FIFTH SUN 8

By the early 1600s how had Mexico City changed

It had become one of the wealthiest and most impressive cities in the world.

Why did powerful Spaniards increasingly want Black servants

Declining Indigenous labor and expanding urban wealth made Black labor central to elite households.

What event shocked Mexico City on May 3 1612

Twenty nine Black people were executed and their bodies displayed publicly.

Why did the display of the executed bodies cause widespread shock

Relatives friars Indigenous people and Black residents confronted extreme state violence.

What festive event in 1608 triggered Spanish fear

A mock coronation of a Black king and queen during Christmas celebrations.

Why did Spaniards fear the mock coronation

They feared symbolic Black political authority.

Who were cimarrones

Runaway enslaved people living in autonomous communities.

Why did Spanish authorities target cimarrón communities

They feared rebellion autonomy and loss of control.

What compromise did authorities reach with cimarrón groups near Puebla

They allowed a permanent settlement if no new runaways were accepted.

What murder intensified Black unrest in 1611

An enslaved African woman was murdered by her owner Luis Moreno de Monroy.

How did the Black community respond to the murder

They organized a peaceful protest demanding justice.

How did authorities respond to the protest

They punished protest leaders instead of investigating the murder.

Why was Mexico City politically vulnerable in early 1612

The viceroy died leaving power to the Audiencia.

What restrictions were imposed on Black residents after the viceroy’s death

Bans on weapons clothing markers limits on household size and movement.

Why were Easter celebrations cancelled in 1612

Authorities feared a rumored Black uprising.

What caused citywide panic during Holy Week 1612

False rumors and fear spread by Spaniards.

How were Black suspects treated during the investigation

Many were tortured including by water torture.

Why did many tortured prisoners confess

Confessions were used to end unbearable suffering.

What story did Spanish officials claim the confessions revealed

A plot to overthrow Spaniards and create a Black nobility.

How did Nahua observers interpret the alleged plot

As implausible and shaped by Spanish fear rather than reality.

How did Chimalpahin describe the Black victims

As poor suffering people rather than rebels.

What happened to the accused in May 1612

Twenty eight men and seven women were executed in one day.

What epidemics shaped the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries

Measles typhus hemorrhagic disease and repeated outbreaks.

Who suffered most from epidemics and flooding

Indigenous people living in poor urban areas.

What major infrastructure project followed severe flooding

The drainage works at Huehuetoca.

Who was forced to labor on the drainage project

Indigenous communities from many altepetls.

Why did the drainage project deepen Indigenous suffering

Dangerous labor disease injury and death were widespread.

Why did Chimalpahin begin writing history

To preserve Indigenous knowledge before it disappeared.

What sources did Chimalpahin rely on

Indigenous elders written records and early alphabetic manuscripts.

How did Chimalpahin practice adaptation rather than rebellion

Through writing documentation and historical preservation.

How did Indigenous communities respond to colonial pressure

By reorganizing leadership negotiating survival and maintaining culture.

Why did Chimalpahin value Christianity

He believed in the equality of souls and universal access to God.

How did Chimalpahin view Christianity differently from Spanish authorities

As a moral resource rather than only a tool of control.

What role did education and literacy play in Indigenous survival

Writing preserved memory identity and political legitimacy.

How did Christian institutions shape Chimalpahin’s life

Churches provided education authority and access to records.

Why did Chimalpahin record the names of Spanish judges

To ensure moral accountability before God.

What ultimately haunted Indigenous people most

Fear that their world and knowledge would be forgotten.