Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican/Volume 1/Book 2/Chapter 3
CHAPTER III.
1551—1564.
Don Luis de Velasco,
II. Viceroy of New Spain.
1551—1564.
The new viceroy, Don Luis de Velasco, arrived in Mexico without especial orders changing the character of the government. He was selected by the Emperor as a person deemed eminently fitted to sustain the judicious policy of his predecessor; and it is probable that he had secret commands from the court to attempt once more the amelioration of the Indian population. There is no doubt that Charles the Fifth was sincere in his wish to protect the natives; and, if he yielded at all,—as we have seen in the narrative of the last viceroyalty,—to the demands of the owners of repartimientos, it was probably with the hope that a better opportunity of sustaining his humane desires would occur as soon as the conquerors or their followers, were glutted by the rich harvests they might reap during the early years of the settlement.
Accordingly, we find, as soon as Velasco had been received in Mexico with all suitable ceremony and honor, that, notwithstanding the continued opposition of the proprietors and planters, he proclaimed his determination to carry out the orders that had been given to Mendoza, so far as they tended to relieve the Indians from the personal labors, tributes, and severe service in the mines with which they had been burdened by the conquerors. This, as was expected, created extraordinary discontent. The cupidity of the sovereign and of his representative were appealed to. It was alleged that not only would the Spanish emigrants suffer for the want of laborers, but that the royal treasury would soon be emptied of the taxes and income which, thus far, had regularly flowed into it. But Don Luis was firm in his resolution, and declared that "the liberty of the Indians was of more importance than all the mines in the world, and that the revenues they yielded to the Spanish crown were not of such a character that all divine and human laws should be sacrificed, in order to obtain them."
In 1553, the attention of the viceroy was specially directed to the subject of education, for the population had so greatly increased in the few years of stable government, that unless the best means of instructing the growing generation were speedily adopted, it was probable that New Spain would lose many of the descendants of those families which it was the policy of the crown to establish permanently in America. The University of Mexico was therefore consecrated and opened in this year; and, in 1555, Paul IV., bestowed upon it the same privileges and rights as were enjoyed by that of Salamanca in Spain.
But this was a sad year for the city of Mexico, in other respects. The first inundation since the conquest, occurred in 1553, and for three days the capital was under water and the communication kept up in boats and canoes. Every effort was made by the viceroy to prevent the recurrence of the evil, by the erection of a dyke to dam up the waters of the lake; and it is related by contemporary historians, that he even wrought with his own hands at the gigantic work, during the first day, in order to show a good example to the citizens who were called on to contribute their personal labor for their future protection from such a disaster.
There were few outbreaks among the Indians during this viceroyalty, yet there were troublesome persons among the original tribes of the Chichimecas,—some bands of whom were not yet entirely subjected to the Spanish government,—who contrived to keep up a guerilla warfare, which interrupted the free circulation of the Spaniards through the plains and mountain passes of the Bajio. These were, in all probability, mere predatory attacks; but as it was impossible for the viceroy to spare sufficient numbers of faithful soldiers for the purpose of scouring the hiding places and fastnesses of these robber bands, he resolved to found a number of villages composed of natives and foreigners, and to place in them, permanently, sufficient numbers of troops to protect the adjacent country roads, and to form the nucleus of towns, which, in the course of time, would grow to importance. Such was the origin, by military colonization, of San Felipe Yztlahuaca, and of San Miguel el Grande, now known as Allende, from the hero of that name to whom it gave birth. It was the constant policy of the Emperor to extend the avenues of industry for his emigrant subjects by such a system of security and protection; and, accordingly, Don Francisco Ibarra, was despatched to the interior with orders to explore the northern and western regions, but, on no account, to use arms against the natives except in case of the utmost urgency. Ibarra traversed a wide and nearly unknown region, discovered rich mines of gold and silver, and colonized many places of considerable importance in the subsequent development of Mexico, and among them, the city of Durango, which is now the capital of the state of that name.
The abdication of Charles V. was unofficially announced in Mexico in 1556; but it was not until the 6th of June of the following year that his successor Philip II. was proclaimed in the capital of New Spain. The policy of the old Emperor was not changed by the accession of the new king; nor does the monarch appear to have influenced in any particular manner the destiny of Mexico during the continuance of Velasco's government, except by the fitting out, at his special command, under the order of his viceroy, of an expedition for the conquest of Florida, which proved disastrous to all concerned in it. Crowds flocked in the year 1558 to the standard raised for this adventure, which it was supposed would result in gratifying the Spanish thirst for gold. In the following year the few who remained of the untoward enterprise, returned with their commanders to Havana and thence to New Spain.
