Guide to Francisco Frejes’ Ensayo Sobre La Reduccion Y Colonizacion De Las Tribas Barbaras Del Continente, 1820-1840

Biographical Note

Francisco Frejes was a Mexican historian born in 1784 in Guadalajara where he became a noted pulpit orator in his vocation as a Franciscan friar. He transferred to the convent of Zacatecas, where he would die in 1845, to utilize its library, which contained many manuscripts from the time of Spanish conquest. In 1835 he was appointed chronicler of the convent and, in 1838, became its superior.

Frejes three most famous publications include Historia Breve de la Conquista de los Estados Independientes del Imperio Mejicano, Memoria Historica de los Sucesos mas notables de la Conquista particular de Jalisco per los Espanoles (1842), and a pamphlet on education. Most of his work was never formally published.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the complete unpublished manuscript of 38 leaves, a scribal copy with the author's signature at the conclusion (recto of leaf 38) entitled Ensayo Sobre La Reduccion Y Colonizacion De Las Tribas Barbaras Del Continente. It is largely an account of the activities of the Church in 16th century Mexico relative to the indigenous population. In many instances, the author refers to the situation in the territories of Texas and California.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

This material is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish from the Francisco Frejes’ Ensayo Sobre La Reduccion Y Colonizacion De Las Tribas Barbaras Del Continente, 1820-1840, MS 246, must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Francisco Frejes’ Ensayo Sobre La Reduccion Y Colonizacion De Las Tribas Barbaras Del Continente, 1820-1840, MS 42, Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated as part of the Harris Masterson collection in March of 1968.

Detailed Description of the Collection