In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Moya and the second or maternal family name is Contreras.
Pedro Moya de Contreras (sometimes Pedro de Moya y Contreras) (c. 1528, Pedroche, Córdoba Province, Spain – December 21, 1591, Madrid) was a prelate and colonial administrator who held the three highest offices in the Spanish colony of New Spain, namely inquisitor general, Archbishop of Mexico, and Viceroy of Mexico, September 25, 1584 – October 17, 1585. He was the 6th Viceroy, governing from September 25, 1584, to October 16, 1585. During this interval he held all three positions.
In 1571 he became the first inquisitor general of New Spain (and thus the first inquisitor general in the New World). He established the Tribunal del Santo Oficio in Mexico City in 1571. As inquisitor general he required people of New Spain, from the oidores (members of the Audiencia), nobles and religious to the most humble members of society, to solemnly swear to defend the Catholic faith and persecute heretics "as rabid dogs and wolves, infectors of spirits and destroyers of the vineyard of Our Lord." He celebrated the first auto-da-fé in New Spain in 1571.
Two years later, on June 15, 1573, Moya de Contreras was chosen Archbishop of Mexico and consecrated bishop on November 21, 1573, by Antonio Ruíz de Morales y Molina, Bishop of Tlaxcala (Puebla de los Angeles).[1][2][3] He served until 1591, the year of his death. In 1585 he convoked and presided at the Third Provincial Council of the Church in Mexico, which established standards for the Church that endured to the end of the colonial era. This council banned the enslavement of the Indians. As both archbishop and viceroy, one of his major concerns was education of the Indians. He founded the Seminary of the Indies, to teach them Christian doctrine, reading, writing, singing and trades.
In 1583 Moya de Contreras's predecessor as viceroy, Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, 4th conde de la Coruña, asked King Philip II to name a special visitador (royal inspector) to help resolve a conflict between the viceroy and the Audiencia. Philip named Moya, then the sitting Archbishop of Mexico. As visitador, he took up the accusations against the corrupt oidores and other officials of the viceroyalty. He dismissed the former and punished the latter, some by hanging. In a letter reporting to the king, he praised those officials who had honestly met their obligations, and castigated others.
Suárez de Mendoza died in June, 1583. The Audiencia was formally in charge of the colony for 16 months, until the installation of the new viceroy. However, Moya de Contreras continued in the position of visitador during the interregnum, with much influence. In 1584, he was named viceroy to succeed Suárez.
He took up the new position on September 25, 1584. He now held the three most important positions in the colony. With this concentration of power, he was able to remedy many of the prevalent abuses, with immediate punishment for those found to be transgressors of the law or of decency. This resulted in much enmity among the governing class, but the lower classes proclaimed him as their defender. He was able to increase rents and payments to Spain considerably.
In 1584 he resigned as viceroy, but retained his other positions (including visitador) for a little longer while he wound up his affairs before returning to Spain. Upon his return, he became president of the Council of the Indies, a position he held until his death.
Moya de Contreras died in Spain in December, 1591, so poor that the Crown paid for his funeral. His body was interred in the parish church of Santiago, in Madrid. He left various writings which were collected in the book Cartas de Indias, published in Madrid in 1877.
^ abCatholic Hierarchy: "Bishop Antonio Ruíz de Morales y Molina, O.S." retrieved November 13, 2015
^GCatholic.org: "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mexico" retrieved December 31, 2015
^Arquidiocesis de Mexico website: "Arzobishops" 2016-02-07 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 3, 2016
Further readingedit
(in Spanish) "Moya de Contreras, Pedro," Enciclopedia de México, v. 10. Mexico City, 1988.
(in Spanish) García Puron, Manuel, México y sus gobernantes. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984.
(in Spanish) Orozco Linares, Fernando, Gobernantes de México. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, ISBN968-38-0260-5.
Stafford Poole, C.M. Pedro Moya de Contreras: Catholic Reform and Royal Power in New Spain, 1571-1591. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1987, ISBN0-520-05551-9.
