Church and State in Bourbon Mexico

This book describes virtually all aspects of religious life in a Mexican diocese in the eighteenth century.

D. A. Brading (Author)

9780521523011, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 22 August 2002

316 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

"...a coherent and complimentary history of the Mexican church in a empire at first determinedly rational and finally driven to desperation." Hugh M. Hamill, Canadian Jrnl of Latin Anerica & Caribbean Studies

In the eighteenth century the Mexican Church experienced spiritual renewal and intellectual reform. The establishment of Franciscan missionary colleges, of the Oratory, and of convents and sisterhoods was to the great benefit of the diocese of Michoacán. Thriving confraternities demonstrated the vigour of parochial life. But the secular clergy remained divided between a wealthy elite and an impecunious mass of curates and country vicars, with the cathedral chapter dominated by a group of enlightened peninsular canons. Charles III and his successor expelled the Jesuits, secularised mendicant parishes, investigated closely popular religion, stripped the clergy of their immunity from royal courts and then seized their wealth. In 1810 priests from the Michoacán diocese led the popular Insurgency which challenged Spanish rule. Here therefore is a rounded portrait of the Mexican Church at its meridian, touching upon virtually all aspects of religious life. At its core is the clash between post-Tridentine baroque Catholicism and enlightened despotism.

Preface
Part I. The Religious Orders: 1. Jesuit expulsion
2. Mendicant chronicles
3. Oratorians
4. Secularisation
5. Nuns
Part II. Priests and Laity: 6. Priests
7. Confraternities and parochial income
8. Devotion and deviance
Part III. Bishops and Chapter: 9. Cathedral and chapter
10. A bishop and his canons
11. Tithes and chantries
12. Liberal prelate
Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], History of the Americas [HBJK]