The Private Basque World of Juan Zumarraga, First Bishop of Mexico

Author(s): José Mallea-Olaetxe and José Mallea-Olaexte

Source: Revista de Historia de América , Jul. - Dec., 1992, No. 114 (Jul. - Dec., 1992), pp.
41-60
Published by: Pan American Institute of Geography and History

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20139831

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 THE PRIVATE BASQUE WORLD OF JUAN ZUMARRAGA,
FIRST BISHOP OF MEXICO

Jos? MALLEA-OLAETXE*

Resumen

Este art?culo estudia la vida privada de Juan Zumarraga, primer obispo de M?xi
co. Se comprueba su ?ntima relaci?n con parientes y otros vascos que intervi
nieron en el contrabando de dinero operado en la ciudad natal de Zumarraga, lo
cual contradice o modifica la visi?n cl?sica que se ten?a de ?l. Por otra parte se
defiende el criterio que sostiene que los discernimientos regionales son marcos
te?ricos v?lidos para el trabajo hist?rico. All? se considera que el viejo clich?
de los "espa?oles" que descubrieron y colonizaron Latinoam?rica comporta una
historia excesivamente "gen?rica". Todo esto se inscribe en un programa de
estudios vascos.

Abstract

This article studies the private life of Juan Zumarraga, first bishop of Mexico.
It deals with the evidence that demonstrates his deep involvement with relatives
and Basque countrymen. The money smuggling activities to Zumarraga's home
town contradict the classic perception we have of the bishop. It also supports
the argument that strong pro-regionalist affiliations are valid theoretical frame
works in understanding historical events. The old clich? that the "Spaniards"
discovered and colonized Latin America is here considered excessive "generic"
history.

Juan Zumarraga (1475-1548), the first bishop and archbishop of Mexico and a
pivotal figure of Colonial Mexico, has been widely studied by scholars, but al
ways as a prelate and a Franciscan friar of the heroic missionary era of New
Spain. His private life, and in particular his activities with his countrymen, the
Basques, have received little attention. Furthermore, the significance of
Zumarraga's ancestry has never been considered before in understanding his life.1

* Universidad de Nevada, Bosque Studies Program/322, The University Library, Reno,

Nevada, 89557-0012 U.S.A.
1 Notice that the bishop's name is indicated as "Juan Zumarraga" (instead of the customary
"Juan de Zumarraga"). There are no accents in the Basque language, and the "de" is

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Jos? Mallea-Olaetxe R.H.A. N?m. 114

Bishop Zumarraga was born and raised in Durango, in the heart of the Basque
region of Bizkaia.2 The Basques, united by their unique non-Indo-European
language, boast one of the oldest cultures in Europe. However, unlike linguists,
who are aware of the significance of the Basques, historians paid relatively lit
tle attention to them. The lack of political sovereignty and a tradition of literary
scholarship were some of the reasons why Basque history is often studied in
terms of the French or Spanish, or as one of their curious offshoots.3
Following these models, Latin Americanists viewed Zumarraga as just an
other Spanish friar and bishop. It appears that it mattered little to them whether
a person was from Bizkaia or Seville. When they grouped all Spaniards together,
without regard to their cultural and linguistic differences, they were not mind
ful of Irving A. Leonard's counsel that, when speaking of Spain, such simplifi
cation is "hazardous" and "unsafe."4

Object of Study

This work subscribes to the recent trends in historical research, which empha
size "regional and local" characteristics and "the diversity of experiences."5 It
is largely based on the bishop's personal letters, which reveal a world rooted in

Castilian. In Durango he was probably called "Joan" (or "Joanes") but since the difference
is slight, I have retained the form most often used in the literature. For more details, see J.
Mallea Olaetxe, "Juan Zumarraga, Bishop of Mexico, and the Basques. The Ethnic
Connection" (Ph.D. diss., University of Nevada, Reno, 1988), 8-9, 82-83. In this article I
use Basque names and toponyms in their native form, not in Castilian, as has been common
practice. The society in which Zumarraga grew up was almost completely Basque. When
the phonetics of a term are not exactly known, it is written in parenthesis as it appears in the
contemporary documents or in the endnotes.
2 The Basques cal 1 their country Euskal Herria or Euskadi. The Basques define themselves
by a linguistic term, Euskaldunak (speakers of the Basque language). Euskadi is divided
into seven historic regions. In this paper only three will be mentioned: Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa,
and Nafarroa (Navarre).
3 One of the most blatant examples concern the voyages of Basque whalers to eastern Canada
in the sixteenth century. Their activities, and the pidgin used by the natives in their deal
ings with the Europeans are described as "French" or "Spanish" by numerous authors.
See, Peter Bakker, "The Language of the Coast Tribes is Half Basque: A Basque-American
Indian Pidgin in Use between Europeans and Americans in North America, ca. 1540
ca. 1640,"Anthropological Linguistics, vol. 31, no. 3-4 (Bloomington: Indiana University,
1989), 117-42.
4 Baroque Times in Old Mexico. Seventeenth-Century Persons, Places and Practices (Ann
Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1959), 38.
5 Donald E. Chipman and James D. Riley, Handbook of Latin American Studies, edited by
Dolores Moyano Martin, Humanities, no. 44 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1982),
122.

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julio-diciembre 1992 The Private Basque World of Juan Zumarraga...

ethnic linkages.6 Analyzing them was to discover a new Zumarraga. Through

out his life he remained attached to the Basque Country, so much so that he
flaunted his native tongue among Castilians with the remark "I did not suckle
this Romance," (Castilian).7
This study will also show that, throughout his episcopacy, Zumarraga used
his powerful position to advance the cause of his relatives and that of his com
patriots in general. The Zumarraga letters contradict the findings of many pre
vious writers by revealing unknown aspects of his life that are of historical
importance. Zumarraga was more than a zealous friar and bishop. The informa
tion in these private materials bares the bishop of his Franciscan cassock and
reveals the Basque, surrounded in Mexico by countrymen. He does not appear
to be what we would call a "generic" Spaniard, nor did his contemporaries re
gard him as one. He was a confirmed Bizkaian, who demonstrated his culture
by writing in 1537 the oldest surviving letter in his nativelanguage.8
Zumarraga was a good representative of the Bizkaian society in which he
lived. He was both a Medieval and a Renaissance man. In the fifteenth and six
teenth centuries the insularity of Basque society was declining. Its clannish
formation and the agrarian ethic in which it was based were increasingly chal
lenged by diverse urban groups. The already vital shipping industry of Bizkaia
received a shot in the arm with the discovery and colonization of the New World,
and accelerated economic mobility in Basque society. Zumarraga was a middle
class townsman with a mixture of progressive and conservative ideas. His
dynamic views on economy were tempered by a religious orthodoxy rooted in
the dark past of Durango's spirituality.9

