Alianza Hispano Americana: Correspondence, 1919-1930

The Alberto Francisco Pradeau Collection houses correspondence, typescripts, transcriptions, translations, photocopies, photostats, and printed matter documenting Pradeau's research on colonial and nineteenth century Mexican history and currency. Although the collection extends from 1551 to 1981, the bulk of the material constitutes the products of Pradeau's research from 1910 to 1979. The collection has been arranged into eight series.

Series I: Fraternal Organizations includes correspondence, pamphlets, records, and publications documenting the Alianza Hispano Americana (in which Pradeau was an active member) from 1919 to 1930. Founded in Tucson, Arizona in 1894, the Alianza was a fraternal organization that offered insurance and burial benefits to its members. Also included are rare Spanish documents and publications showing various Mexican fraternal organizations from 1862 to 1930.

Series II: History of Mexico is comprised of Pradeau's writings, personal notes, and unpublished manuscripts showing his interest in Mexican history and especially in the 17th and 18th centuries. Series III: History of the Mission System and the Jesuits in Mexico contains Pradeau's personal research in Mexican religious history. The bulk of the series houses his writings, drafts, notes, and meticulous research that resulted in major publications on themes related to the expulsion of the Jesuits from Mexico in the 1700s. Pradeau was also interested in the history and origins of the mission system that the Spaniards established throughout Mexico.

Series IV: Numismatic History of Mexico houses handwritten notes, reports, writings, and drafts of many unpublished manuscripts regarding the Mexican numismatics, including coins and the Mexican mint. Series V: Manuscripts, Drafts, Research Notes for Publications consists of Pradeau's personal research notes, which he compiled and used for many of his own publications. His notes are written in Spanish; other items are typed drafts and copies of his manuscripts.

Series VI: Personal Correspondence contains letters to and from fellow researchers, scholars, students, and colleagues in Mexican and Jesuit history and in Mexican numismatic history. The personal letters date from the 1930s to the 1970s and reveal Pradeau's national reputation and the high esteem that some who read Pradeau's work held him in. Much of the correspondence is written in Spanish.

Series VII: Research Files/Notes consists of personal files and notes taken on a wide variety of subjects that Pradeau was interested in. The majority of these notes document various periods in Mexican history. Series VIII: Personal Documents/Records includes original letters, birth certificates, tourist records, and marriage records documenting Alberto Pradeau and his family. Of particular interest is a Mexican Naturalization Certificate dated March 5, 1885 signed by Mexican President Porfiro Diaz.