Azcapotzalco (V. of Mexico), 1738: Land Sale

This manuscript was first published in Beyond the Codices, eds. Arthur J.O. Anderson, Frances Berdan, and James Lockhart (Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center, 1976), Doc. 17, 100–100. However, the transcription, translation, and a new introduction presented here come from Lockhart's personal papers.

The original is found in the McAfee Collection, UCLA Research Library, Special Collections.

[Introduction by James Lockhart:]
The papers assembled here represent a formidable amount of legal acculturation. A complex protocol of Spanish procedures for land transfer is followed to the letter, and all the relevant terminology is handled either by translations now conventional or by loans, including such a technical loan phrase as amparo de posesión, “affirmation or confirmation of possession.” The same tendencies were seen in Doc. 14, done in the same entity 35 years earlier, but a great advance has taken place. The present writer would never reverse pena and notificación as the notary of 1703 did.

The famous altepetl of Azcapotzalco, not far to the northwest of Mexico City, contained two originally ethnic subdivisions, Mexicapan and Tepanecapan, and the municipality continued to be double (see Gibson, Aztecs, p. 38). The Mexicapan part figures here, and also doubtless in Doc. 14, though it is not specified. In Doc. 14 of 1703, the Mexicapan municipal building was called by the traditional word tecpan; here the Spanish loan phrase casas reales is used.

The substance of the transaction is that two indigenous couples are selling to a Spaniard a piece of land that is substantial in size but not of the largest, 40 units by 20, or just double the standard plot size. The price is an unimpressive 10 pesos; not out of line, but one would think it was hardly enough to pay for the elaborate maneuvering and recordkeeping involved here. The money is said to be for masses (for some deceased relative). This far into the eighteenth century, selling land to pay for masses was no longer a very common practice, but the present case proves that it had not died out, at least as a public justification for a sale.

The buyer is the son of the Spaniard who was already accumulating land in the area a generation ago, in Doc. 14. We see the family developing some pretensions. The father was plain Andrés González; the son has acquired the title don as don Antonio González, and he is described as a member of the (Franciscan) Third Order. Since essentially anyone could belong to the Third Order, however, and by this time most solvent Spaniards had the don, we should not be overwhelmed by the family’s rise.

The land is in the same tlaxilacalli where the father of the buyer was active before, Santo Domingo Huexotitlan, though the indigenous owners belong to another district, San Lucas Atenco. Above all, the new purchase borders on land that the father owned and after him his children, so that the González family across two generations is building up a consolidated holding. The piece borders on indigenous holdings in two neighboring tlaxilacalli, but on one side the land already belongs to another Spaniard.

As we have seen, the land is still counted the traditional indigenous way, in 20s. The unit of measurement used, however, seems at first to be Spanish in origin, being called a brazada even in the Nahuatl text. But when it is explained, we see that it is the traditional local unit called the cennequetzalpan, equivalent to a person’s height (no doubt with arms extended above the head), a close relative of the basic indigenous units the quahuitl and the matl. Here it is specified as 21/2 varas (Spanish yards) long.

The text is in a very full-blown Stage 3 Nahuatl. Looking for the most obvious hallmarks, one is surprised to find no clear examples of loan particles, but there is an abundance of the rarer loan verbs. Contradeciroa, “to contradict,” occurs twice (lines 105, 129), and firmaroa, “to sign,” is also there (l. 41). When loan verbs are in the reverential, the causative is most often used, but in this case it is the applicative: “Oquimofirmarhui,” “he signed.” These are technical legal terms, but the most famous loan verb of all was not of that nature of all: pasearoa, often seen as paxialoa, “to stroll or parade about.” Here it occurs (line 122) as “Omopaxialolti,” “he strolled.” This time the more usual causative reverential is used.

