Abstract

VENEGAS PEREZ, Ysmael; URQUIJO TORRES, Pedro Sergio; VENTURA PATINO, María del Carmen  and  RAMIREZ, M. Isabel. Composition of Lands in the Indian Village of San Mateo in the alcaldía mayor of Maravatío-Zitácuaro, 17^th and 18^th centuries. Relac. Estud. hist. soc. [online]. 2020, vol.41, n.162, pp.132-162.  Epub Mar 02, 2021. ISSN 2448-7554.  https://doi.org/10.24901/rehs.v41i162.711.

This article analyzes the process of land composition in the late 17th and 18th early centuries, and how this form of juridical legitimation and geographical organization had political and territorial impacts on Indian villages (pueblos de indios), specifically among the Mazahuas of San Mateo in the alcaldía mayor of Zitácuaro in central New Spain. To elucidate this situation we analyzed documentary sources, identified important elements of the landscape, followed the paths of the inspections (vista de ojos) effectuated by officials called ‘composition judges’, and retraced their cartographic georeferencing. The study reveals how their actions established historical guidelines for subsequent territorialization processes, discusses the Indians’ ability to participate in and utilize the juridical system of New Spain, and examines the vitality of the documents they generated, which still exist in the archives of extant agrarian communities.

Keywords : Historical geography; New Spain territories; Mazahuas; Michoacán.

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