History of Mexico (Bancroft)/Volume 3/Chapter 7

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

 

CHAPTER VII.

VICEROYS TORRES, ALVA, AND ALBURQUERQUE.

1648-1660.

Bishop Torres Governor of New Spain — His Brief Rule — Epidemic — Government of the Audiencia — Viceroy Alva Arrives — His Quiet Rule — Alburquerque Appointed Viceroy — He Governs with Prudence — And Checks Abuses — Loss of Jamaica and the Influence thereof on New Spain — Yucatan Infested by Pirates — Attempt to Assassinate Alburquerque — The Swift Punishment that Followed — Public Rejoicings — Viceroy and Archbishop Recalled — Their Departure and Subsequent Career.

It had been the usual policy with the court of Spain, to appoint the archbishop of Mexico as viceroy ad interim, whenever a sudden vacancy occurred in that office, but on the promotion of the conde de Salvatierra an exception was made, and, as we have seen, the chief magistracy with the title of governor was given to Márcos de Torres y Rueda, then bishop of Yucatan.^[1]

He arrived in November 1647, and remained in Tacuba till February 1648, when, learning that a vessel sent for Salvatierra from Peru had arrived at Acapulco, he repaired to Mexico to receive the government; but on the following day a resolution of the real acuerdo ordered his immediate return to Tacuba, there to await the proper moment for his installation into office.^[2] This did not take place until May 13, 1648,^[3] when the bishop-governor, with the usual retinue, made his official entrance into Mexico, and exhibited in the palace his credentials.

His rule was brief and uneventful. An epidemic is said to have caused great devastation at Vera Cruz in the latter half of the year 1648, but in view of the scanty information on the subject, considerable allowance must probably be made for exaggeration. On his decease in April of the following year^[4] the audiencia assumed the government; and the senior oidor, Matías de Peralta, acting as president, removed to the viceregal palace. Before the exequies of the late governor were concluded^[5] his entire estate had been sequestered, partly to guarantee the sum of twenty thousand pesos, which he had received in advance of salary, and also because suspicions had arisen that a large part of his estate belonged to the crown, and had been fraudulently appropriated by the secretary and nephew of the deceased, Juan de Salazar. To that end the surrender was ordered under severe penalties, of all the property of the bishop, and that of his relatives, to the senior oidor, who, together with the fiscal, had assumed the functions of executor of the governor's will. Steps were also taken to prevent the shipment of such property by the fleet, then ready to sail; and on the 15th of May 1649 orders were sent to the governor of Yucatan to attach all the estate of the late bishop in that province.

Although a considerable amount was delivered up to the president, a repetition of the order was resolved upon, and to make it more effectual was published from the pulpits, ecclesiastical censures being threatened against all who failed to surrender it or even withheld information as to its concealment. It seems, however, that the conduct of the audiencia was guided more by personal hostility against Torres and his kindred than by pretended loyalty; for Salazar, having laid his case before the India Council, was acquitted, and the audiencia reproved and ordered to restore all the sequestered property.^[6]

For nearly fifteen uneventful months Peralta held the reins of power in New Spain, until, in May 1650, a new viceroy arrived in the person of Luis Enriquez de Guzman, conde de Alva de Liste, and marqués de Villaflor.^[7]

His rule was a quiet one, interrupted only in 1651 by the revolt of the Indians in the northern regions, where the Tarahumares, Conchos, and other tribes in open revolt killed several Spaniards, among whom were three friars, and burned the churches. The governor of Durango was ordered to subjugate them, and during the following year restored peace throughout the disturbed districts.

The old dispute about the submission of the doctrineros to the episcopal authority was revived during the term of viceroy Alva, but his prudent conduct prevented it from assuming such significance as the former one. Royal orders, tending to check the efforts of the regular clergy to become more independent of the jurisdiction of the crown, were also successfully enforced^[8] without encountering serious opposition.