But let us return to loan particles. Are there perhaps some after all? We see the word de in the Nahuatl text frequently. But when it is embedded in a long Spanish clause giving the date, that is more code switching than taking a word into Nahuatl. The same with the use of de in unanalyzed loan phrases such as the already mentioned amparo de posesión. But what about the use of Spanish prepositions in describing directions? The text is very far advanced in borrowing Spanish vocabulary in this department. Not only do we find norte and sur, which were frequently borrowed because of the lack of common Nahuatl equivalents, but also oriente and poniente, the solar directions for which most Nahuatl texts stubbornly stick to the traditional phrases. How are we to look at a phrase like “de norte a sur” (line 12), “from north to south?” It is not exactly an unanalyzed phrase, for norte and sur are separate loan-words, and all the elements of such an expression can be moved around and substituted for one another. We could say that de, “of, from,” and a, “to,” are at least on the verge of being loanwords.

An important part of Stage 3 Nahuatl was the use of some native vocabulary as the automatic equivalent of certain Spanish words and expressions. The present text is full of this phenomenon. The most productive word of this type was pia, originally meaning to have custody or charge of, to take care of, even to hold, which in the course of the sixteenth century took on as well the main meaning of Spanish tener, “to have,” and then was used to translate an ever increasing number of Spanish idioms. Here we have pia not only meaning simple possession (lines 9, 112) but to represent “having” a certain number of units of length or width (lines 12, 109, 113, 118), and even (line 28 and elsewhere) not having anything to demand (no tener nada que pedir). The common equivalence of the verb pano with Spanish pasar, “to pass” and related meanings, is also seen here (lines 62, 71).

In Stage 3 Nahuatl the third person singular form of the instrumental relational word ca—ica—came to be the equivalent of Spanish con, “with.” Here we see (line 64 and elsewhere) “yCa testigos,” “with witnesses.” In traditional Nahuatl when two things border both are subjects of the verb, but here we see that one piece of land borders ica, “with,” another (line 110).

Yet the text is by no means an extreme example of Spanish language influence. It retains quite a few conservative elements, for example the use of the old hybrid expression caxtiltecatl for a Spaniard rather than the newer español.

The orthography of the sale proceedings is quite individual. Some of the traits are widely seen in Stage 3 texts, others are unique or rare and not necessarily tied to any particular time. As usual with texts of this time, s has generally replaced c/ç/z, far more consistently than in the Azcapotzalco text from 1703 (Doc. 14). Also as with a good many texts of Stage 3, the old value of ll has ceded to something close to Spanish ll, so that the digraph generally represents [y], earlier written as y. The text has only a single y representing the glide (in “yes,” “it will be,” line 30) ; all the others represent the vowel [i]. Examples of ll for standard y are rife, for example “allac” for standard ayac, “no one” (line 105). As usual in this style, former ll is written single, with “tlali” for tlalli, land,” etc. In fact, in Stage 3 ll was increasingly written single regardless of how [y] was represented.

Also frequently seen in late texts is h for ch; here we see such things as teh- for tech-, “us” (line 23). how this might reflect pronunciation is not clear, but it may have some relation to the weakening of many syllable-final consonants that was becoming acute across the course of the seventeenth and especially eighteenth centuries. Probably related to this phenomenon is the writing of syllable-final -uh as -c, something frequently found in the Toluca Valley of this time, where weakening of final consonants was of epidemic proportions (see Pizzigoni, Testaments of Toluca). An example is “icqui” in line 57 for iuhqui, “like, as.”

All of the above orthographic tendencies are common in Stage 3 texts. The present document contains in addition some unorthodoxies that may be local or personal idiosyncrasies. Where we expect the sound [s] we often find tz, normally the representation of [ts]. Thus in line 12 “tzenpohuali” instead of “cenpohuali,” standard cempohualli, “twenty,” and even “Gontzales” instead of “Gonsales,” González (line 17). On the other hand, tz is never written as s or c. We can suspect the general lenition of [ts] to [s], but the evidence is not clear.