Thus far Velasco's administration had been successful in preserving the peace in Mexico,—in opening the resources of the country in mines, agriculture and pastoral affairs,—and in alleviating the condition of the Indians by gradual restraints on his countrymen. His power was unlimited; but he had, in no instance abused it, or countenanced its abuse in others. Anxious not to rely exclusively upon his own resources, but to take council from the best authorities in cases of difficulty or doubt, he invariably consulted the Audiencia in all emergencies. But, just and loyal as had been his official conduct, it had not saved him from creating enemies; and these, unfortunately, were not only found among the rich oppressors whose shameless conduct he strove to punish, but even among the members of the Audiencia itself. These men combined secretly to undermine the influence of the viceroy, and despatched commissioners to Spain, who represented to the king that the health of his representative was in a failing state, and that it was extremely needful he should be sustained by a council whose duty it was to direct him upon all questions of public interest. The intriguers were successful in their appeal, and a decree soon arrived in New Spain announcing that the viceroy should thenceforth do nothing without the previous sanction of the Audiencia. This order of the king immediately put the power into the hands of individuals whose object was rather to acquire sudden wealth than to govern a new and semi-civilized nation justly, or to enact laws which would develope the resources of the country. The viceroy had been impartial. He held the balance between the Indian laborer and the Spanish extortioner. His office and emoluments placed him, at that period, high above the ordinary temptations of avarice. But the Audiencia, composed of several persons, whose position was far inferior to the viceroy's, was accessible to intrigue and corruption, and the unfortunate Indians soon found to their cost, that the royal limitation on Velasco's power had lost them a friend and staunch supporter. The Audiencia and the viceroy were soon surrounded by parties who advocated their different causes with zeal; but the loyal viceroy did not murmur in the discharge of his duty and faithfully followed the order of the king to submit his judgment to the council. Nevertheless all were not so patient as Velasco. Counter statements were sent, by skilful advocates, to Spain; and Velasco himself required an examination to be made into his official conduct.
Accordingly, Philip II. appointed a certain licenciado Valderrama, as visitador of New Spain, who arrived in 1563, and immediately began the discharge of his functions by a course of exaction, especially from the Indians, which neither the appeals nor the arguments of the viceroy could induce him to abandon. The arrival of this harsh and cruel personage, was, indeed, sad for Mexico, and, in the country's history, he still retains the name of "El Molestador de los Indios."
Fortunately for Velasco an escape from the double tyranny of the Audiencia and of Valderrama was opened to him in an expedition to the Philipine islands which the king had ordered him to colonize. But whilst he was engaged in organizing his forces preparing for the voyage, his health suddenly gave way, and on the 31st of July, 1564, he expired amid the general grief of all the worthier classes of Mexico, and, especially, of the Indians, whom he had befriended. Death silenced the murmurs of the intriguers. When the beneficent viceroy could no longer interfere with the selfish interests of the multitude, crowds flocked around his bier to honor his harmless remains.
Don Gaston de Peralta, Marques de Falces,
III. Viceroy of New Spain.
1564—1568.
On the death of Don Luis de Velasco the First, the reins of government remained in the hands of the Royal Audiencia, in conformity with the order of Philip II. Francisco de Zeinos, Pedro de Villalobos, and Geronimo de Orozoco were then the oidores; while Valderrama, whose visit occurred during the government of Don Luis de Velasco, as we have already narrated, had departed for Spain. In 1564, the expedition which was planned and prepared under the last viceroy, sailed for the Philipine islands, and founded the celebrated city of Manilla, which has since played so distinguished a part in the history of oriental commerce.
The year 1566 was an important one, at least in the social history of Mexico, for it was fraught with danger to the son and representative of the illustrious conqueror. The Marques del Valle, heir of Hernando Cortéz, had been for sometime established in the capital, where he formed the nucleus of a noble circle, and was admired by all classes for the splendor with which he maintained the honor of his house. His palace was constantly filled with the flower of Mexican aristocracy, and among the knightly train of gallant men, few were more distinguished for gentle bearing and personal accomplishment than Alonso de Avila Alvarado, and his brother Gil Gonzalez. The Marques del Valle, distinguished the former by his special attentions, and this, together with the imprudent conduct or expressions of Alonso, made him suspected by persons who simulated an extraordinary zeal for the Spanish monarchy, whilst, in fact, their chief object was to ingratiate themselves with men of power or influence in order to further their private interests.
