Mexico in History: Colonialism to Revolution

Mexico in History: Colonialism to Revolution is a collection of digitized primary sources covering Mexican history from Spanish colonization and the formation of New Spain through the Mexican War of Independence and then through the Mexican Revolution. Materials in this collection are sourced from the Bancroft Library at University of California, Berkeley's Latin Americana Collection.

Material types include print books and pamphlets, manuscripts, government documents, land and legal records, religious sermons, correspondence and personal papers, maps, photographs, illustrations, graphic art, and more. These materials cover a wide range of topics, including colonialism and colonial government; indigenous communities; everyday life; religion, missionaries, and the Roman Catholic Church (including the Inquisition); national and international politics; reform, revolution, and independence; military and warfare; and more. This digital collection was sourced from many different physical material subcollections in the Latin Americana Collection, so it can be helpful to browse by subcollection. To browse or search a specific subcollection, in the Research Tools menu, select Collection Highlights or Search Directories. 

The majority of materials in this collection are in Spanish, but indigenous languages are also represented, including Nahuatl, Otomi, Tzeltal, Zoque, Pima, Ópata, O’odham, Seri, Mazahua, Pame, and Nahua-Mixtec pictoglyphs. There are also are documents in English, French, German, Italian, and Russian. 

Many materials in this collection are written from a colonial perspective, and some items in the collection may include views or terminology now considered outdated, biased, or offensive.