Several times the sequence cui [kwi] appears as cu, [ko], thus in line 77 “cux” for cuix, “perhaps, question word.” In other kinds of Nahuatl this combination of rounded consonant plus vowel has become simple consonant plus rounded vowel, and the same may be true here.

Although unstressed i is usually written standardly, quite a few times it appears as e, especially word-finally, as in “matlactle” for matlactli, “ten” (line 24). The same can occasionally occur in other positions, however, as in “quemotlania,” standard quimotlania, “he requests it,” line 59. One quite frequently sees Spanish unstressed e represented in Nahuatl texts as i; this is a similar merging, but in the opposite direction and with native vocabulary.

While most tl is written standardly, some unorthodoxies with the digraph may point to some kind of merging. Three times we see the combination ltl (lines 5, 118, 137); once tl is in the place of standard t (line 20), and once a final -tl appears as l (line 130).

An idiosyncrasy of the writer that probably bears no relation to pronunciation is that he almost always represents syllable-final [w] as -hu, although in that position [w] is unvoiced in Nahuatl and is conventionally written as -uh, whereas hu is the normal convention for voiced prevocalic [w]. Thus we find for example “ipatihu” (line 23) instead of ipatiuh, “its price."

In line 26 the great-grandfather of the sellers, Esteban Diego, in view of the passage of so much time, is given the title don, which in his own testament we see that he did not bear during his lifetime.

In line 45, the Juan Soriano acting on behalf of the sellers is very possibly the same as the person of that name present in Doc. 5 of 35 years earlier. The name is Spanish in type, though the person may not be.

In line 79, the sentence breaks off at the end of a page. This statement doubtless would have continued as at the end of other sections: “[to show] that it is true we put here our names and signatures, with witnesses.”

An entirely different document, the will of the sellers’ great-grandfather referred to the main text in lines 26–27, was pasted onto the last leaf of the record of the proceedings (lines 162–93). The document or fragment is undated, but it shows signs of being from an earlier time, and given the stated relationship between the sellers of 1738 and the testator, one could estimate a date of sometime around 1630 to 1650. No hints of Stage 3 phenomena are seen. Some land, already called purchased land, is referred to as being at Chimalchiuhcan as in the main text, and is left to a descendant. These facts are probably authentic, but they are far from proving that the later sellers had inherited the parcel.

The writing is very individual, hardly that of a well trained notary of any period. One is tempted to speculate that the will was written by Esteban Diego himself, with the last part giving evidence of the extremity of the writer’s condition.

It was not possible to decipher further the partially torn and perhaps garbled section at lines 186–88. Possibly it contains a place name. The letters at the end of this part could also be divided as “nica guiahuac,”, i.e., nican quiyahuac, “here outside the house,” a frequently seen phrase.

Title variants: 
Beyond the Codices, Document 17
Principal editor: 
James Lockhart

