Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican/Volume 1/Book 2/Chapter 10
CHAPTER X.
1674—1696.
Fray Payo Enriquez de Rivera, Archbishop of Mexico,
XXVII. Viceroy of New Spain.
1674—1680.
The Duke of Veraguas, as we have seen, enjoyed none of his viceroyal honors save those which crowned his entrance into the capital; and as soon as his remains were temporarily interred in the cathedral, Fray Payo Enriquez de Rivera assumed the reins of government.
This excellent prelate had fulfilled the functions of his bishopric, for nine years, in Guatemala, so satisfactorily to the masses, that his elevation to supreme power in Mexico was hailed as a national blessing. He devoted himself from the first, diligently, to the adornment of the capital and the just and impartial administration of public affairs. He improved the roads and entrances into the city; and, by his moderation, justice and mildness, united with liberality and economy, raised the reputation of his government to such a degree of popular favor that, in the annals of New Spain, it is referred to as a model public administration.
In 1677, by the orders of the queen regent, Rivera, despatched a colony to California; and in the following year, Charles II., who had attained his majority, signified his gratitude to the viceroy for his paternal government of New Spain, as well as for the care he had shown not only for the social, artistical and political improvement of the nation committed to his charge, but for the honest collection of the royal income, which, in those days, was a matter of no small moment or interest to the Spanish kings. But in 1680, the viceroy's health began to fail, and Charles the Second, who still desired to preserve and secure the invaluable services of so excellent a personage to his country, nominated him bishop of Cuenca, and created him president of the Council of the Indies.
Don Tomas Antonio Manrique de la Cerda,
Marques de la Laguna,
XXVIII. Viceroy of New Spain.
1680—1686.
The archbishop Rivera, when he left the viceroyal chair handed to his successor in 1680, on the 30th of November, the letter he had just received from the north, imparting the sad news of a general rising of the Indians in New Mexico against the Spaniards. The aborigines of that region, who then amounted to about twenty-five thousand, residing in twenty-four villages, had entered into combination with the wilder tribes thronging the broad plains of the north and the recesses of the neighboring mountains, and had suddenly descended, in great force, upon the unfortunate Spaniards scattered through the country. The secret of the conspiracy was well kept until the final moment of rupture. The spirit of discontent, and the bond of Indian union were fostered and strengthened, silently, steadily and gradually, throughout a territory of one hundred and twenty-five leagues in extent, without the revelation of the fact to any of the foreigners in the region. Nor did the strangers dream of impending danger until the 10th of August, when, at the same moment, the various villages of Indians, took arms against the Spaniards, and, slaughtering all who were not under the immediate protection of garrisons, even wreaked their vengeance upon twenty-one Franciscan monks who had labored for the improvement of their social condition as well as for their conversion to Christianity.
Having successfully assaulted all the outposts of this remote government of New Spain, the Indians next directed their arms against the capital, Santa Fe, which was the seat of government and the residence of the wealthiest and most distinguished inhabitants of the north. But the garrison was warned in time by a few natives who still remained faithful to their foreign task-masters, and was thus enabled to muster its forces and to put its arms in order, so as to receive the meditated assault. The Spanish soldiers allowed the rebellious conspirators to approach their defences, until they were sure of their aim, and, then, discharging their pieces upon the impetuous masses, covered the fields with dead and wounded. But the brave Indians were too excited, resolved and numerous to be stayed or repulsed by the feeble garrison. New auxiliaries took the places of the slaughtered ranks. On all sides the country was dark with crowds of dusky warriors whose shouts and warwhoops continually rent the air. Clouds of arrows, and showers of stones were discharged on the heads of the beleagured townsmen. No man dared show himself beyond the covering of houses and parapets; and thus, for ten days, the Indian siege was unintermitted for a single moment around the walls of Santa Fé. At the expiration of this period the provisions as well as the munitions of the Spaniards were expended, and the wretched inhabitants, who could no longer endure the stench from the carcasses of the slain which lay in putrefying heaps around their town, resolved to evacuate the untenable place. Accordingly, under cover of the night, they contrived to elude the besiegers' vigilance, and quitting the town by secret and lonely paths, they fled to Paso del Norte, whence they despatched messengers to the viceroy with the news of their misfortune. The day after this precipitate retreat, the Indians, who were altogether unaware of the Spaniards' departure expected a renewal of the combat. But the town was silent. Advancing cautiously from house to house and street to street, they saw that Santa Fé was, in reality deserted; and, content with having driven their oppressors from the country, they expended their wrath upon the town by destroying and burning the buildings. The cause of this rising was the bad conduct of the Spaniards to the Indians and the desire of these wilder northern tribes to regain their natural rights.
