Azpilcueta in the Atlantic Book Trade of the Early Modern Period (1583–1700)

Abstract

The civil Mexican authorities asked all royal ministers or officials of the Real Audiencia of Mexico to submit a declaration of their assets. From their responses, we can see which books were in their possession. These Crown servants—specifically, lawyers, prosecutors, magistrates, and the like—put down in writing the characteristics and economic value of their libraries. Their declarations provide an overview of how they valued and categorised their books. It is interesting, for instance, to note how they described a professional library. Pedro Zamorano, a corregidor and alcalde mayor, declared that he had “los libros de derecho canónico y civil y de las leyes de Partida y Nueva recopilación y de diferentes autores así teóricos como prácticos que valdrán trescientos pesos poco más o menos”.1 Interestingly, Zamorano divides the authors into theoretical and practical ones. Such a division points to the pragmatic character of a portion of the books in his library.