Transcriptions and Translations

Analytic Transcription English Translation Spanish Translation
Escritura de Benta — Año de 1738 . Ma quimatican Yn quexquichtin quitasque yhuan quipohuasque Ynin esCritura de Benta ticchihua Yn tehuantin . Salbador fran.co yhuan Nonamictzin . Maria de la consecpsion totlaxilacaltlia S. fran.co tzapotla Yhuan Joseph de Santiago Nonamictzin Rosa Maria totlaxilacaltia S. Lucas Atenco tohualtepeuh, S. Phelipe i Santiago Azcapotzalco itlahuilanal Villa tlacopa tiquitohua timochintin yn otitotenehuque Ca ticpie totlalnemac oncan Mani motenehua chimalchicca huel ixquich . ompohuali brasadas inic Oriente a poniente ahu inic patlahuac Quipie tzenpohuali brasadas de norte a sur huahu inin tlali omotenechu yc Oriente mocuaxohnamiqui ica itlal Bartholome de Vargas ahu inin poniente Mocuaxochnamiqui ica in huey Otli tlamelahua Cuahupanahuasco ihuan ica itlaltzin ipilhuantzitzi micCatzintle Sr Andres Gontzales ahu inic norte moCuaxohnamiqui ica intlal tlaxilacaleque S. Simon poxtlan ahu inic Sur moCuaxohnamiqui ica intlal tlaxilacaleque S.to Domingo huexotlitla ahu inin tlali omotenehu Ca tollolo ica totlanequilistica tictonamaquiltililia i llehuatzin Caxtiltecatzintle S.r Dn Antt.o GonSales tersero de tohueitatzin S. franco ahu in tehmomaquilia in ipatihu totlal Ca huel ichxquih matlactle p.s ahu inin tomin tictzelia Camo toteh monequis Ca misas ic mochihuas ipan nesi yhuan motta in itestamento yn tahcoltzin D.n Esban Diego ipan in ontlamanpa ihuan in lletlamanpa itlatoltzin Ca huel totlalnemac ahu in axcan Cacmo ticpie tlein tiquitlanisque in tehuantin anose topilhuan anose toxhuihuan tlacatisque anoSe tlacatiquihue acmo intlatohuallan yes Canel huel tollolo ica tictonamaquiltilique in omotenehutzino Caxtiltecatzintle Sr Dn Antt.o Gon.es ahu tla itla amatl nesitihu Cacmo neltocos ica Ca huel nestica ipan in huehue testamento Ca tlalcohuali ihuan totlalnemac ahu inic neltilistle nican tictomaquilia inin esCritura de Benta in tzemallan tictotlatquitililia tictoaxcatililia in omotenehutzino tlalcoccatzintle acmo ticpie tlein tiquitlanisque inpan in omotenehu tlali inic tictemaca inin eSCritura de Benta axcan mani mextli a Ocho de disiem[bre] [Transcription by James Lockhart; continues on the next page] Instrument of sale. — Year of 1738. Let those know who should see and read this instrument of sale made by us, Salvador Francisco and my spouse María de la Concepción, and Josef de Santiago and my spouse Rosa María, our tlaxilacalli being San Lucas Atenco, our altepetl being San Felipe y Santiago Azcapotzalco, subject to the town of Tacuba, that all of us aforementioned declare that we have a piece of inherited land located at the place called Chimalchiuhcan, measuring a full 40 brazas from east to west, and in width it measures 20 brazas from north to south. And this aforementioned land on the east abuts on Bartolomé de Vargas’s land, and on the west it abuts on the highway going straight to Quauhpanahuazco and with the land of the children of the deceased señor Andrés González, and on the north it abuts on lands of the citizens of the tlaxilacalli of San Simón Pochtlan, and on the south it abuts on lands of the citizens of the tlaxilacalli of Santo Domingo Huexotitlan. And voluntarily and willingly we sell this aforementioned land to the Spaniard señor don Antonio González, member of the Third Order of our great father San Francisco, and he is giving us the price for our land, a full 10 pesos, and this money which we receive will not be used for us; masses will be said with it. It appears and is seen in the testament of our great-grandfather don Esteban Diego in the second and third items of his statement that it is really our inherited land. And now we no longer have any demands to make, nor will our children and grandchildren