186 UNIT 2 COLONIAL MESOAMERICA
religious orders lived primarily among the Indians, learning the native languages
and ministering to the native peoples through missions, schools, and hospitals. Orig-
inally the regulars were expected to return to Spain once the conversion of the In-
dians was completed; but, with the exception of the Society of Jesus, whose members
were expelled from Spain’s colonies (and Spain itself) in 1767, the religious orders
remained in the colonies throughout the Colonial period and into the Neocolonial
(Republican) and Modern periods.
In 1571, the Holy Office of the Inquisition was established in Mexico City to in-
vestigate and punish religious crimes. Native people were exempt from prosecution
by the Inquisition. Inquisition-like proceedings carried out by bishops in Mexico and
Yucatán during the 1530s and 1540s had, it was thought, gone too far, with Indians
being tortured and even executed. By 1571, the opinion prevailed that the Indians
had been brought into the Catholic faith too recently to be held to the same standards
as Spanish Christians. This policy would remain in effect until the Inquisition was dis-
solved at the end of the Colonial period.
Spaniards of Jewish ancestry who may have hoped that their move to the colony
might grant them some religious freedom found themselves once again under per-
petual scrutiny and suspicion. People from European countries where Protestantism
was common, such as the French printers who ran some of Mexico’s first publishing
houses, were also viewed with suspicion. And people of African and mixed descent
were subject to investigation, even though they might have much less familiarity with
Christian teachings than the Indians around them. The Inquisition’s autos de fe,or
rituals of penitence and reconciliation, became a feature of New Spain’s public life,
and those convicted of religious crimes were occasionally burned at the stake.CIVIL-RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS AFFECTING
THE NATIVE POPULATION
For the Spaniards the wealth of the Indies was not confined exclusively to precious
metals and other goods; the large Indian populations themselves were viewed as a
valuable resource. As a result, many of the institutions imposed by the Spaniards
were designed to allow Spanish colonists to use native labor. Ultimately, any wealth
generated by Indian labor (or by any other means) would benefit the king of Spain,
since he was guaranteed to receive one-fifth of anything coming out of the Indies.
In establishing official policies regarding the treatment of the Indians, the Crown
was torn between what was genuinely felt to be an obligation to promote the well-
being of the Indians, on the one hand, and its ultimate desire to generate revenues
from the colonies, on the other. Unfortunately for the Indians, even when Crown poli-
cies were clearly intended for their benefit, local officials often failed to implement
them out of indifference, if not open hostility. The unwillingness of Crown officials
to enforce the laws is well-illustrated in the phrase obedezco pero no cumplo(“I obey but
do not execute”); the speaker acknowledges the king’s authority but refuses to carry
out his commands. Cortés reportedly uttered this phrase when he received orders
from Charles V that, among other things, explicitly forbade him from distributing en-