Pedro Moya de Contreras (sometimes ''Pedro de Moya y Contreras'') (c. 1528, Pedroche, Córdoba Province, Spain – December 21, 1591,
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
) was a prelate and colonial administrator who held the three highest offices in the Spanish colony of
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the A ...
Viceroy of Mexico
The following is a list of Viceroys of New Spain.
In addition to viceroys, the following lists the highest Spanish governors of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, before the appointment of the first viceroy or when the office of viceroy was vacant. ...
, 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.
Ecclesiastical career
Moya de Contreras received the degree of
doctor
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
of
canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...
from the
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is t ...
. Later he became head of the cathedral school in the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...
, and then inquisitor of
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
.
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
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
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
An ''auto-da-fé'' ( ; from Portuguese , meaning 'act of faith'; es, auto de fe ) was the ritual of public penance carried out between the 15th and 19th centuries of condemned heretics and apostates imposed by the Spanish, Portuguese, or Mexi ...
'' 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
Antonio Ruíz de Morales y Molina, O.S. (died 1576) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Tlaxcala (1572–1576) and Bishop of Michoacán (1566–1572). ''(in Latin)''Bishop of Tlaxcala (Puebla de los Angeles).Catholic Hierarchy: "Bishop Antonio Ruíz de Morales y Molina, O.S." retrieved November 13, 2015 retrieved December 31, 2015Arquidiocesis de Mexico website: "Arzobishops" retrieved January 3, 2016 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 Rincón y de la Vega,
Bishop of Michoacán
The Archdiocese of Morelia ( la, Archidioecesis Moreliensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western central Mexico.Francisco Gómez de Mendiola y Solórzano
Francisco Gómez de Mendiola y Solórzano (January 19, 1519 – April 23, 1576) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Guadalajara (1574-1576). ''(in Latin)''Bishop of Guadalajara (1574); and
Alfonso Graniero Avalos
Alfonso Graniero Avalos (died 1585) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of La Plata o Charcas (1579–1585).Bishop of La Plata o Charcas
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sucre ( la, Archidioecesis Sucrensis) is an archdiocese located in the city of Sucre in Bolivia.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
The Council of the Indies ( es, Consejo de las Indias), officially the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias, link=no, ), was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Amer ...
, 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.
* "Moya de Contreras, Pedro," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 10. Mexico City, 1988.
* García Puron, Manuel, ''México y sus gobernantes''. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984.
* Orozco Linares, Fernando, ''Gobernantes de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, .
* 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, .