Ordenanzas de la Real renta de la polvora para este Reyno de Nueva España, y Provincias de su comprension, que se administra de cuenta de su Magestad.

Royal colonial decree to improve the vital gunpowder production in New Spain

José de Gálvez y Gallardo (1720-1787); Marques Carlos Francisco de Croix (1699-1786).

Ordenanzas de la Real renta de la polvora para este Reyno de Nueva España, y Provincias de su comprension, que se administra de cuenta de su Magestad.

Reimpresas en Mexico, en la Imprenta Nueva Madrileña de Don Felipe de Zuñiga y Ontiveros, 1777.

Folio. [II], 40 pp. With an attractive etched Royal Spanish coat of arms on the title, signed "Naxera Ft." and a woodblock capital letter.

Modern stiff marbled paper covers, in linen made-to-measure case with title on front.

First edition of the second Royal decree on the production of gunpowder in Nueva España. The decree provides instruction and ordinance for the Real Fabrica de Pólvora and contains LVII articles. Among them, one is dedicated to "Indios para los trabajos de la Fábrica", in which forced labour is decreed upon the inhabitants of the factory's surrounding villages. Refusal of work will be punished. This second gunpowder decree (first 1767, third 1787) was expended with the following additional ordinances:

- Ordinances for Nitrate Workers, and regulations of the Nitrate Factory (pp. 28-33).
- Ordinances for those who benefit Sulfur, and Regulations of its Factory (pp. 33-38).
- Ordinances and regulations that must be observed by all Artificers of the Art of Rocketry (pp. 38-40).

In 1766 gunpowder came under direct governmental supervision in New Spain. "During the Bourbon Reforms under the reign of Charles III (1759 - 1788), the Crown experimented with one of its more interesting, though little-known, reforms: the creation of a royal monopoly to produce gunpowder. This stood at the heart of what many reformers hoped to accomplish - enhancement of the empire's ability to defend itself" (Lewis). The principal factory producing explosives for New Spain was established at Chapultepec on the outskirts of Mexico City. This was an enormously vital asset for the colonial rule to function properly, because it supplied the Spanish strongholds in New Spain, the Caribbean, and the Philippines with powder for military use, but also for mining, religious fireworks, and varied other uses. The factory was established in 1767 but soon ran into supply and quality troubles due to huge demand. This 1777 decree tried to tackle the supply problem by setting out new ordinances to improve the manner of supply. The quality issue was hoped to be improved by hiring the French expert Salvador Dampierre in 1779.
The importance of this decree is matched by the rarity of copies.

Condition: minor marginal soiling on title, otherwise in excellent, near new condition.

Reference: Medina, Mexico, 6017; not in Palau; Sabin.

Literature:

Lewis, James A. "The Royal gunpowder monopoly in New Spain (1766-1783): A case study of management, technology, and reform under Charles III". In: Ibero-Amerikanisches Archiv, vol. 6, no. 4, 1980, pp. 355–72.