ABSTRACT
From ad 1519 to 1821 that portion of North America extending between 7 and 47 degrees North latitude and between 80 and 125 degrees West latitude was claimed by Spain and considered by the crown as the Virreinato de Nuevo España (the Viceroyality of New Spain). Today, only a portion of this territory is considered ‘New Spain’ (Casagrande 1987). It encompasses that part of present-day México lying between 18 and 22 degrees North latitude (Figure 10.1).