On the 30th of June, 1566, the Dean of the Cathedral, Don Juan Chico de Molina, baptized in that sacred edifice, the twin daughters of the Marques del Valle, whose sponsors were Don Lucas de Castilla and Doña Juana de Sosa. The festivities of the gallant Marques upon this occasion of family rejoicing, were, as usual among the rich in Spanish countries, attended with the utmost magnificence; and in order to present our readers a picture of the manners of the period, we shall describe the scene as it is related by those who witnessed it.
It was a day of general rejoicing and festivity in the city of Mexico. From the palace of the Marques to the door of the cathedral, a passage was formed under lofty and splendid canopies composed of the richest stuffs. A salute of artillery announced the entry of the twins into the church, and it was repeated at their departure. At the moment when the rites of religion were completed and the infants were borne back to their home through the covered way, the spectators in the plaza were amused by a chivalric tournament between twelve knights in complete steel. Other rare and costly diversions succeeded in an artificial grove, which the Marques had caused to be erected in the plazuela, or lesser square, intervening between his palace and the cathedral. Nor were these amusements designed alone for persons of his own rank, for the masses of the people were also summoned to partake his bountiful hospitality. At the doors of his princely dwelling tables were sumptuously spread with roasted oxen, all kinds of wild fowl and numberless delicacies, whilst two casks of white and red wine,—then esteemed in Mexico the most luxurious rarities,—were set flowing for the people.
At night, Alonso Gonzalez de Avila, the intimate companion of the Marques, entertained the chief personages of Mexico with a splendid ball, during which there was a performance, or symbolical masque representing the reception of Hernando Cortéz by the Emperor Montezuma. Alonso, splendidly attired, sustained the part of the Mexican sovereign. During one of the evolutions of the spectacle, Avila threw around the neck of the young Marques a collar of intermingled flowers and jewels, similar to the one with which his father had been adorned by Montezuma; and, at the conclusion of the scene, he placed on the heads of the Marques and his wife a coronet of laurel, with the exclamation,—"How well these crowns befit your noble brows!"
These simple diversions of a family festival were, doubtless, altogether innocent, and, certainly, not designed to prefigure an intention upon the part of the Marques and his friends to usurp the government of the New World. But it is probable that he had unwisely made enemies of men in power who were either ridiculously suspicious, or eagerly sought for any pretext, no matter how silly, to lay violent hands upon the son of Cortéz. It is probable, too, that the prestige,—the moral power,—of the great conqueror's name had not yet ceased to operate in Mexico; and, in those days when individuals were not dainty in ridding themselves of dangerous intruders, it is not unlikely that it was the policy of the Audiencia and its coadjutors to drive the gallant Marques from scenes, which, in the course of time, might tempt his ambition. The extreme popularity of such a man was not to be tolerated.
However, the domestic festival, symbolical as it was deemed by some of a desire to foreshadow the destiny of the son of Cortéz, was allowed to pass over. The oidores and their spies, meditating in secret over the crowning of Cortéz and his wife by Avila, and the remarkable words by which the graceful act was accompanied, resolved to embrace the first opportunity to detect what they declared was a conspiracy to wrest the dominion of New Spain from Philip II.
When men are anxious to commit a crime, a pretext or an occasion is not generally long wanting to accomplish the wicked design. Accordingly we find that on the 13th of August, the anniversary of the capture of the capital, the alleged conspiracy, was to break out. A national procession, in honor of the day, was to pass along the street of San Francisco and to return through that which now bears the name of Tacuba. Certain armed bands, convened under the pretext of military display, were to be stationed in the way, while, from a small turret in which he had concealed himself, Don Martin Cortéz, the son of the conquerer by the Indian girl Mariana, was to sally forth, and seize the royal standard, and being immediately joined by the armed bands, was, forthwith, to proclaim the Marques del Valle king of Mexico and to slay the oidores as well as all who should offer the least resistance.
Such was the story which the authorities had heard or feigned to have heard through their trusty spies. Nearly a month before the dreaded day, however, the Audiencia assembled, and requested the presence of the Marques del Valle, under the pretext that despatches had been received from the king of Spain, which, by his special order, were only to be opened in presence of the son of Cortéz. The Marques, who imagined no evil, immediately responded to the call of the oidores, and the moment he entered the hall the doors were guarded by armed men. Cortéz was ordered to seat himself on a common stool, while one of the functionaries announced to him that he was a prisoner, in the name of the king. "For what?" eagerly demanded the Marques. "As a traitor to his Majesty!" was the foul reply. "You lie!" exclaimed Cortéz, springing from his seat, and grasping the hilt of his dagger;—"I am no traitor to my king,—nor are there traitors among any of my lineage!"