Although the count appears to have made a moderate use of his authority, he was jealous of his rights as the representative of a powerful monarch, and did not fail to guard them when occasion happened. Among other instances may be mentioned a case which occurred in June, 1651, when a dispute arose about the place which the chapter of the cathedral and the pages of the viceroy should occupy in the procession of corpus christi. The procession was forcibly interrupted by order of the count, who in unison with the audiencia issued several orders, which caused great excitement among the people. The matter was settled by the chapter yielding to the demand of the viceroy, when the ceremony was allowed to proceed.^[9]

Owing to the wars almost continuously carried on in Europe by the Spanish crown, communication with the mother country had become dangerous, and the peril of raids on the coast of New Spain increased. In order to guard against these inroads, the viceroy stationed some soldiers at Vera Cruz, and provided the fleets despatched to Spain with a force at least strong enough to leave them no longer at the mercy of the first pirate or man-of-war they might encounter. It was indeed necessary to take some precautions that the treasure remittances should reach Spain in safety. The money was greatly needed; for it was only by means of the contributions of the colonies, that the monarch was enabled to carry on the expensive wars which were to sustain the glory of Castile. The king was always hard pressed; and confident of the forbearance and patriotic zeal of his subjects in the New World, had seized about a million of pesos belonging to private persons, the amount having been remitted by the fleet of 1649. Viceroy Alva soon after his arrival informed the people of this proof of the confidence of their royal master, but at the same time assured them, under pledge of the royal word, that it would not be repeated, and that measures had even been taken to make repayment in redeemable warrants against the revenue, derived from the media anata.^[10]

During the last months of Viceroy Alva's rule, earthquake and drought visited the province of Mexico. The former disaster was portended by the appearance of a comet which was visible from the middle of December of 1652 till the first days of 1653. The shock was severely felt in the capital,^[11] and destroyed the walls of several buildings, causing greater damage in the environs. That no others were felt was supposed to be due to a solemn procession, held during the following days in honor of the conception of the Serenísima Reina de los Angeles. With similar good effect the interposition of the vírgen de los Remedios was implored some months later; when want of rain had produced diseases, and supplications lasting nine days were ordered. The supplications were quickly heard, for within nine days abundant rains fell throughout the province.

The viceroy's term of government had meanwhile expired, and in the beginning of July 1653 news reached him of the arrival of his successor at Vera Cruz, and of his promotion to the viceroyalty of Peru. On the 1st of August he formally laid down his authority and proceeded to San Cristóbal, to greet the new ruler, the duke of Alburquerque. He remained in Mexico for, more than a year, as there was no vessel to carry him to his destination. The 17th of October 1654 he left for Acapulco with a large retinue. At every point along his route he received marks of respect, for his benevolence and integrity had gained for him the sympathy of the people.^[12]

Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva, duque de Alburquerque and grandee of Spain,^[13] arrived at Vera Cruz accompanied by his wife, a daughter of the exviceroy Cadereita, early in July, 1653, and made his official entrance into Mexico on the 15th of August, amidst the usual ceremonies. In personal qualifications no less than in rank he was a worthy successor to the count of Alva. He lacked none of the accomplishments then commonly possessed by the nobility of Spain, and was moreover a man of jovial disposition, much given to hospitality, and lavish of expense. During his reign he lost no opportunity of displaying, though sometimes a little too ostentatiously, his boundless loyalty to his sovereign. The first occasion that occurred was in April 1654, when balls and banquets, lasting several days, were arranged by the viceroy in commemoration of the birthday of his sovereign. These festivities were, however, eclipsed by those which were held later in celebration of the birth of prince Felipe Próspero.^[14] Solemn thanksgivings alternated with magnificent processions in costume, headed by the viceroy and the highest officials. For several days the town was illuminated; festivals were arranged by the Jesuit fathers; bullfights were held in the plaza; there were no regular sessions of the audiencia for several weeks; and many of the prisoners confined in jail were pardoned, while the sentences of others were commuted. So popular became the viceroy, that a mere hint from him was sufficient to elicit an annual donation in favor of the newly born prince of 250,000 pesos for the next fifteen years.

