We Don’t Want to Die of Thirst: An Unknown Construction Stage of the Hydraulic System from Tacuba to the Imperial College of Tlatelolco (1581-1582)

Abstract

The Libro de cargo y descargo del Imperial Colegio de Tlatelolco was stolen from the National Museum in the early twentieth century and then went unnoticed by historians. It was not until the 1990s that it came to public light and was sold to a Mexican bibliophile; in the process, it was photocopied. After an analysis of the manuscript, the accounts were located that referred to the construction of the conduit supplying water from Tacuba to the Imperial College of Tlatelolco. The construction stage from 1581 to 1582 is unknown, but the information contained in the accounts provides us with the names of the master builder, and the merchants and other traders who supplied the materials. From the descriptions in the accounts, it can be identified that the hydraulic system was carried out both above and below ground. Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, Fray Pedro de Oroz and Fray Pedro Serrano were responsible for supervising the work.