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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



Like many reformers, he was so sure of 

 his cause that he did not hesitate to override 

 any opposition, as is evident by his summary 

 and high-handed tactics in moving the seat of 

 his subsequent bishopric from Tzintzuntzan to 

 Patzcuaro (see below). His first action was the 

 founding of the "hospital" of Santa Fe near 

 Mexico City, which he followed in the year 

 153.3, at the time of his first visit to Michoacan, 

 with a second, also called by the same name. 

 Subsequently, hospitals were founded in many 

 other pueblos of Michoacan, including Tzin- 

 tzuntzan. These "hospitals" were much more 

 than places for the sick. They were, to quote 

 Moreno, "the center of religion, of politics, and 

 of the humanity of the Indian" (Aguayo, 1938, 

 p. 78). The Indians were gathered together in 

 commmiities, communist in nature, where they 

 were governed in all aspects of social, religious, 

 and economic life by ordenanzas, or rules. Za- 

 vala recently has called attention to the remark- 

 able similarity between these rules and the Uto- 

 pia outlined by Thomas More, similarities so 

 striking that it must be assumed that Quiroga 

 received his inspiration from the English philos- 

 opher (Zavala, 1937). 



The lands of the pueblo-hospitals were to be 

 communal. Each household was to be composed 

 of an extended family consisting of up to a 

 dozen married couples — grandparents, sons, 

 wives, uncles, aunts, and children — with the 

 oldest male the patriarch. Wives were subject 

 to their husbands, and the younger men to the 

 older. In turn, the patriarch was responsible 

 for the conduct of all beneath him. Boys were 

 to marry at 14, girls at 12. Each house was al- 

 lowed a garden or orchard, the produce of which 

 belonged to the family, as contrasted to the com- 

 munal distribution of the produce of fields. 



Each individual was to be trained not only in 

 agriculture, but also in a trade, such as weaving, 

 stone working, bricklaying, or blacksmithing. 

 Thus, each member of the hospital was trained 

 for the rotation of work which Quiroga ordain- 

 ed. Two years were to be spent farming in the 

 country, away from the pueblo. Then, while 

 others took their places, the farmers came to 

 the hospital for 2 years of work as artisans. The 

 produce of this communal agricultural labor 

 went to the community, and was divided accord- 

 ing to the needs of each family and individual. 



and not according to the work done. All luxury 

 was to be dispensed with. Clothing was to con- 

 sist of a white garment, adequate with respect 

 to the climate, but without paintings, designs, 

 or other decorations. Since all individuals phys- 

 ically able worked and since there were no 

 luxury items, a work day of 6 hours was deemed 

 sufficient to maintain the community. Everyone 

 ate in a communal dining room, with the work 

 of preparing the meals divided among all by 

 turns. A hospital proper was provided with 

 rooms foi: those suffering from contagious dis- 

 eases and others for noncontagious illnesses, 

 with nurses to care for the sick. Likewise a 

 school "for Christian and moral instruction" 

 was provided. With the exception of the rector, 

 who was to be a Spanish ecclesiastic, all of the 

 officials were Indians, elected by turn. 



Mexican historians usually speak of a suc- 

 cessful outcome of this plan. Unfortunately, 

 precise documentation, if extant, is buried in 

 archives, nor do we have a complete list of 

 towns in which hospitals were founded. It is 

 significant, I believe, that in few parts of the 

 world is there a stronger concept of private 

 property rights, manifest in agricultural lands, 

 homes and gardens, domestic animals and pro- 

 duce, than one finds among the Michoacan Ta- 

 rascans and Mestizos. Today, beyond the mem- 

 ory of the names of hospitals, and in Santa 

 Fe tlie continued function of cargueros of the 

 hospital, there is no evidence of the former func- 

 tion of this experiment. On the other hand, the 

 name of Don Vasco is known to even the most 

 illiterate Indian, and he is universally venerat- 

 ed. In a folkloric sense he has come to be the 

 culture hero of the lake and sierra region, and 

 is credited with establishing the modern order 

 of things. 



In 1534 a royal edict divided New Spain into 

 four provinces and bishoprics, of which Michoa- 

 can, including Jalisco, Colima, and lands to the 

 north, was one. In the same year another royal 

 edict confirmed for Tzintzuntzan the title City 

 of Michoacan, with all of the honors, privileges, 

 and prerogatives as such, thereby officially con- 

 firming the true status of Tzintzuntzan as the 

 most important city in North America north and 

 west of Mexico City (Beaumont, 1932, vol. 2. 

 pp. 376-77). In 1536 Pope Paul TIT erected 

 the bishopric of Michoacan, with Tzintzuntzan 



