CHAPTER XVI TEE - Universidad Nacional De Colombia · CHAPTER XVI NEW GRANADA UNDER AN AUDIENCIA I....

CHAPTER XVI

NEW GRANADA UNDER AN AUDIENCIA

I. The establishment of the audiencia. It. The Benalcázar-Robledcepisode. III. The creation of the archbishopric of New Granada.IV. The archbishop and the synod of 1556. V. The panic causedby the exp!oiti of Lope do Aguirre. VI. The conflict betweencivilians and ecclesiastics. VII. The Archbishop of Bogota.VIII. The president-governor and captain-general.

TEE creation of an audiencia for Santa Fe de Bogota,in 1549, marks an important step in the early social pro-gress of New Granada, progress which resulted later inthe organisation of the New Kingdom of Granada. Whenthe audiencia was formed, provision was made throughit to hold the residencia of Armendáriz, who resigned hisoffice in favour of that body. Mercado, who had beenappointed to be the president, was familiar with the pro-cedure in cases of this kind, but after his death the powerof the audiencia rested in the hands of two young andinexperienced lawyers, who were not disposed to assumethe duty that had been particularly imposed upon thepresident. They were conscientious in their work, and'von public favour by their amiability, their honesty, andtheir efforts to adjust differences peaceably, and to inducethe colonists to avoid the contests of litigation. Theperiod of their administration was, according to Acosta,

the golden age of Spanish justice in Santa Fe." 1

The fact that the will of the Cro-n with respect to theresidencia of Annendãriz had not been carried out, led

1 Acosta, New Grenada, 331.276

AUDIENCIA OF NEW GRANADA 277

to conflict between the local authorities and the agentsof the Crown. And now, after several years, the visitador,Zurita, arrived to perform the neglected task. He foundthat, although certain complaints had been sent to theCrown concerning Armendáriz, that officer had beenprotected by the audiencia. The visitador was, there-fore, obliged to withdraw without having been able toexecute his purpose.

Captain Lancheros informed the Council of the Indiesof the condition of affairs that led to Zurita's defeat, andthereupon Juan Montaflo was sent to be a member of theaudiencia, with orders to bring Armendariz to trial.Under these orders, Arniendariz was seized, and treatedwith great indignity the constables even stripped himof his clothing, which, it was said, they carried off aspayment for their services. Finding Armendáriz in thispredicament, Captain Lancheros magnanimousl y came tohis assistance, and furnished him with the clothes andmoney needed for his journey to Spain, whither he was sentto be tried. In this trial, however, he was able to showthat his conduct was justifiable. This case furnishes a fairillustration of one of the disagreeable features of officiallife as it was in the Spanish dependencies, where officerswho had failed in the somewhat difficult task of pleasingeverybody, were sometimes arrested and subjected totransportation to Spain to be tried, when no sufficientreason existed for imposing upon them this great hardship.This proceeding in some instances not only involved theaccused in ruinous expenses, but it also robbed them ofthe opportunities of their best years. It often happenedthat the visitador sent by the Council of the Indies toexamine the conduct of an official was worse than theperson to be examined. This was clearly true in the caseof Visitador Montailo. The tradition of his many actsof cruelty remained for decades in the community thathad been afflicted by his presence. Having disposed ofArxnendáriz, he caused the oidores, Gongora and Galarza.

278 THE SPANISH DEPENDENCIES

to be arrested for no other reason than because they hadbeen disposed to countenance the acts of that officer ; andthis could hardly be construed as meriting punishment,since it was subsequently shown in Spain that there wasno valid ground for the charges urged against him. Still,in his disregard for justice, Montaflo caused the oidoresto be embarked for Spain; but on the voyage thitherthey were lost in a shipwreck off the coast of Africa.Governor Pedro de Heredia and many other personsperished at the same time. The wrecked vessel carriedalso the documents in a case which had been preparedagainst Montaflo. These were saved, and the visitadorwas later convicted and executed.'

Bogota had become the capital of the kingdom ofNew Granada. The other colonies, Santa Marta, Carta-gena, Popayan, and the rest, had local governors, whowere subordinated to the president and audiencia ofBogota; yet, in spite of this subordination, particularlywith respect to judicial affairs, the several colonies, orprovinces, continued to maintain a certain degree ofindependence.

On Montafto's arrival in Bogota, see Piedrahita, lib, xii. cap.on the sending of Armendáriz, Gdngora, and Galarza to Spain,

and the loss of the oidorcs off the coast of Africa, see Piedrahita, lib.xii. cap iv.

Y tue Ia rcsidcncia cometidaal licenciado diclio Juan Ilontaño,quo vino per cider aquella era,37 pars. Is tomar, For consiguiente,a Góngora y Galaraa quo potde ser a! Miguel Diaz favorablesy Ins demás recuentros y pasioneshabidas con Alonso do Zorita,estaban en consejo ya mal puestos,pues fuera desta culpa no tenianotra do que j'odor Icr imputados,autos on oste reino tan bien quistos,quo los Ilamaban padres do la patria."

Castellanos, Juan dc His(ora del Nuevo Rcino deGranada, if. 18.

Groot, Hfstoria de Nueva Granada, i. hg; Simon, Las Conquislas dTierra Fivn;e, iii. igi.

