During the colonial period, Cholula, in the state of Puebla, was designated a 'ciudad de indios' by the Spanish crown, a distinct political and juridical structure which facilitated a greater degree of Indigenous autonomy within the colonial system. The Fondo Real de Cholula collection documents this unique history, providing singular insight into how Indigenous residents of Cholula navigated colonial judicial structures. It is believed to be the most intact collection of documents from a ciudad de indios, making it of immense historical and research value. In addition, according to Héctor Sánchez Sánchez, presiding magistrate of the Tribunal Superior de Justicia for the state of Puebla, the digitization of Fondo Real de Cholula is the first major digitization project undertaken within the Mexican justice system.
The digitization and access to these materials will allow for a before-impossible analysis of how Indigenous justice was theorized and practiced, not only in a colonial ciudad de indios, but also in the Independence period and Porfiriato. Although Independence would seem to have favored Indigenous peoples, in many cases previous colonial (and often paternal) legislation actually afforded them certain rights and privileges, which were then dissolved. In short, the collection will provide insight into how Indigenous justice transitioned over time. Furthermore, according to the three historians from Cholula that have conducted the digitization and metadata work thus far, broader access to the collection will have significant social and historical value to the Cholulteca community, as there is little awareness about its heritage and historical significance. Dra. Lidia Gómez García, a faculty member at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), is integrating digitized collection materials into classroom teaching, using the collection to train undergraduate history students in Spanish paleography, demonstrating the collection’s value not just to research, but also to classroom teaching and learning.