6 Joaqu?n Garc?a Icazbalceta published several such letters, Don Fray Juan de Zumarraga.
Primer obispo y arzobispo de M?xico, Rafael Aguayo Spencer and Antonio Castro Leal,
eds., 4 vols., (M?xico: Editorial Porr?a, S.A., 1947) (first published in 1880), III, docu
ments 38 and 43; IV, docs. 8,14, and 16. Sixteen of the letters were discovered at the Archivo
General de Indias (AGI), Justicia 1011 (hereafter quoted as J1011). This legajo is divided
into eight cuartillas (booklet). Fifteen letters from the legajo were published in Zumarraga
and his Family. Letters to Vizcaya 1536-1548, translated by Neal Kaveny, O.F.M.,
transcribed and introduced by Richard E. Greenleaf (Washington, D.C.: Academy of
American Franciscan History, 1979). Two of the letters had been published, and in the same
legajo it appears that Greenleaf missed one more letter by Zumarraga. See Mallea Olaetxe,
"Zumarraga Mexicoko apezpikuaren gutuna Urti Abendainori 1547n idatzia", Euskera,
XXXIV (2.aldia), (1989,1), 34, (Bilbo: Euskaltzaindia), 311-19.
7 Mariano Cuevas, Historia de la Iglesia en M?xico, I: (1511-1548) (M?xico, D.F: Edito
rial Patria, S.A., 1946), 268.
8 Enrique Otte, "Juan de Zumarraga, vasco," Les cultures ib?riques en devenir. Essais publi?
? la m?moire de Marcel Bataillon (1895-1977) (Paris: Fondation Singer- Polignac, 1979),
489-96.
9 In the 1440s the area was torn by a heretic movement of the Free Spirit persuasion headed
by Franciscan friars. Their excesses caused the citizenry to appeal to the king of Castile,

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Jos? Mallea-Olaetxe R.H.A. Num. 114

Non-Basque Views of Zumarraga

Biographical information on the bishop has been provided mainly by church

men or their sympathizers. Analysis of data may have been omitted or supplied
according to their agendas. These writers operated under the universality of
Christian values. It did not serve their purpose to emphasize disagreements and
squabbles based on European regional and linguistic differences. However, these
matters do surface occasionally in the narratives.
We have a revealing account in the testimony of Diego de Ordaz, a promi
nent Castilian nobleman, who had an ongoing lawsuit with a Basque named
Muntsaraz (written as Monjaraz) over the Indian town of Teutila.10 Ordaz said
that Muntsaraz should be satisfied with what he had and that he did not deserve
to have any Indians, because of the way he had treated them earlier: "I will make
sure that he never again has an Indian, even though the bishop might favor
him."11 This Castilian perceived Zumarraga as favoring a fellow Basque.
Ordaz was not alone in expressing this sentiment. Soon after Zumarraga had
landed in Mexico he experienced difficulties with members of the first audiencia,
in particular the Licenciado Diego Delgadillo, over the mistreatment of the na
tive population and jurisdiction. Zumarraga was officially Protector of the Indians
and he did not hesitate to denounce abuses by the oidores. Delgadillo and the
former factor Gonzalo de Salazar were good friends, and both disliked
Zumarraga (to say the least, considering that Delgadillo once threw a lance at
the bishop). In a letter to Charles V, Zumarraga rationalized their mutual friend
ship (and their animosity against him?) with one simple explanation: "because
...both of them are from Granada."12
The importance of ethnicity and regionalism in the structuring of European
society in Mexico was made clear in the course of events in 1529. As tensions
between the audiencia and its opponents worsened, the former began confiscat
ing adverse reports addressed to the crown. Zumarraga, however, was determined
that Charles V should be informed and walked to the port of Veracruz to ensure

who sent many, specially women, to be burned at the stake. However, the sect survived in
Durango for decades. In 1500, 17 heretics were condemned and 4 of the names indicate
probable kinship with Zumarraga. See Estanislao J. de Labayru y Goicoechea, Historia
general del Se?or?o deBizcaya, 8 vols. (Bilbao: La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, 1969-72),
III, 112. Zumarraga witnessed some of the agitations and had not forgotten them. In his
Basque letter, he called the Franciscans of Durango "frayde becatarioc" (those sinful fri
ars).
10 The Muntsaraz's were from the Durango area.
11 Victor M. Alvarez, Diccionario de conquistadores, 2 vols. (M?xico: Cuaderno de trabajo
del Departamento de Investigaciones Hist?ricas, no. 8,1975), II, 413-14.
12 Carta a Su Majestad, del electo Obispo de M?xico, D. Fr. Juan de Zumarraga," 27 de agosto
de 1529, AGI, Patronato Real, leg. 184, doc. 7.

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julio-diciembre 1992 The Private Basque World of Juan Zumarraga...

the delivery of a report. He knew he could get help in Veracruz because of the
strong Basque presence there. The port authorities recognized Zumarraga's in
tentions and increased their surveillance, but to no avail. He was able to elude
the guards and smuggle out of the country his famous letter of August 27 ad
dressed to Charles V. Zumarraga's accomplice was a seaman, "a Basque of his
country," who hid the letter in a buoy until it was safe to haul it aboard the ship.
This letter was instrumental in the crown's change of policy.13
The conflicts between Zumarraga and the audiencia ended in December of
1530, when the first audiencia was removed from office.14 Delgadillo was sent
to Spain to stand trial, and on January 23,1534 he filed 33 accusations against
Zumarraga with the Council of Indies. Four of the charges can be interpreted in
ethnic terms:

1. Charge no. 20
Delgadillo accused Zumarraga of a certain affair concerning some Indians,
a blacksmith, and Matxin (Martin) Ybanez who, according to the licentiate,
was the bishop's hacedor (agent) and a relative.
2. Charge no. 25
The bishop stood accused of giving Pedro Aldana's wife ?a relative of
his? 400 pesos and a house.
3. Charge no. 30
The licentiate accused Zumarraga of keeping Indians in the house of Gonzalo
Ugarte, "a friend," in Veracruz, and using them as postal carriers without
pay.
4. Charge no. 31
Delgadillo claimed that the bishop had sent merchant Matxin Mailabia
(Martin de Mallibia) 5,000 pesos and jewels through Ugarte, who registered
the money in his own name although it belonged to Zumarraga.

Zumarraga simply denied all these charges. He sustained Ybanez's honesty15

and denied kinship with Aldana's wife. Later Zumarraga appointed Aldana as

13 Ger?nimo de Mendieta,///5?or?fl eclesi?stica indiana, 2 vols. (Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores

Espa?oles, 1973), II, 167; Fray Antonio Daza, Ovar?a parte de la Chr?nica General de
Nuestro Padre San Francisco y de su apost?lica orden ( Valladolid: Fern?ndez de C?rdoba
yJuandeMillis, 1611), 178.
14 Most authors chastise the members of the audiencia; Daniel J. Mulvihill is pro-Zumarraga
in "Juan de Zumarraga, First Bishop of Mexico" (Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan,
1954), 60-94. For a pro-audiencia view, see Fausto Mar?n-Tamayo, El primer conflicto
colonial civil-eclesi?stico, Centro de Estudios Hist?ricos de Puebla, no. 3 (Puebla, M?xico,
1957).
15 "Carta de Fray Juan de Zumarraga al Emperador," Icazbalceta, Zumarraga, III, 38. Ybanez
was a Basque merchant from O?ati and his last name was Hernani. Greenleaf read
Hern?ndez.