AUDIENCIA OF NEW tRANADA 279

In the years near the end of the first half and thebeginning of the second half of the sixteenth century, anumber of towns were established in the interior of NewGranada. The most noteworthy of these were Painpiona(1549), in the territory of the Muses, and Ibagud (x551), inthe territory of the Pijaos. Like many of the othersettlements of Latin America, which were called cities,these were military outposts designed to bring into sub-jection the natives near whom they were established.Some of these settlements were not able to maintainthemselves in the face of the hostile Indians, and werein the course of time abandoned. Others carried on thefight to a successful issue, and, having gained the masteryover the enemy, placed them under conditions whichcaused them rapidly to disappear. The tribes aboutMariquita at the time of its foundation, in the middle ofthe sixteenth century, comprised more than thirty thou-sand men capable of bearing arms. In the beginning ofthe seventeenth century, there remained only two thou-sand five hundred. Of the eighteen thousand Indians ofthe Pijaos, all but six hundred disappeared in the courseof fifty years. The bulk of these had been destroyed bysmallpox, by work in the mines, and by the hopelessmelancholy induced by observing the gradual ruin oftheir families and their tribes. Of all of the natives whocame into contact with the Europeans in this part ofAmerica, the Pijaos were the most vigorous and the mostbarbarous. With respect to their force and their warlikedisposition, they might be compared with the Araucanians,but, as to their customs, they were savages, and in theirsocial practices many degrees below the natives of southernChile, The early historians present them as cannibals,Zamora affirming that they had public markets for humanflesh.L

ilisforia de la Provincia a San A,i(onio del ,Vitcvo ilcino dc Granada,del Orden de Predicadoycs, 349 ; Acosta, Nueva Granada, 332-7; Groot,Historia de Nueva Granada, i. 105-8; Simon, Las Conqaislas de TierraFinne, iii. 3133.


TI

Not long after the organisation of the audiencia, athird member in the person of Francisco Briceño arrivedat Bogota. A few months after his arrival, he vent toPopayan to hold the trial, or residencia, of the governor,Sebastian de Benalcázar, who was charged with the deathof Robledo. With the approval of Benalcázar, Robledohad made explorations and discoveries in the valley ofthe Cauca, and had founded there the city of Antioquia.Afterwards he vent to Spain to obtain the governorshipof this territory, which involved a request to have theterritory subject to the governor of Popayan divided.Benalcazar was naturally offended at this action, anddeclared Robledo a traitor. In Spain, Robledo receivedthe title of Marshal, and Armendáriz made him hislieutenant. When he returned from Spain, he was re-ceived by the inhabitants of Antioquia as their governor,but certain other towns stood firmly for Benalcázar, andresisted Robledo's pretensions. Tenakázar then madewar on Robledo, arrested his messengers, and, on thenight of October i, 1546, took him prisoner, and chargedhim with being a traitor, a deserter, and a usurper. Thecase was brought before a council of war summoned byBenalcázar, and Robledo was condemned to death andexecuted. For this act Benalcâzar was brought to trialbefore Briceflo. The widow of Robledo had been activein instigating the prosecution, and when Benalcázar re-ceived the death sentence, it was said that Briceflo, thejudge, was influenced by the advocacy of the widow; forshortly after the trial he married her. Benalcazar appealedto the king, who annulled Briceno's decision. Groot, thehistorian of New Granada, affirms that everybody wassurprised and scandalised by Briceflo's act ; for Benal-càzar was regarded as an honourable man, who hadrendered great services, and who was generally beloved

AUDIENCEA OF NEW GRANADA 281

for his personal qualities." in executing the judgmentof the council of war, " lie had not thought of playing therole of a criminal, and nevertheless, as such, under asentence of death, he had appealed to the king. Thisidea filled him with melancholy, and preyed upon hismind in such a manner, that it caused his death when hewas at Cartagena, in 1550, oil way to Spain.' Afterthe departure of Benalcãzar, Briceflo remained at thehead of the government of Popayan.l

III

The return of Consalo Jimdnez de Quesada from Spainto Bogota was the beginning of the second period of hisadventurous life. He had received the title of Marshal,and was made a life-member of the cabildo, with an in-come of three thousand ducats to be derived from the tri-bute of Indians not previously assigned. The inhabitants ofthe capital, who held the discoverer in esteem and affection,regarded the favours granted by the Crown as an inade-quate compensation for the services which he hadrendered. During the twelve years of his absence,the settlement which he founded had grown to he thepolitical capital of an extensive territory. The Churchrecognised the importance which it had acquired, andcaused Juan de los Barrios, Bishop of Santa Marta, to betransferred to Bogota, where lie was promoted to theoffice of archbishop. The papal authorisation of the

Groot, His(oria de .Nncva Granada, i. 27, to-ii RodriguezFresle, Gonquisfa y Descubri,nien(o del Nuevo Rr.1r0 de Granada, 41-3Simon, Las Conqnsfas de Tic yva Firnic, iii. 280. Groot affirms, in anote, i. iii., that in the first edition of his work he followed Castellanosand Acosta, and expressed a very different opinion concerning Benai-cázar from that given in the second edition, which is based on cidocumento auténtico do to relation de meritos y servicios do donSebastian do BcnaLcazr, presentada a La Corte do Espana." This docu-ment is printed as Ajjpoiiclix No. 1 of his II isteria rlc Nucoa Granada,

477-83 ?Iendiburu, viii. 585-3; Piodrahita, lib. xi. cap. viii.


transfer of the cathedral, with the prelate and thecabildo, to Bogota, was issued at Rome, April it,1553.1

The elevation of Bogotd to be the scat of the metro-politan church excited great enthusiasm among theinhabitants, and when plans were formed for erecting asuitable edifice, a large number of persons were willingto contribute to the enterprise. Those who were abledonated money or materials, and the poor gave theirlabour. The structure was built rapidly, but without thecare and skill necessary for its stability. When it wascompleted, a day was fixed for its dedication, but on theeve of that day, it collapsed and became a useless ruin.2

