The parish schools of the pueblos de indios (New Spain, sixteenth century)

A school built beside the church in every Indian town of New Spain, where the choir met each working day and the boys were taught. Who learned to read was decided by rank: sons of the principales in a room of their own, sons of commoners the doctrine in the open patio and then out to work. The Franciscan who describes the rule also records what happened where it was not kept — commoners came to be elected to municipal office because they could read.