In the commencement of 1681, the viceroy began to fear that this rebellion, which seemed so deeply rooted and so well organized, would spread throughout the neighboring provinces, and, accordingly, despatched various squadrons of soldiers to New Mexico and ordered levies to join them as they marched to the north towards El Paso del Norte, which was the present refuge of the expelled and flying government. In this place all the requisite preparations for a campaign were diligently prepared, and thence the troops departed in quest of the headstrong rebels. But all their pains and efforts were fruitless. The object of the Indians seems to have been accomplished in driving off the Spaniards and destroying their settlements. The wild children of the soil and of the forest neither desired the possession of their goods, nor waged war in order to enjoy the estates they had been forced to till. It was a simple effort to recover once more the wild liberty of which they had been deprived, and to overthrow the masked slavery to which the more ennervated races of the south submitted tamely, under the controling presence of ampler forces. They contented themselves, therefore, with destroying towns, plantations, farms, and villages, and, flying to the fastnesses of the mountain forests, either kept out of reach of the military bands that traversed the country or descended in force upon detached parties. The Spaniards were thus denied all opportunity to make a successful military demonstration against the Indians; and, after waiting a season in fruitless efforts to subdue the natives, they retired to El Paso, leaving the country still in the possession of their foes who would neither fight nor come to terms, although an unconditional pardon and a future security of rights were freely promised.
The unsuccessful expedition of the previous year, induced the viceroy, in 1682, to adopt other means for the reduction of the refractory Indians to obedience. That vast region was not to be lost, nor were the few inhabitants who still continued to reside on its frontiers, to be abandoned to the mercy of savages. The Marques de la Laguna, therefore resolved to re-colonize Santa Fé, and, accordingly, despatched three hundred families of Spaniards and mulattoes, among whom he divided the land by caballerias. Besides this, he augmented the garrison in all the forts and strongholds scattered throughout the territory, so that agriculture and trade, grouped under the guns of his soldiery, might once more lift up their heads in that remote region in spite of Indian hostility. This measure was of great service in controling the natives elsewhere. The Indians in the neighboring provinces had begun to exhibit a strong desire to imitate the example of the New Mexican bands, and, in all probability, were only prevented by this stringent measure of the viceroy from freeing themselves from the Spanish yoke.
The administration of the Marques de la Laguna was an unfortunate one for his peace if not for his fame. The expedition which he despatched in 1683 to California, under Don Isidro Otondo, and in which were Jesuits among whom was the celebrated Father Kino, returned from that country three years afterwards after fruitless voyage and exploration of the coasts. Nor was the eastern coast of New Spain more grateful for the cares of the viceroy. Vera Cruz, the chief port of the realm, was, at this time warmly besieged and finally sacked by the English pirate Nicholas Agramont, who was drawn thither by a mulatto, Lorencellio, after taking refuge in Jamaica for a crime that he had committeed in New Spain. On the 17th of May, Vera Cruz, surrendered to the robbers, who possessed themselves of property to the amount of seven millions of dollars, which was awaiting the arrival in the harbor of the fleet that was to carry it to Spain. The chief portion of the inhabitants took sanctuary in the churches, where they remained pent up for a length of time; but the pirates contrived to seize a large number of clergymen, monks and women whom they forced to bear the spoils of the city to their vessels, and afterwards treated with the greatest inhumanity.
