Dear colleagues,
I would like to share my latest historical study: "Los primeros pobladores de Santa María de los Lagos: una aproximación histórica a través de sus listados más antiguos" (The First Settlers of Santa María de los Lagos: A Historical Approach Through Its Earliest Records).
Using a prosopographical framework based on 16th and early 17th-century primary sources, including original registers, Cabildo memorials, and early censuses, this paper traces the rapid transformation of Santa María de los Lagos from a frontier defense outpost during the Chichimeca War into a consolidated landowning elite.
The research highlights the central role of matrilineages and marriage networks in preserving territorial holdings, alongside a quantitative reconstruction of the settlement's U-shaped demographic trajectory during its first four decades.
Best regards,
Erik Reynoso.