Reclaiming Church Wealth, the Recovery of Church Property After Expropriation in the Archdiocese of Guadalajara, 1860-1911

Description

By the middle of the 19th century the 300-year-old diocese of Guadalajara had accumulated vast holdings in real property, capital, and religious art and artifacts.In 1856 Benito Juárez expelled the Spanish ambassador and the archbishop assigned to Mexico by the Catholic Church. Porfioio Díaz used the property to spur development of a middle class.Throughout these governmental changes the material holdings remained in the hands of whomever was in power. Dr.Juarez uncovered 2,750 eccelesiastical archives that helped explain who took possession of these assets, how the church recovered 30% of what had been seized, and how the church continued its long-time practice of lending money to commercial enterprises. Albuquerque, NM 2004 University of new Mexico Press 1st Ed., 251 Pgs., 6 x 9, HB (Printed cover-no DJ)