I would like to share the second set of Inquisition charges against Alberto del Canto. I retrieved these along with the 1589 set of Inquisition manuscripts from the former prison in Mexico City now it’s national archives known as the Palacio de Lecumberri.

The 1593 Inquisition manuscript is a lengthier and more detailed charge against Alberto del Canto than the 1589 complaint. It covers more about the affair between Canto and the wife of Diego de Montemayor which by this time had escalated to uxoricide. It also includes new allegations of misbehavior by Canto.

Various books and websites have used the Inquisition documents to levy a range of different sets of accusations against Canto. Hopefully the full manuscripts linked below  and a transcription of portions of the manuscript will help clarify some of the misconceptions.

1589 Inquisition Manuscripts:  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSD2-HPP5?cat=31792

1593 Inquisition Manuscripts:  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSD2-C9CZ-S?cat=31792

The photocopies I took of this second set of manuscripts from the old microfilm were not as easy to read as the first set. The manuscripts available via family-search in white page are easier to read than my dark copy so I have included those in these images. This set of documents are two folios, large portions are dedicated to Canto. The portions dedicated to Canto are boxed red.

In March 2018 I made a dedicated trip to Mexico City to see how close I could get to the Alberto del Canto Inquisition documents.  As far as I know, there’s two different sets of documents, both published as transcripts by Vito Alessio Robles in 1945.

I felt the need to see these documents in person, since there were so many legends surrounding the manuscripts including various books and websites claiming the Inquisition documents accused Canto of being either a Jew or Converted Christian.

I flew direct from San Antonio, Texas to the Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City.  The Archives of Mexico City are housed in a century old prison known as the Palacio de Lecumberri, a ten minute taxi ride from the airport.

I requested the two inquisition documents but was only allowed access to the material via microfilm and through an analog microfilm machine in a old prison cell.  The pages on the film appear black with white lettering.  I took pictures of the images above the machine.

The manuscript gives the homeland of Alberto del Canto as the Island Terceira of Portugal.  It names his wife as Estevania daughter of Diego de Montemayor and Juana de la Zerda.  The witnesses claim the whole community knows about the scandalous public affair between Alberto del Canto and his mother-in-law, whom Canto is accused of copulating with before he married her daughter Estevania.

This particular item is 4 sheets, the part that pertains to accusations against Canto appear in the red border.