Vicente de Zaldívar's Services to the Crown: The Probanza de méritos (1600) transed. by Sonia Kania (review)

In late 1598, the colonizing expedition of Juan de Oñate to New Mexico arrived at its destination. The adelantado, or leader, was Juan himself. Among the various Spanish, mestizo, mulato, and Native peoples who made up the group were the nephews of Oñate, the brothers Vicente and Juan de Zaldívar. With the exception of planting the seeds for what would become New Mexico's vibrant Hispanic culture, perhaps the most defining event of that great adventure was the Battle of Acoma Pueblo in 1599.

The battle was not wanted or planned. It was the result of a deadly altercation between Pueblo warriors and Spanish soldiers that resulted in the death of Spaniards, including Juan de Zaldívar. Oñate responded in kind, sending his soldiers, led by Vicente de Zaldívar, to exact retribution on the Acoma people and to provide a brutal example of what would happen should other Pueblos resist Spanish demands.

Documents such as this were reviews of a person's work and efforts and a method of policing their activities to ensure they were properly serving both Church and Crown. As one can imagine, they were certainly one-sided perspectives of events and actions, shining only a positive light on the subject. Still, for historians and anthropologists, they provide a glimpse into the history and even mentality of the people who lived through those times.

Sonia Kania is the editor and translator of the document of Vicente de Zaldívar's Services to the Crown and a collaborator with the Cíbola Project at the University of California, Berkeley. She does a fine job of presenting context, transcription, and translation of a rare document and allows the reader to enter the world of early colonial New Mexico. Since most documents in New Mexico were destroyed during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, a record such as this is even more significant. Reading, analyzing, and interpreting original papers from a certain era is one of the more exciting aspects of historical research. This work includes presentation, historical background, content of the text, questions asked, witnesses, manuscript, and language of the text. Next are editorial criteria and a transcription of the complete document. Following that is a complete translation of the original Spanish. Finally, there is a commentary on the text, which goes well beyond a mere list of pertinent words: it addresses historical, linguistic, biographic, ethnographic and textual elements of the book. There is also a glossary and an index of names. In short, this is a complete volume that addresses everything the historian would want in such a work.

The paleographic transcription of the original document may be the most interesting aspect of Kania's work. Such records are a treasure trove of information, containing data and insights that put the reader in the front seat of history. Experienced paleographers will want to dig in, but the uninitiated may need time adjusting to spelling and word abbreviations. In the descriptions of words provided in the commentary, a plethora of linguistic treats will fascinate. Old words such as muncho in place of the more modern mucho show how the Spanish language of empire was evolving before standardization of spelling was imposed in another two centuries.

Vicente de Zaldívar's testimony in his review of services shines light on a darker corner of New Mexico history, yet still leaves much out. The voices of Puebloan people, central to those events, are absent, and the inquiry smacks of propaganda, with witnesses from the expedition questioned in a static manner. Yet, there are also unsavory events that are brought into question, such as Zaldívar's chasing down a man named Andrés Martín, who was accused of attempting a pre-emptive colonization of New Mexico before the Oñate group could...