Note 19 — Letter Written by a Citizen of Manila to an Absent Friend (continued 2)

Referring to Juan de Zumárraga, guardian of the Franciscan convent at Abrojo, Mexico; who was appointed (December 12, 1527) the first bishop of the new diocese of Mexico, and protector of the Indians. He filled these offices ably, although his energy and zeal made him numerous enemies. He was made archbishop when the diocese of Mexico was raised to an archdiocese (by papal bull of July 8, 1547); but on account of his great age he declined the honor, and died (June 3, 1548) a few days after those documents arrived, being eighty years old. A cloud upon his memory is the ruthless and vandalic destruction, under his direction, of the Aztec images, manuscripts, and other records, both public and private, for which his agents made close search, not only in the City of Mexico but in all the larger cities and towns—a cruel and irreparable loss to scholars and historians. See Bancroft’s History of Mexico, ii, pp. 297–300, 556–559.