ed by a growing

body of law, notably t
he New Click here to Email Jerome
Laws of 1542, and

later the so-called Ordinances of Discovery of 1573. The pen and the sword dance a new configuration: Onate's contract is meticulously reviewed, edited, and modified by the viceroy, literally written over with marginal citations of ordinances and relevant articles that allow or prohibit his proposed conduct in New Mexico.¨ In addition, Onate is made to read and sign a certi

fied copy of "Instructions"Ña kind of conquest handbook, a long list of dos and don'ts. By 1598, no conquest expedition leaves without a royal scribe and notary, so that all conquest behavior can be carefully recorded, monitored, documented. Thus, while Ona