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Jos? Mallea-Olaetxe R.H.A. Num. 114

his provisor. He also defended Ugarte, who was a Bizkaian shipowner.

Zumarraga responded to the charge that, if there were Indians at his home, it must
have been because Ugarte treated them better than did Delgadillo. He acknowl
edged receiving occasional letters sent by Ugarte and delivered by Indians re
turning home to Mexico. Regarding the last charge, Zumarraga provided figures
of business transactions between the two Basque merchants which revealed a
degree of involvement on his part.16 Incidentally, in 1532 Zumarraga returned
to Spain in Ugarte's ship.
Delgadillo had touched on two sensitive issues, which the bishop was deter
mined to clarify: the Franciscan vow of poverty and the charge of favoritism
toward the Basques. Zumarraga was vulnerable on both counts and Delgadillo
knew it. In 1534 the Council of Indies cleared Zumarraga of any wrongdoing
but, curiously, several years later, he did exactly what Delgadillo had accused
him of doing. He sent money to Durango under someone else's name. On an
other occasion he had Basque shipowners smuggle money to Bizkaia on his
behalf. He did not dare write about such a thing in Castilian, but he thought it
was safe in Basque.17

First Relatives in Mexico

Bishops, even a Franciscan one, required a retinue, and often relatives filled these
posts. A few of his relatives chose to accompany him to Mexico. One of
Zumarraga's more visible companions was Antso Gartzia Larrazabal, a native
of Durango, and the son of his sister Marina.18 He was a tailor by trade, impetu
ous, and headstrong. Sometime before 1528, in Durango, he had become in
volved in an argument with his brother-in-law, who lost three or four fingers
in the scuffle. Larrazabal was forced to hide out in a Navarrese monastery where
the superior was a blood relation.
As soon as they arrived in Mexico, Zumarraga put his nephew in business.
One biographer wrote that Larrazabal was awarded a contract of 50,000

16 Zumarraga cited the volume of their business as exceeding 30,000 ducats, and added that
they had agents in several ports, Icazbalcetas, Ibid., 41-47.
17 "...exilic daroaez maestruoc yruneun bana" (the shipmasters are secretly carrying three
hundred [ducats] each); Zumarraga's letter to the I^ady of Muntsaraz, Mexico, February
15, 1537 published by Antonio Tovar, Enrique Otte and Luis Michelena, "Nuevo y m?s
extenso texto arca'ico vasco: de una carta del primer obispo de M?xico, Fray Juan de
Zumarraga",Euskera, 26 [2.aldia] (Bilbo: Euskaltzaindia, 1980), 5-14.
18 LarrazabaTs name is usually written Sancho Garc?a de Larrazabal. Santiago Garc?a
Berraz?bal must also be larrazabal; Icazbalceta, Zumarraga, 4, 182.

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julio-diciembre 1992 The Private Basque World of Juan Zumarraga...

maraved?s to make church vestments, and was provided with 13 Indian helpers.19
His shop was located in the episcopal complex where he worked for some nine
years.
Larrazabal knew he would not return to Durango as long as he was pursued
by his brother-in-law. Therefore, it was agreed that Larrazabal would send for
his wife, Mari Otsoa Yrazabal, who was still in Durango. The bishop dispatched
Joan Perez Eguzkitza (Eguzquiza), a Basque, to Bizkaia with 300 ducats to cover
her traveling expenses. When he arrived in Durango with letters from Larrazabal,
Yrazabal, against the wishes of her family, prepared herself to leave for Mexico.
She was accompanied by a maid, daughter of a local priest, and a cousin. With
them came an eighteen-year-old black slave whom Patxi Urkiaga (Francisco de
Urquiaga) was sending to Zumarraga, because he promised to pay well for him.
Yrazabal had to borrow 42 extra ducats and a horse from Urkiaga before setting
out on her journey of some 800 kilometers to Seville.20
In the bustling city, Urti Abendaino (Ortu?o de Avendano), a merchant from
Durango, paid for all the expenses of the travelers because Eguzkitza told him
that the bishop would reimburse him. Urti was one of Zumarraga's trusted agents
in Seville. The party boarded the ship but Yrazabal never reached Mexico, be
cause she drowned near Veracruz, New Spain. Her losses were valued at six
hundred ducats.21
In Mexico Zumarraga and Larrazabal did not always get along. Nevertheless,
Larrazabal was appointed the bishop's mayordomo and ate and drank at his
uncle's table. The city cabildo granted him building sites as well, and
LarrazabaFs social standing in Mexico rose steadily.
Another close relative in Mexico was Juan Lopez Zumarraga, an apothecary
and son of the bishop's older brother. Within a year or two of his arrival he died
in Mexico. During that time he sired an illegitimate son, Lopico, while his le
gitimate wife and daughter were still in Durango.22 His widow remarried and
bought the bishop's natal house at public auction. This was a highly irregular

19 Fidel J. de Chauvet, Fray Juan de Zumarraga, O.F.M., (M?xico: Publicistas e impresores,

Beatriz Silva, 1948), 150. Gil Gonz?lez D?vila, Teatro eclesi?stico, vol. 1 (Madrid: J. Porr?a
Turanzas, editor, 1959), 39.
20 The existence of slaves in Bizkaia came as a surprise to this researcher. Another intrigu
ing piece of information concerned "las piedras de casa" packed by Yrazabal. No data exists
on them; J1011, cuartilla 2, fols. 46r-46v, 55r, 59r-59v.
21 Eguzkitza was a silversmith in Mexico. See A. Millares Carlo y J.I. Mantec?n, ?ndice y
extractos de los protocolos del Archivo de Notar?as de M?xico, D.F., 2 vols. (Sevilla: El
Colegio de M?xico, 1945-1946), I, No. 896 (hereafter quoted as Notar?as). The story of
Yrazabal in J1011, cuartilla 2, fols. 46r-46v, 55r, 59r-59v.
22 Juan Zumarraga made two wills before his death and in the second one he excluded Lopico's
mother; see Mallea Olaetxe, diss., Unpublished Documents, no. 3.

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 Jos? Mallea-Olaetxe R.H.A. Num. 114

procedure in the Basque Country where the law strongly opposed the transfer
of real estate ownership to nonmembers of the lineage. Zumarraga regained
possession of the house by paying 412 ducats to his former niece-in-law.

