Recopilación de Yndias
Solórzano's clearly-arranged summary of 1622 of the laws and statutes contained in royal cédulas, letters, provisions, and orders issued for the governance of the Spanish colonies in America. Solórzano, an oidor of the Audiencia of Lima, Peru, organizes the laws of the colonies under 18 titles, beginning with those laws governing the discovery of the Indies and establishing the colonies as the rightful possessions of the Spanish Crown. Title 4 laws govern the evangelistic efforts to convert the Indians to Catholicism, while Title 5 regulates the administration and operations of religious institutions such as churches, monasteries, hospitals, colleges, and seminaries. Other laws cover ecclesiastical immunity; powers and duties of bishops, archbishops, and prebendaries; tithes; royal patronage; courts of law; ecclesiastical judges; the Inquisition; and universities. Included in the ms. is a printed copy of Solórzano's Memorial of April 8, 1618, in which he proposes undertaking the Recopilación to Philip III; as well as a handwritten, note of May 8, 1622 in which he presents the first volume of the Recopilación to Philip IV, and promises to complete the remaining five. There is also a printed table of contents of all six volumes, which gives an overview of the work as a whole.