IV

With the creation of the archbishopric of New Granada,the ecclesiastical organisation assumed a new importanceby the side of the civil authorities. In 1556, ArchbishopBarrios convoked a synod of the diocese, which, amongother things, undertook to regulate the conduct of theclergy with respect to the Indians. The Constilucionesissued by the assembly were designed to contain all therules necessary for the guidance of the parish priests, themissionaries, the encomenderos, and all other personswhose duty it was to instruct the natives. The use offorce to compel the natives to receive instruction wasspecifically prohibited. Although the priests did notalways obey the injunctions of their ecclesiastical superiors,and sometimes set an evil standard for secular persons,by their greed, cruelty, and immoral practices, still thevoice of the Church was almost the only voice that was

1 Simon, Las Conquistasdc Tierra Firma, iii. rg! ; Acosta, Joaquin,Ntgeva Granada, 343; Groot, Hisioria de Nueva Granada, i. 118, 484;Cakedo, Fernando, Mernorias tiara irs 1,isloria de ía caledral.

On the cathedral of Bogota, see Vergara y Velasco, Gapitidos deuna historia civil y ,nililar de Colombia, 20-23.

AUDJENCIA OF NEW GRANADA 283

raised in favour of a just or charitable treatment of theIndians.'

If rules and investigations had been sufficient toproduce and maintain right conduct on the part of civiland ecclesiastical officials in Spanish America, the Spanishdependencies would have presented an ideal state ofpolitical and religious life but, unfortunately, the clergydid not always obey these rules, and the investigationsinto the conduct of civil officers could not obliterate theevil which they might have already committed. Thevisitador was not always an impartial judge, and some-times he succumbed to temptations that made him blindto the errors he was expected to correct. The distancefrom court, and the infrequent communication, oftenrendered him confident that his malfeasance would notbe discovered; and in this confidence his individual con-science was not always all check on his desireto share in the spoils of corruption.

On receiving a repartimiento, the encomendero as-sumed the duty to provide instruction in religion for theIndians, but from the beginning of the system this dutywas neglected. When the organisation of the Churchwas completed by the creation of an archbishop, it beganto assume with respect to the civil government the airof a co-ordinate, if not a superior, power. The synoduttered a protest against the neglect of the encoinenderosin not having provided priests to instruct the natives,and to administer to them the sacraments, and in nothaving provided churches with the requisite ornamentsand articles for the service. In view of this neglect, thearchbishop and the assembly requested that the churchesshould be opened, that the encomenderos should provideand maintain religious teachers and priests, and all

Jose Manuel Groot, the historian, has brought to light the Canal-(uciones sinodaics, and published them, or a large part of them, asAppendix III, in the first volume of his lilsioria de N,cva Granada.They are also referred to in the text of the same work, i. 120.


things necessary for divine worship. For their evil gainsby reason of their carelessness and neglect with respectto religions instruction, it was desired by the Church thatthe encomenderos should make restitution and satis-faction in such form and amount as might to be made,and that the manner in which this should be done mightbe determined by certain ecclesiastical officials.'

This attitude of the synod provoked opposition and re-sistance on the part of the encomenderos, who main-tained that the utterance of that body involved a threatand censure, and was thus an offence to the civil authority.The cabildo, therefore, brought to the audiencia a com-plaint against the archbishop, and that body declaredthe action of the prelate and the assembly null and ofno effect. This undue assumption of authority by thesynod, although designed to promote the interests of thenatives, was the cause of a temporary loss of ecclesi-astical prestige. In the face of a repudiation of theirauthority by the audiencia, the Coustifuciones ceased tobe regarded as important, and were soon forgotten. Theepisode is chiefly significant, therefore, merely as one ofthe numerous instances, in the Spanish dependencies, ofecclesiastical encroachment on the domain of the civilpower, and of the rise of hostility between the encomen-deros and the Church.2

With the establishment of the audiencia and the de-velopment of the government of the oidores at Bogota,the prestige of the provincial governors declined. Bogotabecame recognised as the seat of an authority whichembraced within its jurisdiction the several provinces ofNew Granada. Cartagena, Popayan, and Santa Martalooked to the government established at Bogota as totheir superior; and when the dissensions that had arisenin the audiencia were allayed, the several settlements

I cOnjijnio,aes sinodalas, of June 3, 1556, titu2o x. cap. ix.; printedas Appendix No. Ill, in Groot, J. 488-506.

Groat, 1-1istoria de Nucva Granada, i. 123. 121.


constituting the new state appeared to be entering upon• period of peace and prosperity. But the prospect for• short time seemed to be less pleasing, when the inhabi-tants learned of the advance of Lope de Aguirre in Vene-zuela. The career of this remarkable tyrant furnishesit striking chapter in the history of crime. He was theevil genius of the Ursüa expedition into the valley ofthe Amazon.

V

Captain Pedro de Ursda had been conspicuous in themilitary undertakings, and in the work of colonising inNew Granada. He went to Lima in 1558, and appearedto the Marquis of Caflete, the viceroy of Peru, as theproper person to lead an expedition into the valley ofthe Amazon, with the design of continuing the search forEl Dorado. The company of the expedition, when formed,embraced many persons whose desperate characters madethe authorities of Peru anxious to he rid of them. Themost perverse of these was Lope de Aguirre. Besides therecklessness of many of the men, another source of troublewas Inds de Atienza, a woman whom Ursda was notwilling to leave behind.' The company encamped on thebank of the Huallaga for the purpose of gathering equip-ment and constructing vessels for the voyage down theriver. The first omen of evil was the assassination ofthe commander, Pedro Ramiro, prompted by jealousyand the disappointment of two other officers who hadaspired to his position.

