History of Mexico (Bancroft)/Volume 3/Chapter 13

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

 

CHAPTER XIII.

CORN RIOT IN THE CAPITAL.

1692-1696.

Increased Murmurs — Rumored Grain Speculations of the Viceroy — An Imprudent Preacher — The Léperos — Pulque Shops — Inefficient Forces at Command — Awaiting Opportunity — Affair at the Granary — The Viceroy Threatened — Outbreak — Death to the Officials! — The Palace Set on Fire — The Plaza Stalls also Fired — Robbery and Murder — Executions — Revolt at Tlascala — Sale of Pulque Prohibited — Rebuilding of the Palace — Affairs in New Mexico.

The suppressed murmurs of the populace previously heard against the government, now gave place to complaints in which the viceroy was openly accused of speculating in grain; and notwithstanding the publicity of all his measures and the character of the persons commissioned for the collection and distribution of supplies this unjust charge gained a ready credence among the natives and lower classes. This grave accusation and the hostile attitude toward the government to which it gave rise were encouraged by the imprudent language of a Franciscan friar, during a sermon preached in the cathedral at the beginning of Easter. Notwithstanding the presence of the viceroy, oidores, and the officials of the various tribunals, he alluded in such terms to the existing scarcity as to confirm the suspicions of his audience, who loudly applauded him.^[1] The populace, urged by the pangs of hunger and by their fancied grievances, were now in a mood which boded ill for the peace and safety of the capital. Yet, although previous outbreaks had shown their turbulent nature, no precaution whatever appears to have been taken to guard against a disturbance. Affairs were ripe for an outbreak. The city was divided into nine wards, six of which were inhabited wholly by natives having their own governors. The total population was over one hundred and forty thousand, of whom the Spaniards and mixed races formed but a small proportion. A large part of the lower classes were idle and dissolute, and among them were many criminals. The name saramullos was then applied to them and later they were called léperos.^[2]

The usual resorts of this class were the shops where pulque was sold, and the baratillo,^[3] where the natives also congregated, and where all plotted against and denounced the government at will, free from the interference of the officers of justice.^[4]

The natives at this period, especially the men, were restless, indolent, and vicious, and so addicted to the use of pulque, the consumption of which had never been so great, that all contemporary writers concur in affirming that they were daily under its influence. They were the chief complainers against the government, and were constantly encouraged by the saramullos, who eagerly desired an outbreak because of the opportunity thus afforded them for plunder.

To oppose these dangerous elements there was in the capital but a single company of infantry, of less than one hundred men, who did duty as palace guard, and even these were indifferently armed and equipped. There was no artillery, no store of small arms and ammunition, and no organized militia. The better class of Spaniards for the most part possessed weapons of their own, but as subsequent events showed, they would not act together in time of need. Without the city the nearest available troops were the distant garrisons of Acapulco and Vera Cruz. Not even an organized police force existed which could be made available in quelling an incipient outbreak.

Palace of Mexico.

The palace, as shown by the accompanying plan, was provided with loopholes for infantry and embrasures for cannon, but in the disturbance which followed there was nothing to indicate that artillery was placed there. In the construction of the other buildings of the capital there was no provision made for their defence save that afforded by the thick walls, heavy barred doors, and strong shutters and iron bars of the windows;^[5] but these were common to most Spanish houses, and of course ineffectual against the attacks of a mob, unless a strong armed force were stationed within.

Although the greater portion of the dwellings with their massive walls of stone or adobe, their tiled roofs, and solid doors, afforded some protection for life and property in the event of a riot, the immense quantity of merchandise contained in the stalls situated in the main plaza had no such protection. Here were built without order two hundred and eighty light wooden structures, styled cajones, in which native and foreign wares of all descriptions were sold. Among them and scattered over other portions of the public square were numberless booths of canes and rushes, for the sale of fruit, vegetables, and provisions, giving to this plaza, which was one of the finest in the world, the appearance of an irregular village of huts.

In 1658 several of the stalls were destroyed by fire, and during the confusion which ensued many were plundered. In the following year orders were given for the plaza to be cleared of both stalls and booths,^[6] but the danger from fire and thieves being quickly forgotten, they were soon restored to their former location. Later the attention of the authorities was called to the danger to which this collection of unguarded inflammable structures was exposed, but with their usual apathy they paid no heed to the matter until a second and greater disaster compelled the application of a permanent remedy.

Such was the condition of the capital in the beginning of June 1692. Though the scarcity of grain still continued, the careful distribution of the supply daily received at the public granary sufficed to keep starvation from the city. The natives, however, daily grew bolder and more insolent, and awaited but a pretext to revolt, encouraged, as they were, by the inaction of the authorities which they construed into fear. ^[7]

The desired opportunity soon arrived. On Friday June 7th the corn at the public granary gave out at six o'clock in the evening, whereupon several native women who remained to be served, gave vent to their disappointment in shrill outcries and insulting epithets. On the following day they were still more disorderly, shouting, fighting, pushing, and crowding each other, so as to make it impossible for the officers to proceed with the distribution. Taking advantage of this confusion, several attempted to help themselves to corn, whereupon one of the officials, finding peaceful measures ineffectual, seized a whip, and by laying it on right and left succeeded in driving them back. In a few minutes, however, they surged forward again, headed by one more daring than the rest. The official again made use of his whip, and seizing a cane rained a shower of blows on the head and shoulders of the leader and her companions. Exasperated by this treatment, some of them seized their leader, and raising her on their shoulders rushed out of the granary, whence, followed by nearly two hundred of their companions, they hastened across the plaza to the palace of the archbishop and demanded to see him. The attendants refused, but listened to their complaints, consoled them as best they could, and dismissed them. Not content with this reception, the crowd, still carrying the injured woman, proceeded to the viceregal palace, filling its lower corridors and clamoring for an interview with the viceroy. On being told that he was absent, they tried to force their way into the viceregal apartments, but were pushed back by the guards. Thereupon they returned to the archiepiscopal palace, not a single man having joined them thus far, and were met by the primate. To him they repeated their complaints, adding that the injured woman had just died. Through an interpreter he sought to pacify them, and despatched a messenger to the granary officials, requesting that the Indians should in future be treated with more consideration. After another fruitless attempt to obtain an interview with the viceroy, the tumult ended for that day.^[8]

