XXX. FURTHER PIRATICAL RAIDS
1681-1687.
DAMPIER AND HIS COMRADES ON THE SANTA MARÍA RIVER—THEY MEET WITH SPANISH WAR VESSELS—THEIR MARCH TO THE NORTH SEA—THEY FALL IN WITH A FRENCH SHIP—AND SAIL ROUND CAPE HORN TO THE SOUTH SEA—THEY ATTACK REALEJO—THEY SAIL FOR THE ISLAND OF LA PLATA—HERE THEY ARE REËNFORCED—THEY PROCEED TO THE COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA—WHERE THEY GAIN INTELLIGENCE OF THE TREASURE FLEET—THE PIRATES SAIL FOR THE PEARL ISLANDS—THEIR DEFEAT IN THE BAY OF PANAMÁ—RAIDS ON LEON, REALEJO, AND GRANADA—PIETY OF THE FILIBUSTERS—FURTHER OPERATIONS OF THE PIRATES.
Dampier and his comrades,[XXX‑1] after they had parted company with Sharp, shaped their course for the Santa María River flowing into the gulf of San Miguel, and on the following day captured a small bark anchored to leeward of Cape Pasado. This was a piece of great good fortune as their boats were too small for them. On the 24th of April they touched at the island of Gorgona where, having taken some prisoners, they learned that a piragua crossed over from the mainland every two or three days to reconnoitre, and that three ships were kept in readiness to intercept them on their return. With a favorable breeze they sailed from Gorgona the same evening, and on the morning of the 28th, on emerging from a rain squall, espied two large ships to windward about a league and a half distant. Dampier's men were in a hazardous position, between the Spanish cruisers and the shore, which was only two leagues off. Happily the rain again came on and enabled them to pass the enemy unseen. The next morning they anchored off Point Garachina, about seven leagues from the gulf of San Miguel, where they remained all day drying their ammunition and preparing their weapons in anticipation of their landing being opposed. Soon after daybreak on the 30th they entered the gulf and came to anchor outside a large island four miles distant from the mouth of the Santa María. Though the tide was favorable for ascending the river they took the precaution to send a canoe ashore to reconnoitre, and a ship was discovered lying at the mouth and a large tent pitched on the land adjacent. Though disheartened at this news the freebooters were, nevertheless, bent upon making their return overland. So the canoe was again sent to the island and succeeded in capturing one which had put off from the enemy's ship for the island. From the captives they learned that for six months the vessel, which had twelve guns, had been guarding the mouth of the river, and that the force amounted to one hundred and fifty soldiers and sailors, the former being quartered on shore. Three hundred more were expected to arrive from the mines on the next day.[XXX‑2] The pirates now determined to land elsewhere at any risk that night, or early the following morning.[XXX‑3] With wind and tide against them they reached Cape San Lorenzo at daybreak and sailing about a league farther ran into a creek sheltered by two small islands. Here they landed and, putting their effects ashore, sunk their vessel and made all preparations for a march into the interior.[XXX‑4]
[Sidenote: CROSSING THE CONGO.]
As some of the company did not appear in condition to undertake so long a journey, the desperate resolution to shoot all stragglers had been previously adopted to prevent them falling into the hands of the Spaniards alive and betraying their companions. Yet this terrible alternative did not deter a single man, and in the afternoon the band of freebooters began their march and advanced a league north-easterly. On the following morning, striking an Indian trail, they reached some native houses, where being well received they purchased provisions, and for a hatchet obtained a guide to other Indian settlements.[XXX‑5] Next day they struck the Congo at a point three leagues from their last night's halting-place,[XXX‑6] and arriving at the house of an old Indian with great difficulty induced him to urge their guide to accompany them two days longer for another hatchet.[XXX‑7]
On the 4th of May they continued their course, continually wading through rivers and streams, drenched with the heavy rain which when they halted prevented them from obtaining fire enough to warm themselves or cook their food. Weary and hungry their miseries were such as to banish all thought of the Spaniards, their only anxiety being to obtain food and guides. For several days they journeyed on under incredible hardships, feeding on monkeys and such vegetables as they could obtain from the native settlements through which they passed.
By this time they had obtained a fresh guide, and crossing the Congo had arrived at another river, the depth of which caused them great trouble, as they were compelled to ford it several times,[XXX‑8] leaving behind on the last occasion two of the party who were unable to keep up with the main body. Night fell on them unprovided with shelter, and to add to their miseries a thunder-storm with heavy rain broke over them.
Next morning, the 8th of May, the guide informed them that the river would have to be crossed again, but it was now so swollen that fording was impossible. It was decided, therefore, to send a man over with a line. One of the band, George Gayny, accordingly made the attempt, but the line which he had fastened about his neck became entangled, and the man on shore who was paying it out suddenly stopped it. This threw Gayny, who was half way across, on his back. The man in charge of the rope then threw it into the river, hoping that Gayny might recover himself, but being weighted with three hundred pesos, which he carried on his back, the impetuous current carried him away and he was drowned.[XXX‑9]
After this failure they felled a lofty tree across the river, and over it all passed in safety. Their guide now left them, having obtained a substitute. Crossing another river their way led through a beautiful valley adorned with trees. Five miles beyond they came to a settlement and were somewhat alarmed at the sight of some wooden crosses on the road-side, thinking that Spaniards were there. They prepared for action, but found none but Indians in the town, where they were kindly received.[XXX‑10]
For the next ten days they struggled on with several changes of guides, incessantly crossing rivers[XXX‑11] and forcing their way through the trackless forest, some days not advancing more than two or three miles. Exhausted and famished,[XXX‑12] with blistered feet, and limbs chafed and raw with wading, they were indeed in evil plight.
[Sidenote: AT THE RIO CHEPO.]
On the 20th of May the way-worn corsairs reached the Chepo River, which they crossed, and on the 22d to their great joy sighted the North Sea from a high mountain-ridge. The weather was fine, and glad at heart they descended the heights and encamped on the bank of the river Concepcion, the first which they found flowing north. The following day they moved down the stream, and ere long procured canoes to carry them to its mouth. During their absence many English and French ships had been there, but all had departed with the exception of a French privateer which lay at La Sound Key.[XXX‑13] After lying a night at the mouth of the river, they crossed over to the island, and went aboard the vessel which was commanded by Captain Tristian. Purchasing from the crew beads, knives, scissors, and looking-glasses with which to reward their guides they dismissed them with the additional gift of half a peso to each. With this the Indians were well satisfied, and the good feeling for the English was manifested by their kind treatment of Doctor Wafer and the others who had remained behind in their settlements.
The journey across the Isthmus had occupied twenty-three days, during which they travelled for about thirty-seven leagues over mountains, through valleys, and among "deep and dangerous Rivers." They had arrived on the south coast just as the rainy season began, and the rivers were soon swollen, and yet only one man perished. They had chosen a circuitous route, going seventeen leagues farther than if they had ascended the Chepo or the Santa María, by either of which courses the journey could have been made from sea to sea in three days, the Indians frequently accomplishing it in a day and a half.
The hardships which Dampier underwent during this trip did not deter him from another adventure on the South Sea. In the latter part of 1683, having joined a ship commanded by a Captain Cook, he was again cruising in company with another vessel under Captain Eaton off the western coast of South America. Although they had sailed round Cape Horn, their operations were unimportant during the whole of their voyage up that coast. Their intention, indeed, was to try new ground and make a raid upon Realejo and Leon in Nicaragua. When they arrived about the beginning of July at Cape Blanco, on the Costa Rica seaboard, Captain Cook died, and John Davis was appointed to his place.[XXX‑14]
While engaged in burying their late captain on the shore of Calderas Bay they captured three half-breeds from whom they learned that the Spaniards had been warned by the people of Panamá to beware of buccaneers. This news did not prevent them, however, from proceeding on the 20th of July toward Realejo where they arrived three days later. Their operations here were unprofitable, as they found the Spaniards thoroughly prepared for them. They therefore sailed to the bay of Fonseca for the purpose of careening their vessels. Here an attempt to establish friendly relations with the Indians of one of the islands was interrupted by the rough action of one of the buccaneers, which caused a panic among the natives, who fled to the woods. Davis, however, succeeded in inducing the chief and half a dozen of his tribe to visit the ships, and having won their good-will by presents, obtained, during the time they remained in the bay, fresh beef from an island to which they directed them. After careening and repairing their vessels, they abandoned their intentions against Realejo for the time, and on the 3d of September Davis again sailed southward, having parted from Eaton with whom he had had trouble.[XXX‑15]
[Sidenote: SWAN AND HARRIS.]