Towards the end of September i56o, the prepara-tions for the journey were complete, and the companyproceeded in vessels down the Huallaga and the Maraflon.They were carried along by the current to the mouth ofthe Putumayo, and here, in the heart of the continent,

Ink de Atienza was a daughter of 13!as de Atienza, a resident ofthe city of Trujillo, and the widow of Pedro de Arcos, a resident ofPiruta (Simon, i. 250).


they landed and formed an encampment. The lawlessspirit that had shown itself in the murder of Ramiro,manifested itself here in open rebellion. The provokingcause was the appointment of Juan de Vargas to beUrsüa's lieutenant. The rebellion was led by Lope deAguirre, and resulted in the death of both Vargas andUrsüa. The disappearance of the two principal leadersthrew the affairs of the expedition into the hands ofAguirre, who became the maestre de campo, while Fer-nando de Guzman was proclaimed general. The extremeand uncompromising attitude of Aguirre is seen in thefact that while Guzman was disposed to seek to justifythe course of the revolt, Aguirre was opposed to anyaction that would seem to suggest an apology; he evensought to have his followers renounce their allegiance tothe king. At one time he contemplated a return to Perufor the purpose of establishing an independent govern-ment, and Guzman was selected to be the sovereign princeof that country. At a subsequent landing a number ofpersons were murdered, who were supposed not to be insympathy with Aguirre's plans, or who might in any wayhinder their execution. These murders were the begin-nings of a long series of similar acts, directed by Aguirreand carried out in cold blood. Their details, as pre-sented by Padre Simon, show the utter inhumanity ofAguirre and the terror he had inspired among his fol-lowers. Among those taken off at this time were DoñaJnés, Captain Salduendo, who was conspicuous in hisdevotion to her ) Alonso Montoya, the admiral MiguelBodebo, Gonzalo Duarte, Miguel Serrano, Baltazar CortésCano, the chaplain Alonso Henao, and Fernando deGuzman, who had been proclaimed king of Peru.'

Sir Clements R. Markham takes the part of Castellanos in thatwriter's chivalrous defence of Dofla thés. He says

Castellanos' version of the bloody career of Aguirre is remarkablebecause he stands up as the champion of the unfortunate lady whoaccompanied UrsOa, while all other writers, whether they be men ofthe world, like Vasquez and Orteguera, or greasy friars, like Simon andPiedrahita, unite in heaping reproaches and calumnies upon her


The encampment where these murders were committedwas called the mafanza. Before the members of the ex-pedition left the river, they constructed better vessels,with which they might venture upon the ocean. Whenthese were completed, they proceeded towards the mouthof the river. For this last stage of the journey, Aguirrehad selected two hundred men, and abandoned the restto their fate, in a place where there were no availablemeans either for escape or support. The expeditionpassed out of the river in Juno 1561, and shortly after-wards landed on the island of Margarita. Here Aguirretook as prisoners those persons who came out to receivehim, killed Diego Alvarez and the two captains, GonzaloGuiral de Fuentes and Sancho Pizarro, and gave tip thetown and royal treasury to be pillaged.

In Venezuela, Aguirre pursued a career of unparalleledbrutality. He took and sacked one town after another—Burburata, Tocuyo, Merida, Trujillo, Valencia, Bar-quisimeto—and murdered without compunction some ofhis own men, the officials and the other inhabitants ofthe towns. While lie lived the inhabitants of the regionsthrough which he and his bloodthirsty followers passedwere paralysed with terror.'

The terror which Aguirre inspired in Venezuela wascommunicated to the inhabitants of Bogota. The govern-ment of New Granada was at that time in the hands ofthe audiencia, and the members were Grajeda, Arteaga,Angulo, and Villafae. As they were civilians, withoutmilitary experience, they organised a junta, or committee,Castellanos, like the true gentleman that lie evidently was, defendsthe memory of the poor young lady, the beautiful young widow of acitizen of Piura. . . . The very sublimity of this noble ereat,,re'sdevotion, which no tenors could daunt, no hardship damp, ought tohave protected her from the cowardly sneers of dirty friars and thecalumnies of gold-seeking adventurers,"—jtfarkham's Jnlrod,,ction toBollaert's translation of Simon's Sixta Not icia I-listoria!, xxxiv-xxxvi.

Simon, Las Conqnistas de Tierra Fir,ne, i. 244-342 (Sexta NoticiaIfistorial). An English translation of these chapters is found in thepublications of the liakluyt Society. Groot, iIzstoria de Nnnc,Granada, i. 128-32 Baralt y Diaz, Historia de Vr,,ezncta, i. 213-20Mendiburu, I. 74-8, viii. 170-3.


of notables to consider what acts should be taken to avertthe impending danger. Before the junta, the oidor,Grajeda, made a comprehensive statement of the circum-stances in which they were placed, of the informationthat had been received concerning the number of Aguirre'ssoldiers, the outrages they had committed, and of thefate that awaited the inhabitants of New Granada unlesseffective measures for defence were taken.

Messages were sent to Cartagena, Popayan, SantaMarta, and other towns, requesting them to raise suchforces as might be necessary to check the invader. Cap-tains were appointed, and the junta voted unanimouslyfor Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada as the person best fittedto hold the general command. The anxiety and thepreparations for defence continued until the arrival of anannouncement of Aguirre's death. He had been desertedby many of his followers, and had become convinced thathe had reached the end of his career. Finding himself atbay, he murdered his daughter, in order, as he said, thatshe might not fall into the hands of his enemies. There-after he was shot by his own men, and his body wasdelivered to Pedro Bravo, who was leading the companyin pursuit of him.'

