Yale University Collection of Latin American Manuscripts
Microform Collection
Location: Andean Collection, 1538-1878 - Microfilm F2212 .A57 2000
Mexico Collection - Microfilm F1226. M48 2000
Scope: This collection is microfilmed from original documents in the Manuscripts and Archives Department at the Yale University Library. The text of all of the documents is in Spanish.
The Andean Collection (Microfilm F 2212 A57
2000) includes manuscripts and printed works which can be used to
study the history of Peru from the prehispanic period to the middle
of the nineteenth century. The materials document the cultural
history of the Andean people before the Spanish conquest; colonial
civil administration; the role of the Catholic church in colonial
society; the Bourbon reforms, the war of independence; the anarchy
of the early republican period and the war of the Confederation
Peru-Bolivia.
On the history of the Andean people before the conquest, the
collection includes copies, complete and partial, of various
accounts written by chroniclers Juan de Polo de Ondegardo, Juan de
Santa Cruz Pachacuti, Antonio de la Calancha and Fernando de
Montesinos.
The materials related to the colonial period are numerous and
varied, and document the central area of the Peruvian viceroyalty
(currently Peru and Bolivia) and its other areas such as Quito, New
Granada, Chile and Rio de la Plata. To study the colonial civil
administration during the 17th and 18th centuries, the reports
written by the viceroys are valuable sources. There are also account
books and legal writs which can be used to analyze the economic and
political role of the Church in the colonial milieu, in particular
the role of the Jesuit and the Mercedarian orders. The Bourbon
reforms which took place in the Peruvian viceroyalty are especially
well-documented in the numerous royal and vicergal decrees, issued
mostly in the second half of the 18th century.
Concerning the War of Independence period, there are letters,
reports and administrative texts by prominent personages such a
Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín, Juan de Berindoaga and Antonio
José de Sucre. The turbulent initial years of the republican period
can be reconstructed from correspondence by generals Agustín Gamarra
and Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente. Finally, there are several
letters and military reports on the war of the Confederation
Peru-Bolivia, an ambitious political plan to create a union between
the two countries led by the General Andrés de Santa Cruz.
(Description taken from Guide to collection)
The Mexico Collection (Microfilm F 1226 .M48 2000) is
comprised of both originals and copies of government documents,
including letters, decrees, edicts, ordinances, accounts and
reports; church documents; correspondence; legal writs; political
writings, and literary texts. The materials document the history of
Mexico from the pre-Columbian period to the beginning of the 20th
century, and illustrate the history of the peoples before the
arrival of Spaniards; the Spanish conquest; the colonial civil and
judicial administration; the role of the Catholic church in colonial
society, the Bourbon reforms; the movement for independence; the
First Mexican Empire, and the early republican period.
On the history of the peoples who inhabited the Mexican territory
before the arrival of Spaniards, the collection includes originals
and copies of works written by authors in the 18th and 19th
centuries. There are texts by the historian Mariano Fernández de
Echeverria y Veytia and the travelers Brantz Mayer and Brasseur de
Bourbourg. Concerning the Spanish conquest, the collection includes
a copy of Crónica de la Nueva España by Francisco Cervantes de
Salazar, the most prominent humanist in Mexico during the 16th
century. Although unfinished, Cervantes's text is a detailed and
fascinating account of the military enterprise of Hernán Cortes and
his comrades.
The texts concerning the colonial period constitute the core of the
collection. To study the colonial civil administration during the
17th and 18th centuries, the reports written by viceroys and local
authorities are valuable documents. The numerous legal writs are
outstanding sources for understanding judicial administration and
the literary culture of lawyers. Legal writs and decrees also
provide rich information to analyze the economic, social and
political significance of the Catholic church and the Jesuit,
Franciscan, Dominican, Mercedarian, and Augustinian orders. The
Bourbon reforms undertaken by colonial administration in the Mexican
viceroyalty are extensively documented in the numerous royal and
viceregal decrees, edicts, and ordinances promulgated mostly in the
second half of the 18th century.
On the independence movement, there are letters, reports, accounts
and administrative texts by some of its leading protagonists,
including Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Agustín de Itúrbide, and
Viceroy José de Iturrigaray. The correspondence of the Itúrbide
family represents, for instance, an exceptional primary source
documenting the social and political turmoil of that time.
Additionally, the account written by Gregorio Melero y Piña, a
follower of Miguel Hidalgo, is vivid personal testimony of military
and political conspiracies in San Luis Potosi. There are also
original texts written about the political milieu by Carlos María
Bustamante, the most important Mexican historian of the early 19th
century.
The history of the first Mexican Empire, established by Agustín de
Itúrbide after independence was achieved, is documented generally in
several letters and official reports which trace its establishment,
political opposition to it, and the abdication of Itúrbide. On the
initial decades of the Mexican Republic, there are diverse and
numerous materials, including military and diplomatic reports,
constitutional texts, and administrative papers. (Description taken
from Guide to collection)
How to search the
collection:
Andean Collection, 1538-1878 - Microfilm F 2212 A57 2000 - (22 reels) -
This collection is arranged in 2 parts; materials in each part are arranged
alphabetically by country, and by date within each country. There are two
printed guides for the Andean collection. Part I, Unit 1 is shelved at
Microfilm F 2212 A57 2000 Reel 1-13 Guide and Part I, Unit 2 is shelved at
Microfilm F 2212 A57 2000 Reel 14-22 Guide.
Mexico Collection - Microfilm F 1226 .M48 2000 - (63 reels - 30 reels in
Unit 1 and 33 reels in Unit 2) This collection
is arranged in 2 parts; materials in each part are arranged chronologically.
There are two printed guides for the Mexico collection. Part II, Unit 1 is
shelved at Microfilm F 1226 M48 2000 Unit 1 Guide and Part II, Unit 2 is shelved
at Microfilm F 1226 M48 2000 Unit 1 Guide.
All titles in this collection are represented in Truman's Library Catalog and can be located by keyword, title, author and subject. This collection is part of several collections covering Latin American History owned by Pickler Memorial Library. Other collections include the Princeton University Latin American Pamphlet Collection, North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) Archive of Latin Americana, and the Princeton University Libraries Latin American Microfilm Collection, Supplements I-II. To find primary source material on a particular country from all of these collections in Truman's library catalog, use the following keyword search as an example: (yale or princeton or north american congress) and microform and bolivia. (Any other country name can be substituted for Bolivia.) This keyword search will pull up all the primary sources in these collections for the particular country that you are searching.
Andean Collection - There are two printed guides for the Andean collection. Part I, Unit 1 is shelved at Microfilm F 2212 A57 2000 Reel 1-13 Guide and Part I, Unit 2 is shelved at Microfilm F 2212 A57 2000 Reel 14-22 Guide.
Mexico collection - There are two printed guides for the Mexico collection. Part II, Unit 1 is shelved at Microfilm F 1226 M48 2000 Unit 1 Guide and Part II, Unit 2 is shelved at Microfilm F 1226 M48 2000 Unit 1 Guide.
For more information about this subject in
our Library Catalog, check out these
Subject Categories:
Time Period: 16th Century 17th Century 18th Century 19th Century 20th Century
Subject keywords: Latin American History, Religion and Philosophy