Circle of Compatriots

When Zumarraga arrived in Mexico, in early December of 1528, he found fel

low Basques from the Durango Valley there. Some of them were his kin: Cap
tain Andres Muntsaraz and Pedro Arruiz Muntsaraz, and their nephews, Gregorio
and Andres, who were brothers.23 All had taken part in the conquest of Mexico.
Captain Muntsaraz held the post of alcalde in Medellin and teniente (deputy) in
Oaxaca. He suffered from venereal disease.
The gregariousness of the Basques in the colonies is well known, but no au
thor mentioas linguistic differences as a factor.24 The Basque language was fun
damental to Zumarraga's extensive association with the Basques. The episcopal
houses in the Aztec capital swarmed with compatriots. Among his menservants,
we find the two Agurto brothers, Pedro and Diego Lopez. Both served
Zumarraga until his death in 1548. Pedro became one of the first ten students
registered in the first university of the New World, while Diego Lopez was a
canon of the cathedral. Their father, Antso Lopez Agurto, was a merchant who
sired eight sons and two daughters. In Mexico City Agurto held various offi
cial posts. He was also actively involved with fellow Basque merchants.25
Zumarraga often claimed that he lacked shrewdness in worldly affairs. It was
smart politics for a Franciscan friar. To help him he recruited Joanes Otsoa

23 The medieval Castle of Muntsaraz near Durango, Bizkaia, was the Muntsaraz's ancestral
home. The name is transcribed in different ways: Monjaraz, Muncharras, Monaras,
Monjarres and Monjarrax.
24 Peter Boyd-Bowma n, ?ndice geobiogr?fico de pobladores espa?oles de Am?rica en el siglo
XVI (hereafter quoted as Pobladores), vol. I (1493-1519) (Bogot?: Instituto Caro y Cuervo,
1964); vol. II (1520-1539) (M?xico, 1968), XXX; Lockhart, Spanish Peru 1532-1560
(Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1968), 230. For an overview of Basque ethnic
ity and gregariousness in the New World, see William A. Douglass and Jon Bilbao,
Amerikanuak. Basques in the New World (Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press,
1975).
25 Pobladores, II, No. 12367; Notar?as, I, No. 667,862,1091, 1132,1253,1316, 1406,1581;
Guillermo S. Fern?ndez de Rccas, Aspirantes americanos a cargos del Santo Oficio
(M?xico: Librer?a de Manuel Porr?a, S.A., 1956), 11 ; Gu?a de las actas de cabildo de la
ciudad de M?xico. Siglo XVI (hereafter quoted as Gu?a), edited by Edmundo O'Gorman
(M?xico: Fondode Cultura Econ?mica, 1970), No. 336;Zumarraga, III, 264; A.M. Carre?o,
Don Fray Juan de Zumarraga, te?logo y editor; humanista e inquisidor (Documentos
in?ditos) (M?xico: Ed. Jus), 222; Cartas de Indias, 3 vols., Biblioteca de Autores Espa?oles,
nos. 264-66 (Madrid, 1974), I, 198.

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julio-diciembre 1992 The Private Basque World of Juan Zumarraga...

Egurbide (Juanes Ochoa de Egurbide), perhaps as early as 1534. Egurbide met

all the qualifications Zumarraga desired: he was a Durangan, a notary, a law
yer, and the bishop's nephew. By 1536 he held a position of utmost trust in
Mexico. On June 8 of that year, the bishop drafted a long and elaborate power
of attorney for Egurbide, authorizing him to act on his behalf.26
Another excellent collaborator was the future adelantado of the Philippines,
Miguel Lopez Legazpi, who was from Gipuzkoa. Legazpi arrived in New Spain
ca. 1528 and by 1534 he was officially an escribano.27 In the following year
Zumarraga named him to the sensitive post of secretary of the Inquisition, while
another countryman, Matxin Zabala (Martin de Zabala), occupied the post of
receptor.

Zumarraga and Women

The bishop was a reformed Franciscan friar, and his earliest biographers made the
point that he ran his house like a monastery. Mendieta wrote that he "never
consented that woman enter his house, not even when it was necessary to its
service."28 This statement should not mislead a reader into believing that
Zumarraga lacked sensitivity toward women. On the contrary, one observer
called him a "modern missionary because he made women his collaborators."29
Several of Zumarraga's documents reveal how dear the memory of his mother
was to him. He also wrote tenderly to the lady of the Castle of Muntsaraz, Katalin
Arruiz Muntsaraz. He called her "sister," using the precise Basque ex
pression neba-arrebaoc (we brother and sister, as terms of consanguinity), but
Katalin was not even aware of their kinship.30 Zumarraga spoke of her daugh
ter Mari Inigez very tenderly as well: "...Although she is your daughter, I con
sider her mine, insofar as reason permits, and I love her more than all my other
nephews and nieces."31

26 AGI, Patronato Real, leg. 180, Ramo 65. The document was witnessed by another Basque
friend, Matxin Aberrutza (Martin de Aberruza), and Garcia de Logro?o.
27 The 62 entries where the name Legazpi appears in the books of "Actas de Cabildo de
M?xico" give an idea of his standing. See for example, Gu?a, No. 306, 331, 334,585 and
632. The royal c?dula by which Legazpi was appointed escribano: AGI, Patronato Real,
leg. 180, Ramo 56.
28 Historia eclesi?stica indiana, 168.
29 Fr. Ignacio Omaechevarr?a, O.F.M., "Fray Juan de Zumarraga, misionero moderno. Monjas
en las misiones," Misiones Franciscanas, a?o 32, no. 335 (1948), 119-23.
30 Katalin married Zumarraga's first cousin Ynigo Arrazola; J1011, cuartilla 4, fol. 68.
31 Greenleaf, Letters, 20-23. Mari Inigez was not Zumarraga's niece in the modern sense of
the word. She was the daughter of Ynigo Arrazola, the bishop's "brother-cousin" (first
cousin).

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Zumarraga demonstrated his progressive views by requesting that six women

teachers be sent to Mexico from Spain to teach Indian girls. In 1534 when he
returned from Spain, six or eight additional women ?four of them Basque?
accompanied him.32 In a document dated ca. 1536, the bishop asked that the Pope
dispense two Basque nuns from the ecclesiastical rule of closure. Daringly,
Zumarraga added in the letter: "and even if His Holiness does not grant the dis
pensation, it will not keep them from coming."33 The bishop's bold idea of
importing female teachers to Mexico may have been related to his Pyrenean
upbringing. Women in Basque society held more power and wielded more rights
than anywhere in western Europe.34 Robert Ricard was surprised by Zumarraga's
unorthodox approach at evangelizing and blandly remarked that the bishop be
lieved in women.35
Several Basque women lived in the episcopal complex. One was Joanica, who
may have been the daughter of his nephew Juan Lopez Zumarraga. The bishop
wrote: "Joanica is well, with a beautiful daughter, here in the frontage house."36
Early in 1537 the bishop asked for a female baker from Durango, and two other
Durangan women were also granted permission to travel to Tenochtitlan. In 1547
Zumarraga wrote to Urti Abendaino and asked him to send his daughter
to Mexico. A room was being fixed for her in the frontage house, which was so
close to his own that, he wrote "we can converse from the windows."37 If these
words are any indication of the ambience in the episcopal complex, it appears
it was not as severe and strict as Mendieta would have us believe.

