In 1732 the Franciscan ministers of the Villa Nueva de Santa Cruz del Reino de la Nueva Mexico felt compelled to initiate legal action against a local scribe (escribano), Miguel de Quintana, after getting acquainted with his personal writings. In the friars’ view, Quin-tana’s ideas might amount to transgressions against Catholic Church principles. Quin-tana was denounced to the Inquisition’s New Mexican representative, a fellow Francis-can, who forwarded the file to the Santo Oficio authorities in Mexico City.
As the case proceeded, the poetry and prose writings of Quintana came to light. Francisco Lomelí and Clark Colahan have recovered Quintana’s case from archival research in Mexico City and New Mexico, providing the reader with a unique opportunity to look at the religious horizons of a secular man in northern New Mexico. After being notified by the zealous Franciscans, the authorities in charge of protecting the Catholic faith in New...
