“As a matter concerning us and no other”: The Jesuit Hagiography of an Otomí Lay Sister and the Economic Autonomy of Mexico’s Indigenous Communities Under the Bourbon Reforms

Abstract

This article examines the edifying letter on the life of Salvadora de los Santos Ramírez (1701-1762), written by the novo-Hispanic Jesuit Antonio de Paredes (1691-1767), within the context of its first appearance in 1762 and its republication after the expulsion of the Society of Jesus. While recent studies of the work have focused on the controversies regarding the religious vocation of indigenous women, or with the promotion of models of piety among the diverse sectors of the viceroyalty, the present work addresses the context of the work´s republication in 1784 and 1791, which was financed by the indigenous governors of San Juan Tenochtitlan and Santiago Tlatelolco. Through archival research on the signatories of the dedication that precedes these editions of the edifying letter, this study reveals direct links with the efforts to preserve the relative spiritual and economic autonomy of New Spain’s indigenous communities in the context of the Bourbon Reforms. This article furthermore demonstrates a sophisticated use of legal discourse and print culture by the indigenous elites of Mexico, who resignified Paredes’ hagiographic discourse as a scathing criticism of the abuses suffered by their communities at the hands of local and metropolitan officials