On the 20th he reached the isle of Plata,[XXX‑16] and while lying there was joined, October 2d, by Captain Swan of the Cygnet and Captain Peter Harris, nephew of the buccaneer of that name who was killed in the engagement before Panamá in 1680. Swan had been supplied by London merchants with a cargo of goods for trade in these seas, but having fallen in with Harris and his comrades who had come overland, his men compelled him to join the freebooters.[XXX‑17] The meeting of the rovers was marked by wicked joy. Independently or collectively they engaged in a series of cruises off the coast of South America, the isle of Plata being the rendezvous. After a failure to surprise the town of Guayaquil, they took a packet-boat carrying letters from Panamá to Lima. Though the Spaniards threw the letters overboard with a line attached, the ruse was detected, and from the package which the buccaneers recovered, they learned the joyful news that the armada from Spain had arrived at Portobello and that the president of Panamá had sent this boat with instructions to hasten the departure of the treasure-fleet from Peru. This occurred on the 1st of January 1685. The wildest excitement followed as the prows of the vessels were turned toward the Pearl Islands, the best place from which to seize the treasure-ships. They arrived there the 25th, having captured on the way a ninety-ton vessel laden with flour. Then they careened and cleaned their vessels, and by February 14th all was in readiness. The marauders then proceeded to Perico and engaged in correspondence with the president of Panamá for the release of two of their men who had fallen into the hands of the Spaniards.[XXX‑18] The result was an exchange of prisoners, the crew of the vessel last taken, to the number of about forty, being surrendered as ransom for the two freebooters.
Meanwhile the Spaniards continued in their puerile efforts to rid themselves of the vipers. On one occasion a pretended merchant, under pretext of wishing to traffic, steered a vessel laden with combustibles close up to them while at anchor. Having ignited his fire-ship, he and his crew escaped in canoes, while the buccaneers were forced to cut their cables in all haste to avoid destruction.[XXX‑19]
Soon afterward they were joined by no less than two hundred and eighty French and English buccaneers who had crossed the Isthmus, and who reported that one hundred and eighty more English were following under Captain Townley.[XXX‑20] This accession was gratifying; the ninety-ton prize was at once surrendered to the French, who numbered two hundred under Captain Grogniet, while the English were received on board the ships of Swan and Davis.[XXX‑21]
On the 3d of March they were joined by Townley, who had captured two barks at the mouth of the Santa María, and a few days later an Indian brought word that another band, three hundred strong, were on their way overland from the North Sea.[XXX‑22]
For the next two months they cruised about the bay of Panamá, vigilantly watching for the treasure-fleet. Meanwhile they took the town of Chepo, made some captures, and intercepted letters from which they ascertained that the pilots of Lima had been in consultation as to the best course which could be adopted in order to elude the pirates, and had given directions accordingly. They also learned that the fleet was to be manned with all the available strength of Peru, but had orders not to engage with the buccaneers if a battle could possibly be avoided.
On the 28th of May the pirate fleet lay between Pacheca Island and the mainland, Captain Grogniet being a mile to the northward. It consisted of ten sail carrying fifty-two guns and nine hundred and sixty men.[XXX‑23] About eleven o'clock the weather, which had been rainy, cleared, and the Spanish fleet numbering fourteen ships[XXX‑24] beside piraguas, carrying one hundred and seventy-four guns and manned by more than three thousand sailors and marines, was seen approaching. Disparity of numbers did not, however, intimidate the buccaneers, and for the great prize that now lay in sight they would have engaged with even half their force.[XXX‑25] Being to windward of the Spaniards they weighed anchor about three o'clock in the afternoon, but night fell upon them before they could effect more than the exchange of a few shots.
[Sidenote: SPANISH STRATAGEM.]
Although Spanish arms had greatly deteriorated since the days of the conquerors, there was still something of the Spanish stratagem left which in this instance proved a match even for pirate cunning. When the darkness had set in the admiral of the treasure-fleet hung out a light as a signal for his vessels to come to anchor. In half an hour the light was extinguished, but some time afterward the buccaneers saw it again, stealing away from Panamá. Being well to the windward they kept under sail all night in sight of the signal, but when morning dawned they discovered that they had been decoyed to the leeward by a solitary vessel sent in that direction and that the enemy had now the weather-gage, and was bearing down upon them with all sail set. Thus were the tables turned, and their only safety lay in flight. During the whole day they maintained a running fight, and having sailed almost round the bay of Panamá anchored their now battered vessels again off the isle of Pacheca.[XXX‑26] In the morning three leagues to leeward the Spanish fleet was observed at anchor, and a light south breeze presently springing up it sailed away to Panamá, without attempting to press further the advantage gained.[XXX‑27]
[Sidenote: IN NICARAGUA.]
Thus after nearly six months of planning and patient expectation their great prize eluded their grasp, and the disappointed and exasperated pirates bore away for the isles of Quibo. There a consultation was held, which resulted in a determination to attack the city of Leon in Nicaragua. They at once began preparations and built a number of canoes in which to effect their landing.[XXX‑28] These being completed they sailed for the port of Realejo on the 20th of July,[XXX‑29] and arrived on the coast about eight leagues distant from the harbor on the 9th of August. They now manned their canoes, to the number of thirty-one, with five hundred and twenty men, and made for the harbor, the others taking charge of the ships. On the way there were two heavy squalls which placed them in extreme peril, but by dint of hard rowing the marauders entered the port that night. At daylight on the following morning they rowed up the creek leading to Leon, at the head of which, on the river bank, they found a breastwork. Their approach was discovered by the watchmen who fled to Leon and reported it.[XXX‑30]
The pirates now quickly effected a landing and four hundred and seventy men were detailed in four detachments under the command of Townley, Swan, Davis, and Knight,[XXX‑31] while Dampier with the remainder was left in charge of the canoes.[XXX‑32]
Townley with his company entered the town about two miles in advance of the others, and overthrew a body of nearly two hundred horsemen who charged him in the main street. The infantry, to the number of five hundred, were drawn up in the plaza, but perceiving the discomfiture of the cavalry fled without offering resistance, and Leon, captured by eighty men, lay at the mercy of the freebooters.[XXX‑33]
At noon on the following day the governor sent in a flag of truce with offers to ransom the town,[XXX‑34] but the demands of the marauders were so exorbitant[XXX‑35] that all he could do was to endeavor to prolong capitulations until he could assemble a force strong enough to dislodge the invaders. In a few days, however, they became aware of his design, and on the 14th of the month, having collected all available booty, they set the city on fire and marched back to their canoes.
[Sidenote: VISIT TO REALEJO.]
The pirates next directed their attention to Realejo, which they entered without opposition. But here again they were balked, finding nothing but empty houses. So, for a week, they ravaged the surrounding country, killing cattle and sacking sugar-mills. Then they burned the town, and returning to their canoes rejoined their ship. The following day, which was the 25th, Davis and Swan agreed to separate, the former being anxious to return to the South American coast, while Swan was desirous of trying his fortune off the shores of Mexico. Their separation was, however, amicable, and the two freebooters, when they parted company on the 27th, fired salutes as they turned their prows in opposite directions.[XXX‑36]
But the unfortunate cities of Nicaragua were not fated to be left in peace after the departure of this band. Grogniet, with three hundred and twenty men in his ship and five canoes, after separating from Swan cruised slowly northward. His first operations, however, were of little importance. During their voyage along the coast the party landed at Realejo, which they found abandoned, and thence marched to Leon, but did not attack the town, finding it too strongly garrisoned.[XXX‑37] They then proceeded against Pueblo Viejo, and having foraged the surrounding country again directed their course southward and entered the bay of Calderas with the intention of taking Esparza, to execute which design fifty men were sent ashore. They were deterred, however, from making the attempt by learning that the Spaniards had gathered in considerable force to oppose them. Their sufferings from hunger became excessive, and they were compelled to kill and eat some horses which they captured, after four days' starvation.[XXX‑38]
Their ship had been despatched to the island of San Juan de Pueblo as their general place of rendezvous,[XXX‑39] and thither the canoes now turned their course. Their next operations were directed against Chiriquita, which they succeeded in surprising on the 9th of January 1686 with a force of two hundred and thirty men. Having secured a number of prisoners, for whom they afterward obtained a ransom, they burned the town and retired.[XXX‑40]
On their return to Pueblo a Spanish fleet of seven ships, twelve piraguas, and three long barks made its appearance, and was recognized as a squadron sent against them from Peru. Their ship being no longer serviceable through want of sails, they ran her aground, and took up a favorable position on the banks of a river, where they had already begun building large-sized piraguas. Here the enemy dared not attack them, and having burned the stranded vessel bore away.
