The Latin American mss. Peru, 1535-1929, consist of over 6500 documents which trace the historical, economic and social development of what is presently known as Peru, with lesser coverage of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador. The greatest concentration of manuscripts concerns the area's struggle for independence, though the preceding colonial era is also well represented. The collection contains corresponcence, royal and viceregal edicts, official government reports, military papers, notarial acts, legal cases, maps, pictorial works, and poetry.

More than 800 notarial acts dating from 1535 to the 17th century that are in the collection have been filed and calendared separately. The majority of the acts are from the registers of nataries of Lima and Arequipa, with a smaller group of documents issued by the notary Juan de Grajeda travelling with the 1539-1540 expedition of Pedro de Candia. The acts cover a wide variety of commercial and legal documents, a number of which illustrate the position of blacks, Indians, and women in colonial Peru. See in Vertical File, Latin American mss. Peru. Actas Notariales, for calendar of these items.

Numerous legal cases, found either in their entirety or in part, reflect many different aspects of the society that may be of interest for the researcher. Among the legal documents of the 16th century is a bound criminal case concerning the murder of Francisco Pizarro which gives evidence signed by various witnesses of the movements of Baltasar Mendez at the time of the murder. There is also a dispute involving the inheritance of estates, a modification of a judicial sentence signed by Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of New Spain and Peru, and several lengthy disputes between Indian caciques involved in litigation over land titles and inherited positions. Some of these Indian cases present genealogies going back to the pre-conquest as well as more contemporary matters such as the distinction made between mestizos and pure-blooded Indians.

Concern for the treatment of Indians is reflected in many documents. An edict signed by the viceroy Francisco de Toledo on Feb. 2, 1571, concerns the amount of tribute to be given priests by the Indians and a letter from the viceroy Fernando de Torres y Portugal, conde de Villar don Pardo, to Diego Garcia de Paredes y Ulloa in 1589 discusses the epidemic of smallpox and measles, with measures to be taken to prevent the disastrous resluts already experienced elsewhere in the New World among the indigenous population.

Various cities are documented by materials of the early colonial period, particularly Huancavelica with its silver and mercury mines, among the largest in the world for the latter. The city's charter, several viceregal edicts concerning the appointment of officials, the treatment of Indian labor, and various aspects of mine administration are found in the collection. Other cities with lesser representation during the 16th and 17th centuries include Cuzco, Arequipa and Castrovirreina. A register of elected officials for Cuzco with documents from 1590 to 1658 curiously also contains information on tree-planting activities in the area.

A chronicle written by Pero Lopez narrates the general events of the Spanish conquest and details the history of the warfare getween Gonzalo Pizarro and Diego de Almagro. The manuscript is from the collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps, who apparently obtained it at the sale of manuscripts belonging to Edward King, viscount Kingsborough in 1842. The work has been published as Rutas de Caragena de Indias a Buenos Aires y sublevaciones de Pizarro, Castilla y Hernandez Giron, 1540-1570, transcribed and annotated by Juan Friede, preface by Marcel Bataillon. Madrid, 1970. (Lilly E141 .L798 1970)

Another work of interest from the 16th century is a bound volume entitled Rebelion i tirania De Lope de Aguirre Vizcayo, dated Aug. 17, 1594. Probably copied by Bartolome Nino Velasquez from documents in the Archivo General de las Indias, this volume has information on the historic rebellion of this Spanish captain. It also contains Felipe II's response to Archduke Charles concerning troubles in the Low Countries; Felipe II's instructions to Enrique de Guzman, conde de Olivares, about the congratulation of Charles IX of France upon his marriage with Isabel, daughter of the emperor Maximilian; a copy of the antenuptial contract between Charles IX and his queen; and a report of the auto-da-fe conducted in Granada in 1593 by the Spanish Inquisition.

A record of the discoveries and settlements of the Spaniards in the New World, along with the Canary Islands and the Moluccas is found in a manuscript beginning El orbe todo tiene Trecientos y sesenta y cinco Grados de longitud ..., probably written about 1550. There are sections about various geographical areas of the Americas, with Peru receiving the greatest attention. The document also attributes the first discovery of the Indies to a Spaniard who died at Columbus' home, leaving with him a report of the first discoveries.