On the return of the viceroy in the evening he gave orders that in future an oidor should be present during the distribution of corn, for to a lack of system in this matter the outbreak was attributed. Instructions were also issued to the captain of the palace guard to take every precaution to prevent any repetition of the disturbance. Pikes were to be made ready, ammunition to be distributed to the troops, and all fire-arms to be kept loaded.^[9] No uproar occurred during the night, nor does any attempt appear to have been made by the authorities to ascertain the state of affairs in the native wards or among the saramullos. On the following day, the 8th of June,^[10] the native women appeared as usual at the public granary, and with the exception of pushing and crowding in their attempt to gain the foremost place, the presence of the oidor prevented a repetition of the previous disorder. During the early hours quiet reigned throughout the city, and the authorities, fearing no danger, neglected to take further precautions.

The viceroy, however, was ill at ease. Leaving his breakfast untouched, he repaired to the convent of Santo Domingo to hear mass, and his appearance was greeted with a murmur of disapproval by the assembled worshippers, who regarded him as the cause of their present sufferings. About four o'clock in the afternoon he attended service at the Augustine convent, and thence proceeded, as was his custom, to the convent of San Francisco. The usual procession ended, he entered the convent to converse with the friars, when suddenly the sound of tumult, accompanied by the report of fire-arms, was heard. The viceroy started up to go to the palace, but in this he was prevented by his few attendants, and by the friars, who, gathering about him, represented the danger of such an attempt, the streets being already filled with excited natives, who with loud cries were hurrying from all quarters toward the plaza.

But five hundred fanegas of corn were received at the public granary on this day, and by five o'clock in the afternoon the supply was exhausted, while there were still many to be served. This caused a great commotion among the native women, during which one of them fell to the ground, whether intentionally is not known, and was trampled upon and injured by her companions.

 

The rôle of the previous day is again performed, but with more fatal results. The injured woman is placed on the back of an Indian, who runs with her to the baratillo, and thence, having been joined by a number of the saramullas, to the palace of the archbishop, the crowd following with wild cries and shouts of rage. A demand to see the archbishop is again made, and is again denied by the attendants, whereupon they are assailed with the vilest language. Growing impatient at the non-appearance of the archbishop the constantly increasing mob proceeds across the plaza to the viceregal palace, the women taking up a position at the corners of the streets.^[11] Then they begin to abuse the viceroy in set terms, and to throw stones at the balcony of the viceregal apartments, which are soon destroyed. After some delay a dozen or more of the guard appear, and joined by an equal number of volunteers charge the rioters, now mustering about two hundred. The latter fly for refuge to the stalls and the cathedral cemetery, but being reënforced rally and drive back their assailants. A few of the guard ascend to the roof and fire blank catridges. This of course only emboldens the rioters, who answer with shouts of derision and volleys of stones.

As the first party return from their charge, driven back by overwhelming numbers, a squad of soldiers come forward, and are joined by the count of Santiago and a few other gentlemen; but the rioters are now assembled in such force that the troops are compelled again to retire. It is then resolved to close the palace doors, which is done with such haste that two or three of the guard are shut out, and are seized and torn in pieces.^[12] A shout of triumph arises from the crowd, now numbering ten thousand.^[13] "Death to the viceroy and corregidor," they cry, "death to those who have all the corn and are killing us with hunger!" It is half past six; and though thirty minutes have scarcely elapsed since the beginning of hostilities, the plaza is filled with the populace. Eager for plunder they join in the cries against the government, shouting, "Death to the viceroy and all who defend him!" while the echo from hundreds swells the uproar, "Death to the Spaniards and gachupines who are eating our corn!".^[14]

At this juncture the archbishop approaches on foot with uplifted cross, and surrounded by his attendants. Little regard is shown him, however, for his coachman, who was sent on before, is knocked from his seat by a stone, and missiles begin to fall so thickly that the primate and his companions are glad to make good their escape. The guards in the palace make no further attempt to disperse the rioters. After some thirty shots from the roof, firing ceases; for not only are many of the soldiers disabled, but their ammunition is exhausted.

The rioters continue to storm the palace, but finding that little harm is done they resolve to burn it down, no longer fearing those within. The booths in the plaza afford an abundance of combustible material, and dry rushes and reeds are soon heaped against the wooden doors and set ablaze. The city hall is also fired; and while some are thus engaged, others seize the coach of the corregidor, whose residence forms a portion of that building, set fire to it, and with the mules attached drive it in triumph around the plaza, finally killing the wildly affrighted animals. The corregidor and his wife are fortunately absent; else their lives were lost. The opportunity for plunder sought for by the saramullos has arrived. With the exception of the burning of the gallows, also situated in the plaza, none of the lower classes appear to have taken part with the natives in the work of destruction, but there is little doubt that they were the chief instigators in the matter. Almost simultaneously with the burning of the palace the adjacent stalls are set on fire.

