Politics and Trade in Mexico 1750-1821

The province of Oaxaca in southern Mexico was one of the main sources of Spanish wealth during the colonial period. The largely indigenous population supplied dyes and cotton for the Spanish merchants trading both with Spain and within Mexico itself. Much of the trade was conducted in violation of the Laws of the Indies and the royal decrees. The present study traces the struggles of the Spanish Metropolitan Government and the local episcopal authorities in Oaxaca to secure observation of t...