Historia de los descubrimientos antiguos y modernos de la Nueva España
Historia de los descubrimientos antiguos y modernos de la Nueva España is the only known work of Baltasar Obregón, written in Mexico City and completed in 1584. The text, written in Spanish, was discovered in the General Archive of the Indies in Seville and first published in 1924 by historian and priest Mariano Cuevas, with the support of the Mexican Secretariat of Public Education.
Description
The work is a historiographical chronicle in two books, accompanied by two dedicatory letters addressed to Philip II, in which Obregón presents his writing as a truthful and useful account for the Crown. The first part recounts the explorations and conquests that led to the knowledge of the northern territories of New Spain, while the second deals with subsequent expeditions, including those of Francisco Sánchez Chamuscado and Antonio de Espejo to New Mexico.
The Historia stands out for its personal approach and the author's programmatic intent. Obregón does not merely narrate the military events he witnessed or participated in — such as Francisco de Ibarra's campaign in New Vizcaya — but develops a concrete plan for the colonization of northern Mexico. He proposes specific measures to ensure the success of future expeditions: establishing supply ports, selecting experienced captains, founding new settlements, and respecting indigenous populations to avoid rebellions. A central element of the chronicle is the reflection on historiography as a political and moral tool. In the preface to the first book, Obregón states that the function of history is to preserve the truth and serve as a guide for good governance. The work is conceived as a “useful” text for the sovereign, capable of providing experiences and advice derived from direct observation of the territories and peoples of northern New Spain.
In addition to its documentary value, the Historia features a strong imaginative and symbolic component. According to Eva Bravo, Obregón combines the language of the chronicler with elements typical of chivalric literature and Renaissance geographical mythology, drawing on legends such as California, Quivira, and the Seven Cities of Cíbola. In this way, imagination becomes a tool for knowledge and cultural mediation between the European and indigenous worlds: through the myths and chivalric romances, the chronicler interprets the unknown and renders it understandable to a 16th-century reader.
Historia de los descubrimientos antiguos y modernos de la Nueva España thus reveals Obregón's dual identity as both soldier and writer: on one hand, a witness to concrete conquest; on the other, a Creole intellectual aiming to reconcile the American experience with the Spanish historical and literary tradition. For this reason, the work is considered one of the earliest manifestations of Creole consciousness in Mexican historiography and a fundamental testimony of the perception of northern New Spain in the 16th century.