And now follows a scene which no pen can fully describe. It is between seven and eight o'clock, and the spacious plaza is made as light as day by the conflagration. Filling the plaza and adjoining streets, the maddened populace may be seen surging to and fro in dense masses like an angry sea, and above the roar of the flames rise hoarse shouts of exultation as the work of destruction goes on. Few Spaniards are visible. From the palace corridors, with despairing form and features, the archbishop and his attendants gaze in silence, while on the outskirts of the plaza groups of citizens watch in speechless terror the progress of the conflagration. Suddenly the cry is raised, "To the stalls!" "To the stalls!" and the human sea surges in that direction. The places where hardware was sold are first attacked, and knives, machetes, and iron bars secured, the last named for defense as well as for breaking open doors. And now let chaos come; innocent and guilty, friend and foe, are one; robbery and rape, fire and blood; the people have become raving maniacs! As fast as the houses are broken open and robbed the torch is applied. Gradually the infuriated yells sink to a low murderous hum of voices, interrupted only by the crash of falling buildings. Rapidly the flames spread, and by the lurid light may be seen the dusky forms of the rioters flitting in and out and among the buildings, or disappearing in the darkness laden with plunder.

A singular phase of riot and robbery now presents itself. Among the rabble are many owners of stalls who dare not openly protect their property, yet are unable to witness its loss with indifference. Merchants yesterday they are robbers now, and may as well rob themselves as be robbed by their comrades. So they join in the attack on their own stalls, being sometimes the first to enter, and if possible to seize and carry to a place of safety some of their own effects. Others, affecting an air of resignation, encourage the pillage of their stalls, and then stealthily follow the plunderer and relieve him of his load by a sudden blow or deadly thrust. Many of the rioters are run through at the entrance to the streets by the groups of exasperated Spaniards, as they are tauntingly defied by the passing rabble, and not a few perish in the flames.

While the many are thus engaged, a few hasten to the palace of the marqués del Valle, to fire it. The flames have reached the balconies, when the treasurer of the cathedral, Manuel de Escalante y Mendoza, arrives accompanied by a few ecclesiastics, and bearing the uncovered host. All other means proving unavailing, this pious proceeding is adopted, in the hope of saving the city. Exhortations accompany the act of elevating; and finally a number of the more religious rascals temporarily extinguish the flames in the palace of the marqués. Here, however, their forbearance ceases, for they at once hurry away to join their companions in the work of plunder elsewhere. To add to the solemn terror of the occasion all the bells begin to ring, but it is the call to prayers, and not to arms. Following the example of the cathedral treasurer, the religious orders next appear marching in procession, with uplifted crosses and solemn chants. Their efforts, however, avail but little; they are greeted with a shower of stones, and dispersed; and although singly or in groups they continue their exhortations in different parts of the plaza, the rioters disregard them, or reply with jeers.

These exciting events have occupied but a short time, for it is yet hardly nine, and the plaza, which for the last three hours has been thronged with the canaille of the capital, is fast becoming deserted. The rioters have for the most part retired with their plunder, and among the few that remain the religious still continue their fruitless exhortations. Despite the efforts of the guard and those of the few citizens who have ventured to show themselves, the fire in the viceregal palace and city hall still burns, and the stalls and booths are one mass of flames.

At this juncture the count of Santiago with a number of armed citizens, collected by order of the viceroy, appear in the plaza and open fire on the crowd, but are induced to stop by the religious, who declare that many innocent persons will thus be slain. As there is nothing further to be feared from the people remaining in the plaza, the citizens direct their efforts to subduing the flames. With the aid of the prisoners from the palace jail,^[15] who have barely escaped with their own lives, and of the inmates of the viceregal palace who are forgotten by the mob while intent on plundering the stalls, everything of value in the viceregal apartments is saved, and the females of the household are conveyed in safety through the plaza to the palace of the archbishop. Prominent among those to whose energy and presence of mind the saving of many valuable papers is due, is Cárlos de Sigüenza y Góngora. Entering the plaza before the flames are kindled, he remains throughout the disturbance, accompanying the bishop on his mission of peace, and later the cathedral treasurer; then helping to fight the fire in the viceregal palace, where he personally rescues important archives, and finally repairing to the city hall in time to snatch from the flames a portion of the cabildo records.

The riot was now virtually at an end, and additional assistance arriving, the further progress of the fire was checked, although it continued to burn fiercely until the following Tuesday. Meanwhile the viceroy was still at the Franciscan convent. At the first alarm the doors of the building were closed, and nothing could induce the terrified inmates to open them, except for the admission of the countess, whose absence had been an additional cause of anxiety. Early in the day she had set out on a visit to the gardens of San Cosme, and was already returning when the outbreak occurred. Upon nearing the plaza the coachman seeing the disturbance turned back and drove hurriedly to the convent, where the countess arrived without mishap. As the riot progressed several persons knocked at the doors for admission, but the friars fearing for the safety of the viceroy and countess refused all admission. Later in the evening several prominent persons came to offer their services to Galve and were admitted.

Informed of the condition of affairs he immediately issued such orders as seemed necessary under the circumstances. As we have seen, the count of Santiago with another official was ordered to summon the citizens and disperse the rioters; the regidor Juan Aguirre de Espinosa received instructions to proceed without delay to the province of Chalco, seize all the corn he could find, and forward it to the city, so that it should arrive by morning; another commissioner was sent to meet the mule train with corn from Celaya, and bring it with all possible speed into the city; all the bakers were notified to make three times the usual quantity of bread, and the butchers and fruit and vegetable dealers were enjoined to provide full supplies for the following day. Next the viceroy despatched couriers to Puebla and other principal towns to warn the authorities, lest the example of the natives in the capital should be followed elsewhere.

