The Founding of an Empire

2. The Founding of an Empire • The first need of the conquistadors, in architecture, was to build fortresses • The indigenous population declined sharply • Before the end of the 16th century, a massive change had occurred: an indigenous civilization had been brought under the control of a European monarch

4. San Juan de Ulúa

5. Spain Flourishes • As the first century of European involvement in the New World came to a close, Spain became very wealthy • Silver paid for the entire cost of administering all the American colonies, with plenty left for Spain • Competition from other European nations

6. Government in New Spain • The security of New Spain depended on the peacekeeping efforts and garrisons of native allies • A viceroy based in Mexico City oversaw the government of the region • In less than 100 years after the conquest, viceregal government was fully developed and the Catholic church had sent its missionaries into most, if not all, recesses of the country

8. Caste System • New Spain’s society consisted of a complex scheme of different castes, each legally defined and occupying a specific society • Peninsulares vs. Creoles • With the passage of time, mixed groups emerged: mestizos (Spanish-Indian offspring), mulattoes (Spanish-African offspring), and zambos (Indian-African offspring) • Women in the New World

10. New Laws (1542) • “New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians” • To prevent the exploitation of the indigenous peoples of the Americas • Limit the power of the Ecomenderos

11. Valladolid Debate (1550-1551) VS. Bartolomé de las Casas Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda

12. Las Casas Sepúlveda Natives are naturally inferior, submissive, and according to Aristotle “slaves by nature” Conquering people is good when it helps the growth of the Christian religion. Natives are “inferior to the Spaniards just as children are to adults, women to men, and indeed, one might say, as apes are to men.” • Natives are human beings “created in God’s image” • “All the peoples of the world are men and thus possess natural rights, including the right to liberty.” No to slavery. • The natives natural society and customs, however horrible, express a desire for the good. • The natives have an inborn and instinctive sense of God and worship this supreme power according to their own customs

13. Economy of New Spain • The colonial economy quickly came to depend on the extraction of natural resources, principally silver and gold, and on agricultural production of commerce • Agricultural production fulfilled two major functions: provided many raw materials for mining and the small industrial sector and produced goods destined for export • The Spanish merchants’ guild or consulado controlled transatlantic trade

14. Religion • Religion set the parameters of acceptable behavior for both Europeans and the indigenous population of New Spain • The Spanish Inquisition established in New Spain in 1571 • The Inquisition enforced Catholic doctrine. It identified, tried, and sentenced religious heretics—people who held beliefs or opinions that disagreed with official church doctrine.

15. Juan Diego (1474-1548) • Born in a small village 12 miles north of Mexico City • Original name was Cuauhtlatoatzin which in Nahuatl means “Talking Eagle” • Conversion to Catholicism • Apparition on Tepeyac Hill • Our Lady of Guadalupe also known as the “dark virgin”, the “little brown one” • As a large number of people in Europe left the Catholic church, there was a large number of new Catholics in Mexico

17. Art in Mexico (1519-1550) • Painting in Mexico after the Spanish conquest can by no means be considered a mixture or fusion of indigenous art with that of the Spanish Renaissance • Painting was used to decorate the churches and monasteries • Of all the arts flourishing in Mexico when the Spaniards arrived, sculpture was the most highly developed

21. St. James (Santiago), Cuilapan, Oaxaca, 16th Century Mixtec Date Glyphs Indicating the Year, 1555

22. Colegio de San Gregorio (Valladolid)

23. Architecture • Civil architecture: In laying out the first cities of America the conquistadors followed the systems used in the Old World • Government Buildings • Buildings of Charitable Foundations • Educational Buildings • Religious Architecture

24. Hospital de la Purisima Concepcion (1524) AKA: Hospital de Jesus

25. San Juan Bautista, Cuautinchán, Puebla, 16th Century

27. These were made with a paste made from the pith of corn stalks which is sculpted & painted to make statues

28. Saint Nicolas Tolentino (San Nicolás de Tolentino), Actopan, Hidalgo, 16th Century

30. The Renaissance in Mexico (1550-1630) • The mood was changing, shifting its emphasis to art as the necessities of military defense grew less urgent • In this period, the construction of cathedrals began, they were the highest expression of religious architecture • The Renaissance style was very much popular in Europe and it’s a style that is evident in Mexico during this period

31. Cathedral of Oaxaca

32. Tritostyle Columns (Typical of Oaxaca) Saint Paul, Foliate Relief Carving

33. 17th Century Pipe Organ

34. Cathedral of Michoacán

35. Facade, center section East transept, Virgin of Guadalupe

36. Vault, transverse arch decorated with rosettes

37. Cathedral of San Idelfonso, Merida

38. Neo-Classical Elements Renaissance Pediment and Finials

39. Coffered Vault over Nave Nave and altar, night view

40. Cathedral of Mexico

41. Assumption of the Virgin, over Central Portal Central Portal of Cathedral Facade

42. The Baroque Style in Mexico (1630-1730) • Baroque is a style of invention and of excess • Perhaps one reason for its success in Mexico was precisely that it was “impure,” bizarre, hybrid, and eclectic like Mexico itself • Baroque Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting

43. Portal, church of La Profesa (San Jose el Real), Mexico City

44. Portal, convent church of Santa Monica, Guadalajara

45. The Capilla del Rosario of the church of Santo Domingo in Puebla

46. The Climax of Baroque Style in Mexico (1730-1781) • Churrigueresque Style • The Churrigueresque style reflects the social condition of a brilliant and prosperous colony • Churrigueresque vs. Baroque • Architecture and Painting of this period • Homes and Haciendas of Colonial Mexico

47. Altar de los Reyes, Main Altar (1718-1737)

48. Gilded Rococo Side Panel, 1774

49. Church of the Virgin of Ocotlan, Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, 17th to 18th Century

50. La Virgen del Perdon