Contract Under Which Aqueduct was Built
I, Friar Cristobal y Chanriguis, preacher and secretary of this holy province of the holy evangel, certify that Father Luis Gerro, preacher and guardian of the Convent of All Saints, Zempoala, has presented to me a patent in favor of natives of said town, whose legal tenor is as follows:
We, Friar Juan De Bustamanti, Commissioner General of the Indes of the Ocean Seas, and Friar Juan De San Francisco, Provincial Master of the province of said holy evangel, and Friar Deigo Nolivarte, and Friar Juan De Gavna, and Friar Antonio Centad Rodriquez, and Friar Bernardino De Sahagun, subordinate of priests of said province of the holy evangel, declare:
That inasmuch as you, the Governor Alcaldes and principal officers of the town of Zacoala, have agreed, for the love of God and because of our intercession, with the same officers of the town of Otumba to give to them half the water which you have in your town of Zacoala for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of Otumba and for the use of the monastery of our order founded in that town, in which you do great good to them and to our said monastery, because of our intercession as stated; and, inasmuch, moreover, as you, the said people of Zacoala, with much labor and for the good of your souls, agree to join with the people of the Flaquilpan and Zempoala in the place where you are erecting an All Saints Monastery, at which point you agree to remain and work and not to depart for the reason that you are removed from your own houses; on order to labor for the good of our souls and in return for the labor which the priests have in visiting you. And whereas now you will soon have together a monastery for the friars of our order, in which must be administered for all the holy sacraments; therefore, in return for this benefit and work we promise you that in all our time we will not cease to give friars for said monastery, and for the whole length of our lives we will aid you in your prayers in all the agreed respects; and for the time to come after our lives, in consideration of said benefit, we will petition the said Commissioners General and Provisional Masters that they will severally and collectively adhere to the agreement, and always have the charity to furnish friars in the Monastery of All Saints, as now in view of the great and good work which you have done through our intercession, both in giving the said water and in aiding the said work to supply it. And if by chance there should happen to be so few priests that it is impossible to spare them from the house of Otumba that they shall place friars in said Monastery of All Saints first and let the loss fall upon other places than Zacoala and the Monastery of All Saints, in all of which places you are entitled to be taught by our priests.
We will beg of our successors in charity to favor us in these said respects, in return for your faithful labor and agreement in our behalf, and so we sign this agreement, made this seventh day of February, 1553.
Then followed signatures.