Armed citizens patrolled the streets in the Spanish quarters during the remainder of the night, but no further disturbance occurred. The sun rose upon a mass of smouldering ruins in the plaza, while the bodies of the dead lay scattered here and there among the various articles of plunder dropped by the rioters in their hasty flight. The greater portion of the viceregal palace was destroyed, as were the halls of the audiencia, the jail, and several government offices, containing many valuable documents. The city hall was almost in ruins, and with it perished the greater part of its archives. The public granary and the adjoining buildings also suffered; and but for the timely efforts of the cathedral treasurer the fire would have extended not only to the residence of the marqués del Valle, but also to the archiepiscopal palace and cathedral. The loss of property caused by this outbreak was estimated at three million pesos. The number of lives lost did not exceed fifty, and was possibly not so great; nor is there any evidence to show that excepting the two or three victims among the palace guard, a single Spaniard was seriously injured.^[16]

On Monday morning the viceroy and countess, accompanied by the chief authorities, over two hundred mounted gentlemen, and an immense number of the populace, set forth from the Franciscan convent for the plaza, being joined on the way by the archbishop. Having reached the spot the procession marched around it in order that the viceroy and countess might view the ruins, and then proceeded to the palace of the marqués del Valle where Galve temporarily took up his residence.

There was still much apprehension lest the Indians should return, and this was increased by the discovery that the native ward of Santiago Tlaltelulco was deserted. The most active measures were therefore taken to prevent another uprising, and for the arrest and punishment of the rioters, and the recovery of the stolen property. Orders were issued for the immediate enrolment of all citizens. Several companies of infantry and cavalry were organized, two of the latter at the expense of the royal treasury.^[17] For several days the troops patrolled the streets; and, although save a few false alarms everything remained quiet, the stores and schools continued closed, and for three days no church bells were rung nor service held.^[18] The saramullos were to be feared, however, no less than the natives, and their contempt for the authorities was expressed by posting, during the night, in conspicuous places, pasquinades ridiculing them for their want of courage and energy.^[19]

Great care was now taken that the supply of grain should not fail; and although for a time there was occasional evidence of scarcity, within two months the weight of bread, which a short time before the beginning of the riot had been reduced to seven ounces, was increased first to ten and finally to fourteen ounces.^[20] Although the saramullos took part in the pillage of the stalls, if not in setting fire to the viceroy's palace, they for the most part escaped punishment, the principal victims being natives. The first execution took place on the 11th of June. Three Indians, taken in the act of setting fire to the palace,^[21] were shot in the plaza under the gallows, erected in place of the one destroyed; and in the afternoon their hands were cut off, and some nailed to the gallows, and others to the door-posts of the palace. Between this date and the twenty-first of the following August thirty-six Indians of both sexes and a few mestizos were publicly whipped, and eleven natives and one mestizo were hanged. A Spaniard who took part in the riot, and died of his wounds in hospital, was exposed on the gibbet. The last one put to death was a lame Indian, who was believed to have been the captain of the rioters.^[22]

A few days later news was received in the capital of an Indian revolt at Tlascala.^[23] The outbreak had taken place on the previous Saturday, that being the usual market-day, on which the inhabitants of the surrounding country repaired to the city to purchase provisions. The load of maize was then worth five pesos, but the natives from two adjoining towns demanded that it should be sold for less, whereupon the alcalde mayor, Fernando de Bustamante, finally consented to make a reduction of one peso. This, however, did not pacify them, and they immediately seized upon the maize lying in the plaza. Without a sufficient force to support his authority, the alcalde mayor knew that it would be vain to oppose them, and they were allowed to carry off the maize unmolested. About midday, however, noting an increasing excitement among the natives, and fearing an outbreak similar to the one in the capital, he caused a drum to be beaten in the streets as a signal for the Spaniards to muster at the city hall. It was now two o'clock, and but six Spaniards had answered the summons, when a large body of natives gathered around the building, and meeting with no opposition, set fire to it. The alcalde and his companions stood to their post until a reënforcement of twenty citizens enabled them to attack and disperse the rioters. Assistance soon arrived from different points, including a company of cavalry from the capital. Order was restored, and the principal rioters punished; but during the disturbance the greater part of the city hall was destroyed, and one hundred natives and three Spaniards killed.^[24]

Quiet was now restored^[25] in the capital and throughout the kingdom. On the 16th the cabildo met for the first time since the riot, but the sessions of the audiencia were not resumed until the 30th.^[26] On this latter date the viceroy made a full report to the crown of the riot and of his subsequent measures, which were approved.^[27]

Habitual intoxication among the natives was justly regarded as one of the chief causes of the late outbreak, and the use or sale of pulque in the city was strictly forbidden, though the order was little regarded, and to deprive the natives of a beverage to the use of which they had been accustomed from childhood was a measure of doubtful policy.^[28] On the 19th of July, the day on which the manufacture and sale of the liquor was prohibited throughout New Spain under heavy penalties,^[29] a mestizo was whipped in the capital for having in his possession a pitcher of pulque.^[30] In a few years, however, its use and sale were again permitted.^[31]

Neither stalls nor booths were again allowed to be erected in the plaza, and in their place a spacious stone building was begun in 1695, and, with the exception of certain parts of its interior, finished in 1703. It was first called the Alcaicería de la Plaza Mayor, because built after the manner of the raw silk market in Manila. Its name was soon afterward changed to the Parian.^[32]

During the next year nothing worthy of note occurred in the capital.^[33] In 1693 the rebuilding of the palace was begun, and in course of time this structure assumed magnificent proportions. Although occupied in 1697 by Viceroy Montezuma, it was not completed until nearly a hundred years later.^[34]

About the end of the eighteenth century the palace is described as a magnificent building, covering four squares, and exceeding in extent the largest building in Madrid. It had a handsome façade, and within were three courtyards, each communicating with the other. Facing the largest of the three were situated the halls of the audiencia, with all its offices, and those of the other tribunals. This was called the palace court to distinguish it from the others, and a fountain, whose central figure was a bronze horse, occupied its center. Here also was the principal entrance to the palace. Adjoining this court was that on which the viceregal apartments faced, a series of spacious rooms occupying the upper portion of the building and fronting on the main plaza. In the rear of this was situated the third court, occupied by the quarters of the palace guard. A series of spacious apartments also fronted on the plazuela del Volador; and besides the mint, a separate building within the palace walls, there was an extensive garden for the recreation of the viceroys.^[35]

Though the scarcity of grain continued during the three following years, it was only in a slight degree and for brief periods; but in 1696 the danger of famine was so great that another outbreak was threatened, and was prevented only by the most energetic measures.^[36]

During Galve's rule the province of New Mexico was reconquered after a series of attempts extending over a period of nearly fourteen years. In August 1680 this territory was the scene of the most serious revolt that had occurred since the conquest of Mexico. All was arranged for a given day throughout the territory. Four hundred Spaniards, including twenty five Franciscan friars, were slaughtered by the natives, and the survivors compelled to abandon the province. During subsequent years numerous expeditions were sent out by the successive governors to reoccupy it, but notwithstanding the quarrels among themselves the natives successfully resisted all attempts to subjugate them until 1694.