[Sidenote: TOWNS ABANDONED.]
On the 14th of March, having completed the construction of the piraguas, they left Pueblo in two barks, a forty-oared galley, ten piraguas, and ten canoes, and having held a muster of their men, found that their number had been reduced by thirty since their separation from the English freebooters.[XXX‑41] Their design was to carry out a previously formed intention to attack Granada in Nicaragua, but being half dead with hunger they attempted a descent upon Pueblo Nuevo, and were somewhat roughly handled by a detachment of the Spanish fleet left at the mouth of the river.[XXX‑42] Hereupon the pirates again visited the bay of Calderas and the town of Esparza, which they found abandoned. They obtained, however, some provisions from a plantation on the bay. They now consulted as to their method of attack on Granada, and made certain regulations among themselves which they thought would ensure the success of their enterprise.[XXX‑43]
On the 22d Grogniet fell in with Townley and one hundred and fifty men in five canoes, and by way of retaliation for the treatment which his men had received at the hands of the English buccaneers, made them prisoners. After keeping them in durance for several hours the Frenchmen gave them to understand that no harm would be done them, and restored their canoes to them. This led to friendship, and Townley and his men eagerly requested to be admitted as associates in the meditated operations against Granada, a proposition which was listened to with satisfaction.
The combined forces on the 7th of April 1686[XXX‑44] landed three hundred and forty-five men,[XXX‑45] who by forced marches advanced into the interior; but notwithstanding all possible precautions they were discovered, and the alarm conveyed to Granada while they were still at a considerable distance.[XXX‑46] Perceiving that a surprise could not be effected, on the 9th they halted to rest and refresh themselves, enfeebled as they were with hunger and fatigue. On the following day they advanced upon the city which they found to be well fortified and protected by fourteen pieces of cannon and six swivels, the inhabitants having intrenched themselves in the great square.[XXX‑47] Nevertheless they at once charged up the leading street with a recklessness that astonished their foes;[XXX‑48] and having put to flight a strong force which they encountered in the suburbs, were soon actively engaged with the fort.
The fire of the artillery was heavy and rapid, but rendered in a great measure ineffective by the pirates adroitly bending to the ground at every discharge, so that the balls passed over them; seeing which the Spaniards ignited false primings, and postponed the discharge of their guns till the freebooters had assumed an upright position. Then the latter ranged themselves beside the houses, and having gained a small eminence at a convenient distance, so plied the defenders with bullets and hand-grenades that after a brave resistance for an hour and a half they abandoned the inclosure and sought refuge in the principal church. They were quickly dislodged, however, and the city of Granada was in possession of the pirates, who had only four killed and eight wounded,[XXX‑49] while the loss of the Spaniards was severe.
[Sidenote: GRANADA TAKEN.]
Now French filibusters were no less devoted servants of God and followers of the gentle Christ than were the English freebooters.[XXX‑50] Though they were reckless of their lives and bodies, it was far otherwise with regard to their souls. They might, it is true, burn towns and cut off the heads of captives whose ransom was not promptly forthcoming, but they did not neglect their devotions. So they reverently chanted the te deum in the great church of Granada; then hunted for plunder and women, and getting neither, opened negotiations by means of a prisoner for the ransom of the city from fire.[XXX‑51] The Spaniards, however, were indifferent, fully relying upon the assertion of a straggler whom they had captured, that his companions would not set fire to Granada, as it was their intention to return some months later, and pass through the country by the lake to the North Sea,[XXX‑52] and that the destruction of the city would be inconvenient. But the others thought differently, and exasperated at their bootless and toilsome journey, burned the cathedral and principal buildings.[XXX‑53]
The pirates now deemed it prudent to retire, and on the 15th began their march to the sea, directing their course to the town of Masaya, situated on the lake of that name. Their sufferings were great on their return march. Parched with thirst, scorched by the vertical sun, and choked with the stifling dust, they toiled along discontented and miserable, incessantly exposed to ambushed foes.[XXX‑54] For a day they rested in Masaya, where the Indians received them kindly and implored them not to burn their town. On the 17th, as the freebooters were emerging from the forest upon an open plain, they were opposed by a body of five hundred Spaniards, who had hoisted a red flag in token that no quarter would be given. But the pirates, never fearing, attacked and overthrew the enemy, capturing fifty of their horses.
After this, feeling more secure, they slowly wended their way to the ocean, halting at convenient places and resting from the fatigues of their exhausting march. By the 26th they reached the sea-shore, where they again embarked. They now once more made a raid on Realejo, captured a number of the inhabitants,[XXX‑55] and then proceeded to Chinandega and burned the town. During these forays they suffered greatly from hunger, since the Spaniards systematically destroyed all provisions wherever the freebooters made their appearance, and had also driven their cattle from the coast.
It was a profitless enterprise that these rovers had been engaged in, from first to last. Their booty was insignificant,[XXX‑56] many of their wounded had died from privation and the effect of the climate, and difference of opinion as to future movements finally displayed itself. At a consultation held on the 9th of May a separation was decided upon, and a few days later a division of barks, canoes, and provisions was made. One hundred and forty-eight of the French with the English under Townley sailed for Panamá, while Grogniet with the remainder of his countrymen steered westward up the coast.
Townley's project was to attack Villa de los Santos[XXX‑57] on the Rio Cubita. He succeeded in surprising the town and captured merchandise estimated to be worth a million and a half of pesos, besides fifteen thousand pesos in money and three hundred prisoners of both sexes. But disaster was in store for the marauders on their return, and parties of them were surprised by ambuscades; many were killed and the booty retaken by the Spaniards. Then followed mutual retaliation. The bodies of the slain pirates were mutilated and their heads fixed on poles, while their comrades, out of revenge, decapitated a number of their captives and treated the heads in like manner. Yet these pastimes did not interrupt negotiations; the remainder of the prisoners were ransomed, and the Spaniards purchased a bark of which their amiable visitors had deprived them.
Townley, having thus arranged matters with the inhabitants of Los Santos, bore away for Pearl Islands, and for the next two months cruised about the bay of Panamá making descents on the land and capturing prizes. The slaughter of the Spaniards in some of these engagements was great. On the 21st of August the buccaneers attacked a frigate and a bark, the former of which vessels had eighty killed and wounded out of a crew of one hundred and twenty, and of the crew of the latter only eighteen out of seventy remained unhurt. But Townley's career now came to a close. During the next two days they captured three more vessels, and in one of the engagements the captain of the pirates was mortally wounded, and died on the 8th of September.
During the remainder of the year the buccaneers cruised among the islands and in the bays on the coast of Veragua, frequently landing on the main in order to procure food, and so dire was their necessity that on occasions they imperatively demanded provisions as a ransom for their captives instead of money.[XXX‑58]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: COSTA RICA.]
At the beginning of 1687 freebooters were again off the Costa Rica coast and infesting the gulf of Nicoya, keeping the Spaniards in a state of constant alarm, wringing from them ransom for captives, and torturing prisoners to obtain information.[XXX‑59] On the 26th of January they were rejoined by Captain Grogniet, whose movements had been principally confined to the bay of Fonseca and the coast of Nicaragua, but dissension occurring, eighty-five of his men separated from him, and with the remaining sixty he turned once more toward Panamá.[XXX‑60]
Again this brood of ocean-banditti directed their course to the rich coast of South America, where they and their fraternity had acquired so infamous a reputation that the women they captured were in dread of being eaten by them.[XXX‑61] After amassing immense wealth they sailed northward and coasted along the Central American and Mexican shores as far as Acapulco, burning, destroying, and murdering as was their wont. But in spite of their sufferings from toil, hunger, and thirst, the pirates had amassed much wealth, and they now wished to return to the North Sea, where their hardships would end, and they could squander and enjoy their ill-gotten riches. Having consulted as to the best course to pursue, they decided to march overland through the province of Segovia to Cape Gracias á Dios. So on the 2d of January 1688, after they "had said their Prayers," they started on their perilous journey, two hundred and eighty in number.[XXX‑62]
Their overland march through the wildest part of Central America was somewhat extraordinary. The journeys of the pirates across the Isthmus, like those of the discoverers and conquerors, were full of danger and sufferings; but the difficulties overcome by these dauntless villains in some respects surpassed anything on record.
[Sidenote: NUEVA SEGOVIA.]
Their route lay from the bay of Fonseca to Wank River, down which they proposed to descend on rafts. Marching first to Nueva Segovia, they found the inhabitants ready to oppose them. In the woods their road was impeded by felled trees; in the open country the grass was set on fire, so that to avoid suffocation they were often compelled to halt until the fire should spend itself. The cattle were driven away and provisions removed or destroyed, while ambushed Spaniards assailed them everywhere.