Craftsmen and Artisans

In 1534 Zumarraga returned to Mexico with three ships and thirty-four crafts
men with their families and tools. Some of these craftsmen were Basque. In 1537
he requested additional millwrights, sawyers, and even one armorer from
Bizkaia. In the Aztec capital the bishop had an elite force of Basque masons,
headed by his relative Hernando Elgoibar. They were kept busy building and

32 G?mez Ca?edo, La educaci?n de los marginados, 113-14; Icazbalceta, Zumarraga, 1,283

86.
33 "Instrucci?n dada por...Zumarraga...(a los) procuradores del concilio universal"; Mariano
Cuevas, Documentos in?ditos del siglo XVIpara la historia de M?xico (M?xico: Porr?a,
1975), 497.
34 David Herlihy, "Land, Family and Women in Continental Europe, 701-1200," Traditio,
vol. 18 (New York: Fordham University Press, 1962): 89-120; Mallea Olaetxe, diss., 44-47.
35 The Spiritual Conquest of Mexico. Translated by Leslie Byrd Simpson (Berkeley: Univer
sity of California Press, 1966), 210-12.
36 Zumarraga's letter to Larrazabal, dated August 23,1539; Icazbalceta, Zumarraga, 1,185.
37 Mallea Olaetxe, Euskera, 311.

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remodeling the houses in the ever-expanding episcopal complex. In a 1537 let

ter Zumarraga conveyed his satisfaction with Elgoibar's work and personality,
and mentions Pedro Bechalle, another Bizkaian, who was "more useful in
Mexico than in Durango."38 These masons helped build a chapel and three towers,
which Zumarraga was very proud of.39
Zumarraga became personally involved with these workers. With evident
ethnic pride, he wrote to a Gistilian nobleman of "my Basque masons that I have
at home, who are my headwaiter and waiters.... And earlier, having gone look
ing for a quarry with my Basque masons... I found a good one within three
leagues."40
In 1539 the church cabildo hired two Basques to run the stone quarry. Matxin
Sanchez Arguen was engaged as a master stone mason for six years with a sal
ary of 140 pesos de oro de minas a year, later increased to 160 pesos. Domingo
Aspi (Aspe) was Arguen's assistant with a salary of 80 pesos. Both had a daily
food allowance of two reales and, in addition, Arguen was given a horse and an
Indian caretaker.
After the quarry began producing, it was necessary to have the stone trans
ported. In 1540 the church cabildo awarded a contract to Pedro Sanchez and
Matxin Ybanez Hernani to haul stones to the City. The church paid them a tom?n
for every arroba of stone hauled.41

More Relatives Arrive

In 1540 the Zumarraga residences suddenly swelled with the arrival of the
Mendiolas, his relatives from Valladolid, Castile, where people were suffering
from famine after several bad harvests. The bishop wrote explaining:

38 Greenleaf, Letters 23-25. The name "Bechalle" is probably misspelled.

39 Guillermo Porras Mu?oz offers a great deal of information on Zumarraga's episcopal com
plex; seePersonasy lugares de la ciudad de M?xico: sigloXVI, Serie Historia Novohispana,
vol. 37 (M?xico: UNAM, 1988), passim; Irving A. Leonard, Colonial Travelers in Latin
America (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972), 63.
40 Zumarraga's letter to Suero del ?guila, Mexico, September 17, 1538; Icazbalceta,
Zumarraga, IV, 166. How many bishops ofthat time dedicated themselves to locating stone
quarries? Zumarraga was very much at home with people of all social classes. He was not
an elitist, as Peggy Liss stated in Mexico under Spain, 1521-1556. Society and the Origins
of Nationality (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1975), 79. Further
proof is Zumarraga's dislike for protocol, the simplicity of his clothes and other aspects
of his nature that Mendieta mentions, Historia eclesi?stica indiana, 168-70. During
Zumarraga's time Bizkaians were legally equal and noble.
41 Hernani was Basque and Sanchez may be related to Arguen. "Extractos del primer libro
de actas del cabildo eclesi?stico de M?xico," Icazbalceta, Zumarraga, IV, 48. One tom?n
was worth about 34 maraved?s. One arroba equalled 25 lbs.

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Jos? Mallea-Olaetxe R.H.A. Num. 114

...Juan de Mendiola arrived with his wife, five children and other persons in his
company.... On the fifth day after his arrival he died, and we buried him. It fell
to my lot to take care of his poor wife and small children. It will also be my
duty to take upon myself the debts he left, which are not small.42

This he did, and a couple of years later he deeded Mari Solorzano (Mrs.
Mendiola) a house that was next to his own. To earn their keep, three of
the Mendiola boys served the bishop and in return enjoyed his protection. The
eldest, Francisco, became a lawyer and was appointed third bishop of
Guadalajara. His brother Gaspar became a canon, while Domingo served the
bishop until his death. Their cousin Francisco Gomez Mendiola lived there as
well. Zumarraga had brought him against his wishes in 1534. The bishop
ordained him as a priest at a very young age, and for 16 years he and Viceroy
Antonio de Mendoza benefitted from his excellent calligraphy and secretarial
skills. Mendiola later embraced the Franciscan religious order and became a great
lengua (interpreter) and missionary.43
Sometimes, Zumarraga's desire to favor the Basques may have gone too far,
as in the case of Matxin Zabala. Zabala was a familiar figure-in the episcopal
complex.44 In 1547 Zumarraga suffered a severe embarrassment because Zabala
had sold the church many Indian slaves to work in the stone quarry. He was paid
between 3,000 and 4,000 pesos. The audiencia discovered that the Indians
were not slaves but free men, and brought suit against the church. The church
cabildo not only blamed Zumarraga for the lawsuit, but also accused him of
favoritism. They said that the incident had occurred because Zumarraga wanted
to favor Zabala. The cabildo sought to recover the money, but Zabala died,
leaving the bishop in charge of his estate.45

Captains, Merchants and Shipmasters

The Zumarraga records show extensive dealings with Basque merchants and
eight or nine shipmasters. To a lesser degree he was involved with the Basque

42 Zumarraga's letter to Andr?s Zuricaray, Mexico, November 1, 1540, Greenleaf, Letters,

46-47.
43 Juan de Torquemada is the story's only source, Monarqu?a indiana, vol. 6 (M?xico: UN AM,
1979), 355-56.
44 In 1546 Zumarraga wrote Fray Marcos de Niza: "If Martin de Zabala is there, tell him not
to come here, since there is no need and besides he ought to go meet his father-in-law."
The context of the message is not known. Letter is dated Mexico, February 27, 1546;
Icazbalceta, Zumarraga, III, 263-64.
45 Zumarraga's letter to Fray Castillo, Mexico, November 2, 1547; Greenleaf, Leiters,
140-43.