In 1692 an expedition recaptured without bloodshed the capital of New Mexico, and received the submission of several other towns. In 1696 another revolt occurred, in which five missionaries and twenty colonists lost their lives and many towns were abandoned, but before the end of the year quiet was restored. Henceforth the natives continued submissive to Spanish rule.^[37]

Owing to ill-health the viceroy had several times asked to be relieved, and his petition was finally granted in July of 1695. He left Mexico City on the 10th of May of the following year, and died soon after his arrival in Spain. His justice, moderation, zeal, and ability won for him the esteem of the people and the approval of the crown. At his residencia the oidor Charcon brought thirty charges against him, but failing to prove them was banished from the city.^[38]

 

Prominent among noted Mexicans of colonial times stands Cárlos de Sigüenza y Góngora, a man of learning and varied attainments. A native of the capital, where he was born in 1645, he inherited his taste for study from his father, Cárlos de Sigüenza, a man of superior intelligence who had in his native country been instructor to the prince Don Baltazar Cárlos. At an early age he gave indications of possessing talents of a high order, and at seventeen such was the proficiency which he had attained in literature, mathematics, physics, and astronomy, that in Mexico, a country then almost void of educational facilities, he was regarded as a prodigy. This drew upon him the attention of the Jesuits, in whose order at that time centred the learning of New Spain. Seduced by the wiles of these crafty fathers, as some authors assert, Sigüenza, after a novitiate of less than two years at the college of Tepotzotlan, took his first vows on the fifteenth of August 1662. Under the instruction of the Jesuits, which at this period produced a Clavigero and an Alegre, Sigüenza continued his studies, perfecting himself in the classics, and acquiring the superior literary judgment and taste for archaeological studies which in later times added to his fame. After a few years' stay among the Jesuits, in his twentieth year he abandoned them and retired to the hospital of Amor de Dios in Mexico City, of which he had been appointed chaplain. Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 93, is the only author who gives any motive for this act. He states that it was done at the instance of Sigüenza's father. Though his fame was now daily increasing and honors began to be showered upon him, nothing could induce him to leave his retirement. Cárlos II. appointed him royal cosmographer, and confirmed his appointment to the chair of mathematics in the University of Mexico. His fame even reached the court of Louis the Great, who vainly offered him appointments and pensions. When not engaged in attending to his duties at the hospital, or in acts of charity, his time was devoted to study.

Associated with the celebrated writer on ancient Mexican history, Ixtlilxochitl, Sigüenza perfected his knowledge of the language and history of the Aztecs. Ixtlilxochitl, at his death, left all his papers to Sigüenza, as the person best fitted to write the history of his ancestors, and of whom he spoke as his 'friend in the sciences and teacher in virtue.' In 1693 he was commissioned by Viceroy Galve to assist in the exploration of the gulf coast. He examined the coast as far as Mobile Bay, which he explored, as also that of Pensacola, and the mouth of the Mississippi River. Vetancurt, Trat. Mex., 2 p. x; Granados, Tardes Amer., 414; Museo Mex., ii. 471-3. His report of this expedition was written upon his return, under the title of Descripcion de la Bahía de Santa María de Galve, de la Mobila y rio de la Palizada ó Mississípi, en la costa septentrional del Seno Mexicano. A manuscript signed by Sigüenza, entitled Reconocimiento de la Bahia de Panzacola en Florida, probably the same as the foregoing, has been preserved in the collection of the late Don José Fernando Ramirez. His first published work was the Primavera Indiana, a sacred poem describing the apparition of our Lady of Guadalupe of Mexico. Beristain states that it appeared in 1662, and subsequently in 1668 and 1683, but Vetancurt, Teatro Mex., p. x, mentions the edition of 1668 only. Between 1667 and 1682, two more poems of a sacred character were published, and in 1681 his celebrated Manifiesto flosofico contra los cometas appeared. His theory was immediately attacked by three prominent scholars, among whom was the subsequently famous Jesuit missionary, Father Eusebio Kino, recently arrived in Mexico. To this latter Sigüenza successfully replied with a pamphlet entitled Libra Astronómica, published in 1690. To another, Martin de la Torre, a Flemish gentleman, he replied with his El Belorofonte Matemático, contra la quimera astrológica de D. Martin de la Torre, which according to Beristain was never issued. In 1684 the Parayso Occidental, was published. From 1690 to 1693, several works were printed treating of special historical subjects, and in 1693, the Mercurio Volante appeared, which was extended to four volumes, and was probably the first newspaper published in New Spain. His last work was El Oriental Planeta Evangelico, which appeared in 1700, shortly after his death. The most valuable as well as the most numerous of his writings, however, were those he left in manuscript. Besides the papers of Ixtlilxochitl, he possessed those of Chimalpain Pomar, Gutierrez de Santa Clara, and Zurita, all writers on antiquities excepting the last named. With the aid of these he pursued his researches in the language, origin, and history of the Aztecs, and the results of his labors were embodied in several volumes, among which were the Año Mexicano, Imperio Chichimeco, Fenix del Occidente, and Genealogia de los Emperadores Mexicanos. Nicolás Antonio, Bib.-Hisp.-Nova, i. 232, cites the Imperio Chichimeco, as Del Origin de los Indios Mexicanos; the Fenix del Occidente, as De la predicacion de Santo Tomas Apostol, these and the Ciclografia Mexicana and Mitologia Mexicana being the only works of Sigüenza mentioned. The most definite information we have of these works is from his friends and companions, Sebastian de Guzman y Córdoba, and Vetancurt.

