrocio Melgarejo orders the alcalde mayor of Mexicalzingo to repair the San Franscisco pass, in order to expedite canoes' arrival to Mexico. 1741/09/13

246r-246v Francisco Xavier Gomez de Cervantes threatens ecclesiastic labradores with excommunication upon failure of cooperating with maize recollection. 1741/09/12

247r-249r Aguirre Espinosa suugests limiting the alhondiga's sales to two hundred fifty (piecemeal) fanegas per day, as practiced during the 1698 famine. 1741/09/21

250r-250v Juan Francisco Fortuno, alcalde mayor de Mextitlan, receives Melgarejo's order to convince the region's labradores to sell maize to the Pozito. 1741/09/13

250v-252r Letter from Melgarejo to Juan de Esquibel Maldonado, urging him to raise among the "Cavalleros" in order to alleviate Mexico's food shortage. 1741/09/13

252r-256v Melgarejo asks Aguirre Espinosa to persuade Chalco's hacienda owners to sell him their corn at a reasonable price, but no higher than six pesos. 1741/09/14

256v-259v Orders instructing Chalco's labradores to set aside the maize needed until December 15, 1541 and to send the rest immediately to the capital. 1741/09/14

260r Lorenzo Caballero writes that in the last two days thirteen canoes loaded with corn have been sent to Mexico City by way of Mexicalzingo. 1741/09/14

261r After opening the San Francisco pass, Caballero finds three canoes loaded with corn in Mexicalzingo, which he rerouted to the Mexico alhondiga. 1741/09/15

262r-262v Suggestion to install a series of checkpoints along the road to Mexico City, in order to prevent the indigenous rowers from stealing the corn. 1741/09/15

263r-265v Aguirre Espinosa writes Melgarejo, notifying that twenty canoes carrying 1,400 fanegas of maize will be arriving in Mexico City shortly. 1741/09/15

266r-267v Melgarejo appoints two regents, the Marques de Villahermosa and Francisco Marcel Pablo for corn collection in Tacuba, Juchimilco and Cuyoacan. 1741/09/16

268r-268v One hundred forty fanegas of maize are sent to the alhondiga from the Yztapaluca embarcadero, leaving less than 400 for the rest of October. 1741/09/17

269r-269v Letter informing Melgarejo of an inspection to be carried out for the jurisdictions of Yautepeque and Amilpas in search of corn for the Pozito. 1741/09/17

270r-271v Aguirre Espinosa asks Melgarejo to personally visit the region of Chalco in order to understand the current difficulties had with the labradores. 1741/09/18

272r-272v Request for Melgarejo to leave Mexico City and inspect Chalco, where Joseph de Castro and Juan de Esquivel have entirely ceased to send maize. 1741/09/17

273r-274r Correspondence between Melgarejo and Aguirre, in which the latter reports that in the city of Puebla the price of corn is sold at 10-12 pesos. 1741/09/18

275r Start and cover page for the 2nd of Ambrocio Melgarejo's three notebooks. Recorded by the scribe Phelipe Antonio de la Peña, in Chalco. 1741

275r-276r Nicolas Antonio de Aguilar, authorized to send to the alhondiga all maize without proper documentation (boleta) in the Cerro Gordo region. 1741/09/18

276r-278v Melgarejo commissions Ignacio Aristizabal with cleaning out the canal and especially the Tlapacoya, Laguneta and San Diego embarcaderos. 1741/09/21

278r-281r Commission for the General Tenant to inspect the Jesuits' hacienda, in addition to La Cordova, owned by the widow Anna Vasquez de Cabrera. 1741/09/22

282r-285r Joseph Davalos, alcalde mayor of Mestitlan, requests Melgarejo to send mules from Mexico City in order to furnish the capital with region's corn. 1741/09/21

286v-289v Decree ordering all mule owners of the lake and river region (Riberas y Pueblos Comarcados) to supply their "requas" immediately to Davalos. 1741/09/24

290r List of towns in the central region where mules can be found to carry one thousand loads of corn being sent by Joseph Davalos to Mexico City. n.d.

