Joaquín García Icazbalceta

Joaquín García Icazbalceta (August 21, 1824 – November 26, 1894) was a Mexican philologist and historian. He edited writings by Mexican writers who preceded him, wrote a biography of Juan de Zumárraga, and translated William H. Prescott's Conquest of Mexico. His works on Colonial Mexico continue to be cited today.

García Icazbalceta was born in Mexico City to a wealthy Spanish family. The family was exiled to Spain in 1825, shortly after the recognition of Mexican independence, by an act of Congress, and was not able to return until seven years later.

He was educated by tutors and through independent reading. He learned several Continental languages and delved into the study of Iberoamerica. His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, in which he took part. After the war he returned to scholarly pursuits.

He married Filomena Pimentel (who died in chilbirth), granddaughter of Count of Heras.

He spent the better part of his life amassing a large collection of books, documents, and manuscripts from the colonial era, which he used in his work.

García Icazbalceta wrote his biography of Juan de Zumárraga, the first Archbishop of Mexico, during a time when Mexican history was being reevaluated, resulting in criticism of the Archbishop and the mendicant orders who converted the natives. In it, he countered Liberal and Protestant charges that the Archbishop was "ignorant and fanatical" by casting him and other Franciscans in the role of the saviors of the Indians, from the brutality of the civil authority.

He also highlighted the Archbishop's role in fostering early educational institutions such as the Colegio Santa Cruz and credits him with bringing the first printing press to the Western hemisphere.

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