The treasure fleet despatched from Vera Cruz in April 1654 was one of the most richly freighted that had ever left the shores of New Spain, and in the following year a large amount was forwarded; but the capture of Jamaica^[15] in 1655 caused a large decrease in remittances after that date.^[16] The news of this disaster caused serious alarm throughout Spain and the Spanish colonies, though it was but the beginning of a long series of calamities, many of which I have related. Already the North Sea was infested with pirates, and in the islands of the West Indies thousands of buccaneers, filibusters, and sea rovers,^[17] who regarded the Spaniards as their natural prey, had formed permanent settlements. During the latter portion of the seventeenth century the colonies, more especially those of Central America, were never free from their raids; Portobello was sacked; Panamá was destroyed; other cities were plundered or burned; and within a few years of its capture Jamaica became the spot where most of these raids were organized, often with the consent and always with the connivance of the representative of the British monarch.

In 1657 the viceroy despatched a force of over four hundred men to aid the Spaniards in driving the English garrison from the island, but to no purpose. Most of them perished of disease without inflicting any loss on the enemy,^[18] and the inhabitants remaining on the island removed to New Spain.

It was not long before the Spaniards felt the evil effects of thus tamely allowing the British to gain a foothold in the West Indies. Every year the convoy of the fleets became more difficult. In one instance fifty-five days were required for the passage from Vera Cruz to Habana, the ships having remained near the coast of Florida, to avoid capture by an English fleet. Often the church bells summoned the loyal and pious inhabitants of the capital to prayers for the safety of the treasure ships; but not always were their prayers answered, for on one occasion during the viceroy's rule the flag-ship with five million pesos and four hundred persons on board was lost. At about the same time another fleet was attacked and partly captured at the mouth of the harbor of Cádiz. Henceforth Alburquerque became more cautious, and detained the fleet of 1658 until greater protection was afforded.

While New Spain was thus harassed by more distant foes, Yucatan was selected as a favorite scene of action by the law-defying brethren of the coast. Its isolated position, the difficulty of moving military forces from one place to another, the very position of the towns, all of which were near the seaboard, had long made this peninsula a favorite resort for pirates. After a less important expedition in 1613, during which they took temporary possession of the bay of Ascension, they reappeared in 1632 near Campeche; but noticing the energetic preparations for defense no attack was made. Their project, however, had not been abandoned. In the following year they returned under the command of their two famous leaders Pie de Palo and Diego the Mulatto. After a hot fight the town was taken and sacked. Efforts to obtain a ransom failed, however, and when rumors of a force approaching from Merida became known to the corsairs, they departed.^[19]

Again a short period of tranquillity followed, till, in 1644, a squadron of thirteen vessels with fifteen hundred soldiers landed at Champoton. The inhabitants having fled, the invaders departed after completing their stores,^[20] taking with them two Franciscan friars whom they found hid near Zihó, and placed on board one of their vessels. Such an act committed against the representatives of the faith, say the chroniclers, provoked the wrath of heaven, and as a due chastisement all the vessels foundered, that bearing the friars only after the holy men had been placed ashore on the coast of Florida.^[21]

But this incident made little impression on the buccaneers, who continued their depredations on both the eastern and western coasts of the peninsula. In April 1648 they captured a frigate with more than a hundred thousand pesos on board, and a few weeks later boldly attacked a vessel in the very port of Campeche. At about the same time another band, commanded by the pirate Abraham, captured Salamanca.^[22] During the second half of the seventeenth century their raids became more frequent. In 1659 and 1678 Campeche was again taken and sacked by English and French freebooters. They were aided on this occasion by logwood-cutters, who since that time had begun to establish themselves on the peninsula; and, notwithstanding the repeated efforts of the Spaniards to expel them, successfully maintained their positions,^[23] till in 1680 they were driven from the bay of Términos by forces sent against them from Mexico and Yucatan.^[24]

Alburquerque bore the reputation of a just, vigilant, and capable ruler, one who strictly carried out the duties of his office, regardless of censure. Hearing that one of the contadores mayores had challenged the other, he ordered both under arrest, and sentenced to fines of three thousand and fifteen hundred pesos respectively, though duelling was at this time a common practice in New Spain. During the year 1659 he suspended the corregidor and his lieutenant, and imprisoned several of the regidores because they had been bribed to consent to a reduction in weight of the loaf. Personal inquiries at the mills and bakeries had convinced him that there was no reason for making such a change.