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julio-diciembre 1992 The Private Basque World of Juan Zumarraga...

captains of the Mixton War. Cristobal O?ate, acting governor of Nueva Galicia,
his brother Juan O?ate, Joanes Tolosa, Miguel Ibarra, Juan Anuntzibay, and
others played important roles in the resulting war. O?ate and Ibarra wrote to the
bishop to inform him of their precarious situation in Nueva Galicia. They said
the Indians had killed some 40 Spaniards and were challenging Spanish author
ity. The bishop answered by notifying them that Viceroy Mendoza was head
ing toward Jalisco with a punitive force. In a contemporary letter to Durango
the bishop sounded absorbed by the war scare: "I wish I had 50 crossbows and
one dozen arquebuses at home. I bought a powerful horse... and that is the state
of affairs right now." Zumarraga entrusted Captain Juan Arrazola, his kin, with
the slave branding iron and dispatched him to the war zone. Arrazola delivered
it to O?ate.46
Transatlantic shipping played an essential function in the development of the
European colonies and Mexico was no exception. Various authorities such as
Pierre Chaunu and John Lynch have indicated that the Basques not only sup
plied most of the ships, but in the sixteenth century they dominated shipping and
trade between Europe and America.47
Ethnicity and a common language helped Zumarraga befriend many Basque
merchants and shipmasters. Antso Agurto was a shipowner before settling in
Mexico. When Larrazabal left for Bizkaia in 1539, Zumarraga asked him to be
his mayordomo and Agurto agreed. An incident in 1540, however, sheds light
on the character of their relationship. During a cabildo meeting Zumarraga was
rendering an account of his expenditures and, half annoyed, he told the audience
he had to repay Agurto the 250 pesos he had borrowed. He explained: "he asked
for them so many times that I had to pay him back."48
Zumarraga usually favored Basques, but he was not easily blinded by ethnic
ity. In 1529 he wrote Charles V and charged the Basque shipowners Miguel
Ibarra and Juan Urrutia with slave trafficking. But he blamed Panuco's gover
nor, ?u?o de Guzman, most of all.49 These accusations did not sever the com
munication between the bishop and his two countrymen. For example, in 1531
Urrutia, who was from Bizkaia, delivered important papers to the Spanish court
on behalf of the prelate.50

46 Zumarraga's letters to Larrazabal, August 18,1541, Icazbalceta, Zumarraga, III, 226-27'.

47 Douglass-Bilbao, Amerikanuak, 68-70.
48 A.M. Cam?o, Nuevos documentos in?ditos de D. Fr. Juan de Zumarraga y c?dulas y cartas
reales en relaci?n con su gobierno (M?xico, 1942), 72-73.
49 Donald E. Chipman, "The Traffic in Indian Slaves in the Province of Panuco, New Spain.
1523-1533," The Americas, vol. 23, no. 2 (October 1966): 142-155; Icazbalceta, Zumarraga,
11,210-13.
50 Zumarraga's letter to the Council of Indies, Mexico, 1531; Icazbalceta, Zumarraga, II, 278.

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Jos? Mallea-Olaetxe R.H.A. Num. 114

A 1536 document regarding Otsoa Ribas (Ochoa de [las] Rivas), a prosper

ous merchant from Bilbo, Bizkaia, demonstrates the importance of ethnic con
nections. On August 13 and 30, before leaving for Peru, Otsoa prepared his will
in the episcopal residence. Of the four executors of the will, three were Bizkaians:
Zumarraga, Agurto, and Matxin Aberruza; the fourth, Maldonado, was a
Franciscan friar. Otsoa ordered them to clear all his accounts. Of the eight peo
ple named in the will, seven were Basque and the eighth might have been also.
Otsoa left a sum of money for the church of Our Lady of Bego?a in Bilbo. To
Zumarraga he donated a male slave, until the slave could marry. Otsoa left an
undisclosed amount of money for the cathedral and other churches in Mexico.51

Zumarraga the Emigrant

Durango and Bizkaia were the epicenters of Zumarraga's worldly cares, and the
Basques were his umbilical cord. It was the emigrant in him who resolved to
establish a foundation in Durango, which for 20 years would remain one of his
primary concerns. The foundation consisted of a boardinghouse for the
Franciscan friars who were passing through town. His parents traditionally had
given room and board to itinerant friars, and the bishop intended to continue the
practice. It would serve as a memorial to the Zumarragas, as well as a mecha
nism for social climbing. The bishop was not immune to earthly cares. In Mexico
he took pride in the quality and size of the episcopal houses built by his masons,
and boasted about them saying: "It is good to leave something behind as a re
membrance of the first bishop of Mexico."52
Zumarraga began formulating plans for a foundation in Durango as soon as
he arrived in Mexico. When he returned to Spain in 1532, he named Urkiaga
patron of the foundation project.53 Two years later the bishop found a new as
sociate for his plans, Larrazabal. The switch, no doubt, had to do with the death
of Larrazabal 's wife at sea. Larrazabal was free to remarry, and the bishop knew
just who the bride should be: one of the daughters of Lady Muntsaraz.

The "deal" with Larrazabal

By 1536 Zumarraga's ideas concerning the foundation matured, and he was

ready to come to an agreement with his nephew. We have two versions of
the contract between Zumarraga and Larrazabal. One is dated February 7, and

51 The eighth person mentioned was a secretary of the Duque de Alba (Basques often held
such posts) and, at the time, he was in Bilbo; Notar?as, II, nos. 1865 and 1896.
52 Zumarraga's letter to Larrazabal, Mexico, Aug. 23,1539; Icazbalceta,Zumarraga, III, 185.
53 J1011, cuartilla 2, fols. 57v-58v.