There was nothing for them, however, but to trudge along, which they continued to do until they reached Nueva Segovia on the 11th. The town was deserted. Everything that could maintain life had been carefully removed. As they continued famished and footsore toward the river, now twenty leagues distant, they were harassed by a force of three hundred Spanish horse, constantly threatening their annihilation.
The road, which led over a steep mountain, was found on the second day from Segovia to be intrenched. Thus beset in front and rear, between two bodies each largely outnumbering their own, what were the pirates to do? Blood-besmeared and determined, they were now to the effeminate Spaniards what the early Spaniards had been to the Indians. It was on a bright moonlit night that the filibusters encamped before the intrenchment. Nevertheless two hundred of them managed to steal into the forest unperceived by their enemies.[XXX‑63] With incredible labor they worked their way round rocks and through quagmires, till, guided by the voices of the Spaniards at morning prayer, by daylight they found themselves in the road above, and in the rear of the intrenched Spaniards. A dense mist which had arisen just before dawn concealed them from sight, but while it in some measure aided them, it rendered their operations more dangerous from the nature of the ground. It appeared that there were three intrenchments, one behind the other, and with the reversed position the defenders of the rear one were not protected. Upon this exposed detachment, numbering five hundred men, the freebooters fell so suddenly that the Spaniards fled panic-stricken, and the successful assailants were in possession of the barricade. It was equivalent to victory. There was no hope for the Spaniards now. Guided in their aim by the flashes of the enemy's fire, the pirates, well protected, poured volley after volley upon the Spaniards, who did not know where to shoot or what to do. For an hour they held out; but when, still enveloped in the mist, the pirates charged upon them, unperceived till almost within reach of sword-blow, they turned and fled. What followed was mere butchery. The Spaniards, impeded in their flight by their own defences, were slaughtered till the ferocious victors, "weary of running after them and killing," desisted.[XXX‑64]
[Sidenote: INTERNAL DISSENSIONS.]
The cutthroats are now master of all before them, but nature still interposed her forces to the best of her ability. On the following day, it is true, they arrived at another intrenchment, but the terror they had inspired was so great that they passed it unmolested, and on the 17th reached the banks of the longed-for river which was to carry them to the sea.[XXX‑65] The current was swift, and for leagues the waters rushed down rapids or plunged in cataracts over opposing rocks, eddying and seething in their course. Yet the freebooters hailed it with delight, and with wild enthusiasm constructed for themselves small rafts each capable of carrying two men.[XXX‑66] Trusting to these they launched themselves, many of them to their death. Besides paddles they were provided with long poles to aid them in avoiding the rocks. It was a fearful passage; the boldest trembled, and his brain grew giddy as he was swept past an overhanging precipice or whirled about in the surging flood. Most of the rafts were so overweighted that the men stood up to the waist in water. Among those who had escaped with their lives were many who had lost all their gains acquired by years of hardship and of crime.[XXX‑67] Numerous portages and the building of new rafts long delayed them, and it was not until the 20th of February that they arrived at the broader and less impetuous part of the river. In the mean time, in spite of peril and suffering, the evil passions of human nature were not dormant. As there were no Spaniards present to kill they killed each other as occasion offered.[XXX‑68]
When the river became navigable for boats the freebooters built canoes, and on the 1st of March one hundred and twenty of them,[XXX‑69] in four boats, started down the river, and arrived at the mouth the 9th of March. On the 14th an English vessel arrived from the isles of Pearls,[XXX‑70] on board of which about fifty of them, among whom was Lussan, embarked. This band of the survivors eventually reached French settlements in the West Indies. Of the subsequent fate of those left behind little is known;[XXX‑71] but the gratitude of the devout ruffians whom Lussan accompanied for their deliverance is thus chronicled: "When we were got all ashoar to a People that spoke French, we could not forbear shedding Tears of Joy, that after we had run so many Hazards, Dangers, and Perils, it had pleased the Almighty Maker of the Earth and Seas, to grant a Deliverance, and bring us back to those of our own Nation."[XXX‑72]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: BUCCANEER BIBLIOGRAPHY.]
A peculiar feature in the history, particularly of Spanish America, is presented by the buccaneers, a New World revival of the vikings, whose adventures were the absorbing theme of the old Norsemen, as preserved in the sagas, and a counterpart of their successors, the corsairs, who maintained equal sway in sunnier climes, spreading terror over entire kingdoms and exacting tribute to support a regal state of their own. The European hordes who under the name of conquerors were ever alert for plunder under the pretence of extending the domain of their divine and royal masters scattered freely the seeds from which sprang the freebooters, to whom the rivalry between Saxon and Latin races gave a desired opportunity to prey upon cities and commerce. Next to the early-discovery voyages none are so absorbing as the expeditions of these wild fellows, culled from all nationalities, and their narratives include not only daring raids, bloody feuds, and hair-breadth escapes by sea and land, but cover the usual topics of exploring voyages. Indeed, their transgressions against society, while covered in most cases by the mask of patriotism and of just war, or retaliation, were frequently condoned by discoveries for the benefit of trade and science, by the extension of geographic knowledge, of natural history, ethnology, and other branches.
The first special account of the buccaneers appears to be the Zee Roover, by Klaes Compaen; Amsterdam, 1663; but the great original for the many subsequent works on them is the book written by A. O. Exquemelin, corrupted by the English into Esquemeling, and by the French into Oexmelin. An employé of the French West India Company, he had in 1666 gone out to the Tortuga Island, but trade failing here, the company sold its effects and transferred its servants. Exquemelin fell into the hands of the lieutenant-governor, under whom he suffered great hardship till a new and kinder master left him at liberty. Finding nothing better to do, he joined the filibusters and sailed with them till 1672, sharing in many notable exploits. He then returned home to Holland, and employed his leisure in writing a history of buccaneer expeditions in the Antilles and adjoining regions, including his own adventures. This was issued as De Americaensche Zee-Roovers. Behelsende een Partinent Verhael van alle de Roverye en Onmenselÿcke Vreetheeden die de Engelsche en France Roovers Tegens de Spanÿaerden in America Gepleeght Hebben; t'Amsterdam bÿ Jan Ten Hoorn, 1678, sm. 4o, 186 pp. Few books have been so extensively used, wholly or in part, or as a foundation for romances and dramas; but the ones used have generally been of the numerous foreign editions, particularly the Spanish, published with more or less variation, and often without credit to the author. The original is exceedingly rare, one copy only besides my own being known to Müller. It is a black-letter specimen, on coarse paper, illustrated with curious maps and plates, depicting battle scenes, burning towns, and portraits of leading captains, as Morgan and L'Olonnois. The title-page is bordered by eight scenes of freebooters' warfare and cruelty. Beginning with his voyage to the West Indies, Exquemelin proceeds to depict the geography and political and social condition of the islands, including the rovers' retreat, and then relates their doings in general. In a second and third part he gives special sketches of the different leaders and their expeditions; and in an appendix are found some valuable statistics for the Spanish possessions on wealth, revenue, and officials. The information is not only varied, but has been found most reliable. The English edition was first published in London by Th. Newborough in 1699, under the title of The History of the Buccaneers of America. The second and third editions of this translation appeared in 1704.
Several of the buccaneers have become known to readers in special treatises by their own hand, or by biographers, as Raveneau de Lussan, Journal d'un Voyage, Paris, 1689; Dampier's New Voyage, London, 1697, and others, which have also proved rich sources for compilers. To the edition of Exquemelin, issued in 1700, Ten Hoorn added two parts, one being an account of English buccaneer voyages under Sharp, Sawkins, and others, written by Basil Ringrose, who had also been a member of the fraternity, and had kept a journal from which the first edition was prepared and issued in 1684. The second part gives Lussan's Journal, followed by the Relation de Montauban, captain of freebooters, on the coast of Guinea in 1695.
Ringrose's account furnishes some particulars not found in other buccaneer narrators of the same expeditions. Though he disapproved of Sharp as a leader, his statements may be considered truthful as well as fuller than those of the other writers, all of whom corroborate Ringrose in the main points. His narrative is also published in the above mentioned work, The History of the Buccaneers of America, under the title of The Dangerous Voyage and Bold Attempts of Capt. Bartholomew Sharp and others in the South Sea. It contains numerous rude cuts of islands, points, capes, etc., on the western coast of America. Ringrose was killed with all his company near a small town 21 leagues from Compostela, in Jalisco, owing to the insubordination of his men. Dampier, Voy., i. 271-2, says: 'We had about 50 Men killed, and among the rest my Ingenious Friend Mr Ringrose was one.... He was at this time Cape-Merchant, or Super-Cargo of Capt. Swan's Ship. He had no mind to this Voyage, but was necessitated to engage in it or starve.' The most important other authorities for the history of this enterprise are Capt. Sharp's Journal of his Expedition, Written by Himself, published by William Hacke in A Collection of Original Voyages (London, 1699). Sharp omits all mention of the defection of the men whom Dampier accompanied across the Isthmus.
