As part of his effort to Christianize the Indians of New Spain, Toral learned to speak the Nahuatl and Popoloca languages, and compiled a dictionary and grammar of the latter. He also charged Bernardino de Sahagún with the creation of the Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España. In Yucatán he led an investigation into the alleged abuses of the Maya by Diego de Landa, employing Gaspar Antonio Chi as his interpreter; Landa would eventually be acquitted, and follow Toral as Bishop of Yucatán. He claimed that crosses were being burned, and human sacrifices were made in church. In the end, Mayans were considered innocent, based on the lack of proof. Francisco de Toral requested his permission be terminated, but his request was denied. Following this denial, he moved to Mexico City and lived there until his death on April 20, 1571.[3][4]
Experiences in Yucatán
Before Toral arrived in the Yucatán, Landa arrived in 1549 and ordered the destruction of more than 20,000 Mayan artifacts that were determined to be cult images over his time in the region.[3] In addition to his overseeing of these artifacts’ destruction, he actively tortured Mayans in order to produce confessions of idolatry. Mayans that confessed to idol worship faced severe penalties, ranging from flogging to ten years of forced labor for minor offenses.[5]
Toral arrived in 1562 to a province that was in a great state of unrest. There was a large controversy among Mayans and secular government officials with regards to Landa’s treatment of allegedly idolatrous Indians.[4] Toral was shocked by the violent behavior of the Franciscan friars. He believed that the clergy had both a right and duty to physically punish Mayans resisting conversion, but Toral was skeptical that the confessions Landa elicited were legitimate and the resulting punishments were an overreaction to the situation.[5] In Toral’s eyes, Landa was doing work outside of the position he had been designated. With this conflict began a period of distrust between Toral and the Franciscans of the Yucatán.
In response to these events, Toral forced Landa’s return to Spain in 1563 in order to answer the accusations that were being drawn against him. As Toral began to exercise his authority, he freed hundreds of Mayans that Landa had imprisoned. Under his supervision only the most extreme cases of idolatry were investigated, and even those resulted in fairly light sentences. In addition to this, Toral began to cooperate more with local secular authorities in order for his religious order to be as effective as possible. He removed Franciscan missionary clergy from the administration of ecclesiastical justice, urging his secular clergy to use verbal persuasion to draw Mayans away from idolatry.[6]
Toral’s distrust of Franciscans and his inability to control the friars still holding authority resulted in a large amount of tension between himself, the Franciscan order, and local government authorities, namely Governor Luis de Céspedes y Oviedo. Charges were brought against him by Governor Céspedes for usurping royal jurisdiction as animosity towards him as a religious leader began to grow.[6][4] Landa was eventually absolved of his charges in 1569. Following this and his ongoing dilemmas in Yucatán, Toral requested he be relocated to serve in Mexico City before ultimately abdicating his position in 1570 and dying in Mexico.[4][3]
References
^Eubel, Konrad (1923). HIERARCHIA CATHOLICA MEDII ET RECENTIORIS AEVI Vol III (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. pp. 338. (in Latin)
^ abcMalmström, Vincent. "Bishop Landa and the Mayan Calendar: An Unsolved Mystery" (PDF). Dartmouth College.
^ abcdAdams, Eleanor (1952). "A Bio-Bibliography of Franciscan Authors in Colonial Central America: L-Z [Continued]". The Americas. 9: 37–86. JSTOR 977858.
^ abClendinnen, Inga (1982). "Disciplining the Indians: Franciscan Ideology and Missionary Violence in Sixteenth-Century Yucatán". Past & Present. 94: 27–48. JSTOR 650489.
^ abChuchiak IV, John (2005). "In Servitio Dei: Fray Diego de Landa, the Franciscan Order, and the Return of the Extirpattion of Idolatry in the Colonial Diocese of Yucatán, 1573-1579". The Americas. 61: 611–620.