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the other February 20, 1536.54 In the first, Zumarraga and Larrazabal turn
over their properties in Durango to the foundation committee headed by
Muntsaraz. They would act in LarrazabaPs name until he married whomever
the bishop wanted and returned to Durango to take charge. The hospice would
be established in the bishop's native home. To support the hospice, the
committee was empowered to find an investment which would produce an an
nual rent of 200 fanegas (about 316 US bushels) of wheat or barley. Zumarraga
would provide the funds.55
The February 20th agreement contained critical additions which advanced
LarrazabaPs role.56 There was an addendum that specified Larrazabal would
marry one of the Muntsaraz girls. By late 1536 the youngest, Mari Inigez, was
chosen to be LarrazabaPs bride. One wonders how long it took the bishop to
convince the girl and her mother. Larrazabal was, after all, a tailor with a bad
reputation in Durango. But he was now rich, and the glitter of gold from the
Indies was probably too much to resist for the Muntsaraz house, which was under
financial strain.57 In early 1537, the bishop wrote in Basque to the lady of
Muntsaraz to reassure her: "This nephew of ours has become an honorable man,
he earns a great deal of money..."58
One facet of the "deal" required Larrazabal to forsake his own family appel
lation and give his children the name Zumarraga and Muntsaraz. Such conduct
is difficult to understand in light of previous biographers' portrayal of the
Franciscan bishop. In 1537 he urged the lady of Muntsaraz to make a decision
regarding her daughter, so that "your family has heirs in your direct line by chil
dren born of these two [Larrazabal and Mari Inigez] before I depart from this
life."59 One of Zumarraga's goals was to connect the Zumarraga name with
Muntsaraz, an ancient and illustrious house, related to the kings of Navarre. The
historian Dar?o de Areitio was correct in questioningZumarraga's motives.60
Larrazabal was a bad choice for this endeavor, as Zumarraga should have
known, but he went ahead with the plans anyway. He showered Larrazabal with

54 The copy of February 7 is found in J1011, cuartilla 2, fols. 57v-58v; the other in J1011,
cuartilla 8, fols. 210r-212v; Greenleaf, Letters, Letter One and Two.
55 J1011, cuartilla 8, fol. 203r.
56 J1011, cuartilla 8, fol.202v. One of the witnesses was Martin Ynoso (whom Greenleaf
transcribed as Martin de Inocencio). Soon afterwards he was dispatched to Durango with
instructions and some of the money to be invested.
57 By one account, Muntsaraz was worth some 16,000 ducats; J1011, cuartilla 2, fols. 38r,
41 r.
58 Mallea Olaetxe, diss., 256.
59 The English translations are normally taken from Greenleaf, Letters, 21-23. The decision
referred to allowing Mari Inigez to travel to Mexico.
60 Appendix to Larrinaga, Zumarraga, 98.

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promises and enough money to entice Lady Muntsaraz. How much wealth did
Larrazabal bring from Mexico? The opinions of most Durangan witnesses vary
from 6,000 to 12,000 ducats, but two others said 20,000 and 30,000 ducats. They
all declared that without the bishop's help, Larrazabal would have been incapa
ble of amassing such a fortune.61
Still, Larrazabal did not return completely satisfied. He thought that the church
should have paid him more for his services. In 1538 Zumarraga wrote that he
owed the master embroiderer (Larrazabal, in all probability) a salary of 1,000
pesos. In August of the following year he told his nephew that the church only
owed him 250 pesos, which he was unable to collect because the church cabildo
claimed "you profited that much and more." These words indicate that the cabil
do suspected or knew how much Larrazabal had gained under his uncle's pro
tection. However, the negative position of fellow clergymen did not deter
Zumarraga from using church funds to endow Mari Inigez with 1,000 ducats.62
The settling of accounts before Larrazabal's departure was an unbalanced one.
Larrazabal took to Veracruz a borrowed mule, which died of mistreatment.
Zumarraga, reluctantly, paid for it. He also paid for the liquidation of Larrazabal's
accounts with Elgoibar. Before leaving Mexico, Larrazabal sold the mason
his building sites. Furthermore, Larrazabal took to Durango two of the bishop's
Indian slaves, who were supposed to help him only as far as Veracruz and then
return to Mexico City. And that was not all. The bill presented by Larrazabal to
Urti at the time of his arrival in Seville did not concur with the one agreed upon
in Mexico, which?the bishop informed Larrazabal?was signed by Urti Ibarra
(Ortu?o de Ibarra), a notary. Zumarraga did not sound too happy when he wrote
reminding his nephew of these particulars.63 The testimony of Durangan wit
nesses, who knew Larrazabal well, gives the impression that he was an unscru
pulous fellow. One declared that Zumarraga often complained about the things
Larrazabal had stolen from the episcopal house when he left Mexico. However,
because he wanted to avoid gossip, the bishop did not press charges.64
Soon after LarrazabaPs departure in July 1539, Elgoibar also left, lured by
the fantastic tales coming out of Peru. Zumarraga, heartbroken, gave him two
black sawyers and paid all the debts he left behind, which totalled over 400
ducats. What pained the bishop the most was Elgoibar's senseless death soon
after his arrival in South America. Years later he was still trying to recover the
stone mason's estate from Peru.65

61 J1011, cuartilla 2, fols. 18v, 23-43v, 46r and passim.

62 Zumarraga's letter to Larrazabal, Aug. 18, 1541, Icazbalceta, Zumarraga, III, 224.
63 Icazbalceta, Ibid.; J1011, cuartilla 2, fol. 58r.
64 J1011, cuartilla 2, fols. 62v-63r.
65 Zumarraga's letter to Larrazabal, Mexico, August 18,1541, Icazbalceta,Zumarraga, III,
225-26.

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Final Crisis

In 1544 Zumarraga was ready to ship part of the funds for the foundation in
Durango. Even though at the time his income had decreased 50 percent, with
the proceeds from a farm he sold, as well as other sources, he was able to send
2,850 gold pesos de minas and 611 marks of silver with his friend Hernani, in
Hernani's name. He also sent many other gifts, mainly church items and books,
for a number of friends and monasteries in several towns of Bizkaia and
Gipuzkoa. Zumarraga gave Hernani several letters with detailed instructions
regarding the distribution of these gifts.66
Sending the silver in Hernani's name meant that Zumarraga trusted him. But
there was more. He was well aware that money sent from the colonies often ran
the risk of being seized by the crown, in which case the owner had to be identi
fied. Zumarraga wished to remain anonymous. Hernani sailed in the 1544 flota,
but before departing he drafted a will in Veracruz on July 11. He mandated the
establishment of a pious foundation in O?ati, his hometown, for the benefit of
maidens and widows. Additional funds were destined to redeem captives in Arab
lands, with the specification that the Basques be given preference. Hernani do
nated several thousands of pesos for various churches in Mexico. To Zumarraga
he left 500 pesos.67
Unfortunately, Hernani died at sea, and according to Castilian law, all his
possessions fell under the control of the Casa de Contrataci?n. Furthermore, the
dreaded possibility of the money being impounded by the crown, actually came
to pass. Urti Abendaino from Seville wrote and informed Zumarraga that 238,600
maraved?s had been seized, plus another 20,775 for insurance at a rate of 17.5
percent. Zumarraga's nightmares had only begun. At stake was the bishop's
reputation, which mattered no less than the money itself. At first he was not too
worried, but always prudent, he cautioned Urti against accepting royal notes to be
processed through Mexico: "Nor do I wish you to accept any bills (libramiento)
to be paid here. It results only in my receiving greater insults, having the finger
pointed at me, and being talked about... I would rather lose the money than to
see bills here."68
On the advice of a Basque lawyer in Seville, Zumarraga sent two compatriot
friars to court and, with the cooperation of Juan de S?mano, the royal secretary,

66 JlOll, cuartilla 1, fols. 7r-10v; cuartilla 3,24v-28v; Greenleaf, Letters, Letter Ten A & B;
Zumarraga's Power of attorney to Hernani and Abendaino, dated May 23,1545, 54-59.
67 Lope Martinez Isasti, citing documents in the archive of Sancti Spiritus, O?ati; Compendio
historial de Guip?zcoa (Bilbao: La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, 1972), 658-59.
68 Translation adapted from Greenleaf, Letters, 66-67, where the original "que no lo querr?a
ver librado ac? por cuanto ello vale" is interpreted differently.