The Voyages and Adventures of Capt. Barth. Sharp. London, 1684. The author is anonymous, and was a strong partisan of Sharp, omitting much told against him in other accounts and frequently bestowing upon him fulsome praise. Many pages of the narrative are taken up by mere log-book entries of the ship's sailing and contain no other information. Dampier, A New Voyage round the World. London, 1697-1709, 3 vols. This writer touches in his introduction very briefly upon Sharp's expedition 'because the World has accounts of it already in the relations that Mr Ringrose and others have given' of it; but his account of his return across the Isthmus is interesting and minutely described. Wafer, A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of America, Giving an Account of the Author's Abode there. London, 1699, also only cursorily alludes to Sharp's voyage, but supplies a valuable description of the Isthmus at that time. Wafer, who accompanied Dampier on his return, had been compelled to stay behind on account of a severe wound caused by an explosion of gunpowder, and remained several months with the Indians on the Isthmus. His treatise is principally confined to a description of the physical features of the country, its flora and fauna, and the occupations and customs of the inhabitants. It contains several copper-plates in illustration of these latter, as well as a map of the Isthmus and charts of coast-lines.
A Collection of Original Voyages, by Captain Wm. Hacke, London, 1699, 12o, with some rude cuts and map, contains among other narratives Cowley's Voyage round the Globe, touching Central America, written by himself. As a sequel to these publications may be named Johnson's General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most Notorious Pyrates; London, 1724, which was added as a fourth volume to the French Exquemelin collection of 1744 and later editions. Similar combinations, more or less complete and changed, exist in different languages, from the early Bucaniers of America, London, 1684, to the History of the Buccaniers of America, Boston, 1853, and later editions. The first thorough book on the subject, however, and one which enters into the causes of the filibuster movement, carrying on the narrative till its suppression in the beginning of the eighteenth century, is Admiral Burney's History of the Buccaneers, London, 1816, a special issue of a part of his Chronological History of Discovery.
XXXI. PANAMÁ
1672-1800.
THE SCOTS COLONY—THEY PROPOSE TO ESTABLISH SETTLEMENTS IN DARIEN—SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE ENTERPRISE—DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION—ITS ARRIVAL AT ACLA—SICKNESS AND FAMINE AMONG THE COLONISTS—THEY ABANDON THEIR SETTLEMENT—A SECOND EXPEDITION DESPATCHED—ITS FAILURE—CARTAGENA SACKED BY PRIVATEERS—INDIAN OUTBREAKS—CONFLAGRATIONS IN PANAMÁ—PEARL FISHERIES—MINING—SPANISH COMMERCE FALLING INTO THE HANDS OF THE BRITISH—SEIZURE OF BRITISH VESSELS AND MALETREATMENT OF THEIR CREWS—JENKINS' EARS—DECLARATION OF WAR—VERNON'S OPERATIONS ON THE ISTHMUS—ANSON'S VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD—VERNON'S SECOND EXPEDITION—ITS DISASTROUS RESULT.
Yet another phase of life and restless human endeavor on the Panamá Isthmus here presents itself. Great Britain is seized by an idea, born of greed and nurtured by injustice; and this conception expands until it covers the earth, and until the good people of England and Scotland are in imagination masters of the whole world, which possession is acquired not through any honest means, but after the too frequent vile indirections of the day and the nation; in all which the people of those isles give themselves and their money over to Satan.
[Sidenote: WILLIAM PATERSON.]
In June 1695 a number of wealthy Scotchmen under the leadership of William Paterson[XXXI‑1] obtained from the Scottish parliament a statute, and later letters patent from William III.,[XXXI‑2] authorizing them to plant colonies in Asia, Africa, or America, in places uninhabited, or elsewhere by permission of the natives, provided the territory were not occupied by any European prince or state. Paterson had spent several years in the Indies and had explored the province of Darien. Near the old settlement of Acla he had found a port safe for shipping. Three days' journey thence, on the other side of the Isthmus, were other suitable harbors. By establishing settlements on either shore, he purposed to grasp the trade whereby Europe was supplied with the products of North and South America, China, Japan, and the Philippine Islands, with European goods. From the Isthmus to Japan and parts of China was but a few weeks' sail, and the products of Asia could thus be landed in Europe in far less time than that occupied by the vessels of the India companies. Moreover on the rich soil of Darien, sugar, indigo, tobacco, and other articles of value could be raised. "Trade," said the projector of the bank of England, "will beget trade; money will beget money; the commercial world shall no longer want work for their hands, but will rather want hands for their work. This door to the seas and key to the universe will enable its possessors to become the legislators of both worlds, and the arbitrators of commerce. The settlers of Darien will acquire a nobler empire than Alexander or Cæsar, without fatigue, expense, or danger, as well as without incurring the guilt and bloodshed of conquerors."
Paterson was either knave or fool; having been both preacher and pirate he may have been both fool and knave. It was impossible for him to have explored the Isthmus as he claimed and not know that the climate was deadly, and that to the wild highlander, fresh from the cold north, the harbors of Darien could prove nothing but pest-holes, breeding swift destruction. As for the people who blindly threw themselves into the adventure, they were as sheep, and differed little from the human sheep of the present day.
Spain had at least the right of discovery and conquest to her possessions in the New World, even though such conquest had been attended with cruelty almost as great as that of the English in Hindostan. The natives of Darien were never indeed entirely subdued. Yet even according to the European code of robbery it does not appear that Great Britain had any more right to plant colonies in Tierra Firme than she now has to establish them in portions of the United States that may be infested by hostile Indians. Nevertheless in the year 1699 when, as we shall see, the scheme was on the verge of failure, the English monarch, in answer to a petition from "The Company of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies and their Colony of Darien," as the association was styled, asking that "His Royal Wisdom be pleased to take such Measures as might effectually vindicate the undoubted Rights and Privileges of the said Company, and support the Credit and Interest thereof," replied, "Right Trusty and Well-beloved, We greet you well: Your Petition has been presented to us by our Secretaries, and we do very much regret the Loss which that our antient Kingdom and the Company has lately sustained."[XXXI‑3]
[Sidenote: THE SCOTS COLONY.]
"To prove," says a writer of the period,[XXXI‑4] "the Falsehood of the Allegation, That the Province of Darien is part of the King of Spain's Domains: It is positively denied by the Scots, who challenge the Spaniards to prove their Right to the said Province, either by Inheritance, Marriage, Donation, Purchase, Reversion, Surrender, Possession or Conquest." "And as to their Claim by the Pope's Donation," writes another author of the period,[XXXI‑5] "the very mentioning, and much more the pleading of it, is a ridiculing, as well as bantring of Mankind; seeing even on the supposal that the Roman Pontiffs should be acknowledged the successors of St Peter, which as no Protestants are forward to believe or confess, so they have never hitherto found, nor do they think the Pontificans able to prove it: Yet this would invest them with no right of disposing the Kingdoms of the World as they please and unto whom they will. For Peter being cloathed with no such Power himself, nor having ever pretended to exert such a Jurisdictive Authority as some Popes have had the Vanity and Pride to do, how could he convey it unto, and entail it upon others, under the quality and character of being his Successors"? These and similar excuses, however sorry, were all that the apologists for the Scots' colony had to offer for thus grasping at this territory. It may be remarked that the claim of Great Britain to her colonies is in few instances based on discovery, and that nearly all her most valuable possessions have been gained at the point of the sword. Might is right.