francisco, toral, 1502, 1571, franciscan, missionary, spain, first, bishop, yucatán, most, reverendbishop, yucatánchurchcatholic, churchdiocesediocese, yucatánpredecessornonesuccessordiego, landaordersconsecrationmay, 1562by, sancho, díaz, trujillopersonal, de. Francisco de Toral O F M 1502 1571 was a Franciscan missionary in New Spain and the first Bishop of Yucatan 1 2 Most ReverendFrancisco de ToralBishop of YucatanChurchCatholic ChurchDioceseDiocese of YucatanPredecessorNoneSuccessorDiego de LandaOrdersConsecrationMay 24 1562by Sancho Diaz de TrujilloPersonal detailsBorn1502DiedApril 20 1571 age 69 NationalitySpanish Contents 1 Biography 2 Experiences in Yucatan 3 References 4 External links and additional sourcesBiography EditDe Toral was ordained a priest in the Order of Friars Minor 2 On November 19 1561 Francisco de Toral was appointed by Pope Pius IV the first bishop of the Diocese of Yucatan and consecrated bishop on May 24 1562 by Sancho Diaz de Trujillo Auxiliary Bishop of Plasencia with Fernando de Villagomez Bishop of Tlaxcala and Juan de Vaca Bishop of Panama serving as co consecrators 2 Portrait of Francisco de Toral As part of his effort to Christianize the Indians of New Spain Toral learned to speak the Nahuatl and Popoloca languages and compiled a dictionary and grammar of the latter He also charged Bernardino de Sahagun with the creation of the Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva Espana In Yucatan he led an investigation into the alleged abuses of the Maya by Diego de Landa employing Gaspar Antonio Chi as his interpreter Landa would eventually be acquitted and follow Toral as Bishop of Yucatan He claimed that crosses were being burned and human sacrifices were made in church In the end Mayans were considered innocent based on the lack of proof Francisco de Toral requested his permission be terminated but his request was denied Following this denial he moved to Mexico City and lived there until his death on April 20 1571 3 4 Experiences in Yucatan EditBefore Toral arrived in the Yucatan Landa arrived in 1549 and ordered the destruction of more than 20 000 Mayan artifacts that were determined to be cult images over his time in the region 3 In addition to his overseeing of these artifacts destruction he actively tortured Mayans in order to produce confessions of idolatry Mayans that confessed to idol worship faced severe penalties ranging from flogging to ten years of forced labor for minor offenses 5 Toral arrived in 1562 to a province that was in a great state of unrest There was a large controversy among Mayans and secular government officials with regards to Landa s treatment of allegedly idolatrous Indians 4 Toral was shocked by the violent behavior of the Franciscan friars He believed that the clergy had both a right and duty to physically punish Mayans resisting conversion but Toral was skeptical that the confessions Landa elicited were legitimate and the resulting punishments were an overreaction to the situation 5 In Toral s eyes Landa was doing work outside of the position he had been designated With this conflict began a period of distrust between Toral and the Franciscans of the Yucatan In response to these events Toral forced Landa s return to Spain in 1563 in order to answer the accusations that were being drawn against him As Toral began to exercise his authority he freed hundreds of Mayans that Landa had imprisoned Under his supervision only the most extreme cases of idolatry were investigated and even those resulted in fairly light sentences In addition to this Toral began to cooperate more with local secular authorities in order for his religious order to be as effective as possible He removed Franciscan missionary clergy from the administration of ecclesiastical justice urging his secular clergy to use verbal persuasion to draw Mayans away from idolatry 6 Toral s distrust of Franciscans and his inability to control the friars still holding authority resulted in a large amount of tension between himself the Franciscan order and local government authorities namely Governor Luis de Cespedes y Oviedo Charges were brought against him by Governor Cespedes for usurping royal jurisdiction as animosity towards him as a religious leader began to grow 6 4 Landa was eventually absolved of his charges in 1569 Following this and his ongoing dilemmas in Yucatan Toral requested he be relocated to serve in Mexico City before ultimately abdicating his position in 1570 and dying in Mexico 4 3 References Edit Eubel Konrad 1923 HIERARCHIA CATHOLICA MEDII ET RECENTIORIS AEVI Vol III second ed Munster Libreria Regensbergiana pp 338 in Latin a b c Cheney David M Bishop Francisco del Toral O F M Catholic Hierarchy org Retrieved March 25 2018 self published a b c Malmstrom Vincent Bishop Landa and the Mayan Calendar An Unsolved Mystery PDF Dartmouth College a b c d Adams Eleanor 1952 A Bio Bibliography of Franciscan Authors in Colonial Central America L Z Continued The Americas 9 37 86 JSTOR 977858 a b Clendinnen Inga 1982 Disciplining the Indians Franciscan Ideology and Missionary Violence in Sixteenth Century Yucatan Past amp Present 94 27 48 JSTOR 650489 a b Chuchiak IV John 2005 In Servitio Dei Fray Diego de Landa the Franciscan Order and the Return of the Extirpattion of Idolatry in the Colonial Diocese of Yucatan 1573 1579 The Americas 61 611 620 External links and additional sources EditCheney David M Archdiocese of Yucatan Catholic Hierarchy org Retrieved March 25 2018 for Chronology of Bishops self published Chow Gabriel Metropolitan Archdiocese of Yucatan GCatholic org Retrieved March 25 2018 for Chronology of Bishops self published Catholic Church titlesPreceded byDiego de Estremera Guardian of Tecamachalco1548 1550 Succeeded byJuan de VesarPreceded byBuenaventura de Salinas Guardian of Tecamachalco1556 1557 Succeeded byAlonso de MolinaPreceded byFrancisco de Bustamante Provincial of the Province of the Holy Gospel1558 1561 Succeeded byFrancisco de BustamanteNew diocese Bishop of Yucatan1561 1571 Succeeded byDiego de Landa Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Francisco de Toral amp oldid 1114573008, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