Church matters during the colonial period are reflected in the correspondence between members of the various religious orders and by the many Inquisition documents of proceedings involving prisoners and their estates, salaries of Inquisition officials and instructions sent from Spain to Peru by the inquisitors-general Antonio de Sotomayor and Francesco Giudece.

Information about the lives of religious figures is also present in the collection. There is a manuscript copy of the life and miracles of Saint Rosa of Lima with documents dating from 1617 to 1630, initiating the process leading to her canonization in 1670, and a document about Saint Francisco de Solano dated Dec. 22, 1629. The virtues of the mystic Catalina de Iturgoyen Amasa y Lisperguer, condesa de la Vega del Ren, are outlined by her religious confessor.

Two of the major concerns in the 18th century shown by the collection were the political situation and the treatment of the Indians. There are two variant copies of Vitorino Montero's Estado Politico del Reino del Peru ..., written about 1744. One of the copies is annotated. Another work relevant to the political situation is Jorge Juan y Santacilia's and Antonio de Ulloa's Discurso y Reflexiones politicas sobre el Estado presente de los Reinos del Peru .... This copy, dated 1749 and marked for the "uso privado de la secretaria del despacho de Indias," was not intended for publication but fell into the hands of the British who published it in 1826 as part of Noticias secretas de America ..., London, 1826 (Lilly F3411 .J85). The two authors were accompanying a scientific expedition from Paris and there are present also several documents with regard to their travelling expenses.

Orders concerning the treatment of Indians are in the collection, including one sent to Huancavelica to enforce a Real Cedula of 1766 about the admission of Indians into religious orders, schools and public officers. There are also two Cedulas dated Feb. 25, 1758, regarding the mistreatment of Indians with copies of correspondence sent by various Indians having particular greivances against government officials.

The insurrection of Tupac-Amaru, 1780-1781, is discussed in military papers, reports and correspondence. Among the items are a letter by Diego Cristobal Tupac-Amaru of Aug. 19, 1781, a petition and a receipt signed by him, and a receipt signed by Mariano Tupac-Amaru.

Other items of interest for this period include a description of an earthquake in Arequipa dated 1784; several documents about Miguel Jeronimo Romani y Carrillo, bishop of Cuzco; a letter by the Sicilian explorer Alessandro Malaspina; and a copy of Introduccion a la historia de la provincia de Cochabamba by Thaddaus Haenke, the Bohemian naturalist who accompanied Malaspina, found in an 18th century volume of miscellaneous papers. Jose Eusebio de Llano y Zapata, author of Memorias historico-physicas, critico-apologeticas, de la America Meridional, mentions in a letter to Pedro Jose Bravo de Lagunas y Castilla his progress in writing this work and his ideas for two schools for Lima, one dedicated specifically to the study of mineralogy. Enclosed in the same letter is a manuscript title page and the table of contents for the first volume.

The 19th century, during which the colonial era ended and the struggles for independence throughout Latin America began, is represented by the correspondence of the last viceroy of Peru, Jose Fernando Abascal y Sousa, and Jose de la Serna e Hinojosa. The events in Buenos Aires after the British attack and British and American contraband are expressed preoccupations. The histories of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador are also documented in varying degrees during this period. The royalist military reaction to the revolutionary forces from Buenos Aires and the revolts in La Paz, Bolivia, and Cuzco is found in the correspondence of Abascal y Sousa, Jose Manuel de Goyeneche y Barreda, Manuel Quimper Benitez del Pino, Domingo Tristan y Moscoso, Jose Canterac, Joaquin de la Pezuela, and others.

All the military documents from the period 1800-1830, with certain exceptions noted below, have been placed within a single file. These 790 items consist of materials pertaining to both the royalist and liberating forces operating in the viceroyalty of Peru. Manuscripts not included in this section are correspondence, decrees and certain legal cases. These are indexed separately and interfiled chronologically with the rest of the collection. For more information, see Vertical File, Latin American mss. Peru. Military Documents.