Six hundred thousand pounds were required for the enterprise and the amount was quickly subscribed, in Scotland, England, Hamburg, and Amsterdam. The scheme was a bold one, but the promise of returns was vast, and as will be remembered this was the era of gigantic and insane speculations. In Scotland alone the subscriptions summed up three hundred thousand pounds, an amount which absorbed almost the entire circulating capital of the country. All who possessed ready money ventured at least a part of it in the enterprise. Some threw in all they had; others all they could borrow. Maidens invested their portions; widows pledged their dower, expecting to be repaid fifty or a hundred fold. In England half the capital stock was subscribed for in nine days, one fourth being paid in specie or bank notes, and the rest in bills payable on demand. The total of the subscriptions from all sources was nine hundred thousand pounds, a sum which at the close of the seventeenth century was enormous even in the money capital of Great Britain. Soon the success of the scheme aroused the jealousy of English merchants, who feared that the commerce of the world might pass into the hands of the Scotch. William III. was at heart opposed to the scheme, although he had granted letters patent to the association; and partly through his influence the contributions in England, Hamburg, and Amsterdam were withdrawn. Nevertheless, another hundred thousand pounds was raised in Scotland, thus making up a capital of four hundred thousand pounds sterling.
Permission was given by the crown to Paterson and his associates to fit out men-of-war, to plant colonies, build cities and forts, make reprisals for damage done by land or sea, and to conclude treaties of peace or commerce with princes and governors. They were also allowed to claim the minerals, the valuable timber, and the fisheries in sea or river, and "in the name of God and in Honour and for the Memory of that most Antient and Renowned name of our Mother Kingdom" the country was to be named New Caledonia. The enterprise was under the control of a council of seven,[XXXI‑6] to whom was intrusted all power, civil and military. Paterson was of course one of the members, but from all deliberations he was excluded, and in the final arrangements for the fleet he was not even consulted, his reasonable request that an inventory of supplies be taken before setting sail being refused.
[Sidenote: INSANE EXPECTATIONS.]
The expedition had been planned and ordered in keeping with the first subscriptions[XXXI‑7] and was the largest and most costly of any that had yet been fitted out for schemes of colonization in the New World. On the 26th of July 1698 twelve hundred men, among them three hundred youths belonging to the best families of Scotland, and many veterans who had been discharged from the British army after the peace of Ryswick, assembled at the port of Leith. A wild insanity seized the entire population of Edinburgh as they now came forth to witness the embarkation. Guards were kept busy holding back the eager aspirants who, hungry for death, pressed forward in throngs, stretching out their arms to their departing countrymen and clamoring to be taken on board. Stowaways when ordered on shore clung madly to rope and mast, pleading in vain to be allowed to serve without pay on board the fleet. Women sobbed and gasped for breath; men stood uncovered, and with choked utterance and downcast head invoked the blessing of the Almighty. The banner of St Andrew was hoisted at the admiral's mast; and as a light wind caught the sails, the roar of the vast multitude was heard far down the waters of the frith. The breeze freshened, and as the vessels were carried seaward, cheer after cheer followed the highlanders, who now bade farewell, most of them, as it proved, forever, to their native land.
[Sidenote: SCOTLAND IN DARIEN.]
On the 4th of November, having lost fifteen of their number during the voyage, they landed at Acla; founded there a settlement to which they gave the name New St Andrew; cut a canal through the neck of land which divided one side of the harbor from the ocean, and on this spot erected a fort whereon they mounted fifty guns. On a mountain at the opposite side of the harbor they built a watch-house, from which the view was so extensive that there was no danger of surprise. Lands were purchased from the Indians, and messages of friendship sent to the governors of several Spanish provinces.
On the week following the departure of the expedition, the Scottish parliament met and unanimously adopted an address to the king asking his support and countenance for the Darien colony, but no time was lost by the India companies in bringing every means to bear to ensure its ruin; and notwithstanding the memorial of the parliament, the British monarch ordered the governors of Jamaica, Barbadoes, and New York not to furnish the settlers with supplies.[XXXI‑8] To such length did rancor go, that the Scotch commanders who should presume to enter English ports, even for repairs after a storm, were threatened with arrest.[XXXI‑9]
A stock of provision had been placed on board the fleet sufficient as was supposed to last for eight months, but the supply gave out in as many weeks, since those who had been placed in charge of the commissariat department had embezzled the funds. Fishing and the chase were the only resources, and as these were precarious the colonists were soon on the verge of famine. As summer drew near the atmosphere became stifling, and the exhalations from the steaming soil, united with other causes, wrought deadly destruction on the settlers. Men were continually passing to the hospital and thence to the grave, and the survivors were only kept alive through the friendly services of the Indians.[XXXI‑10]
Matters daily grew worse with the colonists. A ship despatched from Scotland laden with provisions had foundered off Cartagena. The Spaniards on the Isthmus looked on their distress with complacency. No relief came nor any tidings from Scotland; and on the 22d of June 1699, less than eight months after their arrival, the survivors resolved to abandon the settlement. Paterson, the first to enter the ship at Leith, was the last to go on board at Darien. Ill with fever and broken in spirit, his misfortune weighed so heavily on him that he became temporarily deranged.[XXXI‑11] Of the rest, four hundred perished at sea.
Eight weeks after Paterson's departure two ships arrived from Scotland with ample stores of provisions and three hundred recruits. Finding the colony at New Saint Andrew abandoned they set sail for Jamaica, leaving six of their number, who preferring to remain on the Isthmus, were kindly treated by the natives, and after they had lived there long enough to satisfy themselves were safely brought away.
Not until several months after the departure of the first expedition did the court of Spain protest against the invasion of her territory. And no better policy could have been devised than to have thus let death do the work; but on the 3d of May 1699 a memorial was presented[XXXI‑12] to William III. by the Spanish ambassador stating that his Catholic Majesty looked on the proceeding as a rupture of the alliance between the two countries and as a hostile invasion, and would take such measures as he thought best against the intruders.
Provoked by this interference, and as yet ignorant of the fate of their colony, the Scotch soon afterward[XXXI‑13] despatched another expedition of thirteen hundred men in four vessels. The ships were hastily fitted out, and during the voyage one was lost and the others scattered. Many died on the passage, and the rest arrived at different times broken in health and spirit. The dwellings of the first settlers had been burned, the fort dismantled, the tools and agricultural implements abandoned, and the site of the settlement was overgrown with weeds. Meanwhile two sloops had arrived in the harbor with a small stock of provisions; but the supply was inadequate, and five hundred of the party were at once ordered to embark for Scotland.
In February 1700 Captain Campbell arrived at New Saint Andrew with a company of three hundred men who had served under him during the campaign in Flanders. Intelligence had now reached the colony that sixteen hundred Spaniards lay encamped on the Rio Santa María expecting soon to be joined by a squadron of nine vessels, when it was proposed to make a concerted attack on the settlement. Campbell resolved to anticipate the enemy, and marching against them at the head of two hundred veterans, surprised their camp by night, and dispersed them with great slaughter. Returning, he found that the Spanish ships were off the harbor, and that troops had been landed from them, cutting off all chance of relief. Nevertheless for six weeks the Scotch sustained a siege, and when their ammunition gave out they melted their pewter dishes and fashioned them into cannon balls. At length provisions ran short and the Spaniards cut off their water supply. A surrender became inevitable. Campbell with a few comrades escaped on board his vessel and made his way to New York and thence to Scotland. The rest capitulated on condition that they be allowed to depart with their effects,[XXXI‑14] but so weak were the survivors and so few in number that they were not able to weigh the anchor of their largest ship until the Spaniards generously came to their assistance. All but two of the vessels were lost; only thirty of the men succeeded in reaching home, and after the loss of more than two thousand lives and several millions of money, the Scotch abandoned further attempts at colonization in Tierra Firme.[XXXI‑15]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: CARTAGENA.]
While the Spaniards were thus annoyed by foreign encroachments in Darien, the capital of the neighboring province was captured by filibusters. This was in 1697. To Pedro de Heredia had been assigned in 1532, as will be remembered, a province in Nueva Andalucía; and there had been founded the colony of Cartagena, which toward the close of the sixteenth century had become a flourishing settlement. A hundred years later Cartagena ranked next to Mexico among the cities of the western world. Situated on a capacious harbor, esteemed as one of the best in the Indies, it possessed several large streets, each nearly one sixth of a league in length, with well built houses of stone, a cathedral, several churches, and numerous convents and nunneries. Its population was probably little short of twenty thousand, of whom about three thousand were Spaniards and the remainder negroes and mulattoes. It was strongly fortified by nature and art, and had to some extent superseded the cities of the Isthmus as an entrepôt of commerce between the hemispheres. Here the pearl fleet called once a year, an entire street being occupied with the shops of the pearl-dressers, and here was brought, by way of the Desaguadero, the sugar, cochineal, and indigo sent from Guatemala for shipment to Spain.
Cartagena was therefore a tempting prize for the banditti who infested the waters of the North Sea. Drake's operations off that city have already been related. A few years after the decease of that famous adventurer it was laid in ashes by French privateers; and now, in 1697, it was captured by a French fleet having on board twelve hundred men, of whom seven hundred were filibusters under command of Le Baron de Pointis. The spoils of this raid were variously estimated at from eight to forty millions of livres; and yet it is said that before the capture of the city a hundred and ten mule-loads of silver were despatched to a place of safety.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: LUIS GARCÍA.]
