Notes on Baroque and Colonial Architecture
Context: evidence, imagery, and architectural history in the transatlantic encounter
Demolition and replacement as a recurring pattern in colonial landscapes: older sacred/ritual sites were demolished and replaced with new Christian (often cathedral) structures to consolidate Spanish power.
Two forms of evidence discussed:
Visual/historical imagery of cities and temples (e.g., the plaza, the main temple, centrality and symmetry in architectural form).
Documentary evidence such as codices and maps (Codex Mendoza; Conquistador correspondence; royal ordinances).
Key deities and iconography noted in Mesoamerican contexts: Clalóc (rain god) and Quetzalcoatl (the feathered serpent) appear in temple iconography; ball court symbolism tied to religious and martial purposes.
The ball game as a multi-layered symbol: potential religious significance intertwined with warfare and competition.
Evidence in the Codex Mendoza as a zoomed page that juxtaposes depicted architecture with extant buildings; historians use these comparisons to infer pre-conquest architectural conditions.
Important caution: the left-hand image compares Mitla (a preserved site) with Montezuma’s Palace (Moctezuma’s palace) to explore possible architectural preconditions and post-conquest changes.
Terminology and places to know:
Temple Mayor (Templo Mayor) as the central Aztec site.
Mitla as a modern preserved reference point for earlier architectural form.
Moctezuma’s Palace as a point of comparison for pre-conquest architecture (not the same as Mitla).
Nipla (referenced as a palace used for comparison—noteclarity issues in the transcript).
Structural observations and description techniques:
Social stratification visible in depictions; elevated platforms imply social hierarchy.
Depictions of footprints and rotation suggest attempts to convey social organization and movement within space.
The openings and entrances show stepped, tar-coating or “Toledo/Toulouse” style elements; discussion of skirts, lintels, and arched ornamentation in openings.
Architecture as a field of study depends on how we read openings, stairs, and road alignments; the lecturer notes the importance of describing features such as layered stepping, long horizontal ribbons, and arched ornamentation.
Aesthetic features in the codes of the period: flat roofs with stepping volumes, wide doorways, visible structural beams, and ornamented patterns (circular, swirling) that recall earlier textile-block forms.
The broader aim across History One materials: connect codex imagery, architectural form, and colonial urban planning to understand both pre-conquest and post-conquest landscapes.
The transition from Aztec city to colonial urban form: demolition, reuse, and royal planning
The Conquest era church being built on the site of the Temple Mayor illustrates material erasure and reuse: stones from the old temple were repurposed for the cathedral.
The cathedral construction occurred in stages from 1573 to 1813, anchored to the site of the earlier church built soon after the conquest of Tenochtitlan.
Architect involved in the replacement: Claudio di Asienka (documented as the planner for the replacement of the old temple site with a new complex).
This process is framed as both symbolic erasure and material reuse—architecture as a tool of political sovereignty.
The Law of the Indies (The Ordinance for the Discovery, the New Population, and the Pacification of the Indies) codified planning practices for colonial cities, enacted in 1573 by King Philip II of Spain.
Early surveying and documentation steps under the Law of the Indies:
Around 1577, a general description of Spain’s holdings in the Indies was ordered, prompting a transatlantic voyage to collect information.
Two primary tools emerged: maps and questionnaires (the latter issued in 1577 to local officials; about 50 items long).
Questionnaires sought basic land information, natural resources, town history, and economic potential (e.g., fertile soil, volcanic activity, resources).
The replies to these questionnaires were compiled into relationes geographicae (relaciones geográficas) produced between roughly 1579 and 1585; these included maps, text, and paintings.
Authorship and representation question: maps and documents were sometimes created by indigenous artists, drawing on familiar cartographic conventions and on knowledge of local land and resources—leading to hybrid or cross-cultural documents.
Reading these documents raises critical questions about who reads and writes maps, who creates them, and how indigenous knowledge intersects with imposed imperial frameworks.
The maps emerge as hybridized objects that index routes, ritual spaces, and social hierarchies, revealing endemic tensions between colonizers and the local populations.
Close-reading prompts for students:
How does the map read as a cartographic object versus a political instrument?
What can the depiction of natural resources, plant varieties, and geographic features tell us about colonial priorities?
In what ways do the maps act as