Aside from the fact that he caused the untimely deathof a large number of persons, his career is not especiallynoteworthy, except as furnishing an example of extremedepravity and merciless brutality. He effected no im-portant change in the public affairs of Venezuela. Inits outward events, his life after he joined the expeditionof Ursüa, might be compared, on a large scale, with thatpeculiar form of temporary madness known among theMalays as running amuck.2

1 Groot, Histona de Nueva Granada, 1. 127-32; Acosta de Samper,iuiograflas, 274-87; Piedrahita, jib. xii cap. viii.

' Humbert, Les Origines Vindzviiiennes, 38-50 RojIs, Estudioshistoricos, isi; 13ollacrt, Expedition of Pedro de U,sta. T-L kluyt Society(London, xSói) ; Relaciou breve fec/ia pot Pedro de Monguia, in .Docmed., Co] of Tortes de Mendoza. iv. 191, 215 Oviedo y Baflos, jib.


VT

The danger of a conflict with invaders disappearedwith the death of Lope de Aguirre; but a little later aninternal controversy arose between the audiencia and thearchbishop. The previous controversy, in which thearchbishop, supported by the synod, attempted to pre-scribe the conduct of the encomenderos, resulted in theprelate's discomfiture but in this instance he Was moresuccessful. It involved the question, whether the rightof asylum in the cathedral should be respected by thecivil government. It arose in connection with a priest,against whom legal action had been brought in Lima.The accused priest fled to Bogota, and at about the timeof his arrival in the city, the audiencia received a requisi-tion, asking that he be returned to Lima as a prisoner.Without waiting to consult the archbishop, the audienciaissued an order for his arrest. The priest, learning thatsuch an order had been given, took refuge in the cathedral.The audiencia then sent one of its members to take himfrom his asylum. On entering the church, the cider andthe constables were met by the archbishop and severalmembers of the clergy, who attempted to prevent theproposed arrest. The constables, however, put down theopposition, unchecked by any respect for the office ordignity of those who made it. As soon as the criminalwas taken from the church, the archbishop put forthdemands for redress, and threatened the oidores withecclesiastical condemnation. This was, however, ignored

hr. cap. i, and ii.; BanD y Diaz, i. cap. xii. Southey, R, The Ex-pedition of Ursua cuid Lope de Aguirre, chap. I.; Deberle, Hisloive del'Anirique dt Slid (1897), 41; Ortiguera, Toribio do, Jornada tieRio Marañon ton lodo 10 acaceido en ella, y ol,'as Costa notables diguasde cc, sabidas acaecidas en las Indias occidenlales, in Nueva 0th. de At,e.Es p., XV. 305-422 Relation verdadera de todo to que stecedid en lajoruada de Otnagva y Dorado gut el qobensador Pedro de Orsia Jul adescubrir par poderes y co,nisiones gut It All ci visorrey Marques deCasTers, in Nueva Bib. de Au!, lisp., xv. 423-484.

VOL. 1. T


by the audiencia, and the prelate, seeing the immunitiesof the cathedral violated without respect for the traditionsof the Church, prepared to depart for Spain to present thematter to the attention of the Crown. This action hadthe desired effect. The people were aroused and alarmed,and the oidores, fearing a popular uprising, were com-pelled to yield. They sent messengers to overtake thearchbishop, who were charged to ask him to return to thecity, and to inform him that the priest had been restoredto the sanctuary from which the constables had taken him.At the same time they were authorised to request thearchbishop to absolve them from the censure of the Church.This he was willing to do, but he required the fiscal andthe oidores to undergo a penance. When, therefore,they went out of the city to meet him, he absolved them,and, as a penance, they were compelled to dismount andreturn to the city on foot. Thus, surrounded by a greatcrowd of the populace, they walked back to the city, asa part of the triumphal procession of the returningarchbishop.'

VII

The antagonism which arose between the Church andthe secular elements of society, after the publication ofthe constitufiones of 1556, manifested itself also in thedifferent designs of the two classes with respect to theIndians. Many of the ecclesiastics wished to secure forthe Indians a large measure of independence, sometimes,perhaps, tinder entirely impracticable conditions whilethe encomenderos were chiefly concerned in securing, onadvantageous terms, as complete control over their ser-vices as possible.

A prominent champion of the Indians in New Granadawas the Dominican priest, San Luis Beltran. He hadbeen in Mexico as a professor of theology; had been

Groot, Histovia de Nueva Gra,,ada, I.


prior of several monasteries; and had returned to Spainto advocate the interests of the Indians, when, in 1561,he was appointed Bishop of Pnpayan. He arrived inNew Granada in 1562, and after the devoted labours ofseven years among the Indians living between the Mag-dalena and the sierras of Santa Marta, he was recalled toSpain, "leaving," according to Groot, "the archbishop,Juan de los Barrios, the monks of the monastery, and allthe inhabitants of the city of Bogota full of grief."

Archbishop Barrios died in 1569, and four years laterLuis Zapata de Cardenas arrived in Bogota as his successor.Archbishop Zapata issued a catechism, and formulatedcertain consti/uciones, or rules, for bringing the natives toa knowledge of the Catholic faith, as well as for makingthem acquainted with some of the forms and customs ofcivilised life. These rules were designed also to serve asinstructions for the ecclesiastics, prescribing their conduct,and specifying what they might properly require of theIndians under their guidance. 2 Zapata died in 1590, andthe archiepiscopal see remained vacant for nine years, untilthe appointment of Bartelome Lobo Guerrero, in 1599.In the intervening years three appointments were madebefore Lobo Guerrero was named. Two of these, AlonsoLopez de Avila, Archbishop of Santa Domingo, andBartelome Martinez Menaclio, Bishop of Panama, diedbefore they were able to enter upon their duties. A third,Andrés Case, when about to go to Bogota, accepted an-other appointment.