In 1726 the governor of Panamá gave authority to the mestizo, Luis García, a man whose exploits had brought him into prominence, to lead the Indians in a war of extermination against the French filibusters, who still continued to devastate the Isthmus.
A brief but sharp campaign resulted in the death of the French leader, the notorious Petitpied, and García, on his return to Panamá, was amply rewarded. The Cana mines proved too great a temptation to García after his return to his home in Darien, and finding that some of the caciques whose territory extended to the Balsas River were in a state of mutiny on account of grievances inflicted by the curates in the name of the church and the king, he made a compact with them to throw off Spanish allegiance, withdraw their forces to the mountain fastnesses, and form a government of their own. A rendezvous was established in the Cordillera, and García, growing more resolute, resolved on an aggressive war upon the Spaniards and their Indian allies. The campaign opened in a frontier town on the river Yavisa, where they killed the cura, the teniente de justicia, a few Spaniards, and all the Indians who would not join them; then they plundered the place. Elated by this victory, García continued his march until he reached Santa María, where he attempted the same system of spoliation and slaughter. He was less successful, for the inhabitants had fled with most of their valuables. García's men entered the town, burned it, and killed every Spaniard they could capture in the neighborhood.
Meanwhile news of the revolt had reached the president, and seventy picked men well officered had been sent to suppress it. This and other attempts threw the people of Darien, now numbering twenty thousand, into consternation, and concerted action was planned with Panamá. A large reward was offered for the body of García, dead or alive; he perished at last by the hands of a negro.[XXXI‑16]
Although the Isthmus was the seat of the first Spanish settlement in America, as I have said before, the natives of Darien were never completely subdued. The Spaniards built strongholds, gathered the Indians into settlements, introduced missionaries, guarded the coast with men-of-war, but all in vain. In 1745 Fort San Rafael de Terable was built by Governor Dionisio de Alcedo on a small peninsula bordered by the river and bay. In 1751 the natives carrying out an oft repeated threat attacked this stronghold, and of the garrison but two or three wounded men escaped. In 1756 the population of Yavisa, composed chiefly of friendly Indians, was massacred by the Chucunaques. A fort was erected in 1760 at this point, and a few years later it became the capital of the province and the seat of the residence of the governor. In 1768 the Chucunaques slaughtered the garrison at Port Ypelisa, plundered the place of arms and tools, and in the same year laid waste the banks of the Congo.
Ten years later another extensive raid occurred; but in 1774 Andrés de Ariza, being appointed governor, dealt vigorously and skilfully with the hostile tribes. He discovered numerous secret passes and well cut roads from their quarters to various portions of the province; he deciphered a system of alarm signals, and found a number of caves where the light boats of the natives were constructed. By his efforts the Indians were kept at bay or brought under control.
But outbreaks among the natives and the raids of corsairs were not the only misfortunes to which the Isthmus was exposed. During the eighteenth century the city of Panamá was thrice devastated by fire. On the 1st and 2d of February 1737 a conflagration occurred which destroyed two thirds of the buildings; March 30, 1756, a second fire destroyed one half of the city; and on the 26th of April 1771 fifty-five houses were burned.[XXXI‑17]
[Sidenote: POLITICAL MATTERS.]
While the people of Tierra Firme thus suffered many disasters at this period of their history, and as we shall see later were frequently subject to attack from the armaments of hostile powers, they appear to have been remarkably free from the internal dissensions which prevailed at an earlier date. The unseemly strife between the church and the audiencia had now entirely ceased, and little worthy of note is mentioned by the chroniclers. During the latter portion of the seventeenth century, and for the first few years of the eighteenth, records as to the succession of governors in Panamá are meagre. In 1708 the marqués de Villa Rocha was in power; but incurring the displeasure of the audiencia, he was deposed in June of that year, and confined in the castle of Portobello. His successor, Fernando de Haro Monterroso, the senior oidor, who had been mainly instrumental in effecting the downfall of the marquis, held the reins of government for about six months when he was prosecuted for alleged outrages of so grave a character that he was sent in custody to Spain for trial.[XXXI‑18] From Alcedo we learn that Juan Bautista de Orueta y Irusta, alcalde del crímen of the audiencia of Lima, succeeded to the gubernatorial office, and ruled until 1710, when a governor of the king's appointment arrived, and Orueta returned to Lima.
In June 1711 Villa Rocha, having been released and seeing an opportunity of seizing the reins of power, hastened to the capital and proclaimed himself governor. His career was short, for within twenty-four hours José Hurtado de Amedzaga, mariscal del campo of the royal forces, compelled him to abdicate, and he himself took possession of the governor's chair, occupying it until 1716, by which time he had rendered himself so obnoxious to the people that he was removed by the king's order. The government was then placed in the hands of the bishop of the diocese, and the authority of the audiencia was suspended. Following Haya we find that Doctor Fray José de Llamas y Rivas, bishop of Panamá, administered the government from the deposition of Villa Rocha to January 1719. Authorities differ as to the order of succession of the different governors. I have selected Haya as probably the most accurate. This writer informs us that Governor Alderete began his administration of Panamá on the 25th of April 1725, and that he was deposed and sent to Spain in 1730.
The successor of Alderete was Juan José de Andia, marqués de Villa Hermosa, who was promoted from the governorship of Cartagena to the presidency of Panamá. In 1735, after five years' service, he was given a generalship in the royal army of Spain, and returned there with honors.
Dionisio de Alcedo y Herrera was appointed a few years later with authority over all the fortified cities which had been the objective point of the English in the war which they had declared in 1739.
On the day before Christmas 1749 the governorship of Panamá was conferred on Jaime Muñoz de Guzman; but on the same day one appointed by the crown arrived in the person of Manuel de Montiano, who held the office until the 11th of November 1755. Montiano was promoted to this position from the governorship of Florida, and was a mariscal de campo.
While engaged in geodetic surveys at the Isthmus about this time, Ulloa had an opportunity of witnessing the manner in which justice was bought and sold. Matters had come to such a pass that the members of the audiencia chose the most dexterous of their number and empowered him to negotiate with rival parties as to what amount of bonus they were respectively disposed to pay in consideration of a favorable verdict.
Panamá, in 1758 had for its governor Antonio Guill, an officer of unusual merit, and one whose executive ability was highly prized by the crown. He was promoted to the captain-generalship of Chile in 1761. In the following year José Raon succeeded, and was promoted to the presidency of Manila two years later. In 1764 José Vasco y Orosco became governor. He died in 1767, and was succeeded in January 1769 by Vicente Olaziregui, others acting provisionally during the interval. Temporary appointments were made till 1779, when Ramon de Carbajal took charge, returning to Spain in 1786.
* * * * *
Until 1718 the three provinces of the Isthmus were subject to the viceroy of Peru, but after that they were incorporated with New Granada, the viceroy of which resided at Santa Fé de Bogotá. The latter was endowed with the prerogatives of royalty, the only checks upon his authority being the residencia and the right of appeal to the audiencia of Panamá. The audiencia enjoyed the privilege of direct communication with the sovereign, and with the council of the Indies. Any beneficial effect which that institution might have had was counteracted largely by the vast powers of the viceroy and their consequent means of influencing any and every subordinate.
In 1774 there was instituted at Panamá a new audiencia real y chancillería, having for its limits the province of Castilla del Oro as far as Portobello, the province of Veragua, and toward Peru as far as the ports of Buenavista and the river Darien, the territory under its control being bounded on the east and south by that under the jurisdiction of the audiencias of Granada and Quito; on the west by that of Guatemala; and on the north and south by the two oceans.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: PEARLS AND GOLD.]
It has already been stated that about the close of the sixteenth century the fisheries of the Pearl Islands became exhausted, and that they were abandoned for several decades thereafter. In 1697 the Italian traveller Gemelli Careri visited Panamá, and according to his report the fisheries then yielded pearls equal to those found near Ceylon. He mentions one belonging to a Jesuit priest that weighed sixty grains, and for which the owner refused seventy thousand pesos.[XXXI‑19]
About the same time the industry of gold-mining was revived on the Isthmus. In Darien and Veragua, but especially in the former province, mines which had been abandoned were again worked, and new ones discovered. The operatives were slaves, free negroes, sambos, and mulattoes, who received for their wages a certain amount of pay-dirt, and often pilfered gold dust enough to make them as rich as their masters. It was the delight of the negroes to give fancy balls to their inamoratas, at which they would appear with their hair glistening with golden trinkets, sometimes sprinkling the ball-room floor with gold dust.