pedro, moya, contreras, this, spanish, name, first, paternal, surname, moya, second, maternal, family, name, contreras, sometimes, pedro, moya, contreras, 1528, pedroche, córdoba, province, spain, december, 1591, madrid, prelate, colonial, administrator, held,. In this Spanish name the first or paternal surname is Moya and the second or maternal family name is Contreras Pedro Moya de Contreras sometimes Pedro de Moya y Contreras c 1528 Pedroche Cordoba Province Spain December 21 1591 Madrid was a prelate and colonial administrator who held the three highest offices in the Spanish colony of New Spain namely inquisitor general Archbishop of Mexico and Viceroy of Mexico September 25 1584 October 17 1585 He was the 6th Viceroy governing from September 25 1584 to October 16 1585 During this interval he held all three positions The Most ReverendPedro Moya de ContrerasViceroy of New SpainIn office September 25 1584 October 17 1585MonarchPhilip II of SpainPreceded byLuis de Villanueva y ZapataSucceeded byAlvaro Manrique de ZunigaPresident of Council of the IndiesIn office 1585 December 21 1591Archbishop of MexicoArchdioceseMexicoInstalledJune 17 1573Term endedDecember 7 1591PredecessorAlonso de MontufarSuccessorAlonso Fernandez de BonillaOrdersOrdinationNovember 21 1573Consecrationby Antonio Ruiz de Morales y MolinaPersonal detailsBornc 1527Pedroche Cordoba SpainDiedDecember 21 1591 aged 63 64 Madrid SpainNationalitySpanishDenominationRoman Catholic Contents 1 Ecclesiastical career 2 Political career 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksEcclesiastical career editMoya de Contreras received the degree of doctor of canon law from the University of Salamanca Later he became head of the cathedral school in the Canary Islands and then inquisitor of Murcia In 1571 he became the first inquisitor general of New Spain and thus the first inquisitor general in the New World He established the Tribunal del Santo Oficio in Mexico City in 1571 As inquisitor general he required people of New Spain from the oidores members of the Audiencia nobles and religious to the most humble members of society to solemnly swear to defend the Catholic faith and persecute heretics as rabid dogs and wolves infectors of spirits and destroyers of the vineyard of Our Lord He celebrated the first auto da fe in New Spain in 1571 Two years later on June 15 1573 Moya de Contreras was chosen Archbishop of Mexico and consecrated bishop on November 21 1573 by Antonio Ruiz de Morales y Molina Bishop of Tlaxcala Puebla de los Angeles 1 2 3 He served until 1591 the year of his death In 1585 he convoked and presided at the Third Provincial Council of the Church in Mexico which established standards for the Church that endured to the end of the colonial era This council banned the enslavement of the Indians As both archbishop and viceroy one of his major concerns was education of the Indians He founded the Seminary of the Indies to teach them Christian doctrine reading writing singing and trades While bishop he was the principal consecrator of Juan de Medina Rincon y de la Vega Bishop of Michoacan 1574 Francisco Gomez de Mendiola y Solorzano Bishop of Guadalajara 1574 and Alfonso Graniero Avalos Bishop of La Plata o Charcas 1579 1 Political career editThis section includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this section by introducing more precise citations August 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message In 1583 Moya de Contreras s predecessor as viceroy Lorenzo Suarez de Mendoza 4th conde de la Coruna asked King Philip II to name a special visitador royal inspector to help resolve a conflict between the viceroy and the Audiencia Philip named Moya then the sitting Archbishop of Mexico As visitador he took up the accusations against the corrupt oidores and other officials of the viceroyalty He dismissed the former and punished the latter some by hanging In a letter reporting to the king he praised those officials who had honestly met their obligations and castigated others Suarez de Mendoza died in June 1583 The Audiencia was formally in charge of the colony for 16 months until the installation of the new viceroy However Moya de Contreras continued in the position of visitador during the interregnum with much influence In 1584 he was named viceroy to succeed Suarez He took up the new position on September 25 1584 He now held the three most important positions in the colony With this concentration of power he was able to remedy many of the prevalent abuses with immediate punishment for those found to be transgressors of the law or of decency This resulted in much enmity among the governing class but the lower classes proclaimed him as their defender He was able to increase rents and payments to Spain considerably In 1584 he resigned as viceroy but retained his other positions including visitador for a little longer while he wound up his affairs before returning to Spain Upon his return he became president of the Council of the Indies a position he held until his death Moya de Contreras died in Spain in December 1591 so poor that the Crown paid for his funeral His body was interred in the parish church of Santiago in Madrid He left various writings which were collected in the book Cartas de Indias published in Madrid in 1877 See also editLuis de Villanueva y Zapata interim viceroy who preceded Moya de ContrerasReferences edit a b Catholic Hierarchy Bishop Antonio Ruiz de Morales y Molina O S retrieved November 13 2015 GCatholic org Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mexico retrieved December 31 2015 Arquidiocesis de Mexico website Arzobishops Archived 2016 02 07 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 3 2016Further reading edit in Spanish Moya de Contreras Pedro Enciclopedia de Mexico v 10 Mexico City 1988 in Spanish Garcia Puron Manuel Mexico y sus gobernantes Mexico City Joaquin Porrua 1984 in Spanish Orozco Linares Fernando Gobernantes de Mexico Mexico City Panorama Editorial 1985 ISBN 968 38 0260 5 Stafford Poole C M Pedro Moya de Contreras Catholic Reform and Royal Power in New Spain 1571 1591 Berkeley and Los Angeles University of California Press 1987 ISBN 0 520 05551 9 External links editCatholic Hierarchy in Spanish List of Archbishops of MexicoReligious titlesPreceded byAlonso de Montufar Archbishop of Mexico1573 1591 Succeeded byAlonso Fernandez de BonillaPreceded byAntonio de Fonseca Patriarch of the West Indies1591 never installed Succeeded byJuan GuzmanGovernment officesPreceded byLorenzo Suarez de Mendoza Viceroy of New Spain1584 1585 Succeeded byAlvaro Manrique de Zuniga Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pedro Moya de Contreras amp oldid 1131422920, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
