122 - [MANUSCRIPT]

[MANUSCRIPT] A folio-sized manuscript in Spanish on vellum, dated on the second-to-last leaf as March 24, 1597, and on the last leaf as March 5, 1598. The volume consists of 66 unnumbered leaves (bound with three braided cords in the colors of Spain) *, including 63 leaves written in the same hand and one leaf whose reverse side is handwritten by a second hand. The collection is punctuated by 48 richly illuminated painted headpieces (primarily chapter headings). Period full calfskin binding with rich gilded decoration on the covers, smooth spine, blue silk endpapers, and remnants of green ties. Appeal Proceedings in the Urdinola CASE (1594–1597) This manuscript is a transcription of the appeal trial held before the Royal Chancery of Valladolid (the highest judicial authority in Spain under the Old Regime) in 1597. The defendant: Captain Francisco de Udinola, a major historical figure in Spanish colonization. He made his fortune in Mexico (New Spain) through the operation of the Mazapil mines and was later appointed governor of New Vizcaya. He was represented by Domingo de Carauz (attorney). Accuser and Plaintiff: The King’s Prosecutor at the Court of Valladolid, Juan Fernández de Angulo, following a complaint filed by Antonio de Gorrio, a native of Guernica, acting on behalf of the community of the Oiartzun Valley (Guipúzcoa) The grounds: The Pecheros (commoners) are required to pay taxes (the Taille and municipal taxes), whereas the Hidalgo (nobles) are completely exempt from them. The indictment (February 25, 1594) alleges that Urdinola fabricated noble ancestors in order to evade taxes. Urdinola was in Mexico at the time of the accusation; he appointed representatives (notably his uncle) in Spain and financed a genealogical investigation at great expense. Elderly witnesses (aged 70 to 80) were questioned in the Basque Country to attest to the family’s history and prove that the House of Urdinola had always been a noble house. The verdict: Francisco Urdinola definitively won his appeal in 1597. This “Carta Ejecutoria,” signed in the king’s name, orders all courts in Spain and the Indies to recognize him as a nobleman, thereby clearing him of all charges of tax fraud and protecting his vast transatlantic estate. On the last page: numerous signatures and initials (indicating “66 written pages”) that are difficult to identify. The last handwritten page (in another hand) is the act of obedience dated March 5, 1598 (that is, a declaration of acceptance and submission) issued one year after the judgment of March 24, 1597, bearing the signature and initials of Francisco de Ybarburu (?), royal notary. Also included (separately): A certified handwritten (?) copy on 7 folio pages (illustrated with two full-length figures in the text: Saint Peter and Saint John the Baptist) Judgment rendered by the Royal Court and Chancellery of the City of Valladolid, which took place in the presence of me, Juan de Arbinagorta, clerk. First-instance judgment in the initial trial (1596) confirming the nobility of Francisco de Urdinola and thereby exempting him from paying the tax (the opposing party was ordered to refund the unduly paid tax). Autograph signatures of the clerk and others (illegible). Significant water stains; text is legible but the document is fragile overall. The document is described as comprising 66 folios; it appears, therefore, to be missing the first three folios (a title page, presumably richly decorated and illuminated, followed by a preamble, the end of which we have, recalling the obligation to pay taxes to the Spanish Crown). Also missing is the royal seal (which would have followed the cord in the colors of Spain). Bookplate (?): Joseph Antonio Gorostiaga, Captain [discharged] or retired (1789). *see between folios 45 and 46