OCR Text |
Show • 348 . BOOK VII. IL,...-y-.J SecT. XIV. J)ivili.on of the lands, and titles of pnffcffion and property. II I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. union, and the misfor nes which were occafioned by the oppofite condutl:. In Mexico, and thmugh the whole empire nlmofl:, excepting in the . royal family as we have already menti~ned, the fons fucc.ecded to all the rights of their fi1thers; and on fa1lure of fons the nghts fell to brothers, and if thefe were wanting, to nephews. The lauds 0f the Mexican empire were divided between the crown, the nobility, the communi~ie~, and the Temples, and there were paintings in which the property of each was dif.l:intlly rcprefented. The lands of the crowa were painted of a purple, thofe of the nobi~ Iity of a fcarlet, and thofe of the communities of a yellow colour. -In theft:, at firfl: fight) the extent and boundaries of the diftcrent efiates were diiHngui(hed. After the conque!t, the Spani01 magifi:rates made ufe of thefe infi:ruments to decide all difputes among the Indians COil- · cerning the property or polfeffion of lands . Of the lands of the crown, which were called by the Mexicans Teopantlalli, although the property was always vcfl:ed in tl>!e king, certain lords called 'J'ecpa11pouhque, or 'I'ecpantlaca, that is, people qf the palace, enjoyed the temporary ufe and profits. Thefe lords did not pay any tribute, nor gave any thing elf<:.: to the king than nofegays of flowers and difterent kinds of birds,. which they prefented to him in token of their va!falage every time that they made him a. vi.'iit; butthey wet'e obliged to repair ;md rebuild the royal palaces whenever it was nece! fary, and to cultivate the ganlens of the king,, by aff:dl:ing with th ir directions the populace of their: difiriCI: in that labour. They were obliged be.fides to pay court to the king, and to attend upon him ever.,y time that he appe;lred in public, and were therefore highly e!teemed by all. When any of thofe lords died, his firi1-b~rn fon entered into poficffion of the lands,. and into all the obligations of his father; but if he went to efi:abliili himfelf in another place, he loft thefe rights, and the king then granted them to another ufufruetuary; or left. the choice of ~one to the judgment of the community in whofe di!l:ri& the lnnds were fituatcd. · The lands which they called pil/alli, that is, lands of the nobles, ,were the ancient pofiefiions of the nobles, tranfmitted by inheritance !rom father to fon, or were rewards obtained from the king in recompenfc .H I S '1" 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. l'enfe of fervices done to the crown. The firft and the lail: could for the mofl: part alienate their polfefiions, but they. were not allowed to give away or fell them to plebeians i we fc1y for the mofl: part, becaufe amongO: thcfe bnds there were fome granted by the king under a con~ clition not to alienate them ... but to leave them in inheritance to thei1· fons .. Refpetling the· inheritance of fl:ates, regard was paid to priority of birth; but if the fir!l:-born fon was incapable of managing the poffeffions, the father was entirely at liberty to appoint any other fon his . heir, provided that he fecured a provifinn for the rcfi:. . The daughters, at lea!l: in Tlafcala, were not allowed. to inherit, that the fl:ate might never fall under the gov.ernrnent of a {hanger. Even after the con-queft of the Spaniards, the Tlafcalan s were fo jealous of preferving the · fl:ates in their· families, that they. refufed to giv.e the in vtfi:itu re of one· of the four principalities of the republic to D. Francifco Pimentel, nephew of Coanacatz.in, . kjng of Acolhuacan (s), married with donna Maria Maxicatzin, niece to prince Maxicatz·t'n.. who,. as we {hall afterwards find, was the chief of the four lords that governed that republic at the arrival of the Spaniards. The fiefs commenced in that kingdom at the time that: king Xolotl divided the. lands of Anahuac among the Chechemecan and Acolhuan lords, . under the feudal ·onditions, that they would preferve inviolable fidelity; acknowledge his fupreme authority, and their oHigation to afftfi: their fovereign whenever it fhould be neceffitry with their perfons) with their property, and their valfals . In the Mexican em1 ire, as fiu· as we can find, . real fiefs were few in number; and if we ·are to fpeak in the fl:rict fenfe of the civil law, there were none at all; for the.y were neither perpetual i11 their nature, as every year it was neceffi1ry to repeat the .form of inveftitur<.:, nor were the va!fals of feudatories exempted from the- tributes whioh were paid to the king by the other va!lals of the cl'own. The lands which were called Altepctla/!i, that is, thofe of the communities .of cities and villages, were divided into as many parts as there (s) Coanacotzin, king of Acolhuacnn, 11':1~ rhe fnthcr of don Ferditianclo Pimentel, who ha:l don Franccfco born tO him by a Tlnfcalan lady. It is t() be obfervcd, t~a~ many of the Me ~t· cans,. particularly the .nobles, upon being bnptifcd, :u.ldcd to their Clmfltnn llillne.n Sjmn~fh furmunc. were 3+9 BOOJt. VU, ·-~ ,. |