2. Antonio de Gouveia was a Portuguese American
priest who lived during the 16th century.
Gouveia was born in 1528 and went to Lisbon at age
twenty, where he was ordained to the holy
priesthood.
In 1553 he sailed to Italy to study theology and
medicine and turned to medicine for income when
he became shipwrecked on his return home.
He was received into the order of the Jesuits in 1555
but walked out the following year.
Gouveia was arrested and charged with
superstition, divination, witchcraft, and commerce
with the Devil, a judgment that lasted four years.
After spending a decade in and out of Inquisition
jails, Gouveia was deported to Brazil for two years.
3. At age thirty-nine Gouveia arrived in Salvador
where he was embraced by governor-general
Mem de Sa, and ordered to preach and celebrate
Mass.
Gouveia later left north for the opulent captaincy
of Pernambuco.
Gouveia squabbled with the Jesuits in
Pernambuco due to their beliefs as defenders of
the Indians against the settlers.
His behavior was notoriously reprehensible, such
as shackling and beating the hosts of friendly
Indian villages he encountered.
Gouveia was eventually arrested and returned to
Portugal in 1571.
Gouveia lived an adventurous life due to his
resistance to conformity and the unparalleled
changes that occurred during the Age of
Discovery.
4. Catarina de Montay Sinay was a Portuguese
American nun and entrepreneur who lived in
Bahia in Brazil during the 17th and 18th century.
Bahia had been the world’s leading producer of
sugar but competition from the islands of the
Caribbean drove down prices and jeopardized
Bahia’s economy.
In 1696 she entered the Desterro Convent of
Bahia which was the only one in Brazil.
She was familiar with the life as a nun having
lived in the nunnery six years as a pupil.
Catarina looked up to fellow nun, Madre Victoria
de Encarnacao, who shared a similar background
and found satisfaction in self-denigration.
Catarina’s life as a nun gave her great
contentment; it gave her companionship with her
sisters, allowed her time for solitude, and gave her
life purpose and a sense of mission.
5. Catarina’s first income was from money she placed on a loan, although
many of her loans were never repaid.
She owned five substantial residences which garnered a considerable
amount of income compared to the other religious.
The business of preparing and selling sweets kept Catarina most
occupied.
She maintained six male and six female slaves for the preparation and
sale of sweets.
During the end of her life Catarina spend enormous sums of money on
the chapel and requested to the archbishop that her sisters live in
comfort after her death.
All of Catarina’s business affairs had been carried out without
permission of the archbishop and were in direct violation of church
law.
Would, in the end, Catarina be rewarded with salvation after her
contributions to the church intermingled with her business dealings?
6. Diego Vasicuio was a Spanish American native
priest who lived during the 17th century in
Salamanca, Peru.
He was the chief priest of his cult and practiced
preconquest religious beliefs, worshiping the god
Sorimana.
They also worshiped with a sacred stone called a
guaca which bore the image of Sorimana.
The Spanish had a difficult time converting Indians
to Catholics during the time period.
The Native Americans were required to abide by the
mita system, or forced labor, which was unfair and
brutal.
Diego realized he could live a better life away from
Salamanca, but he could not leave his family and
the comfort of the cave where they held their
ceremonies.
7. In 1671 Diego, at the age of 90, was ordered
to appear before the parish priest to answer
charges of heresy.
Father de Prado demanded the guaca and
ordered his men to search for more.
His men returned with twenty guacas, none
of which were probably the true guaca that
had been passed down for generations.
Diego and others guilty of heresy agreed to
praise the true God and denounce
Sorimana.
Diego and his followers laid low but
eventually resumed their secret ceremonies.
His rituals, religion and god survived due to
his ability to survive through adaptation.
8. A mulatta and Spanish American, Beatriz de Padilla was a
mother and a mistress who lived during the mid 17th
century in Lagos, Mexico.
Beatriz was a descendant of one of the best families in
Guadalajara, unmarried and had four children.
She was charged with having caused dreadful and
mysterious things to her two lovers and put on trial.
One was a priest who had died, Diego Ortiz, and the other
was the lord mayor of Juchipila, don Diego de las Marinas.
At the time of her arrest she was the housekeeper and
mistress to the de las Marinas.
During her testimony she pointed out the folks back home
were jealous that her lovers were important men.
9. When the family of Ortiz found out the estate
would go to Beatriz and her illegitimate son, they
plotted a conspiracy against her.
Having a colored mistress of low social standing
was common, but making her heir to one’s estate
was unheard of.
After the testimony Beatriz was acquitted and
allowed to return home.
Beatriz had the freedom of movement in her favor
which other white women did not.
The women of color in New Spain played a
fundamental role in Mexican society.
The mixed raced women who fought for their
children’s freedom plays a large role in the
diversity of races in America today.
10. Born in Mexico city in the middle of the 16th century, Miguel
Hernandez was a second generation Mexican and a free mulatto.
Miguel’s history can be traced by his frequent visits to notaries in town
and his original signature.
His signature implies he was literate which placed him in a select group
for the time period.
Most mulattos lived for the service of others and on the edge of the law.
Miguel’s main work was that of a muleteer where he developed
relationships with people of wealth.
Eager to avoid the politics of Mexico City, Miguel left for the town of
Queretaro.
11. After moving to Queretaro Miguel began
building his own freighting business.
In 1600 ranchers sold maize, wheat and
mutton which transformed Queretaro into a
transportation center requiring freighters.
By 1604 he owned twenty mules, which was
worth the same as a wheat farm or several
thousand acres of grazing land.
The facts imply Miguel was aggressive, but
never over expanded or overextended his
credit.
Miguel also profited from property he bought
and sold.
Many of Miguel’s relationships crossed racial
and social boundaries and his life exemplifies
his dedication to succeed in the face of
difficult circumstances.
12. Enrico Martinez was a Spanish American in his
30’s who arrived in Veracruz, Mexico from
Seville in 1589.
His European travels and scientific knowledge
helped him establish himself in Mexico City.
Enrico grew up in a community of printers and traveled to
Northern Europe to learn astronomy, astrology, physics, and
mathematics as well as German.
In 1598 he was able to obtain a confiscated press to compliment
his stock of printing equipment and published his first book a
year later.
The colonial scientists of 17th century New Spain acceptance of
new ideas lagged behind that of Northern Europe which can be
displayed in Enrico’s own book – the Reportorio.
13. In 1607 Enrico halted his career as a printer to
address flooding of Mexico City by Lake Texcoco.
The decision was made to end reliance on dykes
and small canals and build a large canal or
desague.
At the time, the conception and initial
completion of the desague was a tremendous
achievement.
In 1623 the desague became blocked and deemed
a fiasco and was not put into working order until
1900.
After the worst flooding in the colony’s history,
Enrico’s proposals were largely ignored.
Enrico’s shortcomings in all aspects of his career
were due not only to his ineptness, but also to the
political and social structure of the colony.
