izing him to make collections for the purpose of providing a costly crown for the virgin of Guadalupe. Upon leaving Spain, however, he had forgotten to procure the sanction of the India Council; nevertheless the audiencia, believing Boturini to be sincere in his intention, decided to issue to him a license and passport. Fuenclara, however, took matters more seriously. An investigation was instituted, Boturini was imprisoned, and his papers, forming an exceedingly valuable historical collection, were taken in charge by the authorities.[1] Although Boturini had acted in good faith, he was kept in confinement for a long time, until finally, not knowing what to do with him, the audiencia sent him to Spain. There he presented his case at court and was compensated by the position of royal chronicler with the salary of a thousand pesos, and the Mexican government was ordered to return his manuscripts. This, however, was never done, and the greater portion of them disappeared from the office of the viceroy's secretary. Thus the persecution of Boturini and his exile from New Spain were the cause of an irreparable loss to Mexican history, for which Fuenclara is directly answerable. As for the audiencia, the viceroy was ordered to convoke a secret session, and having done so, to administer a stern rebuke for their presumption in encroaching on the prerogatives of the council of the Indies.
Fuenclara was a peaceably inclined ruler and seems to have paid much more attention to the development of the country's resources. Apart from this there is little to record concerning his administration. Indeed this period of the history of New Spain is necessarily void of interest. The European wars were confined to the Old World, and the people of New Spain were
- ↑ The learned Italian made this collection intending to write the history of 'Our Lady of Guadalupe.' The ancient documents which he gathered from all parts of New Spain grew upon his hands, and induced him to extend the scope of his work. These works will be fully discussed later.