The coasts of Mexico were, at this period, sorely harassed with the piratical vessels of France and England. The wealth of the New World, inadequately protected by Spanish cruisers, in its transit to Europe, was a tempting prize to the bold nautical adventurers of the north of Europe; and the advantages of the Spanish colonies were thus reaped by nations who were freed from the expenses of colonial possessions. There are perhaps still many families in these countries whose fortunes were founded upon the robbery of Castilian galeons.
Don Melchor Portocarrero Laso de la Vega,
Count de la Monclova.
XXIX. Viceroy of New Spain.
1686—1688.
The Conde de Monclova, surnamed "Brazo de Plata" from the fact that he supplied with a silver arm the member he had lost in battle, arrived in Mexico on the 30th of November, 1686, and immediately devoted himself to the improvement of the capital, the completion of the canal which was to free the city from inundations, and the protection of the northern provinces and the coasts of the gulf against the menaced settlements of the French. He despatched several Spanish men of war and launches to scour the harbors and inlets of the eastern shores, as far as Florida, in order to dislodge the intruders; and, having obtained control over the Indians of Coahuila he established a strong garrison, and founded a colonial settlement, called the town of Monclova, with a hundred and fifty families, in which there were two hundred and seventy men capable of bearing arms against the French whom he expected to encounter in that quarter.
The Conde de Monclova contemplated various plans for the consolidation and advancement of New Spain, but before two years had expired he was relieved from the government and transferred to the viceroyalty of Peru.
Don Gaspar de Sandoval Silva y Mendoza,
Count de Galve.
XXX. Viceroy of New Spain.
1688.
The Conde de Galve entered upon his government on the 17th of September, 1688; and even before the departure of his predecessor for Peru, he learned that the fears of that functionary had been realized by the discovery of attempts by the French to found settlements in New Spain. The governor of Coahuila in the course of his explorations in the wilderness found a fort which had been commenced, and the remains of a large number of dead Frenchmen, who had no doubt been engaged in the erection of the stronghold when they fell under the blows and arrows of the savages.
Besides this intrusion in the north, from which the Spaniards were, nevertheless, somewhat protected by the Indians who hated the French quite as much as they did the subjects of Spain,—the viceroy heard, moreover, that the Tarrahumare and Tepehuane tribes had united with other wild bands of the north-west, and were in open rebellion. Forces were immediately despatched against the insurgents, but they fared no better than the Spanish troops had done in previous years in New Mexico. The love of liberty, or the desire of entire freedom from labor, was in this case, as in the former, the sole cause of the insurrection. When the blow was struck, the Indians fled to their fastnesses, and when the regular soldiery arrived on the field to fight them according to the regular laws of war, the children of the forest were, as usual, no where to be found! Nor is it likely that the rebellion would have been easily suppressed, or improbable that those provinces would have been lost, had not the Jesuits, who enjoyed considerable influence over the insurgent tribes, devoted themselves, forthwith, to calming the excited bands. Among the foremost of these clerical benefactors of Spain was the noble Milanese Jesuit, Salvatierra, whose authority over the Indians was perhaps paramount to all others, and whose successful zeal was acknowledged by grateful letter from the viceroy. This worthy priest had been one of the ablest missionaries among these warlike tribes. He won their love and confidence whilst endeavoring to diffuse Christianity among them, and the power he obtained through his humanity and unvarying goodness, was now the means of once more subjecting the revolted Indians to the Spaniards. The cross achieved a victory which they refused to the sword.
In 1690, another effort was made to populate California, in virtue of new orders received from Charles; and, whilst the preparations were making to carry the royal will into effect, the viceroy commanded the governor of Coahuila to place a garrison at San Bernardo, where the French attempted to build their fort. Orders were also sent about the same time by Galve to extend the Spanish power northward, and, in 1691, the province of Asinais, or Texas, as it was called by the Spaniards, was settled by some emigrants, and visited by fourteen Franciscan monks, who were anxious to devote themselves to the conversion of the Indians. A garrison and a mission were established, at that time, in Texas; but in consequence, not only of an extraordinary drought which occurred two or three years after, destroying the crops and the cattle, but also of a sudden rebellion among the natives against the Spaniards who desired to subject them to the same ignoble toils that were patiently endured by the southern tribes, nearly all the posts and missions were immediately abandoned.