The clergy were not exempt from the duke's searching vigilance, and in his excessive zeal for the welfare and dignity of the church he occasionally played a somewhat ridiculous part. Patrolling the streets near the palace one night, as was his wont, he noticed at a late hour two Austin friars in a dilapidated looking, bakery eating fritters. The viceroy was shocked, and at once ordered their arrest; not, he declared, because the act of eating fritters was of itself unclerical, but that, considering the time, the place, and the sacred vestments of the culprits, such an indulgence was scandalous. One of the ecclesiastics took to his heels and escaped, but the other was taken to the palace and sternly reproved and kept in custody till the following day, when he was delivered to the prior of his order. After remonstrating with the latter, the viceroy summoned also the other heads of religious orders, and having expressed his disapproval in general, directed them to exercise in future a better surveillance.^[25] This was readily promised, and severe penalties were imposed for similar transgressions. A reformation had indeed become necessary; for the greater part of the friars were no longer the worthy followers of those whose charity, humility, and untiring zeal had made so deep an impression on the native population a century before. In addition to their hypocrisy, some of them were guilty of the worst crimes common to their fellow-men; and it is related that in 1655 two Augustinian lay-friars did not shrink from assassinating the former provincial of their order.

It was perhaps the viceroy's undue interference in ecclesiastical matters that excited the enmity of the archbishop. During his administration the same ridiculous dispute arose which had occurred during the regime of his predecessor, concerning the precedence of the attendants at the procession of corpus christi. Neither would yield the point, and the matter was settled only by an agreement that neither the pages of the viceroy nor those of the archbishop should assist.^[26] The latter, named Mateo Sagade Bugueiro,^[27] was a man of rather haughty character, and ere long new difficulties arose between him and the representative of the crown, occasioned by the controversy of the former with the commissary-general of the holy crusade. The archbishop also publicly accused the viceroy of withholding and intercepting his correspondence with Spain, but finally a reconciliation was effected, and after that time a better understanding prevailed.

The religious zeal of the viceroy^[28] well nigh cost him his life. It was his custom each afternoon to pay a visit to the cathedral, then in course of completion, in order to inspect the progress made during the day, and afterward to attend vespers in one of the chapels. While kneeling at prayer on the evening of the 12th of March 1660, a soldier named Manuel Ledesma y Robles entered the chapel and gave him several blows with the flat of his sword. The viceroy sprang to his feet, and placing the prie-dieu between himself and his assailant, meanwhile clutching with his right hand at his sword, exclaimed, "What mean you?" "To kill you," was the answer.^[29] At that moment the treasurer of the cathedral came to the duke's assistance and was soon followed by others. The would-be assassin was overpowered, and the duke after finishing his devotions returned to his palace. A trial was held the same evening by the military auditor, but considering the grave character of the crime, the audiencia ordered that the prisoner be brought before their court. At the same time a resolution was passed that there should be no rest until the law was vindicated.^[30]

During the whole night the depositions of witnesses were taken, corroborating the attempt to murder, but they added little to the contradictory confession of the accused, who in one place gives as a reason a supposed offence suffered from the viceroy, while in another he states that his sole purpose was to perpetuate his name.^[31] There is little doubt his mind was deranged; he could easily have killed the viceroy had he been so disposed; but as it was a great man who had been frightened, his judges were determined not to recognize the fact; the appointment of an advocate for the accused was but for form, and no time was granted him to prepare his defence. At seven o'clock next morning the verdict was rendered; the criminal was condemned to be dragged throug the streets,^[32] and thence taken to the gibbet. His head and right hand were to be cut off and exposed, the former on the main square, the latter, together with his sword, in front of the door of the cathedral where the crime had been committed. Three hours later the tribunals and loyal inhabitants of Mexico had the satisfaction of witnessing the execution of the sentence, the corpse, feet upwards, remaining exhibited on the gallows till late in the afternoon.^[33]