291r-292r Melgarejo calls together all the labradores of the Chalco region for a general meeting regarding the scarcity of maize in the capital's alhondiga. 1741/09/25

293r-298r Register of 27 hacienda inspections carried out by Francisco Marzelo Pablo Fernandez during the month of September 1741 in the Tacuba region. 1741/09/27

299r-304r Melgarejo summarizes the events leading to his arrival in Chalco, the cleaning operations of the canal and prohibits sale of maiz "desgranado." 1741/10/10

305r Cover page of the orders, "diligencias," commissioned by the Privative Judge, Ambrosio Melgarejo, for the recollection of maize in Tierra Caliente. 1741

305r-306v Melgarejo commissions Marcos Francisco de Anaya to assist in purchasing maize from Quautla, Yautepec, Chautla and Jolalpa in Tierra Caliente. 1741/10/06

306v-308r Anaya compells all the "labradores y peujaleros" in the jurisidiction of Cuernavaca to sell their corn, which will be sent to the Province of Chalco. 1741/10/09

308r-313v Maize farmers of Yautepec, Cuatla de las Amilpas and Ocuituco present declarations before Anaya, allege that corn is not ready to be picked yet. 1741/10/09

313v Anaya reports that there is no corn readily available throughout Tierra Caliente, estimate harvest will not be collected until month of November. 1741/10/13

314r-314v Anaya writes Melgarajo that he intends to visit the Temoac tianguis with hopes of finding corn to purchase and send to Chalco and Mexico City. 1741/10/11

315r-316v Melgarejo and Anaya commissions Thomas Bravo de Acuña, Chalco's commissary to assist in locating and buying maize in Chiautla and Jolalpa. 1741/10/06

316v-319v Residents of Chiautla de la Sal, Xolalpa, San Francisco de Chiatlan and Yzucar are living off of squash (calabaza) due to dire scarcity of maize. 1741/10/10

320r-322v Hacienda owners of Chalco send a letter petitioning Aguirre Espinosa to purchase their corn at 8 pesos per load in November and December. 1741/10/09

322r-326v Meeting between Melgarejo, Aguirre Espinosa, and several of Chalco's labradores, establish prorated quota for purchase of 500 fanegas per day. 1741/10/13

327r-328v Several labradores inform the scribe Antonio de la Peña that they will be unable to satisfy the maize quotas established at the April 10th meeting. 1741/10/18

329r-331v Bernardo Joseph de Ortega and Francisco Fernandez Veles unable to send 54 loads of maize of unripe, green maize (en leche) to Mexico City. 1741/10/14

332r Melgarejo relieves Ortega and Fernandez Veles of their previous obligation, thanks to having secured enough maize to send to the alhondiga. 1741/10/17

333r Cover page for copies of letters answered by Ambrosio Melgarejo during his inspection of the haciendas in the greater Chalco region. 1741

333r-334v Correspondence between Melgarejo and Aguirre Espinosa related to the 2520 fanegas being sent to Mexico City for the week of October 25th. 1741/10/20

334v-335r Aguirre Espinosa informs Diego de Baena of the canal and embarcadero cleaning operations being orchestrated by Ambrosio Melgarejo. 1741/10/21

335r-336v Melgarejo writes Joseph Gutierrez de Castro in relation to having paid Indian laborers to clear the Tlapacoya pass along with Aguirre Espinosa. 1741/10/21

335v-336r Marques de Villahermosa de Alfaro informs Melgarejo that one of the residents of Santiago Tianguistengo is hoarding maize, asks for instructions. 1741/10/21

336r-337v In letter to Gutierrez de Castro, the privative judge Melgarejo cites documents related to a past famine during the time of the Conde de Galve. 1741/10/22