The reputation gained by some members of the clergy,and their uncompromising attitude towards secular affairs,often placed the civil government in serious embarrass-ment, This was the case when this government wasconducted by an audiencia as a collegiate executive. It

Historic de Nueva Granada, i. '37.2 Extracts from the consiitt,ciones of Archbishop Zapata are printed

as Appendix No. 4, in Groot, Historia de Nueva Granada, i. 507-16)who describes them as " precieso trionumento do noestrasantigUedadeseclesiasticas '' (Ibid., p. 853).


might happen that a part of the members would be underthe domination of ecclesiastical ideas, thus establishingin the body a breach which rational arguments could notheal ; for men frequently hold most tenaciously to viewswhich cannot he supported by either known facts or byarguments designed to appeal to their logical faculties.In New Granada, the supreme local authority was vestedin the audiencia from io till 1564, when Andrés DiazVenero do Leiva arrived in Bogota, appointed to be thefirst President-Governor and Captain-General. He hadbeen Fiscal of the Council of the Indies, and in his newofficehe was clothed with the essential rights and prerogativesof a viceroy. His knowledge of American affairs derivedthrough his connection with the Council enabled him toconduct the business of his government without neglectingthe temporal interests or antagonising the Church.

VIII

It devolved upon the first President of New Granadato close the breach between the civil and ecclesiasticalbranches of the government, and this he was in a largemeasure able to accomplish by reason of his sympathywith the designs and purposes of the Church. Alreadymany towns had been established, and these had contri-buted to the formation of peaceful relations with manyof the native tribes; and now, in the period of Venerode Leiva's administration, much attention was given tothe organisation of religious houses in these towns. Thiswork was furthered by the royal decree of December 6,1556, through which it was ordered that Dominicanmonasteries might be founded wherever they were be-lieved to be necessary. It was, moreover, required thatthe expenses involved in these foundations should beborne by the royal treasury, where the natives were held


immediately under the Crown, but by the encomenderoswhere the Indians had been subjected to them.'

The harmony maintained between the civil andecclesiastical branches of the government permitted thepresident effectively to carry on the work of administra-tion. He secured the execution of the laws and ordinancesrespecting the akaldes, the corregidores, and the police.He regulated work in the gold mines and in the emeraldmines of Mozo; opened and repaired roads; built bridges;substituted beasts of burden for Indians in the transpor-tation of goods; and encouraged the natives to devotethemselves to agriculture. He provided for official in-terpreters, through whom the Indians might bring theircomplaints to the government; regulated the proceedingsof the audiericia so that justice might be properly adminis-tered; and reformed the administration of the royaltreasury. Hitherto the gold that had been used in ex-change had circulated in its crude form, or as gold dustbut the president sought to set aside the inconveniencesof this medium of exchange, by causing the gold to becoined, or officially stamped, and by prohibiting trans-actions with unminted gold In order to avoid the evilsof absenteeism, he required the encomenderos to live inthe districts where they held encorniendas. After con-ducting the affairs of New Granada successfully for tenyears, President Venero de Leiva returned to Spain, in1573, and resumed his former office of Fiscal of the Councilof the Indies.2

It is sometimes said that President Veneto establishedprimary schools for both the children of the nativesand of Europeans, but very little was done towards pro-viding instruction in New Granada before or during histerm of office. Bishop Loayza formed a plan for theinstruction of the sons of caciques, and received a royal

1 A number of laws relating to the president in his relations with themembeis of the audiencia may be consulted in Lcycs de Indias, lib. ii.tit. xvi.

(hoot, Historia de Nueva Granada, i. 145,


licence permitting him to establish a school for that pur-pose; but before he was able to carry out this plan, hewas transferred to the newly-formed diocese of Lima.By a decree of April 27, 1554, the Spanish Crown soughtto provide instruction for the Indians. It was thus thedesire to instruct the natives that prompted the first twoefforts to found schools in New Granada. A little later,in 1555, a decree was issued to provide instruction forSpanish orphans and mestizos. These decrees, however,proved to be only resolutions of good intentions; for itwas not until 1576, more than twenty years later, that thefirst school was actually founded. This appears to havebeen a secular institution, but it was not long maintained.'

On the withdrawal of President Venero, the adminis-tration fell into the hands of the audiencia, who conductedit for about two years, until the arrival of FranciscoBriceflo, the second president. in March 1575. Bricenohad been an oidor in Bogota, in 1553, and had later heldthe office of president in Guatemala. 1-Ic died suddenlyin December, a few months after he reached Bogota, andleft the oidores again in control of the government.Under the audiencia, instead of the internal peace of the

Vergara, Historic etc la Literature en N,wva Granada, or. It isinteresting to note the judgments of some of the early writers con-cerning President Vonore. Juan Rodriguez Freslo, writing in 1635,

says: " El presidente mantenla a lodes en Paz y justicia penisgran calor en Ia conversion de Ins natorales, mandindolos poblar juntosen sus pueblos, fomentando las iglesias do ellos. Envib on eider de laReal Audiencia a visitar la tiorra y a dar calor a Is poblazôn de losnaturales, y a defenderlos y desagraviarlos. Puf muy agradable eltiempo de so gohierno, y llaniáionle el siglo dorado.' "—Conqeusta delNuevo Reino etc Granada, 51. Padre Zamora, in his Histona etc laPronincia Dominicana etc San Antonio, refers to the fact that all of

the ecclesiastics thought of him as the Padre del Nueva Granada.but Gonzalo Jiménez tie Quesada, in his Conspeudio Iiistorial, says,"Qne Venero tue hombre rencoroso y vengativo: que tuvo compe-tencias con Ins frailes dominicallos, y que las filtimas fueron tales, quopublicamente In Ilarnaron Destructor del NKcr'o Reino." Undoubtedlythe unpleasant personal relations that existed between the disappointedexplorer and the president had much influence in determining Quesada'sopinion.


preceding period, there were conflicts with the archbishop,and complaints about the despotic rule of the oidores,until, finally, in 1378, they were superseded by the newpresident, Lope Diaz Aux de Armendáriz.

