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Peru A.D.S.: The Trial of Blas de Torres Altamirano

A 21-page document, written c1635, describing the Trial of Blas de Torres Altamirano, Magistrate of the Supreme Court of Lima (Peru) who had been accused of contravention of the Royal Decree keeping office holders in America from marrying themselves, their songs or daughters during the time they held their offices. This document is signed by Francisco Garcia Carillo Alderete, Attorney of the Criminal Court of Lima, which had been entrusted with this matter by Viceroy Luis Jerónimo de Cabrera, Count of Chinchon, who held this office in Peru from 1629-1639. This document bears no date but must have been written during this ten year period. It was during the time Count Chinchon was viceroy of Peru that quinine was first used by Europeans. It was first called Chinchona to honor the wife of Count Chinchon. This document is bound by means of 2 calf strings into a parchment document containing a Censo in favor of Alfonso Alvarez de Toledo for several houses in the Alcaizeria de Cuenca, which he gave to Elviro Gonzalez ("Censo" being an annual rent). This document was written in 1420. Old legal vellum documents as this one were often used in later centuries for binding purposes such as spine reinforcement-strips, inlay-papers or simply as wrappers as in the present case.

Map: Nouvelles isles

"This is a fascinating and evocative woodcut image of islands, ships and sea monsters, illustrating a text describing Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage across the Atlantic. It appeared in Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia beginning in 1550 and appears here in an early French text edition of the work. Here depicted is an archipelago, surrounded with turbulent seas. Some of the islands appear to be forbiddingly rocky, while others are peppered with trees and hills, some graced with European-styled walled cities. Several sea monsters prowl the archipelago, one resembling a giant seahog, and a sea serpent menacing a sailing ship, which fires its cannon to drive the monster away. Two small sailboats and another great sailing ship also sail between the islands. From one of the islands, a robed figure approaches the shore, as if to greet one of the sailing craft. There is nothing in the image to indicate any specific location, and none of the details in the image correspond directly to any of the details in the accompanying text. So on its own, it would be incorrect to describe this as a literal representation of any specific place. Rather, it is an imaginative representation of sea voyages, the dangers associated with them, and the wonders that might be encountered. In the context of the text, however, this assessment changes slightly." –Description from Geographicus Rare Antique Maps, bookseller

Munster, Sebastian, 1488-1552

Canary Islands collection

  • ASM0491
  • Collection
  • 1582-1584

This collection contains 26 bound and paginated 16th-century manuscripts describing contemporary conditions and military operations in the Canary Islands. It consists of a series of letters (15 items) and an assortment of other official documents (11 items). Twelve letters bear the imprimatur of King Philip II of Spain.

Primarily, the collection documents the administration of Lázaro Moreno de León, who served as governor of the islands of Tenerife and La Palma for two years (1582-1584). The last two items in the collection mark the end of Moreno de León's tenure and reference his successor, Juan Núñez de la Fuente, who served until 1589. Moreno de León appears in 18 of the items in the collection, either as subject or recipient (in the case of correspondence). However, the collection includes only one item bearing his signature: Item 18, authored by Diego de Ayala y Rojas, conde de la Gomera, and signed by Moreno de León as a witness.

During Moreno de León's tenure, an epidemic broke out on the island of Tenerife, causing considerable loss of life (documented at length in Item 22). The collection also reflects historical events following Spain's conquest of Portugal. During the dynastic crisis that followed the death of Portugal's King Sebastian in 1578, the throne was claimed by António, Prior of Crato, who was defeated by Philip II in 1580. By 1582, António had relocated to the Azores, where he attempted to establish a government in exile with the support of France. Item 3 provides a set of instructions for a dispatch boat that was sent to the Canary Islands that same year, after word of a possible attack by António. In early 1583, ships loyal to António did attempt an attack on the island of Gomera, but were repelled by local forces under the command of Ayala y Rojas and Moreno de León (documented in Items 18 and 19).

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