Exhibit curated and designed by Katiana Bagué, under the supervision of Margarita Vargas-Betancourt.

Sugarcane, as well as other natural resources, were brought by the Spanish settlers in order to supply export goods and create wealth among the colonies and the Spanish crown. In regards to the beginning of the haciendas in Mexico, one can briefly discuss the origins of the haciendas of Santa Clara Montefalco and Santa Ana de Tenango, which the Pimentel documents mention extensively. The origins of the hacienda of Santa Clara Montefalco can be traced to the year 1616, when the grandson of Hernan Cortes, Pedro Cortes, granted land to Pedro Aragon. Over time, the property was passed on to Nicolás Aragon and his brother Baltasar de Quevedo. In 1667, the land was under the ownership of Domingo de Arrigorrieta and was later inherited by Bernando y Antonio, until it was sold to Pedro Urrejola. In 1750, Juan de Urtaza claimed ownership of the Santa Clara hacienda. In the case of Santa Ana de Tenango, it begins with a land grant initiated by Luis de Rebolledo and then sold to Pedro Saenz de Rosas. In 1718, it was then acquired by Juan de Paredes then at his death, the property was transferred to the ownership of his wife Teresa de Sevilla. Sevilla eventually sold it to Juan de Urtaza, thus unifying the ownership of the two haciendas.