Charles W. Polzer

An exceptionally valuable research tool for scholars. The noted Jesuit historian has translated the rules and precepts that governed the mission expansion in the 1600s and 1700s in northwestern Mexico, and has added authoritative commentary to make this work literally a ""manual on the missions.""

This research guide was first concieved to fulfill multiple needs of the research team of the Documentary Relations of the Southwest (DRSW) project at the Arizona State Museum. In performing research tasks, it became evident that reference material was scattered throughout scores of books and monographs. A single complete source book was simply not available. Hence, the editors of the DRSW project compiled this guide. The territory under study comprises all of northern Mexico in colonial times.