337v-340v Correspondence between the directors of the Alhondiga and Melgarejo, the latter suggests buying corn from Mestitlan even at elevated prices. 1741/10/23

340v-343r Letter from Melgarejo to the directors of the Mexico City alhondiga, celebrating 11000 fanegas have been sent instead of the estimated 5000. 1741/10/25

343r-347r Melgarejo writes the alhondiga's "Corregidores" informing that he has reached an agreement to purchase Chalco maize at four pesos four reales. 1741/10/30

347v-350v Privative judge Melgarejo notifies Mexico City that on October 4 it will receive 604 sacks of corn which should be sold upon arrival at the Pozito. 1741/10/03

350v-352v Aguirre Espinosa writes that the six to seven canoes of maize being sent to Mexico City is of inferior quality, due to lack of proper drying out. 1741/10/07

353r-353v Eight canoes with 420 sacks ("costales") of corn sent to supply the alhondiga for October 11 and 12, Melgarejo requests update from Mexico City. 1741/10/10

353v-354r Melgarejo replies Aguirre Espinosa's previous letter by asking him to refer to the October 10 auto, which has also been sent to the Corregidor. 1741/10/11

355r-359v Phelipe Antonio de la Peña summarizes Ambrocio Melgarejos's actions since his arrival to Chalco on September 19 up until October 19, 1741. 1741/10/19

359v-360r Joseph Gutierrez de Castro agrees to cooperate with Melgarejo by selling him maize, despite consistently refusing to do so for Aguirre Espinosa. 1741/10/19

360r-360v Pedro Frexomill y Figueroa informs has purchased 1000 fanegas of corn from Pedro Prienoteran, who asks to be repaid in maize for his workers. 1741/10/11

361r-361v Melgarejo forbids the "trajineros" canoe shippers to continue operating during the months of November and December in order to curb theft. 1741/10/20

361-362v Privative Judge and Oidor of the Real Audiencia, Ambrocio Melgarejo announces his return to Mexico City after securing maize for the alhondiga. 1741/10/25

363r-363v Hacienda San Andres administrator, Angela Eugenia de Calzado y Terreros, excuses herself, aunt and cousin for not supplying any more corn. 1741/10/31

364r-364v Labradores report that they are unable to provide corn "desgranado" because of the physical damage that threshing does to the Indians' hands. 1741/10/31

364v-366r Melgarejo pardons certain hacenderos their debt of corn to the alhondiga, stipulates that the remainder will be penalized for failure of contract. 1741/11/07

367r-377v Ambrocio Melgarejo presents the final report of his actions during the famine, asks to restore the Alhondiga with its previous autonomy. 1741/11/10

378r Start and cover page for the 3rd of Ambrocio Melgarejo's three notebooks. Letters written in relation to the famine and cleaning of the lake. 1741

378r-378v Francisco Antonio de Echevarri writes letter of support for Melgarejo's endeavor in Chalco for the relief of the famine in the city of Mexico. 1741/09/20

379r-380v Alhondiga transaction report, "boleta," states that after excluding crop from Hacienda La Cartagena, there is not enough corn for the next week. 1741/09/21

381r-382v Alhondiga officials state that there are no mules available to transport the corn from Mestitlan to Mexico City due to their use in the Royal Service. 1741/09/24

383r-384v Letter from Davalos to Aguirre Espinosa, requesting the latter to start buying "mazorcas" or whole ears of corn, rather than threshed kernels. 1741/09/24

385r-386v Letter from Davalos to Melgarejo, reports that the payment of 5000 pesos to the mayor of Mestitlan has been suspended due to lack of transport. 1741/09/26

387r-388v Correspondence between Francisco Marcelo Pablo Fernandez and the alhondiga as the former reports back from Tlanepantla. 1741/09/25

389r-390v The Marques de Villahermosa sends a sample of six mazorcas from the region of Toluca to see if these satisfy the requirements of the alhondiga. 1741/09/27

