The Church in Poverty: Bishops, Bourbons, and Tithes in Spanish Honduras, 1700-1821

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Issue Date
1981-12Author
Müller, Gene Alan
Publisher
University of Kansas
Format
258
Type
Dissertation
Degree Level
Ph.D.
Discipline
History
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This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
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Show full item recordAbstract
The opening phrase of the title succinctly states the economic
situation of the Church in eighteenth century Honduras. This study comprises
an analysis of episcopal leadership, the relationship between
royal authorities and the Church, tithe administration, collection,
and distribution in theory and practice, and the origins of anti-clerical
Liberalism in Honduras at the close of the Bourbon era. Appendices
provide a revised list of bishops who served the diocese and tithe
yields for Comayagua [Honduras], Guatemala, Leon [Nicaragua], Chiapas,
New Spain [Mexico], Chile, and Havana [Cuba]. A glossary of Spanish
colonial terms is included.
Although colonial Honduras was too poor to attract ambitious
Spanish clerics, the bishops appointed to serve Comayagua were, as a
group, estimable men. Five of the appointees, including the reknowned
Antonio de San Miguel, were transferred to more prestigious and lucrative
positions. In contrast to the traditional Liberal historical
interpretation which claimed that the Church and clergy contributed
nothing to the economic progress of Central America, this study shows
that the bishops sought to increase tithe income by promoting agricultural
production. They also introduced the collection of the first
fruits in order to improve the economic condition of the lower clergy.
Cattlemen, "burdened with increasing royal taxation for defense expenditures
and local costs, attacked the Church and clergy and resisted
obligatory contributions by employing anti-clerical Liberal arguments.
Tithe income was not solely used for ecclesiastical purposes.
By the middle of the reign of Charles III forty per cent of the tithe
revenues was designated for the treasury of the civil government. This
amount rose to sixty per cent by 1821, the date of Independence.
This study is based primarily upon original colonial documents
in Honduras and Guatemala. Other materials consulted include various
books, journals, dissertations, theses, and papers from private and
public libraries in Central America, Mexico, and the United States.
Description
The University of Kansas has long historical connections with Central America and the many Central
Americans who have earned graduate degrees at KU. This work is part of the Central American Theses
and Dissertations collection in KU ScholarWorks and is being made freely available with permission of the
author through the efforts of Professor Emeritus Charles Stansifer of the History department and the staff of
the Scholarly Communications program at the University of Kansas Libraries’ Center for Digital Scholarship.
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