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Jos? Mallea-Olaetxe R.H.A. Num..114

and his assistant the Basque Otsoa Luyando (Ochoa de Luyando), the money
was released.69
Meanwhile, Zumarraga and Fray Betanzos began to accelerate their plans to
go to China as missionaries, and this appears to be one reason why the bishop
was not overly worried about the incident. His letter to Urti is to the point: "There
are some here who say that if I had a surplus of money, I had a greater obliga
tion to spend it within my own bishopric; and if I decided to stay in Mexico as
its bishop, I do not know what they would say."70 As the months passed, reac
tions turned uglier:

Those who control everything here...have probably been saying about this project
that a person who donated such a large sum of money was probably not so poor
as he claimed to be...we have decided to remain silent, lest the knowledge of
this matter be made more public and become a subject of gossip.71

Five months later people were not only talking about the money and gossip
ing; in the bishop's own colorful words, they were "barking." Zumarraga wrote
that the members of the Council of the Indies "were scandalized...(and) they
immediately took away from me the town which maintained and supported
me."72
Meanwhile, a stream of disquieting news arrived in Mexico. Larrazabal was
not conducting himself according to the bishop's expectations, and the morti
fied prelate was forced to nullify his agreements with him. Urti Abendaino was
named patron of the hospice by virtue of a letter dated February 27, 1546.
Larrazabal responded that their contract was binding and threatened to sue the
bishop. Zumarraga charged that the second letter of donation had been altered
by him, Ynoso, and Egurbide.73
After the painful consequences of the shipment of funds sent with Hernani,
one would have thought that the bishop had learned his lesson and would re

69 S?mano was a native of Santander, born near the Bizkaian border, and held the office of
Prestamero Mayor of Bizkaia. Zumarraga corresponded with him and joked about his (the
bishop's) Basque style: "You really appreciate the Bizkaian words of my letters"; Icazbalceta,
Zumarraga, III, 125-26. The money impounded by the king was released in Mexico and
collected by Zumarraga.
70 Translation adapted from Greenleaf, Letters, 67.
71 Zumarraga's letter to Fray Francisco del Castillo, Mexico, May 15,1547; Greenleaf,Let
ters, 96-97. There are two copies of this letter in J1011.
72 Zumarraga's letter to Fray Castillo, Mexico, November 2, 1547; Greenleaf, Zumarraga,
134-35.
73 Greenleaf, Letters, 146 and 150. LarrazabaPs long legal battles to regain the patronship
ended in 1554 with negative results. A copy of the decision by the Council of Indies is in
the archive of the Convent of St. Claire in Durango, Bizkaia. We are indebted to Larrazabal
because the bishop's letters are also part of the legajo of the lawsuit.

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julio-diciembre 1992 The Private Basque World of Juan Zumarraga...

frain from sending additional monies. Not so. In his letters he talked about ap
proaching death. He was in a hurry now, and nothing could stand between him
and his ultimate dream, the hospice in Durango. Therefore, as head of the Basque
colony in Mexico, Zumarraga called on one of his closest Basque collaborators
for one last service.
Since February of 1546 the remaining 1,000 ducats to be delivered for the
project in Durango were in the possession of Legazpi. Initially he planned on
shipping the money. But the bishop reevaluated his strategy and decided that
Legazpi would carry the money personally. Zumarraga asked him to hand-deliver
it to Urti in Seville. Legazpi agreed and in the spring or early summer of 1547
he sailed in the brand new ship of the Basque Ypiztico.74 The ship ran into a
Caribbean storm and arrived in Havana with a broken mast but, eventually,
Ypiztico was able to dock in Seville in late 1547. By April of the following year
the bishop had received good news from Urti. That was all he wanted to hear. His
nightmares were over. He had finally accomplished his dream of 20 years.
He had kept his promise to send the funds for the hospice. The emigrant could
now die in peace. He wrote to his collaborator, Fray Castillo, who was the Pro
vincial of the Franciscans: "Above all, I thank God, our Lord...that the money
is in Seville in the hands of Hortu?o de Avenda?o....I was overjoyed to learn
that the memorial which is to be in the village of Durango, where Your
Reverence and I were born, is to be brought to completion."75
Four days before he died (June 3,1548), in his letter to Charles V, he wrote
"I die very poor, but very happy." Icazbalceta estimated that he owed Matxin
Aranguren, his last Basque mayordomo, 20,000 to 25,000 pesos, valued in the
money of the author's time (1880s).76

Conclusions

Mendieta stated that Zumarraga disappointed his relatives who came expecting
favors.77 Icazbalceta presented a classic analysis of Zumarraga, and wrote a most
ambitious biography without mentioning the term Basque. Other writers turned
to Castile rather than to Bizkaia for answers regarding the bishop's life.78 In spite

74 Also written as Ypiztico and Ipazteco; it could be a nickname, or a transcription of the

Basque Ipestarko (from Ispaster, a town of Bizkaia).
75 The quotation is from two different letters, dated November 2nd, 1547 and April 25,1548;
Greenleaf, Letters, 137, 147.
76 Zumarraga's letter to the Emperor, Mexico, May 30, 1548; Icazbalceta, Zumarraga, III,
273-75. The actual amount was 3,777 pesos, 5 tomines de minas and 7 tomines de tepuzque;
see Icazbalceta, 1, 273-76.
77 Historia eclesi?stica indiana, 169.
78 Mulvihill, for example, believed that Zumarraga's missionary spirit was influenced by "the
seven centuries of [Spanish] national crusade against the Moslems"; diss., 142.

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Jos? Mal lea-Olaetxe R.H.A. Num. 114

of these historical models, I turned my attention elsewhere because I kept un

covering certain clues which consistently linked Zumarraga to other Basques.
The thrust of this work demonstrates the importance of ethnic and regional af
filiations in history. The historians' regard for political boundaries should be
extended to other historical markers, such as ethnic and linguistic ones, unless
we want to write "generic" history. Keeping in perspective the impact of cultural
groups, in fact, provides greater insights into the historical reality of sixteenth
century Mexico.
The Zumarraga letters reveal the private life of Zumarraga and establish be
yond a doubt that he was a bishop in the service of the church and the Spanish
crown, as well as a Basque committed to the advancement of his countrymen.
They show that he stamped his activities in Mexico with a brand of contempo
rary Basque culture.

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