The campaign of Jose de San Martin and his Liberating Army of the Andes is represented in great detail from the crossing of the Andes into Chile to the occupation of Lima in 1821. There are more than 200 documents either signed by or attributed to San Martin, many of them dealing with changes of administration during the occupation of Lima. In addition to the extensive military reports and correspondence from both sides, a sense of the quotidian effects of these events may be gathered from the civilian reactions contained in the correspondence of the period.

Events such as the independence of Guayaquil, the reoccupaiton of Lima by the royalists, the fall of Jose de la Riva Aguero, and Simon Bolivar's arrival in Peru are well documented. The battle of Ayacucho is represented by a copy of the terms of capitulation bearing the signatures of both Sucre and Canterac (of which there are apparently only four such copies in existence), a pictorial map, narrative poetry, correspondence from Antonio Jose de Sucre to Bolivar, a letter by Canterac, and proclamations by Rudecindo Alvarado and Pio Tristan.

The collection is unique in its holdings of Sucre's correspondence. There are over 150 documents, 140 of which are originals with his signature. There are eleven Bolivar items in the collection, nine of them signed, most of which grant promotions or recognition to various participants in the war for independence.

With independence secured, the problem of the legal status of the Spaniards still in the country arose and is documented by both naturalization papers and shipping contracts for the transporation of soldiers back to Spain. Education also became a concern, as reflected in Bolivar's adoption of the Lancaster system and Andres de Santa Cruz's decree about public education.

Materials for the ensuing decades include documents such as the decree by Felipe Santiago de Salaverry about sedition and treason, a ratification of the agreement with Agustin Gamarra, and a decree signed by Luis Jose Orbegoso declaring any ship serving Salaverry as piratical. There is also a letter by Jose Antonio Paez to Bartolome Palacios with respect to Junin and Bolivar a collection of papers concerning Chile's loan to Peru in 1823, and proceedings to obtain benefits for the relatives of Juan Antonio Alvarez de Arenales and Jose Olaya.

The 1860's were critical years in Peru as well as elsewhere. There are three letters from William Henry Seward for this period, one of which gives a view of the Reconstruction in the United States. The conflict between Peru and Spain over the Chincha Islands is represented by correspondence between Juan Dartnell, Ramon Valle Riestra, Cipriano Coronel Zegarra, Jose Antonio Barrenechea, Pedro Jose Calderon and the Spanish admiral Luis Hernandez Pinzon y Alvarez. One particularly interesting document is a nine- page confidential letter signed by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Manuel Montt, members of the Congreso Americano in Lima, and sent to the president of Peru, regarding the hostilities.

Cuban history, as well as relations between the U.S., Peru and Chile concerning recognition of the revolutionary government on the Caribbean island, is illustrated by correspondence between Manual Freyre, Jose Antonio Barrenechea and Eduardo Villena and a copy of a letter by Jose Morales Lemus, the Cuban representative in Washington, about the strengthening of Cuban naval forces with the purchase of the Peruvian monitors "Manco Capac" and "Atahualpa."

The remainder of thee 19th century material includes correspondence from several American diplomats, an autograph document by Juan Antonio Pezet with autobiographical information and his last wishes, correspondence from various secretaries of state and other officials in Washington, and a letter from Ricardo Palma to Federico Alfonso Pezet.

The 20th century documents consist primarily of correspondence to Federico Alfonso Pezet from U.S. secretaries of state and presidents William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

Note on Indexing Term - "Law": There is a large quantity of legal material pertaining to Latin America in these collections. Royal and viceregal decrees, both de oficio and de parte, are especially numerous.

Note on Indexing Term - "Medicine": A letter from the Viceroy Fernando de Torres y Portugal, conde de Villar don Pardo, to Diego Garcia de Paredes y Ulloa in 1589 discusses the epidemic of smallpox and measles, with measures to be taken to prevent the disastrous results already experienced elsewhere in the New World.

Note on Indexing Term - "Religion": A large quantity of this material relates to religious matters.

Note on Indexing Term - "West (U.S.)" and "Americana": There are items pertaining to early settlements and colonial government in Texas, California and New Mexico, and information on Texas independence. For digitized content, see Digital Collections.