who will be or should come to be born any longer have a voice in it, for truly very willingly we sold it to the aforementioned Spaniard señor don Antonio González. And if any document [to the contrary] should appear it is not to be believed, since it well appears in the old will that it is purchased land and our land by inheritance. And in order to verify it we here issue to him this instrument of sale. We give the aforementioned land purchaser perpetual ownership and possession of it; we will no longer have any demands to make concerning the aforementioned land, wherewith we issue this instrument of sale today on the 8th of the month of December [Translation by James Lockhart; continues on the next page]
de mil setesientos i treinta i ocho años ahu in amo ticmati titlaculosque thotlatlahutilistica Oquimofirmarhui in toapoderadotzin mochihutzinotica ipan toaltepehu ihuan es.no de la Republica yhuan seme testigos Por testigo iapoderado Juan Soriano Manuel de Paredez por testigo Juo de Mora Ante mi D.n Antto Bilibaldo y flores Es.no de Repca presentasion ypan altepetl Azcapotzalco Mani metztli a quinse de Disiembre de mil Setesientos treinta i ocho años nican ipan tohuahudensia Mexicapan omonexiti Caxtiltecatzintle Sr D.n Antt.o Gonsales tersero Oquimoteixpantilili ixpantzinco Senca mahuistililonime Jues S.r Dn Visente ferrer Bautista ihuan Alcalde Dn Marcos Juan i lle mochintin Ofisiales de Republica itehcacopa Se tlali OquimoCohuitzino icqui nese ihuan mota inpan in escritura de benta Oquimochihuililique in tlalnamacaque ahu quemotlania Anparo de poseSion ahu in icuac Oquimocaquiltique in senca Mahuistililonime tlatoque ineitlanilistzin in Caxtiltecatl niman Omotlanahuatilique ihuan motlanahuatilia panolos inpan in tlali omotenehu ahu inic neltilistle nican quimotlalilia intocatzin yhuan infirmatzin yCa testigos = Por testigo yApoderado = Juan Soriano Dn Marcos Juan Alcalde Dn Vicente ferrer Batta Govr Manuel de Paredez Ante mi D.n Antt.o Bilibaldo y flores Es.no de Repca determinasion Sano ypan in tonali metztli yhuan Xihuitl tlacpac Omotenehu otipanoque ipan in itlaltzin Caxtiltecatl Sr Dn Antt.o Gonsales terSero ahu i lle ipan in tlali Onemanaloc Onitlanahuati yhua nitlanahuatia ma monotzacan in tlaxilacaleque Sto Domingo hueXotitla yhuan i tlaxilacaleque Sn Simon poxtlan yhuan Bartholome de Bargas Canel inteh tzalictica intlan ipan in itlalcoaltzin Omotenehutzino Caxtiltecatl inic motlatlanisque Cux lle neli melahuac imaxca in tlalnamaCaque anose aca iaxca nose tlaxilacallali ahu inic [Transcription by James Lockhart; continues on the next page] of the year 1738; and since we do not know how to write, at our request our proxy who has been appointed in our altepetl signed, with the notary of the municipality and some witnesses. As a witness and their proxy, Juan Soriano. Manuel de Paredes. As a witness, Juan de Mora. Before me, don Antonio Bilibaldo y Flores, notary of the municipality. Presentation. In the altepetl of Azcapotzalco on the 15th of the month of December of the year of 1738, here in our court of Mexicapan appeared the Spaniard señor don Antonio González, member of the Third Order, and notified the very honorable judge señor don Vicente Ferrer Bautista and the alcalde don Marcos Juan and all the municipal officials about a piece of land he bought, as appears and is seen in the instrument of sale that the sellers of the land issued; and he requests affirmation of possession. And when the very honorable lords heard the Spaniard’s petition, they ordered and do order that everyone go over to the aforementioned land. And [to show] that it is valid here they set down their names and signatures, with witnesses. = As a witness and their proxy, Juan Soriano. Don Marcos Juan, alcalde. Don Vicente Ferrer Bautista, governor. Manuel de