UC San Diego

This dissertation studies the development of ecclesiastical courts in medieval Europe and their implementation in the viceroyalty of New Spain. In order to understand the repercussions that religious tribunals had on local colonial society, I focus on the ecclesiastical court of San José de Toluca, in the archdiocese of Mexico, from 1675 to 1800.

In particular, I analyze four criminal categories that this court prosecuted: right of asylum, cases against ecclesiastics, indigenous idolatry, and offenses against the sacrament of marriage. First, right of asylum cases illuminate how the Church and the Spanish Crown negotiated the ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the Americas, and how ecclesiastical judgesdefended their privileges before royal officials. Second, accusations against ecclesiastics are key to explain the social and political interaction between indigenous communities and parish priests. These cases are also fundamental to understand how the Church maintained good moral customs in colonial society by correcting the misdemeanor of members of the clergy. Third, I study indigenous idolatry cases to explain how local ecclesiastical courts promoted the evangelization of indigenous peoples and eradicated religious unorthodoxy. Finally, the last criminal category I analyze relates to marital issues, which include crimes that threatened or violated the Catholic sacrament of marriage, including adultery, fornication, concubinage, and domestic violence. Put together, these four criminal categories allow us to understand the role of ecclesiastical courts in enforcing good customs, facilitating governance, promoting social harmony, and eradicating “public sins.”

This dissertation argues that ecclesiastical courts, including that of San José de Toluca, were an essential piece in the governance of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. For the Spanish Crown, ecclesiastical courts were a useful tool to reinforce the Patronato Regio, administer justice in collaboration with royal officials, support the evangelization of indigenous people, settle disputes in indigenous towns that could develop into problematic rebellions, appease God’s wrath, and to supervise the morality and sexuality of the colonial population.