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Show 360 H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E C I .... 0. EOOK VII. only an obligation of perfonal fervicc, and even that was under certnin '--v'--1 refl:riCliOIIS. Nor was !lavery entailed upon the defcendants of flaves. All Mexicans were born free, although their mothers were O.aves. If a free man impregnated another perfon's flave, and {he died during her pregnancy, he became the !lave of the owner of the female O.;tve; but if D1e was happily dcliven:d, the child as well as the .fil.thcr remained both free. NeceffitoL;S parents were allowed to difJ)ofe of any one of their chil-dren, in order to relieve their poverty; and any free man might fell himoJ felf for the fame purpofe; but owners could not fell their O.aves without their confent, unlcfs they were O.aves with a collar. Runaway, rebel lious, or vicious flaves, had two or three warnings given them l>y their owners, which warnings they gave for th ir better juftification in pref~ n e of fome witnefl~s. If, in fpite of thefe admonitions the flaves did not mend their behaviour, a wooden collar was put about their necks, and then it was lawful to fell them at m·1rket. If, after having been owned by two or three mall:ers, they ftill continued intraCtable, they were fold .for the facrifices ; but that happened very rarely. If a flave, who was collared in this manner, happened to efcape from the prifon where his owner confined him, and teok refuge in the royal palace, he remained free; and the perfon who attempted to prevent his gaining this afylum, forfei tc l his liberty for the attempt, except it it was the owners or one of his children, who had a right to feize him. The perfons who fold themfelves were generally g•lmc!lcrs, who did fo in c,rder to game with tbe price of their liberty ; or tl ole who by ·lazinttfs, or fome misfortune, found themfel.ves reduced to mifcry, and proititutes, who wanted cloaths to make their appearance in. public ; for women of that cbfs among the Mexicans .had no in terd1: in g neral in their prof~ffion, but the gratification of their paffions. · Slavery amongfi: the Mexicans was not fo hard to be borne, as .it was among other .people; for . the condition of a Have ::unong them was by no means ··oppreffive. Their .labour was moderate, and their tr a tmen t h lunanc; when their mafrcrs died, they generally became free. l;'he common price of a ila ve was a .load of cotton garments. There HISTORY 0 F MEXICO; There was among t.hc Mexicans another kind of flavery, which they called 1/uehu.e tatlacollt, whi·c h was ' where one 01• two f:a mt· 1·t es, on ac-count of thetr poverty, bound themfelves to furn'1Q1 r.0m 1 d • . ll e or perpe-tua! ly wtth a q,1ve. They delivered up one of their fons for this pur-pole, a~d after he had fcrved for fame years they recalled him, in order t~ let hnn marry, or for fame other motive, and fubfi:ituted another in h1s p]ace. The change was made without giving any offence to the patron; on the contrary, he generally gave fame confideration for a new flave. In the year I 5~?, on account of a great fcarcity which happened then. many fam1hes were obliged to this kind of fcrvitude. but they were all freed from it by the king of Acolhuacan, Nezahual~ pilli, owing to the hardlhips they fuffered from it ; and, after his example, the fame thing was done by Montezuma II. in his dominions. T. he conquerors, who imagined they entered into all the rights of th e anc1ent Mexican lords, had, at firft, many flaves of thofe nations . but when the Catholic kings were informed of it by perfons of ~redit who were zealous for the public good, and well acquainted with the manners and cull:oms of thofe people, they declared all thofe !laves free, and forbid, under fevere penalties, any attempt againft their liberty. A law infinitely ju!l, and worthy the humanity of thofc monarchs ; for the firfi religious miffionaries who were employed in the converfion .of the Mexicans, amongil: whom were men of much learning, declared, after diligent examination, that they had not been able to find one amongft the ilaves who had been juftly deprived of his natural liberty. We have now faid all that we know of the Mexican lcgiflature. More complete information on this head, and in particular concerning their civil ~ontracrs, their tribunals, and fuprcme councils, might have proV"ed extremely vJillable; but the unfortunate lofs of the greater part of their pain ~ings, and of fame ~anufcripts of the firfi Spaniards, has deprived us of the only lights which could have illull:rated this fuhjecr. BOO~ VII . '--v-- Alt~ough the laws of the capital were generally received throughout the whole empire, yet in fome of the provinces many va1·iations from them took place; for as the Mexicans did not oblige .the conquered nations to ipeak the language of their court, neither did they com pel S.:cT. XIX. L;nvs of other countries of Anahuac. VoL. I. A a a them |