The natural excitement of the loyal nobleman subsided after a moment's reflection. He had been entrapped into the hands of the Audiencia, and finding himself completely, though unjustly, in their power, he at once resolved to offer no childish opposition, when resistance would be so utterly useless. With the manly dignity of a chivalrous Spaniard, he immediately yielded up his weapons and was taken prisoner to the apartments that had been prepared for him. His half brother, Don Martin, was also apprehended, and orders were sent to the city of Tezcoco for the seizure of Don Luis Cortéz who resided there as justice or governor. In Mexico, Alonso Avila Alvarado, and his brother Gil Gonzalez, with many other distinguished men were incarcerated, and the papers of all the prisoners were, of course, seized and eagerly scrutinized by the sattelites who hoped to find in them a confirmation of the imaginary conspiracy.
Among the documents of Alonso de Avila a large number of love letters were found; but neither in his papers nor in those of his brother, or of the many victims of these foul suspicions, who languished in prison, did they discover a single line to justify their arrest. Nevertheless, Don Alonso and his brother Don Gil Gonzalez, were singled out as victims and doomed to death. The authorities dared not, probably, strike at a person so illustrious and so popular as the Marques del Valle; but they resolved to justify, in the public eye, their inquisitorial investigation, by the sacrifice of some one. The public would believe that there was in reality a crime when the scaffold reeked with blood; and, besides, the blow would fall heaviest on the family of Cortéz when it struck the cherished companions of his home and heart.
On the 7th of August, at seven in the evening, Alonso and Gil Gonzalez were led forth to the place of execution in front of the Casa de Cabildo. Their heads were struck off and stuck on spears on the roof of the edifice; whence they were finally taken, at the earnest remonstrance of the Ayuntamiento, and buried with the bodies of the victims in the church of San Agustin. Every effort had been made to save the lives of these truly innocent young men. But although the principal persons in the viceroyalty, united in the appeal for mercy if not for justice, the inexorable oidores carried out their remorseless and bloody decree. It is even asserted that these cruel men would not have hesitated to inflict capital punishment upon the Marques himself had not the new viceroy, Don Gaston de Peralta, Marques de Falces, arrived at San Juan de Ulua, on the 17th of September, 1566.
As soon as this personage reached Mexico he began to enquire into the outrage. He was quickly satisfied that the whole proceeding was founded in malice. The oidores were removed, and others being placed in their posts, the viceroy despatched a missive to the court of Spain containing his views and comments upon the conduct of the late officials. But the document was sent by a man who was secretly a warm friend of the brutal oidores, and, to save them from the condign punishment they deserved, he withheld it from the king.
Yet these functionaries, still fearing that their crime would be finally punished, not only treacherously intercepted the despatch of the viceroy, but also took the speediest opportunity to send to the king accusations against Don Gaston himself, in which they charged him with negligence in his examination of the conspiracy, with treasonable alliance with the Marques del Valle, and with design to usurp the government of New Spain. They founded their allegations upon the false oaths of several deponents, who alleged that the viceroy had already prepared and held at his orders thirty thousand armed men. This base imposture, as ridiculous as it was false, originated in an act of Peralta which was altogether innocent. Being a man of fine taste, and determining that the viceroyal residence should be worthy the abode of his sovereign's representative, he caused the palace to be refitted, and, among the adornments of the various saloons, he ordered a large painting to be placed on the walls of one of the chambers in which a battle was represented containing an immense number of combatants. This was the army which the witnesses, upon their oaths, represented to the king, as having been raised and commanded by the viceroy! It can scarcely be supposed possible that the Audiencia of Mexico would have resorted to such flimsy means to cover their infamy. It seems incredible that such mingled cruelty and childishness could ever have proceeded from men who were deputed to govern the greatest colony of Spain. Yet such is the unquestionable fact, and it indicates, at once, the character of the age and of the men who managed, through the intrigues of court, to crawl to eminence and power which they only used to gratify vindictive selfishness or to glut their inordinate avarice.
Philip the II. could not, at first, believe the accusations of the oidores against the family of Cortéz and the distinguished nobleman whom he had sent to represent him in Mexico. He resolved, therefore, to wait the despatches of the viceroy. But the oidores had been too watchful to allow those documents to reach the court of Spain; and Philip, therefore, construing the silence of Don Gaston de Peralta, into a tacit confession of his guilt, sent the Licenciados Jaraba, Muñoz, and Carillo to New Spain, as Jueces Pesquisidores, with letters for the viceroy commanding him to yield up the government and to return to Spain in order to account for his conduct.