391r-391v Officials of the alhondiga suggest contacting Bernardo Serrano from the jurisdiction of Toluca and Metepeque (Metepec) for further food relief. 1741/09/28

392r-393r Juan Baptista writes Melgarejo that Mextitlan has abundant maize but no mules to transport the crop, mules must come from Mexico City. 1741/09/28

395r-396v Large crowds bought 900 fanegas of corn in one day. Alhondiga officials receive proposal from San Juan Teotiguacan to sell them 400 fanegas. 1741/09/30

396r-397r Alhondiga officials separate threshed corn from mazorcas, the former will only be sold after the whole ears of corn have all been consumed. 1741/10/02

398r-399r Franciso Marcelo Pablo Fernandez receives order to force labradores to bring their maize threshed and dried, or face fine of 1000 pesos. 1741/10/04

400r-402v Letter to Aguirre Espinosa reporting at least one third of Ricaldo's corn deficient, consisting of rotting molcate. Will revert to sale of threshed corn. 1741/10/05

403r-405v The posito receives large amounts of rotting molcate in loose and small sacks, which has to begun to affect the institution's finances. 1741/10/06

406r-406v Report of the alhondiga's maize purchases for October 2 through October 9, total of 2012 fanegas of corn are left within the posito itself. 1741/10/12

407r-408v Alhondiga notifies Aguirre Espinosa that its doors remained closed during the morning, no ears of corn left to sell to the public until new shipment. 1741/10/12

409r-409v Maize from the Tacuba region begins to arrive to Mexico City alhondiga, cannot be sold due to Melgarejo's restriction of only selling mazorcas. 1741/10/17

410r-414r Register of taxes owed by Chalco hacienda owners for the Paso de San Francisco cleaning operations undertaken by Aguirre Espinosa. 1741/10/25

415r Start and cover page of the 1st notebook of receipts. Collected by Francisco de Aguirre Espinosa for purchase of maize in the Province of Chalco. 1741

415r-416r Phelipe Antonio de la Peña testifies to the money sent to Aguirre Espinosa and received from Mexico City, including several irregularities. 1741/08/01

417r Perez del Castillo owes the Alhondiga 360 pesos due to delays in corn shipments, will visit farmers for indemnization in specie or in maize. 1741/07/31

418r-419r The scribe De la Peña receives 480 pesos for services rendered to Aguirre Espinosa, the latter administrator is owed 1188 pesos by the Crown. 1741/08/08

420r-421r Register of various miscellaneous payments made by to residents of Chalco for their services in the transport, vigilance and recollection of maize. 1741/10/29

422r-423r Testimony of the cleaning operations orchestrated by Ambrocio Melgarejo and Ignacio Aristizabal along the Tlapacoia outlet (desembocadero). 1741/09/21

424r Account of Aristizabal's cleaning expenses amount to 1448 pesos, suggests condemning the San Francisco pass to avoid further expenditures. 1741/10/31

425r-426r Aguirre Espinosa awards the corporal Juan Lopez 532 pesos to be distributed among twelve commissaries for thirty-eight days of service. 1741/10/25

427r Melgarejo sends thirty two pesos for the wages of Marcos Francisco Anaya's two commissaries and two ministers at the rate of one peso per day. 1741/10/20

428r-428v Diego Alonso de Baena, tenant for the town of Ayotzingo, and his guards receive their pay from the funds of the Posito, authorized by Aguirre. 1741/10/25

429r-429v Joseph Antonio Davalos remits 9000 pesos to Ambrocio Melgarejo for the purchase of maize and various other expenses in the province of Chalco. 1741/09/21

430r Antonio de Leca y Guzman reports that from start of October to the 10th of November 1741, Aguirre Espinosa sent 9929 sacks of corn to Mexico. 1742/02/09