Public demonstrations of joy and processions, arranged by the archbishop and the religious corporations, celebrated the escape of the viceroy from death.^[34]

A few months later Alburquerque was informed that the conde de Baños had been appointed his successor, and that he himself was promoted to the viceroyalty of Sicily.^[35] At the same time the archbishop was recalled, and both set sail from Vera Cruz in May 1661,^[36] In September the duke surrendered the reins of power to the new viceroy^[37] at Santa Ana, as was the custom. His residencia was begun at the same time by Ginés Morote, but difficulties between the latter and the audiencia prevented its completion until 1662, when it was concluded by the oidor Francisco Valles.^[38] In the mean time the duke had left for his native land, carrying with him the sympathy and good wishes of all the people of New Spain.

Gulf of Mexico

 

 

1. I have before me a copy of the cédula, appointing him as governor, and dated July 8, 1647. Ordenes de la Corona, MS., ii. 198-9. He was born in Almazan in Spain, and, when a student at Salamanca, won the degree of licenciate in arts among 106 competitors. After holding several important ecclesiastical offices, he was presented to the bishopric of Yucatan in 1644. Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 219. In November 1646 he took possession of his see, the greater part of which he visited in person, attempting on that occasion to introduce several innovations, which appear to have been for the purpose of filling his own pockets. Cogolludo mentions his meanness to the captain who brought him the news of his appointment to the viceroyalty 'auduno tan corto con el Capitan, que dió harto que dezir?' Cogollvdo, Hist Yuc., 701.
2. Guijo, Diario, in Doc. Hist. Mex., 1st ser., i. 7-8, adds that returning to Tacuba the bishop found that all the furniture of his residence, belonging to Salvatierra, had been removed in the mean time.
3. Mayer, Mex. Aztec, i. 202, following the Liceo, Mex., ii. 223, says erroneously March 13th.
4. Torres was on bad terms with the audiencia, and in January 1649 had some dispute with the municipal authorities, caused by his pretentious conduct. It is said that this brought on the sickness which terminated fatally on April 22d. Cogolludo remarks that Torres, not supposing his illness to be of a serious nature, did not make such provisions for the administration of affairs as his high position required. Hist. Yuc., 702. This does not appear probable, judging from the deed executed by the governor on the 8th of April, and appointing, in case of his demise, the audiencia to succeed him ad interim. Vir. Instruc., MS., 1st ser., no. 23, 1-2.
5. He was buried on the 25th of April in the church of the Augustinian convent at Mexico; the bishop-elect of Habana, Nicolás de la Torre, officiated, as the archbishop was absent. Guijo, Diario, 55-62.
6. The decision reached Mexico in May 1650, and its ratification in 1657. The audiencia was reprimanded for disrespect shown at the funeral of Torres, and ordered to make restitution to all the servants and followers of the bishop. Guijo, Diario, 107-8, 379-80.
7. His other titles are: gentilhombre de la cámara de su Magestad, señor de las villas de Garrovillas, Carvajales, Membibre, i Castro Galvon, i lugares de su jurisdicion, alférez i alguacil mayor de la ciudad de Zamora, alcaide perpetuo de las Torres i Fortaleza de ella, por el Rey N. Señor, alcaide mayor de sacas, y escribano mayor de rentas de la dicha ciudad. Frailes Doctrineros, in Disturbios de Frailes, MS., ii. 131. Vetancurt, Trat. Mex., 15, followed by Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 34, and others, writes Alvadeliste: Zamacois, Hist. Méj., v. 360, and Ribera, Gobernantes, i. 177, call him de Aliste; Guijo, Diario, 121, says de Lista. Miravel y Casadevante, El Gran Dicc., i. 411, in his genealogical account of the count's family, gives the name as in the text, and is herein followed by Lorenzana, Hist. N. Esp., 24, and Alaman, Disert., iii. app. .31. The official entry of the new viceroy was made July 3d. Lorenzana, Hist. N. Esp., 24, says erroneously it was on the 13th.
