Peruvian Manuscripts collection, 1619-1824

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Summary

Abstract:
This seven volume collection of manuscripts and printed materials on colonial and independent Peru focuses on the late eighteenth century, although its contents span from the seventeenth to the early nineteenth century. Three volumes of Royal Decrees feature important institutional information for the entirety of Spanish America, especially in relation to the late Bourbon military reforms under Viceroy Theodore de la Croix. Fernando Quadrado, an important eighteenth century Spanish oidor, appears prominently throughout the collection. The Peruvian mining industry is well documented in two volumes related to Baron von Nordenflicht's controversial mining expedition and Pedro Miralles' relationship to the former.
Extent:
3 boxes (1.5 linear feet)
Language:
Finding aid is written in English.

Background

Scope and content:

The Peruvian manuscripts span a wide range of topics, although there is a notable concentration of themes that revolve around the interests of influential colonial administrators, mine and plantation owners. The first volume consists of various documents directly related to Don Fernando Quadrado and the cases he oversaw as a late 18th and early 19th century royal functionary. Both the second and third volumes of the collection center around the Chanca and Cachirín mines and the Hacienda Bellavista in the central Peruvian province of Cajatambo. Historical characters such as Pedro Miralles, José Coquet and Baron von Nordenflicht carry out a number of legal procedures for control of the mines and their indigenous workforce. A very lengthy dispute over the permanent lease (emphytensis) of Nuestra Señora de Guia Monastery's landholdings are the principal focus of the fourth volume, in which Fernando Quadrado reappears. The fifth, sixth and seventh volumes consist of copies and registers of royal mandates, which address a very wide range of topics and illustrate the principal preoccupations of colonial rule as viewed by the King of Spain and Viceroy of Peru. Materials related to the military reforms of the Spanish American armies, advancements in shipping technologies, and concerns over tobacco production provide a very broad institutional history of Peru and more generally for Spanish South America.

Biographical / historical:

In the context of Spanish American history, this collection comprises the late colonial and early independence periods. Materials related to the Bourbon reforms (1713-1806) reveal a genuine interest by part of the Spanish Crown and more specifically Viceroy Theodore de Croix (1784-1790) to modernize its most important South American colony. Important indigenous uprisings are documented in Royal Decrees sent by the king to key military officers and allies who put down a series of significant indigenous rebellions, most notably Tupac Amaru II's 1780 uprising. Despite being a royalist stronghold, letters to the insurgent military leaders José de San Martín and Simón Bolivar expose the extent to which the wars of independence affected all sectors of society.

Acquisition information:
Purchase, ca. 1969.
Arrangement:

Seven bound volumes, numbered one through seven, are stored in three boxes. Individual volumes contain documents from various historical periods, which are not arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

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
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