according to the rank and wealth of the purchaser; but few persons, from the viceroy to the Indian laborer, neglected to avail themselves of the privilege they conferred.[1]
In order that the reader may rightly understand how the royal exchequer was enriched by the tithes of the church a few explanatory remarks are necessary. The construction of the ecclesiastical hierarchy in Spanish America was peculiar. The celebrated bull of Alexander VI., which divided the world in twain by a line drawn from pole to pole and bestowing on the Spanish sovereigns forever the dominion of the western hemisphere, was interpreted in its fullest latitude. By virtue of its infallibility the future kings of Spain claimed and maintained the right of jurisdiction in civil, political, and ecclesiastical affairs. In the earlier years of the conquest it was owing to the religious fervor of the sovereign that the first churches were erected and bishoprics established; and in recognition of work already performed, and in view of future expenses to be incurred by the monarch in the erection and endowment of cathedrals and other sacred edifices, the same pontiff, in 1501, granted to the kings of Spain the right to collect the church tithes in the Indies.[2] At first these tithes were wholly devoted to such purposes, but during the extension of the church throughout New Spain the crown perceived that no little addition to the revenue could be obtained from so liberal a grant.
In 1537 Viceroy Mendoza was directed to impose tithes upon the natives; and should there be any sur-
- ↑ The price was fixed by the commissary of the department. The amount received into the treasury during the 25 years from 1765 to 1789 was $5,272,433. Fonseca and Urrutia, Hist. Real Hac., iii. 336. In 1798 the proceeds amounted to $340,897. Soc. Mex. Geog., ii. 26. Consult also Recop. de Ind., i. 179-81, and Solórzano, Polit. Ind., ii. 218-25.
- ↑ A copy of the translation of this concession written in Latin is given in Solórzano, Polit. Ind., ii. 2-3. The bula also conferred the right and imposed the responsibility 'de predicar, y propagar la Fé, fundar Iglesias, y poner en ellas Ministros Eclesiásticos, dotarlas, y sustentarlos competentemente.' Ibid.
