Juan de Torquemada (c. 1562 – 1624) was a Franciscan friar, active as missionary in colonial Mexico and considered the "leading Franciscan chronicler of his generation."Brading, p. 273. Administrator, engineer, architect and ethnographer, he is most famous for his monumental work commonly known as ("Indian Monarchy"), a survey of the history and culture of the indigenous peoples of New Spain together with an account of their conversion to Christianity, first published in Spain in 1615 and republished in 1723. was the "prime text of Mexican history, and was destined to influence all subsequent chronicles until the twentieth century."Brading, p. 277. It was used by later historians, the Franciscan Augustin de Vetancurt and most importantly by 18th-century Jesuit Francisco Javier Clavijero. No English translation of this work has ever been published.

Life

Early years There are few firm biographical details concerning Juan de Torquemada, most of which have to be deduced from his own work. Even basic information is subject to uncertainty and controversy. Born at Torquemada, Palencia, north central Spain, at an unknown date before 1566 (Miguel León-Portilla argues in detail for 1562) he was brought by his parents to New Spain probably while still a child. He took the Franciscan habit, as is generally agreed, in 1579, and pursued a course of studies in Latin, theology, philosophy and Nahuatl. Brief notices in his own works put him at the convent in Tlacopan in 1582 and (while still a youth) at the convent in Chiauhtla - the presumption being that these relate to his novitiate.Monarquía indiana: for Tlacopan, Lib. XIV, cap. 35; for Chiauhtla, Lib. XV, cap. 38 and Lib. XX, cap. 80. The passages relating to Chiauhtla are quoted by León-Portilla, p. 24. It is uncertain if he began his studies at the convento mayor de San Francisco in Mexico City, but it is presumed that part at least of his studies were conducted while resident at the convent of Santiago, Tlatelolco. Among his teachers he names fray Juan Bautista (who taught him theology) and Antonio Valeriano (who taught him Nahuatl and whom he especially praised for his talents).Monarquía indiana: for Juan Bautista, see Lib. XX, cap. 79; for Valeriano, see Lib. V, cap 10. Both passages quoted by León-Portilla, p. 23. At some time in the early 1580s he was sent by his superiors to Guatemala where he encountered the conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo. By 1584 he was certainly at the convent of San Francisco, where he assisted in the infirmary. The conjectured date of his priestly ordination is 1587 or 1588.For the various dates cited in this paragraph, see León-Portilla, pp. 21, 23, 24. Moreno Toscano, p. 498, regarded 1565 as the only probable date of birth but (following Icazbalceta, although offering no arguments herself), accepts 1579 as the date Torquemada took the habit. She does not discuss the date of his ordination. For Torquemada's impression of the aged Díaz (hombre de todo crédito), see Monarquía indiana, Lib. IV, cap. 4 (quoted by León-Portilla, p. 21). See also Alcina Franch (1973), pp.256f. who accepts a date between 1563 and 1565 for his birth or even 1559 if 1579 is taken as the date of his profession at age 20.

He is almost certain to have personally known other notable Franciscan friars who were his contemporaries and who were animated, as he was, by a profound interest in the pre-Hispanic life and culture of the conquered Indians in New Spain, especially Andrés de Olmos, Gerónimo de Mendieta, and Bernardino de Sahagún.León-Portilla, p. 27; Moreno Toscano, p.499 (who mentions only Gerónimo de Mendieta).

Missionary activity, 1588-1602

Shortly after ordination (which, in this period, was normally conferred on aspirant Franciscans at age 25),León-Portilla, p. 21. he was sent as a missionary to Nueva Galicia, a large territory in central western New Spain, the capital of which was Guadalajara and which extended north to Zacatecas and west to the Pacific. He is next heard of as guardian of the convent at Tlaxcala (east of Mexico City and north of Puebla), and although no dates can be assigned to his travels, at this time he is known to have been engaged in missionary work in the central region around Toluca (a town not far to the south-west of Mexico City) and at various places in Michoacán (an area west of Mexico City, extending to the Pacific).

Among his achievements during this phase of his life was his role as one of the founders of the Confraternity of Nuestra Señora de Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude), the indigenous members of which performed, on Sundays, edifying plays and scenes written in their own language by Torquemada for the purposes of inculcating in them and in spectators the Catholic faith.See León-Portilla: for the location of his missionary activity, pp. 25-27; for his election as guardian of the convent at Tlaxcala, p. 22; for his part in the founding of the confraternity, pp. 27f. (quoting from Monarquía indiana, Lib. 20, cap. 79 and the Septima relación of Chimalpahin); for his election as guardian at Tulancingo, p. 31.