431r Melgarejo asks the alhondiga to finance the "desgranado" and threshing of maize in Chalco, as requested by the hacienda owners of Chalco. 1741/09/29

432r Receipt for 150 pesos paid to Esteban Rengifo for two hundred fifty loads of corn (maiz ancho), must be shipped by the first week of November. 1741/10/20

433r-434r Pedro Valiente disagrees with Aguirre Espinosa's decision to purchase maize from Joseph de Leon, given the latter's previous negligent behavior. 1742/01/08

435r-435v Valiente awaits a concrete decision from Aguirre Espinosa regarding a transaction involving seventy five loads of corn for one hundred fifty pesos. 1742/01/29

436r Joseph Martin Ramirez fined 2000 pesos by Aguirre Espinosa for failing to provide the equivalent of 1450 pesos in corn as previously stipulated. 1742/02/16

437r The scribe De la Peña receives 256 pesos for overtime work performed during Ambrocio Melgarejo's commission in the province of Chalco. 1742/02/17

438r-438v Antonio Phelipe de la Peña requests monetary compensation for the three commissions served under both Aguirre Espinosa and Melgarejo. 1742/11/02

439r-439v Julian "mulato" owes Juan Antonio Flores two loads of corn out of the six he agreed to sell, labrador Leon agreed to sell twelve loads to Chalco. 1742/02/06

440r Juan de Ozan, administrator of the alhondiga, pays Bartholome de Ribera 420 pesos for two canoes-worth of "maiz delgado" at six pesos a load. 1742/02/10

441r Receipt for seventy fanegas of maize purchased by Aguirre Espinosa, to deposit in the storehouse of Antonio de Mesa for transport to Mexico. 1741/03/16

442r-443r Francisco de Aguiara complains of 12,000 peso profit the alhondiga made on his produce, remits canoe of corn at four pesos two reales per load. 1741/02/10

444r-446v Official receipts or "voletas" issued by Joseph Francisco Aguirre Espinosa and Ambrocio Melgarejo for transport to the Posito in Mexico City. 1741/07/14

447r The Posito received 16175 fanegas of "maiz delgado" from purchases made by Aguirre Espinosa from February 21 to November 1, 1741. 1741/12/30

448r-448v Cayetano Antonio de Moratilla excuses his failure in remitting the amount of maize he agreed to send due to not having his mules for transport. 1741/08/09

449r-450r Antonio de Leca y Guzman, mayor of the Posito, received 8907 fanegas of "maiz ancho" from Aguirre Espinosa from February-October 1741. 1742/02/09

451r Start and cover page of 2nd expense notebook. Account book detaling the expenses incurred by Melgarejo during his stay, "hospicio," in Chalco. 1742

451r-462r 2977 pesos to be paid by the alhondiga for Ambrocio Melgarejo and his family's stay in Chalco, thirty-nine days of service during the year 1741. 1742/03/01

463r Thomas Alberto de Eslava receives 117 pesos from Aguirre Espionsa for "reposteria" baking/dessert making for Ambrosio Melgarejo and family. 1741/10/26

464r Aguirre Espinosa pays Juan Bautista Bueno, cook, 156 pesos for thirty-nine days of work for Melgarejo and his family during their stay in Chalco. 1741/10/26

465r-475r Start and cover page of 3rd expense notebook. Financial book tabulating the maize purchases, transactions and debts under Aguirre Espinosa. 1742/03/01

476-482v Start and cover page for 4th expense notebook. Financial report submitted to the capital for revision of Aguirre Espinosa's expenses in 1741. 1742/11/06

483r-483v Procurador General notes two small errors in Aguirre Espinosa's accounts, which amount to a difference of 58 pesos 1 tomin 6 granos. 1743/02/21

484r-484v Officials of the alhondiga and Audience of New Spain notify Aguirre Espinosa of a 58 peso discrepancy in his report, thank him for his arduous work. 1743/03/15