Guzman, in the preface to Sigüenza's Libra Astronomica, which he published, says of the Año Mexicano, 'this book, though not large in body, has a gigantic soul, and Don Cárlos only could have given it being.' It is a treatise on the Mexican system of chronology. Beginning with the deluge, by comparing the occurrences of eclipses and other events as recorded by both Aztecs and the nations of the old world, the historical epochs of the former were adjusted to the chronology of the latter. The Ciclografia Mexicana, also a manuscript, and devoted to the same subject, is cited by Nicolás Antonio, Pinelo, and other bibliographers as a distinct work, but I am disposed to regard it with Beristain as another title of the same work. The Imperio Chichimeco, according to Guzman, was a history of the different nations composing the Chichimec empire, their customs, religion, and political and military institutions; the knowledge of their system of chronology enabling the author to correct the errors of previous writers. The Fenix del Occidente, to which in modern times has also been given the title of Fenix de la America, was an attempt to prove that the apostle Saint Thomas had preached in New Spain, by identifying him with Quetzalcoatl. Vetancurt, writing between 1692 and 1698, mentions the Geneologia de los Emperadores Mexicanos. Del Origen de los Indios Mexicanos, an account of the origin of the Toltecs, is mentioned by Vetancurt and Nicolás Antonio among Sigüenza's manuscripts, and the latter also cites the Mitologia Mexicana, or the Mexican gods compared with those of the ancient Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians, whose existence some authors are inclined to doubt, believing that the mythology of Torquemada is confounded with the Anotaciones críticas, á las obras de Bernal Diaz del Castillo y de Fr. Juan de Torquemada, another manuscript by Sigüenza. Several other manuscripts on religion, politics, science, and biography are mentioned by the various bibliographers, the most complete list being given by Beristain, in his Bib. Hisp. Amer., 160 et seq. Pinelo, Epitome, ii. 581 et seq., gives the extensive list of Sigüenza 's printed and manuscript works, but it is far from complete, and the list of manuscripts is taken wholly from Vetancurt and Nicolás Antonio. Among the other authorities who give lists more or less complete, chiefly compilations or copies of the foregoing, are Ortiz, Mex. Indep. y Libre, 192-7; Museo Mex., ii. 471-9; Gallo, Hombres Ilus., ii. 351-52; Zamacois, Hist. Méj., V. 490-1. Of all these valuable manuscripts but few now remain, and those are exeeedingly rare. In the preface to his Parayso Occidental, p. xiv, Sigüenza laments the want of means to publish his works, and fears that they will die with him, a fear which was in part realized. At his death, which occurred at Mexico City August 22, 1700, he left to the Jesuits, besides his library, twenty-eight volumes of manuscripts. At the expulsion of this order in 1767 they were transferred to the university of Mexico, where but some eight or nine volumes existed about the beginning of the present century. Among the manuscripts which have survived the inexcusable neglect of his countrymen, I have had the good fortune to acquire the rare and valuable Feniz del Occidente, Anotaciones Criticas, and Aboroto y Motin de los Indios de Mexico. This last is a full and detailed account of the memorable riot in Mexico City of the 8th of June 1692, written in the form of a letter to the Spanish admiral, Andrés de Pez, with permission for its publication. It consists of eighty closely written folio pages, in the author's graceful style, and with what appears to be his autograph signature. This was never published, and is now quoted for the first time. No mention of it is to be found in any of the existing works on bibliography.

Sigüenza counted among his friends all the prominent persons of his time who were attracted to him no less by his modesty and other qualities of heart than by those of his superior mind. One of these was the celebrated Mexican poetess Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz; and on her death, in 1695, he wrote her eulogy. Gemelli Careri sought his friendship, and in his Giro del Mvndo has acknowledged the assistance generously given him, and paid a just tribute to the genius of Sigüenza. His countrymen showed their appreciation of his services and their sorrow for his death by a magnificent funeral and general mourning, but no fitting tribute has otherwise been paid to the memory of this benefactor of his race.

 

 