In 1600 and 1601 (possibly in 1599 as well) he was guardian of the convent of Zacatlán (in the central highlands north-east of Mexico City). In 1602 he was guardian of the convent of Tulancingo. Then, in 1603, he was elected guardian of the convent of Santiago Tlatelolco, taking up his post there on 22 July; a post he held, it seems, for eight and a half years.León-Portilla: for the starting date, see p. 31 (quoting the Anales coloniales de Tlatelolco; for Torquemada as guardian of the convent of Tlaxcala in February 1612, see p. 39 (citing the Aprobación of February of that year provided for the Monarquía indiana by fray Luis Váez.

At Tlatelolco, 1603-1612 While guardian of the convent at Tlatelolco, he assumed numerous heavy burdens, both intellectual and practical, not all of which related to the affairs of the Franciscans.In the general Prologue to Monarquía indiana he emphasises how heavy these burdens were, not (he says) in order to boast of his talents but to show how much he accomplished in the comparatively few years when he was also writing (when he had the time) his magnum opus. Among those which did may be mentioned the fact that the guardian of the convent was ex officio President of the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, a post which entailed general oversight of the conduct of the institution under its rector. The College had, however, so far declined from the ambitious plans which attended its ceremonial opening in 1536 that, by the end of the 16th century, it had become an elementary school where local Indian children learnt reading, writing, manners and good behaviour.For the guardian as ex officio president of the institution, see Moreno Toscano, p. 499 (although she mis-assigns the start of his guardianship to 1600). For the decline of the institution before Torquemada's guardianship, see Juan Estarellas, "The College of Tlatelolco and the Problem of Higher Education for Indians in 16th Century Mexico", History of Education Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Dec., 1962), pp. 234-243, at pp. 240f.

Administrator In 1604 he visited Zacatecas to assist in the establishment of a Franciscan province to be headquartered there, and in 1606 he spent time in Michoacán and Jalisco for the same purpose - the establishment of a new province in Jalisco (headquartered in Guadalajara), carved out of the province of San Pedro y San Pablo covering Michoacán-Jalisco.León-Portilla, p. 34. For the division of Franciscan provinces in New Spain at this time, see Habig, p. 228, with the map on p. 216. A surge of vocations from among the criollos as well as a renewed influx of friars from Spain had necessitated a new alignment of responsibilities. A generation before (in 1570), numbers of friars in Nueva Galicia had fallen to 16, four of whom were elderly. In striking contrast to this long period of decline, in 1601 and 1602 alone, 14 friars had arrived from Spain destined for Nueva Galicia and 32 more for Zacatecas. Between 1610 and 1618 these numbers were augmented by another 40 arrivals.Foin, pp. 219-221 for the low number in 1570; p. 234, table of arrivals 1610 onwards.

Engineer

Abnormally high rainfall in August 1604 led to a devastating flood of Mexico City - one of several inundations from Lake Texcoco which sometimes took years to recede. The city was still virtually an island at this time. Other such inundations occurred in 1555, 1580, 1607 and 1629 resulting in the decision in 1629 (imperfectly implemented) to drain part of the lake.Louisa Hoberman, pp. 212 and 222, and see Mathes, pp. 425-428. As an emergency measure, Viceroy Juan de Mendoza asked the Franciscan provincial to assign members of his Order to help in various urgent remedial works. Torquemada participated, specifically in the reconstruction of the calzadas (causeways) of Los Misterios (leading north-east to Guadalupe – works which took five months of continuous activity to complete, employing thousands of labourers) and of that leading west to Chapultepec. When these works were finished, the friars organised the cleaning of the main drains of the city. It was only through the friars' petitioning the Viceroy that he ordered the labourers to be paid and fed at government expense.See passages in Monarquía indiana, Lib. V, cap. 60, partly quoted by León-Portilla, pp. 33f. and Prólogo general (p. XXIX of IIH edn.). The three main causeways dating from the Aztec period are described in Monarquía indiana, Lib. III, cap. 23; the Spaniards built two more (ibid., cap. 26).

Architect

Commencing in 1604, Torquemada took in hand the construction of a new church of Santiago de Tlatelolco, a project which had been stalled for many years. He reported that it proceeded in great part thanks to contributions in cash and kind by local Indians, many of whom donated their labour.Monarquía indiana, Lib. XVII, cap. 5, quoted by Victoria (1990) at pp. 75f. It is notable for the massive bases of the towers flanking the main entrance, designed to resist earthquake.