These men immediately departed on their mission and arrived safely in America without accident, save in the death of Jaraba one of their colleagues. As soon as they reached Mexico, they presented their despatches to the viceroy, and Muñoz took possession of the government of New Spain. The worthy and noble Marques de Falces was naturally stunned by so unprecedented and unexpected a proceeding; but, satisfied of the justice of his cause as well as of the purity of his conduct, he left the capital and retired to the castle of San Juan de Ulua, leaving the reins of power in the hands of Muñoz whose tyrannical conduct soon destroyed all the confidence which hitherto had always existed, at least between the Audiencia and the people of the metropolis.[1] It was probably before this time that the Marques del Valle was released;—and deeming the new empire which his father had given to Spain no safe resting place for his descendants, he departed once more for the Spanish court. The viceroy himself, had fallen a victim to deception and intrigue.
It seems to have been one of the weaknesses of Philip the Second's character to have but little confidence in men. With such examples as we have just seen, it may, nevertheless, have been an evidence of his wisdom that he did not rely upon the courtiers who usually surround a king. He had doubted, in reality, the actual guilt of the Marques de Falces, and was, therefore, not surprised when he learned the truth upon these weighty matters in the year 1568. The government of Muñoz, his visitador, was, moreover, represented to him as cruel and bloody. The conduct of the previous Audiencia had been humane when compared with the acting governor's. The prisons, which already existed in Mexico were not adequate to contain his victims, and he built others whose dark, damp and narrow architecture rendered incarceration doubly painful to the sufferers. Don Martin Cortéz, the half brother of the Marques del Valle, who remained in the metropolis as the attorney and representative of his kinsman, was seized and put to torture for no crime save that the blood of the conqueror flowed in his veins, and that he had enjoyed friendly relations with the suspected conspirators. Torture, it was imagined would wring from him a confession which might justify the oidores. The situation of New Spain could not, indeed, be worse than it was, for no man felt safe in the midst of such unrestrained power and relentless cruelty; and we may be permitted to believe that outraged humanity would soon have risen to vindicate itself against such brutes and to wrest the fruits of the conquest from a government that sent forth such wicked sattelites. Even the Audiencia itself,—the moving cause of this new and bad government,—began to tremble when it experienced the humiliating contempt with which it was invariably treated by the monster Muñoz.
But all these acts of maladministration were more safely reported to the Spanish court by the nobles and oidores of Mexico, than the despatches of the unfortunate Marques de Falces. Philip eagerly responded to the demand for the removal of Muñoz. He despatched the oidores Villanueva and Vasco de Puga, to Mexico, with orders to Muñoz to give up the government in three hours after he received the royal despatch, and to return immediately to Spain for judgment of his conduct. The envoys lost no time in reaching their destination, where they found that Muñoz had retired to the convent of Santo Domingo, probably as a sanctuary, in order to pass Holy Week. But the impatient emissaries, responding to the joyful impatience of the people, immediately followed him to his retreat, and, after waiting a considerable time in the anti-chamber, and being, at last, most haughtily received by Muñoz, who scarcely saluted them with a nod, Villanueva drew from his breast the royal cedula, and commanded his secretary to read it in a loud voice.
For a while the foiled visitador sat silent, moody and thoughtful, scarcely believing the reality of what he heard. After a pause, in which all parties preserved silence, he rose and declared his willingness to yield to the king's command; and thus, this brutal chief, who but a few hours before believed himself a sovereign in Mexico, was indebted to the charity of some citizens for a carriage in which he travelled to Vera Cruz. Here a fleet was waiting to transport him to Spain. The late viceroy, the Marques de Falces, departed in a ship of the same squadron, and, upon his arrival at the court, soon found means to justify himself entirely in the eyes of his sovereign. But it went harder with Muñoz. He vainly tried his skill at exculpation with the king. Philip seems to have despised him too much to enter into discussion upon the merits of the accusations. The facts were too flagrant. The king returned him his sword, declining to hear any argument in his justification. "I sent you to the Indies to govern, not to destroy!" said Philip, as he departed from his presence; and that very night the visitador suddenly expired!
Whether he died of mortification or violence, is one of those state secrets, which, like many others of a similar character, the chronicles of Spain do not reveal!
Don Martin Cortéz and his family took refuge in Spain where his case was fully examined; and whilst the investigation lasted, from 1567 to 1574, his estates in Mexico were confiscated. He was finally declared innocent of all the charges, but his valuable property had been seriously injured and wasted by the officers of the crown, to whom it was intrusted during the long period of sequestration.
- ↑ Liceo Mexicano vol. 1, p. 263, et seq.