Case file · Witch trials
The Inquisition takes a New Mexico governor
Former governor Bernardo López de Mendizábal, who had tolerated Pueblo katsina dances, was indicted by the Inquisition for malfeasance and 'Judaizing'; he and his wife Teresa de Aguilera y Roche were arrested in 1662–63 and taken to Mexico City, where he died a prisoner in 1664.
1662 CE · 35.69, -105.94 · status: official
The account
Franciscan friars, his enemies, reported the couple's private habits, such as bathing and reading in Italian, as suspect practices. Teresa defended herself in a long trial and was released.
The sceptical view
The case grew from a power struggle between the governor and the friars; the charges were built on servants' gossip.