The inquisition, trial, and burning of the indigenous leader Don Carlos Ometochtli Chichimecateuctli of Texcoco is a well-known event of early sixteenth-century Mexican history, referenced dozens of times in Latin American historiography. Nevertheless, the last historian to write an explanation of the events that led to Don Carlos’s death was Richard Greenleaf in his 1962 publication Zumárraga and the Mexican Inquisition, 1536 – 1543.1 The Don Carlos case was the climax of a series of 16 inquisitional trials conducted by the first bishop of Mexico, Juan de Zumárraga, involving 24 indigenous men and 3 women, most of whom were leaders in their respective communities. Don Carlos was the son and grandson of legendary pre-Hispanic leaders of Texcoco, a major colonial city and one of the three partners in the preconquest Aztec Alliance. Though he was also accused of bigamy and idolatry, Don Carlos received his death sentence for...
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