1. 'Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 40, states that he preached 'no lo que se deuia para consolar al pueblo en la carestia sino lo que se dictó por la imprudencia para irritarlo.' Robles, Diario, ii. 122, who confirms the foregoing, states that the friar’s name was Antonio de Escaray.
2. 'La poblacion. . . de las grandes ciudades interiores de la colonia, cuya mayoría inmensa se componia entónces, como se compone todavía hoy por desgracia, de esa plebe vagamunda y degradada por la ignorancia y la miseria, conocida con el infamante apodo de léperos.' Lerdo de Tejada, Apunt. Hist., 300. See also Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 37.
3. A shop or collection of shops in the main plaza where cheap and second class wares were sold, and where stolen articles were also dispossd of. It was frequented by vagabonds and criminals, and several attempts had already been made by the authorities to abolish it. Rivera, Diario, 72; Robles, Diario, ii. 26. The baratillo was not abolished until several years later, although a cédula prohibiting it was published in November 1689.
4. ’Las pulquerias donde por condision iniqua y contra Dios que se le concedió al Asentista no entra justicia,' Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 42.
5. Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 49, summarizes this condition of affairs as the 'culpabilisimo descuido con que vivimos entre tanta pleue al mismo tiempo que presumimos de formidables.'
6. The stalls were removed to the Plazuela del Marqués which opens into the main plaza, and the booths to the Plazuela de la Universidad. Dicc. Univ., v. 737.
7. In the public granary the Indian women were sometimes served before a Spaniard, and this confirmed the natives in their belief that the authorities were afraid of them. Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 42.
8. A somewhat different version of this affair is given in the Carta de un Religioso, 315. There it is stated that but one visit was made to the archbishop, who advised that one or two of them should go and lay the matter before the viceroy, but that his counsel was disregarded, and the women dispersed to their homes. This author, however, was a recluse friar, and, although a contemporaneous writer, derived his information from others, while Sigüenza y Góngora, whose version I have adopted, was a prominent man, on intimate terms with the viceroy and other government officials, and one of the most celebrated writers of the period.
9. According to the Carta de un Religioso, 315--16, previously cited, the viceroy upon learning of the occurrence immediately sent for the corregidor, whom he ordered to investigate the complaints, and severely punish the distributors of corn. The corregidor, however, soon returned declaring that the charges of the Indian women against the officials at the granary were false, nothing unusual having occurred there during the day. Reassured by this statement and the opinion of several gentlemen that it was only a drunken affair of the natives, the viceroy contented himself with ordering that an official of his own selection should superintend the distribution on the following day.
10. Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 81, erroneously gives June 9th as the date, and Zamacois, Hist. Mex., v. 458, x. 1362, that of June 18th. This latter, however, though occurring in two different places, is evidently a misprint.
11. Robles, Dlario, ii. 88, in his account of the events which led to the outbreak makes no mention of the disturbance of the 7th, and in regard to that of the 8th states that the attendants of the archbishop sent them to the viceregal palace, whence they were driven away by the guard. For the reasons already stated preference is given to the version of Sigüenza y Gbngora, which is, with few exceptions, followed for this and all subsequent events relating to these troubles. According to the Carta de un Religioso, the archbishop appeared and denied that they had any cause to complain against the viceroy, whose every effort was directed to maintain the supply of grain.
12. Robles, Diario, ii. 88-9, states that by the advice of the attendants at the archiepiscopal palace the Indians proceeded to the viceregal palace whence, having been refused admittance by the guard, they went to their homes, with the exception of some twenty who persisted on entering, and the guard continuing to oppose them they began to storm the palace doors and balconies. The ensign with nine soldiers charged and drove back the rioters, now reënforced by over two hundred, but was compelled to retreat with the loss of two men. The doors were then closed. According to the Carta de un Religioso, the captain of the guard led three charges, being severely wounded in the third by a blow from a stone. It is there stated that the Indians had bows and arrows, blunderbusses, pistols, and knives, and that their intention was to set fire to the palace, and rob the royal treasury.
13. This sudden increase in the numbers of the mob, from 200 to 10,000, is accounted for by the fact that the plaza could be reached within less than half an hour from all parts of the city.
14. According to Robles, at the first alarm most of the Spaniards shut themselves up in their houses, whence but few issued till the riot was over. Diario, ii. 90. Sigüenza y Góngora fails to account for this lack of courage on the part of his countrymen.
15. In consideration of their services the prisoners were all pardoned. Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 70-1; Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 81-2. Robles, Diario, ii. 93, says simply that prisoners escaped.
16. Some contemporary authorities have affirmed that the Indians were provided with all kinds of weapons, but the surprisingly small number of victims among the Spaniards, and the statements of other authorities, one an eyewitness of these events, refute these assertions. Other writers have also sought to give to this outbreak of the natives a more serious character, that of a premeditated attempt to throw off the Spanish yoke, but it is only too evident from their own accounts of the riot, which agree essentially with the facts here given, that they seek to draw attention from the culpable negligence of the authorities. Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 41-4, 48-9; Carta de un Religioso, 317, 320, 331-3; Robles, Diario, ii. 97.
17. Robles, Diario, ii. 95-6, 99, says eight companies of cavalry, besides two of mulattoes and two of negroes. A commercial battalion and a company of negroes are mentioned in Carta de un Religioso, 329-30, and Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 76, mentions two companies of cavalry only.
18. On June 9th, and again two days later, considerable fright was caused by the report that a body of armed Indians were entering the city. A reconoissance, however, showed that there was no cause for alarm. Robles, Diario, ii. 98-9.
19. On the morning of the 9th two pasquinades were found, one fastened to the walls of the palace, one of which read, 'Este corral se alquila para gallos de la tierra y gallinas de Castilla;' the other, 'Représentase la comedia famosa de Peor está que estabá.' Robles, Diario, ii. 96-7.
20. During July the retailing of grain was forbidden by both government and church. Robles, Diario, ii. 103. According to Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 76-7, on the 9th the viceroy ordered that the whole supply of grain should be distributed gratis among the populace. Meanwhile a vigorous search had been made for the plunder, and resulted in the recovery of a large portion of it, and the arrest of many natives in whose possession it was found. Most of the clothing, dry goods, and other articles stolen from the stalls was, however, found during subsequent days lying on the streets, where it had been thrown during the night, in all probability by the saramullos, for few of them appear to have been arrested. By Tuesday, goods to the value of 70,000 pesos had been recovered and returned to the owners. Robles, Diario, ii. 98-9.
