learned that the troubles had been allayed by the intercession of the bishop of Oajaca, Alonso de Cuevas Dávalos.[1]
Tlie count was a man utterly unfitted for the position,[2] and soon made himself extremely unpopular among his subjects. Vain, arrogant, and selfish, he is mentioned as one of the worst rulers that was ever placed at the head of affairs. As an instance of his vanity it may be mentioned that in the second year after his arrival he used his influence to change the route of the procession of corpus christi in such a manner that it would pass by the viceregal palace. In the following year, on repeating this request, he met with energetic opposition from the new archbishop, Diego Osorio de Escobar y Llamas,[3] who under severe ecclesiastical penalties forbade any deviation from the rule observed since the early days of Spanish dominion.
This was more than the overbearing viceroy could endure; and considering himself moreover deeply injured by the general sympathy displayed by the public, and the religious corporations, at the sudden death of the commander of San Juan de Ulúa, who had been imprisoned by his order, he resolved on revenge.[4]
- ↑ Zamacois, Hist. Méj., v., erroneously gives the date as 1661; Mayer says 1661 and 1662, Mex. Aztec, i. 208; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, i. 95, 1664. Domenech, reversing the order, says the troubles arose in consequence of decrees issued by Dávalos, Hist. Mex., i. 275-6. A letter of the king dated October 2, 1662, thanks the bishop for his services in flattering terms and promises him the royal favor. Robles, Vida, 164-5.
- ↑ Among other instances of his incapacity it may be mentioned that when news was received of the occupation of Cuba by the English the viceroy attempted to organize an expedition, but except enlisting a number of recruits and appointing two of his sons as officers, it is not recorded that he accomplished anything.
- ↑ Born in Coruña in Galicia, and in 1656 made bishop of Puebla after holding several important offices in Spain. Lorenzana, in Concilios Prov., 1555-65, 220-1, 269. In 1663 he was promoted to the see of Mexico. Lorenzana, in Id., 269-70, gives 1666 as the year, but mentions the correct date on p. 221. His mistake has been copied by Ribera, Gobernantes, i. 213.
- ↑ The election of Osorio had frustrated the hopes of the bishop of Nicaragua, Juan de la Torre, then in Mexico, who was one of the viceroy's favorites. Torre even later wrote to Spain, calumniating the character of the archbishop and of the oidores, on the other hand extolling that of his patron. By accident the affair became known, and the audiencia peremptorily ordered Torre to depart for his bishopric. Guijo, Diario, 506-7.
