The Regular Clergy Reform in the Indies, 16th Century

When studying religious orders in America, attention is usually paid, first, to the reform which started in the 15th century and which divided the friars internally into conventual and observant, and, second, to their expansion throughout the territory and their subsequent settlement in the cities. All this without considering that said expansion and transformation were, to a significant extent, determined by the changes promoted by the policies of Philip II, during the last quarter of the 16th century. Thus, the objective of this text is to provide both more solid meaning and content to the aforementioned reform of the regular clergy carried out in those days. To this end, the norms of the book De la gobernacion spiritual [On Spiri-tual Governance] are analysed. This is the first book of the so-called Codex Ovandino , where Philip II's project for the Indian church was outlined.