In 1579, the inhabitants of Bogota had reason to turnaway from the disgraceful internal quarrels of the govern-ment, and mark the death of Gonzalo Jiméncz de Quesada.Forty years before he had led the survivors of his greatexpedition up through the tropical wilderness, and herelaid the foundation of Bogota and now that the stormylife of the old explorer was ended, the monks, the secularclergy, the president, the judges of the audiencia, themembers of the other tribunals, and men of every sortturned from their ordinary occupations to unite in doinghonour to their hero, and to place over his grave thestandard of the conquest.

The circumstances of the officials at the capital werenot favourable for the maintenance of internal peace.These officials constituted a small company, more or lessapart from the society of the town. They suffered theevils incident to a little isolated community they be-came the victims of jealousy and mutual hatred, whichmanifested themselves not only in attempts to defeatthe practical projects which one or another designed tocarry out in the work of his office, but also in efforts toundermine the characters of their opponents throughcorrespondence with the king or the Council of the indies.Suspicions thus aroused in the minds of the authoritiesin Spain led to the appointment of visitadores at ir-regular intervals, who, as already suggested, were oftenquite as vicious as the officials they were sent to inves-tigate. Thus the institution of the visitador, which wasdesigned to furnish a legal check on the conduct of thepresident, the judges, or any other officer who might beindicated in instructions, proved not infrequently to beonly an additional source of local disturbance and socialdemoralisation. It sometimes happened that a visi-


tador, returning to Spain, took back with him as prisonersnot only the visitador who had been sent out before him,but also a number of the officials into whose public con-duct he had been commissioned to inquire. The affairsof the higher officials at Bogota at this period present acase of serious confusion, which was aggravated by scan-dals, in which two or three of the especially prominentwomen of the community were involved.

The events of the last two decades of the century in-dicate that, with respect to its social affairs, the kingdomhad approached very near anarchy. The audiencia hadsuspended President Armendariz, and the antagonismbetween the visitador, Orellana, and the oidores of theaudiencia had produced a division of the inhabitants intotwo parties; one party supported the visitador, and theother took the part of the audiencia. There were notwanting, moreover, persons to make misrepresentationsto one party or the other, and the influence of these wasto widen the breach between them. The division ex-tended beyond the city, and persons who came from theneighbouring towns immediately ranged themselves onone side or the other. The audiencia undertook to deposethe visitador, and that officer in turn proclaimed thesuspension of the oidores. Each party had a small armedforce at command, and not much was wanting to pre-cipitate active hostilities. At this point the archbishopappeared on the scene and asserted his medieval preten-tions. He required soldiers to lay down their arms andwithdraw from the contest, and threatened excommumca-tion in case of refusal. Although his first attempt to avertthe struggle which seemed to be impending was withouteffect, now that it was proposed to launch the thunderboltof divine wrath, it was thought by those who were readyfor war that the time had come to run for cover; andwithin an hour not a man was to be found in the plaza,where the forces of the audiencia had been assembled.'

(hoot, Histo,ia dc Nueva Granada, I. 17 8-80.


This political comedy had a not unusual tragic ending.President Arrnendftriz continued under suspension untilhis death, in 1584. Oreltana, the visitador, suspendedPerez de Salazar and Gaspar de Peralta, the two oidoreswho appeared to him especially obnoxious; and tookthem, together with the secretary, Francisco Velasquez,to Spain as prisoners. The Council of the Indies disap-proved of these arrests, and sent Orellana himself to prison,where he died without property. Secretary Velasquez,whom he had imprisoned) paid the expenses of his burial.The oidores were exonerated. Salazar became the Fiscalof the Council, and Peralta was restored to his place asmember of the audiencia of Bogota.'

These internal quarrels ) which left the civil govern-ment more or less discredited, gave the archbishop anopportunity to magnify his importance. He sought tocomplete the cathedral ) in order that the ceremonies ofworship might acquire a greater splendour, and theauthorities of the Church thereby greater prestige. Hecelebrated a Provincial Council, in order through it tofix the discipline of the Church; and by providing forthe proper education of priests, he hoped to increasetheir influence in public affairs. The refusal of the Bishopof Popayan to attend the Council ) on the ground thathis bishopric did not lie within the jurisdiction of theArchbishop of Bogota, gave rise to an ecclesiastical con-troversy, which, taken together with the disposition ofthe bishops to quarrel with the provincial governors,helped at least to avert social stagnation .2

\Vhile the interior settlements, in spite of their localquarrels ) were slowly advancing towards civilisation,some of the towns on the coast suffered great lossesthrough the assaults and plundering of Sir Francis Drakeand his piratical followers. At Riohacha ) in 1585, Drake

Groot, Hiiloria de Nucva Granada, i. ISo.2 Ibid., I. 18 1.