21. Four were captured, but one had died on the night of the 10th, either from poison self-administered or from ill-treatment. Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 78, says he committed suicide, but Robles, Diario, ii. 98, states 'pero uno se mató antes con veneno, segun se dijo entonces, y parece que del maltrato que le dieron.'
22. Robles, Diario, ii. 98-106. Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 78, writing August 30th of this year, says that besides the three who were shot, five or six were hanged and one burned; and that a few days afterward many were whipped, while others were detained in prison awaiting trial. In the Carta de un Religioso, it is stated that the four Indians captured at the palace were executed on Monday the 9th, and mention is made of the other executions. Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 82, says that eight of the populace who were found to have been implicated in the outbreak were executed, and many others condemned to be whipped. He is indorsed by Rivera, Gob. Mex., i. 275. The statements of Robles are to be preferred in this instance, as he gives from day to day the more important events of this period. Various decrees were issued relating to the conduct of the natives. On June 10th they were forbidden under penalty of death to collect on the streets in groups of more than five; two days later all those residing in the Spanish quarter were ordered to remove to the native wards, but this ordinance does not appear to have been obeyed until the 15th, when it was repeated.
23. On the 16th of June, during the absence of the governor and principal lords of Tlascala, who had repaired to the capital to tender their services.
24. Sixty of the rioters were executed. Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 80; Robles, Diario, ii. 98-104. The Carta de un Religioso, 237, gives a somewhat different account. The scene of the riot is placed at Santa Cruz, a native town of some 7,000 inhabitants, in the vicinity of Tlascala. The rioters sought to kill the alcalde mayor, who, however, escaped; the religious appeared with the host, but were stoned and compelled to take refuge in the church; a force of 300 infantry and 100 cavalry was ordered from Vera Cruz; and the Tlascalan Indians sent a message to the viceroy protesting their innocence, and offering to furnish 400 warriors. Cavo, Tres Siglos, makes no mention of this affair. Rivera, Gob. Mex., i., gives an erroneous account.
25. Robles, Diario, ii. 103, states that on July 10th intelligence was received at the capital of a riot in Guadalajara, in which two oidores had been stoned. This, however, was no doubt a false rumor, as no further reference is made to it, nor is it mentioned by any other authority.
26. The cabildo had selected as temporary council rooms the new hall of the public granary, and the audiencia occupied a portion of the palace. Parian, Col. Doc., 11-13, in Varios Impresos, i.; Robles, Diario, ii. 102.
27. Parian, Col. Doc., 14; Rivera, Gob. Mex. i. 275. Galve suspended the captain of the palace guard and sent him to the fortress of Ulúa, pending the investigation of his conduct. This act caused no little surprise and comment, as his conduct on the evening of the riot was generally applauded. Carta de un Religioso, 388-9. Moreover it was remarked that during the riot the viceroy had remained securely guarded within the walls of a convent. The captain was reinstated. Robles, Diario, ii. 96, 100.
28. The viceroy had previously written to the king in regard to its evil effects, but nothing appears to have been done. Sigüenza y Góngora, Carta, MS., 78. Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 82-3, believes that a book written about this time on the evils caused by the excessive use of pulque was due to the influence of Viceroy Galve. See also Robles, Diario, ii. 96-7.
29. The penalty for Spaniards was 200 pesos, and for Indians, whipping and hard labor. Robles, Diario, ii. 103-4.
30. During August the use of mattings in the plaza was prohibited, and on the 15th of this month all roofs composed of shingles were ordered to be removed within 24 hours. All natives were forbidden to appear in the streets of the capital after dark; and a few days later they were forbidden to wear shoes or cloaks. Mestizos were compelled to present themselves, and were not allowed to carry swords. Robles, Diario, ii. 103-4. According to Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 82, the Indians were compelled to cut off their forelock, and thereafter to conform to the native custom in the manner of wearing their hair and dress.
31. The baratillo was not finally abolished until 1696. Cédulas Reales, MS., ii. 173.
32. So called because its interior resembled that of the oriental bazaar. In 1703 the building, with 98 stalls, was completed, at a cost of 97,052 pesos; between 1757 and 1794 83 more were added, making in all 181 stalls, and the total cost of the building 141,570 pesos. Parian, Col. Doc., 1-2, 22, 49; Dicc. Univ., v. 738-9.
33. The maintenance of order in the city was henceforth assured by the organization of two regiments of militia. Notwithstanding the frequent orders of the crown, the two cavalry companies formed on the 9th of June and supported by the royal treasury were not abolished until the end of 1696. Parian, Col. Doc., 13-16. The final decree abolishing them was dated Oct. 9, 1696.
34. Work on the palace was begun about the middle of February under the direction of Fray Diego de Valverde, an Augustine friar. Robles, Diario, ii. 125-6. During the administration of Viceroy Galve the sum of 195,544 pesos was expended in the work. In future administrations appropriations of a greater or less amount were made, that during the rule of Viceroy Flores, 1787-9, being the last. According to an official report made in 1792 by order of Viceroy Revilla Gigedo, the total amount expended in its reconstruction was 781,607 pesos. Alaman, Disert. Hist. Mex., iii. app. 100-2.
35. Estrella, xxvi. 264—7, 278-9.
36. Robles, Diario, ii. 130-71. Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 84-5, states that in 1694, owing to the great scarcity, an epidemic appeared which carried off thousands of the people. Lorenzana, Hist. N. Spain, 28, and Panes, Vireyes, MS., also speak of a pestilence in this year, which they imply was a divine punishment visited on the rioters. I am disposed to reject these statements; for Robles, whose Diario is a diary of the important events of this period, makes no mention of any pestilence between 1692 and 1696, excepting an epidemic in a convent of the capital which in April 1695 carried off six nuns. An epidemic of measles appeared in the city of Puebla in September 1692, and in one parish alone carried off 3,000 children. Robles, Diario, ii. 110; Rivera, Diario. 75. This latter authority calls this event 'a horrible pestilence, . . . attributed to the prohibition of pulque.' Carlos María Bustamante was the editor of this work, as also that of Cavo, Tres Siglos, both of which contain many interpolations, and the connection between the above absurd statement and that of Cavo, already cited, disproving the prohibition of pulque, is only too apparent. Besides, Robles, who derived his information from the same source as the so-called Rivera, Diario, makes no allusion to this fact.
37. Hist. N. Mex. States, i. 374-5, this series.
38. Robles, Diario, ii. 193-8, 214; Ordenes de la Corona, MS., iii. 68; Rivera, Gob. Mex., i. 278.