Conversion to Christianity and conflict around power among the newly converted in the inquisitorial procedure against don Carlos, Chichimecatecuitli de Tetzcoco

Abstract

The imposition of Christianity during the early years of Nueva España had to face the continued survival of different forms of old indigenous religions. At the same time, noble lineages from the big cities of the Valley of Mexico started to adhere to the Christian faith and to be baptized and married by the Church, driven mostly by the desire to accomplish a favorable incorporation into the new order, which would allow them to maintain their local power. The Inquisition’s trial against don Carlos, chief of Tetzcoco, is analyzed here in the light of the struggle for power legitimized either by the continuity of the “old laws, the ancestors’ laws” or by the adherence and defense of the new law proclaimed by friars and priests. During the Inquisition’s trial, such struggle produced at the same time the unanimous denunciation against don Carlos for being a heretic and dogmatist and the massive confirmation as Christians of the nobles of Tetzcoco who had denounced and accused him, although many of them were relatives of his.

Keywords: Mexico, Christianity, Inquisition.