Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/670

650 other a Manual de Adultos. Fully ten other books printed before 1550 are known to bibliographers, and there are about 70 more with dates of the 16th century. A few others may have been brought out of convents. They were chiefly religious, partly in native tongues, and vocabularies and grammar of those tongues. Printing was too much restricted to flourish, and only the leading towns had presses. It appears that there were six in Mexico in 1761, while at the beginning of the present century there were only three.

Periodicals were strictly watched, and were comparatively of little historical value. After the country became independent, newspapers began to flourish; and notwithstanding restrictions established at different periods, they have become numerous throughout the republic, especially at the national and state capitals, many of them being conducted with marked ability. Not a few are noted for scurrility, fiery tone, or bombast. There are many political papers, and not a few of literary or scientific periodicals.

Collections of books were not numerous, during the Spanish rule, outside of the convents, where more or less extensive libraries were formed, almost wholly theologic. However, the few colleges accumulated large lots. Foreign books were strictly excluded, and churchmen discountenanced light Spanish literature. The standard authors of Spain formed the