The year 1690 was signalized in the annals of New Spain by an attack and successful onslaught made by the orders of the viceroy with Creole troops upon the island of Hispaniola, which was occupied by the French. Six ships of the line and a frigate, with two thousand seven hundred soldiers, sailed from the port of Vera Cruz, upon this warlike mission; and after fighting a decisive battle and destroying the settlements upon parts of the island, but without attacking the more thickly peopled and better defended districts of the west, they returned to New Spain with a multitude of prisoners and some booty.
But the rejoicings to which these victories gave rise were of short duration. The early frosts of 1691 had injured the crops, and the country was menaced with famine. On the 9th of June, in this year, the rain fell in torrents, and, accompanied as it was by hail, destroyed the grain that was cultivated not only around the capital, but also in many of the best agricultural districts. The roads became impassable, and many parts of the city of Mexico were inundated by floods from the lake, which continued to lie in the low level streets until the end of the year. Every effort was made by the authorities to supply the people with corn,—the staff of life among the lower classes,—and commissaries were even despatched to the provinces to purchase grain which might be stored and sold to the masses at reasonable prices. But the suspicious multitude did not justly regard this provident and humane act. They imagined that the viceroy and his friends designed to profit by the scarcity of food, and to enrich themselves by the misery of the country. Accordingly, loud murmurs of discontent arose among the lower classes in the capital, and on the 8th of June, 1692, the excited mob rushed suddenly to the palace of the viceroy, and setting fire not only to it but to the Casa de Cabildo and the adjacent buildings, destroyed that splendid edifice together with most of the archives, records and historical documents which had been preserved since the settlement of the country. A diligent search was made for the authors of this atrocious calamity, and eight persons were tried, convicted and executed for the crime. The wretched incendiaries were found among the dregs of the people. Many of their accomplices were also found guilty and punished with stripes; and the viceroy took measures to drive the hordes of skulking Indians who had been chiefly active in the mob, from their haunts in the city, as well as to deprive them of the intoxicating drinks, and especially their favorite pulque, in which they were habituated to indulge. The crop of 1693, in some degree, repaired the losses of previous years, and in the ensuing calm the Conde de Galve commenced the rebuilding of the viceroyal palace. The property destroyed in the conflagration in June, 1692, amounted in value to at least three millions of dollars.
In this year, the viceroy, who was anxious for the protection of the northern shores of the gulf, and desirous to guard the territory of Florida, from the invasion or settlement of the northern nations of Europe, fitted out an expedition of expert engineers to Pensacola, who designed and laid the foundations of the fortifications of this important port. Three years afterwards, before the termination of his command in New Spain, Galve had the satisfaction despatch from Vera Cruz the colony and garrison which were to occupy and defend this stronghold.
In 1694, the capital and the adjacent province were once more afflicted with scarcity, and to this was added the scourge of an epidemic that carried thousands to the grave. In the following year a dreadful earthquake shook the city of Mexico, on the night of the 24th of August, and at seven o'clock of the following morning. But amid all these afflictions, which were regarded by multitudes as specially sent by the hand of God to punish the people for their sins, the authorities managed to preserve order throughout the country, and in 1695, sent large reinforcements for the expedition which the English and Spaniards united in fitting out against the French who still maintained their hold on the island of Hispaniola. This adventure was perfectly successful. The combined forces assaulted the Gauls with extraordinary energy, and bore off eighty-one cannons as trophies of their victorious descent. The checquered administration of the Conde de Galve was thus satisfactorily terminated, and he returned to Spain after eight years of government, renowned for the equity and prudence of his administration during a period of unusual peril.