Paredes. Before me, don Antonio Bilibaldo y Flores, notary of the municipality. Determination. On the same day, month, and year abovementioned, we went over to the land of the Spaniard señor don Antonio González, member of the Third Order, and when everyone had assembled on the land, I ordered and do order that the citizens of the tlaxilacalli of Santo Domingo Huexotitlan and the citizens of the tlaxilacalli of San Simón Pochtlan and Bartolomé de Vargas be called, since the aforementioned Spaniard’s purchased land abuts on them, to be questioned whether it was truly the property of the sellers of the land, or if perhaps it was someone else’s property or tlaxilacalli land. And to . . . [Translation by James Lockhart; continues on the next page]
Sitasion y declarasion Sano ipan in tonali tlaCutlapan Omotenehu tixpan onetzque in tlaXilacaleque S.to Domingo hueXotitla ihuan in poxtlan tlaxilacaleque ihuan Bartholome de Bargas Otlatlaniloque itehcacopa in itlaltzin Sr Dn Antt.o Gonsales OquinmoCohuilili in motocatenehua ypan in esCritura de Benta Cux melahuac tlalnemactle aso quimati aca imaxca anose tlaxilacallali Otlananquilique Camo ticpi[e] tlein tiquitlanitzque itehcacopa in omotenehu tlali ahu ca quimati Ca huel imaxca Ocacca in tlalnamacaque Ca intlalnemac Ocacca ahu llehuatl in Otlananquilique ahu inic neltilistle melahuac niCan tictlalia totoCa yhuan tofirma yCa testigos Por testigo yApoderado Juan Soriano D.n Marcos Juan Alcalde D.n Vicente ferrer Baptta Govr Manuel de Paredez Ante mi Dn Antt.o Bilibaldo y flores Esno de Repca Sentensia y medidas Sano ipan tonali Omotenehu in icuac Oniquincaquili in tlaxilacaleque intlatol ihuan Oniquitac in nehuatle (sic) ni Jues G.or ihuan moxtintzitzin Ofisiales de Republica inic allac quiContradisiroa in posesion quimotlania in tlalCoccatzintle Onicnotzi in Jues de Sementeras ihuan Onicnahuati iCa yhuelitzin tohuitlatocatzin Rey N. S.r quitamachihuas in tlali ahu inic Oriente ihuan poniente quipix onpohuali brasadas inic Oriente moCuaxohnamiqui yca itlal Bartholome de Bargas ahu inic poniente ica in otli llahu Cuahupanahuasco yhuan itlaltzin OCacca in Dios Oquimohuiquili Sr Andres Gonsales axcan quipixticate in ipilhuantzitzi ahu inic patlahuac Oquipix de norte a Sur Senpohuali brasadas moCuaxohnamiqui inic norte ica intlal tlaxilacaleque Sn Simon poxtlan ahu inic Sur moCuaxohnamiqui ica intlal S.to Domingo huexotitlan tlaXilacaleque ahu in tlalCuahuitl inic omotamachihu Ca llehualtl [sic] in quipie ome bara yhuan tlaco motenehua tzennequetzalpan ahu llotlan Omotamachihu Onicnonochili in Sr Dn Antt.o Gonsales tersero yhuan yca in ihuelitzin Rey N. S.r onicnocalaquili inpan posesion Omotlamochili Omotlaxihutemili Omopaxialolti ipan in itlalcoaltzin inesca Ca lloQuimocuyli posesion Cualllotica allac Otlachalani Otlapalolo — [Transcription by James Lockhart; continues on the next page] Citation and declaration. On the same day mentioned on the back [of the sheet], there appeared before us the citizens of the tlaxilacalli of Santo Domingo Huexotitlan and the citizens of the tlaxilacalli of Pochtlan and Bartolomé de Vargas, who were questioned about the land of señor don Antonio González that he bought from those whose names are mentioned in the instrument of sale, whether it was truly inherited land or if they know it to be someone's property or tlaxilacalli land. And they answered, “We have nothing to demand concerning the aforementioned land,” and that they know that it was really the property of the sellers of the land, that it was their inherited land, and that is what they answered. [To show] that it is valid and authentic we set down here our names and our signatures, with witnesses. As a witness and their proxy, Juan Soriano. Don Marcos Juan, alcalde. Don Vicente Ferrer Bautista, governor. Manuel de