8. Several cédulas were issued to protect the royal jurisdiction. One of September 18, 1650, ratified on the 6th of June, 1655, declared all briefs and bulls of the holy see issued to the people of New Spain as null and void, if not authorized by the council of the Indies, to which they were to be sent. To the same scrutiny were subjected all those patents for religious orders which introduced important innovations or referred to the founding of new convents. Montemayor, Svmarios, 37-8; Ordenes de la Corona, MS., ii. 219-21.
9. Guijo, Diario, 179-82; Robles, Vida, 127-9. The viceroy would probably have encountered more opposition had there been an archbishop. The last one, Juan de Mañosca y Zamora, had died on December 12, 1650, not in 1653 as Vetancurt, Trat. Mex., 25, has it. Guijo, Diario, 157-9, Panes, Vir., MS., 100; Concilios Prov., 1555-65, 219. The see remained vacant for two years until December 25, 1652, when Pedro de Barrientos took possession of it in the name of the new appointee, Marcelo Lopez de Ascona, who arrived in July, 1653. He died after a few months, on November 10th of the same year. Guijo, Diario, 227, 229-30, 248-70; Concilios Prov.,1555-65, 220. Panes, Vir., says erroneously 1654. MS., 101.
10. Tenia librada la satisfaccion de esta cantidad en juros y media annata.' Guijo, Diario, 121. The publication of a similar cédula in March 1651 implies that this manner of making loans was repeated, notwithstanding the promise made.
11. 'Duró mas del tiempo que. . .rezar dos credos con devocion.' Id. 232. A minute account together with a scientific treatise on the comet is given by Ruiz, Discurso hecho sobre Impressiones meterologicas, Mexico, 1653, 1 et seq. According to Guijo, Diario, 239, in the same year, 1653, a conflagration destroyed the whole city of Colima.
12. His juez de residencia sentenced him to the payment of several amounts of money claimed from him, and transferred the decision of other charges to the India Council, but nevertheless declared him 'por bueno y recto miuistro de S. M.' Guijo, Diario, 270. After serving his term in Peru he went to Spain, where he died about 1667.
13. He was of one of the noblest houses of Spain, and besides the titles given in the text, and such as his new position gave him, held those of marqués de Cuellar y de Cadereita, conde de Ledesma, conde de Guelma, señor de las villas de Mombeltran y de la Codosera, gentilhombre de la cámara de Su Magestad, and capitan general de las galeras de España. Ordenes de la, Corona, MS., vii. 1; Frailes Doctr., in Disturb, de Frailes, MS., ii. 129, 152.
14. In January 1656 public prayers had been said in the cathedral and all the other churches for an heir to the throne. Guijo, Diario, in Doc. Hist, Mex., série i., i. 337.
15. Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 36, Rivera, Gob., i. 197, and other Spanish authorities state that Cromwell was urged to despatch the expedition which effected the capture of Jamaica by Thomas Gage, the author of The New Survey of the West Indies. Gage was an apostate friar; hence perhaps the statement, which is not founded on fact.
16. During the same year news arrived that a party of buccaneers had been captured by the settlers of Tampico. Twenty-two of them were sent as prisoners to Mexico. Guijo, Diario, 330, 362.
17. For the origin of piracy in the West Indies see Hist. Cent. Amer., ii. 451 et seq., this series.
18. Vetancvrt, Trat. Mex., 15; Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 41; Guijo, Diario, 393-4, 406-7, 443. Still this writer speaks in another place of a great victory obtained by the auxiliaries, who dislodged the English from the island, and says that the news was celebrated in the cathedral and all other churches of Mexico. Id., 400-1. 'Todos miserablemente perecieron en manos del enemigo.' It is of course well known that the English retained possession. About this time the town of Alburquerque was founded in New Mexico, perhaps with a view to give those who had arrived from Jamaica an opportunity to establish new settlements and restore their fortunes.
19. Under the same Diego the Mulatto, Salamanca was sacked in 1642, the town having been taken by surprise. Cogollvdo, Hist. Yuc., 658-9.
