Death in Old Mexico: The 1789 Dongo Murders and How They Shaped the History of a Nation

by Nicole von Germeten

In a Mexico City mansion on October 23, 1789, Don Joaquín Dongo and ten of his employees were brutally murdered by three killers armed with machetes. Investigators worked tirelessly to find the perpetrators, who were publicly executed two weeks later. Labelled the 'crime of the century,' these events and their aftermath have intrigued writers of fiction and nonfiction for over two centuries. Using a vast range of sources, Nicole von Germeten recreates a paper trail of Enlightenment-era greed and savagery, and highlights how the violence of the Mexican judiciary echoed the acts of the murderers. The Spanish government conducted dozens of executions in Mexico City's central square in this era, revealing how European imperialism in the Americas influenced perceptions of violence and how it was tolerated, encouraged, or suppressed. An evocative history, Death in Old Mexico provides a compelling new perspective on late colonial Mexico City.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Crime, True Crime

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 9, 2023

About the author

Nicole von Germeten has a lifelong passion for history and writing. She received her PhD in history from the University of California at Berkeley. She also has degrees from Boston University and the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research has taken her to over thirty historic archives in Colombia, Spain, and Mexico. She held a post doctoral fellowship at Princeton University, was a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and currently teaches on the History faculty of Oregon State University in Corvallis.

Reviews

[Cristhian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buen relato a fondo de la serie de 11 asesinatos en la casa de Dongo durante el virreinato. La verdad no sabía nada de este caso y está muy interesante.

Ojalá lo escuche alguna vez en leyendas legendarias.

[Sandra Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd heard of the Dongo case when I was young, but there wasn't any really good book on it until now. This was a great read! The author really did her research. She also brings it a lot of Mexican history to help make sense of what happened next. I couldn't put it down once the story got going. If you like true crime and history (especially Mexican history), I couldn't recommend this higher.