ABSTRACT
This chapter examines people and activities in early Mexico City to illuminate aspects of socioeconomic development up to around 1550, to relate the patterns identified both to the previous phase of Spanish experience in the Caribbean and to the future growth and consolidation of the capital and colony. The political situation in Mexico City was hardly unique, of course; the patterns that emerged in the capital recurred elsewhere, as powerful political and economic interests converged. The frequent appearance of merchants in the notarial documents of the early years attests to a considerable degree of commercial activity in Mexico City. Royal and local government quite early generated a whole complex of legal technicians and minor officeholders in Mexico City, who were closely related to the professional and artisan groups. Consideration of Spanish society in early Mexico City almost inevitably suggests parallels with Peru.