20. They shot some cattle, preparing the meat in the church, which sacrilegious act especially calls forth the wrath of the pious Cogolludo. 'Sirviendose de la Iglesia para tan indecente execucion, y especialmente de la pila Bautismal.' Hist. Yuc., 682.
21. Cogolludo gives an interesting account of the miraculous powers which our lady of Champoton and the 11,000 virgins exhibited on this occasion. Id., 683-4.
22. He repeated the sack of the same town in 1652.
23. For a detailed account of the origin of the logwood establishments, from which the settlement of Belize emanated, I refer to the Hist. Cent. Am., ii. 623 et seq., this series.
24. Robles, Diario, 303-9, gives a pretty detailed account of the trophies obtained on this victorious expedition.
25. In the following year, 1655, the rebuke was repeated, the king having issued three cédulas, complaining of the increasing disorders of the monastic life. Guijo, Diario, 311-12.
26. Similar difficulties continued to disturb the good understanding between the viceroys and the archbishops, although royal cédulas had clearly fixed the jurisdiction to which either of them was entitled, their tenor being essentially favorable to the viceroys. In later years under the rule of Mancera an outbreak of these old hostilities was prevented merely by the duke's diplomacy, and the modesty and genuine christian spirit of the then archbishop Alonso de Cuevas. Dávalos, Mancera, Instrucciones, in Doc. Inéd., xxi. 471-2.
27. He was born in San Pedro de San Roman in Galicia, and had previously held the offices of canon of the churches of Astorga and Toledo. Concilios Prov., 1555-65, 220. Panes, Vir., MS., 101-2, calls him Mateo de Yaga, and says he was bom in Pontevedro in Galicia. He was consecrated in Mexico the 25th of July, 1656. Guijo, Diario, 362.
28. He assisted at the festivals of the churches and made liberal contributions toward the completion of the cathedral. Guijo states that a royal cédula arrived in May 1655 ordering that the building be completed as soon as possible. Diario. 309.
29. 'Matarlo y que no se diga misa.' Copia de la Causa Criminal, in Registro Trimestre, 289. 'Voto á Cristo, q le he de matar,' says the viceroy in his letter of March 16, 1660, to the king, adding 'me dió de cuchilladas y estocadas, en las espaldas y riñones.' The latter assertion, notwithstanding its source, is exaggerated, as proved by the depositions of the witnesses during the trial. Carta, in Vir. Instruc., MS., 1st ser. no. 24, 1.
30. 'Hasta tanto se dé juridica y competente satisfaccion á ejemplar tan atroz, no se deje la mano de las diligencias.' Copia de la Causa Criminal, 277.
31. Guijo, Diario, 439-40, asserts that he was submitted to torture; but this is doubtful; as the minutes of the trial would hardly have concealed the application of a measure which then was considered quite legal in order to obtain a confession.
32. 'Que sea arrastrado a la cola de dos caballos metido en un ceron. . . y en la horca. . .ahorcado hasta que naturalmente muera.' Copia de la Causa Criminal, 301-2.
33. The culprit did not repent of his crime. 'No pudieron reducirlo á que se confesara, ni á que invocase el nombre de Jesus.' Guijo, Diario, 440. The viceroy in his letter to the king expresses regret, and adds that 'both in writing and verbally he pardoned him for this and the other life.' Carta, in Vir. Instrucc., MS., 1st ser. no. 24, 2.
34. For details of this event see Copia de la Causa Criminal, in Registro Trim., 265-305; Guijo, Diario, 439-40; Carta, in Vir. Instrucc., MS., 1st ser. no. 24, 1-3.
35. Guijo says he was made general of the fleets intended to operate against the Portuguese. Diario, 442.
36. Lacunza, Disc. Hist., xxxv. 501-2, speaks of the removal of both as caused by the king's displeasure with their conduct, 'fueron muy ricos, aunque con el deshonor consiguiente.' There is not the slightest reason for such a statement, and their later career indicates plainly the contrary, Buguerio being presented to the see of Leon, one of the greatest in Spain, and Alburquerque, as already stated, being made viceroy of Sicily.
37. During his term of office he made many improvements in the viceregal palace.
38. The visitador fixed the bond at 180,000 pesos, but was overruled by the oidores, who reduced the amount to 50,000 pesos notwithstanding the protests of Morote.