The control of the territory in Nueva Vizcaya at the end of the 18th Century through the proposal of new curatos, misiones, generalatos and subdelegaciones ideated by the first intendente Felipe Díaz de Ortega

Abstract

In 1788, Felipe Díaz de Ortega, first governor intendant of Durango after the Ordinance of 1786, wrote a report to the Viceroy of New Spain, don Manuel Antonio Flórez, in which, besides warning of the regrettable state of the territory that governed, he proposed the necessary for its solution: the deployment of a dense network of subdelegaciones; indigenous authorities; curatos and misiones; and the creation of new populations. He wanted to strengthen control of a territory the size of Britain and the multitude of people of all sort that roamed it. Through this report we can see the social problems that afflicted Nueva Vizcaya, such as cattle rustling and infidelity; glimpse some milestones experienced by the government during the century; and analyze the panoply of old and new solutions presented.