obtained a large quantity of pearls, and then burned thetown In December of the same year, he entered SantaMarta, which he sacked and burned, On the 9th ofFebruary of the following year, he appeared beforeCartagena with nineteen ships, flying the black flag, andthreatening war to the death. A month before this datethe inhabitants had been informed from Santo Domingoof Drake's proposed attack, and prepared for such resist-ance as they were able to make. But this was noteffective, and for forty-eight days Drake held the city.From certain negroes he learned where the gold, silver,pearls, and jewellery were concealed, great quantities ofwhich he carried off. He took also eighty pieces ofartillery and the bells of all the churches. When he wasable to find nothing more, he demanded four hundredthousand ducats as a ransom for the city. At a con-ference between Drake and a committee of the citizens,this sum was scaled to one hundred and seven thousandpesos, which was paid in money, pearls, and jewellery.Drake's receipt for this amount was dated April a, 1586.The monastery and the slaughter-house were outside ofthe city, and Drake affirmed that these were not coveredby the ransom paid, and that they would be burnedunless an additional sum was advanced. The monkswere, therefore, obliged to pay one thousand pesos, andgive up four bells; while Alonso Hidalgo Bravo, theowner of the slaughter-house, paid five thousand pesos,for which he received a receipt executed in proper form.The spoils from Cartagena amounted to about four hun-dred thousand dollars. But this plundering of the coastof New Granada was not wholly disadvantageous to thecolonies. It spread abroad the fame of the country'sriches, which stimulated immigration and a consequentrapid increase of the population.'

In spite of the imperfect police control in the kingdom,thieving was not an especially frequent crime. One of

Rodriguez Fresle, 111-13; Groat, i. z86-8.


the residents of Bogota, Captain Taléns, had, therefore,reason to be surprised when masked burglars appearedat his bedside one night, and, with their daggers readyto strike, demanded the keys to the desk where he wasknown to keep a large amount of money. He surrenderedthe keys, and the thieves took the money and departed.No investigations could discover the burglars, or deter-mine their identity, and no one was arrested. The captainhad adjusted himself to his poverty, when three yearslater the burglars appeared again. He saw that it wasimpossible for him to defend himself against them, andhe told them that he had nothing, because some personswho looked like them had visited him previously andcarried off everything he had. "We are the same per-sons," they replied, " but we do not come to carry awayanything, rather to bring back that which we then took, to-gether with its proper interest. It was necessary for usat that time to resort to this means, in order to enter upona certain commercial enterprise, not having any otherresource but always with the intention of returning themoney to you." Having said this, the burglars retired,leaving the money on the table.'

After the suspension of President Armendariz and theoidores, Salazar and Peralta, the government of Bogotawas conducted by Chaparro, the remaining member ofthe audiencia, until the arrival of the new president,Antonio Gonzalez. Gonzalez had been a member of theCouncil of the Indies, and arrived in Bogota in 1590,accompanied by Gaspar de Peralta, who had been restoredto his place in the audiencia after Orellana had arrestedhim and taken him to Spain. President Gonzalez wasalso accompanied by Francisco Victoria and AntonioLinero, members of the Society of Jesus, and a lay brotherof the same order. These were the first Jesuits to enterNew Granada. They were taken to Bogota for thepurpose of founding a school but Archbishop Zapata

Groot, i. 192.


died in 1590, the year in which they reached the city, andthey retired from the field with nothing accomplished.

Under orders, and with authority conferred by theking, the president issued ordinances for the corregidoresof natives. These officers were agents of the government,appointed to protect the Indians, and to secure for themsuch treatment as would induce them to accept theteachings of the Church and adopt the ways of civilisedlife. They were expected to exercise an influence thatwould limit the arbitrary acts of the encomenderos,whose object was to derive the maximum advantagefrom the labour of the Indians. Under the president'sordinances the encomenderos were prohibited from forcingthe Indians to work for them on their estates; they mightreceive the services of the natives only in case the nativeswere willing to work, and then on condition of payingthem wages, in accordance with the provisions of theroyal decrees. The corregidores of natives were, more-over, prohibited from trading with the Indians, and fromholding estates within the limits of their jurisdiction ascorregidores.'

Another reform proposed by President Gonzalez wasthe introduction of the alcabala, a tax imposed on theprice of articles at the time of their sale. This projectwas met with vigorous resistance, and the community wasthreatened with a revolt like that which appeared inQuito at this time, provoked by the same cause. But,at this stage of the proceedings, an argument in favourof the tax, made by the distinguished Dominican friar,Pedro Bedón, allayed the dissatisfaction, and removedmost of the objections to the collection of the tax. Butthe recommendation of the friar to the contrary notwith-standing, the alcabala was an obnoxious impost. It

Groot, 1.200-2. The more important partsoi PresidentGonzdiez'sOrdinances for the Government and Regulation of the Corregidoresof the Natives are printed in Groot, Flistoria de Nueva Granada, i. 556-.20, constituting Appendix No. 5.


hindered the transfer of goods, and thus, by tending todiscourage buying and selling, it contributed to thatcommercial stagnation, which was a more or less pro-minent characteristic of Spanish civilisation in America.

Gonzalez held the post of governor for seven years,and during this period he founded a number of townsSan Juan de Isirna, San Juan de Pedrosa, Nueva Cordova,Nueva Sevilla, Becerril de Campos, and San Agustin deAvila; but towns founded in this manner, by administra-tive caprice, might or might not be needed. For thesethere was no permanent demand, and they were all laterabandoned. Afore foresight appears to have been dis-played in conquering the region at the rapids of theMagdalena and establishing Honda there as a port forthe capital. Gonzalez resigned the presidency in 1597,and was appointed Fiscal of the Council of the Indies.'

The sixteenth century closed during the administrationof Francisco de Sande, the successor of President Gonzalez.

Rodriguez Fresle, 115-22; Wont, I. 199-207.

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