Paredes. Before me, don Antonio Bilibaldo y Flores, notary of the municipality. Judgment and measurements. On the same day aforementioned, when I the judge-governor and all the municipal officials had heard the statement of the tlaxilacalli citizens and seen how no one contradicts the possession that the land purchaser requests, I summoned the fields judge and with the power of our great ruler the king our lord I ordered him to measure the land. And from east to west it measured 40 brazas, on the east abutting on Bartolomé de Vargas’s land and on the west on the road going to Quauhpanahuazco and the land that belonged to señor Andrés González, whom God took, that now his children have. And in width it measured 20 brazas from north to south. It abuts on the north on lands of the citizens of the tlaxilacalli of San Simón Pochtlan, and on the south it abuts on the lands of the citizens of the tlaxilacalli of Santo Domingo Huexotitlan. And the unit of land measurement with which it was measured is the one that is 21/2 varas long, called “one full height.” And when the measurement was finished I summoned señor don Antonio González, member of the Third Order, and with the power of the king our lord I introduced him into possession. He threw stones, [gathered?] grass, and strolled about on his purchased land signifying that he took possession peacefully; no one disputed it or stepped forward. [Translation by James Lockhart; continues on the next page]
Posesion ixpan in mochtintzitzin tlaxilacaleque in omotenehuque ahu in axcan nican tictomaquilia ynin amatlaculoli lleyCa allac OquiContradisiro in posesion OquimoCuili i caxtiltecal S.r Dn Antt.o gonsales ahu intla aca tlachalanis ipan itla Cahuitl Ca huel iteh lles Justisia tleican Cacmo itlatohuallan ipanpa llotlatlaniloque Cux quipie tlein quitlanisquia inpan in Omotenehu tlali Otlananquilique Camo ihuan Otlatlaixpantilique Ca huel inmaxca Ocacca in tlalnamaCaque inpan netzi in sitasion ihuan declarasion Oquichihuque y tlaxilacaleque ahu tla itla amatl nesis acmo neltocos in tlein huel moCaquis llehualtl [sic] in nican ticchihua icqui tiJustisias ahu in moicatze motlatequipanilhuisque quimohuelCaquitisque in totlatzontec yca nican tictlalia totoca yhuan tofirma yCa testigos — Por testigo yApoderado Juan Soriano Dn Marcos Juan Alcalde Dn Vicente ferrer Baptista Govr Manuel de Paredez Ante mi Dn Antt.o Bilibaldo y flores Es.no de Repca Auto Ypan tlapohua metztli Senpohuali tonali de Disiembre mil Setesientos treinta y Ocho aos nican ipan Casas Reales Mexicapan in Nehuatl niJues G.or Dn Visente ferrer Bautista i Alcalde Dn Marcos Juo in lle moxtintzitzi Ofisiales de Republica titlatzontequi Ma momacatzino in Sr Dn Antto Gonsales tersero inin deliJensias in ipalehuilocatzin mochihuas ahu inic neltilistle nican tictlalia totoca tofirma y testigos. — Por testigo yApoderado Juan Soriano Dn Marcos Juan Alcalde Dn Vicente ferrer Baptista Govr Manuel de Paredez Juan de Mora Ante mi Dn Antt.o Bilibaldo y flores Es.no de Repca [Transcription by James Lockhart; continues on the next page] Possession. In the presence of all the aforementioned tlaxilacalli citizens, now and here we issue this document, since no one contradicted the possession that the Spaniard señor don Antonio González took, and if anyone should dispute it in any future time, justice will be entirely on his side, because they will no longer have any voice in it, because they were asked if they had any demands concerning the aforementioned land, and they answered no, and declared that it was really the property of the sellers of the land, as appears in the citation and declaration that the tlaxilacalli citizens made. And if any [other] document should appear it is not to be believed; what is to be fully accepted is the one we make here; both we [present] officers of the law and those who come to hold office in the future will approve our judgment, wherefore we set down here our names and signatures, with witnesses. — As a witness and their proxy, Juan Soriano. Don Marcos Juan, alcalde. Don Vicente Ferrer Bautista, governor. Manuel de Paredes. Before me, don Antonio Bilibaldo y Flores, notary of the municipality. Decree. On the 20th day of the count of the month of December of the year of 1738, here in the government building of Mexicapan, I the judge-governor don Vicente Ferrer de Bautista and the alcalde don Marcos Juan and all the officials of the municipality pronounce that señor don Antonio González, member of the Third Order, is to be given these proceedings to serve in his support. And [to show] that it is valid we set down here our names and signatures [with] witnesses. — As a witness and their proxy, Juan Soriano. Don Marcos Juan, alcalde. Don Vicente Ferrer Bautista, governor. Manuel de Paredes. Juan de Mora. Before me, don Antonio Bilibaldo y Flores, notary of the municipality. [Translation by James Lockhart; continues on the next page]
__________ v y nomine patri et fili et espiliton ston ame jesos nehuatl Estepan diegon notlaxillaCaltia Sto tonmigon huexotitla v ynic cetlamatlin niquitohua notlantol yn caltzintlin ocan nihuetztoc yn tlaconpapan ytzticac niguimacatiuh yn nopilhua ynhua ynnatzin oca quihuapahuaz canel og choquichtotonti cayamo momapatla Ça niman ama yntlacahuiz yn notlatol yn[te]tzinco pohuiz y notatzin miSan v ynic otlamatlin niguitohua notlatol notlalcohual onpan mani chinmalchiuhCan niguimaCatiuh yn nopilhua donmigon jusep ynhua jua matheo Cocanhuizgue ça nima amo [y]tla[ca]huiz yn notlantol v yniguetlamatlin niguitohua notlatol yn oc cepohualli tlalcohuallin nechmomaguillitiuh nonatzin me yn çano opan chimalchiuhCan ayamo nicchihua miSan nicchihuazquia miSan auh yn ascan yehuatin guichihuazque yn nopilhua ce miSan niguimacatiuh yn tlaltzintl v ynic 4 tlamatlin niguitoua metzintzinti cepatlin niguiguinomaguillia yn notlaçonthatzin S:do tomigon ynhua yehuatzin notlaçomahuinatzin [Sulitaria?] quimoCahuilizgue oncan yn [achitillilahua . . . que] oncan ica guiahuac v yc macuillalamatlin niguitohua ynn omoteneh metzintili ça oca motlapanazque notech pohuiz ynhhua nonatzin dios oquimohuigui yntla ninomiguiliz miSa yc topa mito motlapanaz [Transcription by James Lockhart] __________ v In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. Jesus. I am Esteban Diego, my tlaxilacalli being Santo Domingo Huexotitlan. v The first item I declare is that I am giving the house where I lie, which faces Tacuba, to my children and their mother, who is to raise them there, since they are still little boys who cannot yet take care of themselves. My order is by no means to be violated; a mass is to be dedicated to my father [in return for their getting the house]. v The second item I declare is that I am giving my purchased land at Chimalchiuhcan to my children Domingo Josef and Juan Mateo; the two are to share it. My order is by no means to be violated. v The third item I declare is that [with] another 20 [units] of purchased land that my mother gave me, [with magueyes?], likewise at Chimalchiuhcan, I have not yet had a mass held, [though] I was going to have a mass held, but now my children are to have a mass said [for my mother?], and I am giving them the land. v Fourth, I declare that I am giving a row of magueyes to my dear father Santo Domingo and my dear honored mother [Solitaria? Soledad?]; the two are to share it; [. . . ] there with entryway. v Fifth, I declare that the aforementioned magueyes will be divided in two; [one part] will belong to me and my mother whom God took. If I die, a mass is to be said with it for us; it will be divided. [Translation by James Lockhart]