A slave of Antonio de Sosa discovered a pocket of gold which is said to have yielded sixty thousand castellanos; and making this known to his master, was rewarded with his freedom and that of his wife, and presented with a house and lot in Panamá and a moderate income wherewith to enjoy his liberty. Of a vagabond mulatto it is related that he suddenly reappeared in the church of Santo Domingo, and attracted the gaze of all by a remarkably brilliant rosary formed of large nuggets of purest gold. The place of discovery was subsequently known as the Rosario mining district. Among other nuggets unearthed was one found at the mines of Santa María, weighing, according to Dampier, a hundred and twenty pounds. Instances like these might be multiplied, but enough has been said to show the value of the mines from which at this time more gold was sent to Panamá than from all the others in the Spanish provinces. As late as 1720 they yielded a handsome revenue to the Spanish crown.
[Sidenote: MINES AND MERCHANDISE.]
The mines of Cana in the mountains of Espíritu Santo were especially rich, and in the early part of the eighteenth century were so frequently exposed to the raids of robbers that for a season they were abandoned. In 1702 and 1712, at the former of which dates the town of Cana contained nine hundred houses, the place was sacked by the English; in 1724 by the French; and in 1727 by the Indians. During these and later years other parts of the Isthmus were several times invaded by corsairs, or by the armaments of England ostensibly by way of reprisal for injuries inflicted on British commerce.
In 1713 Great Britain obtained an asiento for supplying the Spanish colonies with negro slaves,[XXXI‑20] and also the privilege of sending annually to Portobello a five-hundred-ton vessel laden with European merchandise. British factories were soon established at Cartagena and Panamá. And British merchants, prompt to take advantage of this license, poured in goods without limitation or restraint. Instead of a vessel of five hundred tons they usually sent one of nearly double that capacity, accompanied by two or three smaller ships, which, mooring in some neighboring creek, supplied fresh bales of goods when the stock on board the larger vessel became exhausted. The inspectors of the fair and the officers of the revenue were bribed, and gradually the immense commerce of the merchants of Seville was diverted, and the squadrons that were wont to be the pride of Spain and the envy of the nations sank to insignificant proportions, the galleons having little other freight than that furnished by the mines and the royal tribute. In 1719 an effort was made to regain this lost ground, foreign commerce being interdicted and increased facilities being given for domestic trade by a cédula of December 1st.[XXXI‑21]
After the treaty of Seville was concluded between Spain and England, complaints were frequently made of the depredations committed by Spanish guarda costas on British commerce in the West Indies. The English of course retaliated. Whereupon the Spaniards, not satisfied with plundering British merchant-ships, maltreated their crews. A squadron of four twenty-gun ships and two sloops was despatched to the Indies, and accounts of the atrocities inflicted or permitted by the captains of Spanish vessels were continually brought by vessels arriving from the New World. In 1738 the house of commons determined to investigate the matter, and to ascertain the number of ships that had been seized by the Spaniards, the value of their cargoes, and the nature of the alleged cruelties. An instance which was related before a committee of inquiry appointed by the commons aroused a feeling of resentment throughout Great Britain. One Captain Jenkins, master of a brig trading from Glasgow, stated that his craft had been boarded by a guarda costa, that his crew had been ill used, and one of his own ears cut off, the captain of the vessel placing it in his hand and bidding him carry it home to the king, whom he declared he would treat in the same manner if he had him in his power. Discredit was afterward thrown on this story; but whether it were true or false it was at the time believed by the commons and the people of England. On the 14th of January 1739 a convention was signed between the two countries, wherein Spain agreed to indemnify British merchants for their losses, but the Spaniards afterward refused to pay the stipulated sum. In consequence of which, and of the maltreatment of British subjects, letters of marque and reprisal were issued by the admiralty in July of that year, but not until October following was war formally declared.
[Sidenote: A GENTLEMANLY ENGLISH COMMANDER.]
It was now resolved to despatch a strong squadron to the West Indies[XXXI‑22] for the protection of British commerce, and, in retaliation for the injuries inflicted by the Spaniards, to attack Portobello. So strongly was this city fortified that during a debate of the house of commons one of the members stated that it could not be captured with less than fifty or sixty men-of-war; whereupon Captain Edward Vernon, himself a member, happening to be present, rose and said: "I will forfeit my life if I cannot take it with six ships." The offer was promptly accepted; the captain was given the command of an expedition, and being promoted to the rank of vice-admiral set sail on the 20th of July 1739. Touching at Port Royal he obtained a reënforcement of 240 troops, and after waiting in vain for more land forces from England, put to sea with seven vessels, six of them having on board 2,735 men and 370 guns; one was ordered to cruise off Cartagena, that the commander might make good his promise to capture the city with six ships only. On nearing the coast three Spanish war-vessels were sighted and chased, but made good their escape, and found safe shelter, as their captains supposed, under the cannon of the forts.
At daybreak on the 21st of November the British squadron entered the harbor in line of battle. A brisk fire was at once opened from the strongest fort of the Spaniards, known as the Iron Castle, and against this point Vernon directed his attack. The Hampton Court, a vessel with 70 guns and 500 men, led the way, and, anchoring almost within a cable's length of the fort, bore for some minutes the whole brunt of the fight. Within half an hour two other vessels came into action, and soon the upper portion of the castle wall was battered down, when many of the Spaniards abandoned their guns and fled. Observing this the admiral ordered a lieutenant with forty sailors and a party of marines to land and carry the fort by assault. He then anchored his own ship, the Burford, within half a cable's length of the enemy's cannon, in order to cover the storming party. He met with a warm reception, for the Spaniards opened a point-blank fire on the Burford, and every gun took effect. One shot passed through the fore-top-mast, another struck within two inches of the main-mast, a third broke through the bulwarks of the quarter-deck, close to the spot where Vernon stood, killing two men and wounding five others. The stern of the admiral's barge was shot away, and a large carronade on the main-deck was disabled. But soon the flag-ship brought her starboard broadside to bear on the castle, and at the first discharge drove the Spaniards from their lower batteries; then swinging round on her cable she poured in another volley from her larboard guns. The fire of her small arms commanded the lower embrasures; the men meanwhile had made good their landing from the boats; and soon the white flag was hoisted from the Iron Castle. Firing was continued until dark from two other forts, which then guarded the harbor of Portobello, but on the following morning the city, the fortifications, and all the vessels in port were finally surrendered to the English.[XXXI‑23]
Vernon would not allow his men to pillage the town[XXXI‑24] or molest the inhabitants; but ten thousand pesos intended for the pay of the garrison were found concealed, and distributed among the English forces.[XXXI‑25] The most serviceable pieces of ordnance were placed on board the fleet; the rest were spiked; the ammunition was secured, and after blowing up all the fortifications of the city, Vernon, being now reënforced by several vessels, returned to Port Royal, whence after refitting his fleet he sailed on the 25th of February 1740 for the mouth of the Chagre with six men-of-war, and several fire-ships, bombketches, and tenders.
The castle of San Lorenzo which, it will be remembered, was demolished by Morgan in 1671, had been rebuilt and strongly fortified. Vernon now resolved to destroy it and thus strike another blow at Spain's dominions in Tierra Firme; but first to punish the inhabitants of Cartagena from which city the Spanish admiral, Don Blas, had sent him while at Portobello a message which savored of insolence. The don had accused him of fear, and remarked that "to take Cities and destroy Royal Fortifications was an unusual and unexpected Way of making Reprisals." This remark the British commander deemed sufficient excuse for shelling the city, during which process the customhouse, the Jesuit college, a church, and other buildings were laid in ruins though he did not succeed in capturing Cartagena. The castle of San Lorenzo was surrendered with but slight resistance; and after committing further depredations on the coast Vernon set sail from the shores of Tierra Firme.
About three weeks after the declaration of war between England and Spain, Captain George Anson arrived at Spithead from his cruise off the coast of Africa and in the West Indies. He was placed in charge of an armament consisting of six vessels with 1,510 men and 236 guns, and was promised a force of infantry composed of several hundred choice troops, the purpose of the expedition being to operate on the coast of Peru, and thence to proceed northward, attack Panamá, and capture the treasure-fleet.
[Sidenote: VERNON'S EXPEDITION.]
In 1741 Vernon, who was now at Jamaica, was placed in charge of the largest fleet and army that had ever been despatched to the West Indies. Twenty-nine ships of the line, with a large number of frigates, bombketches, and fire-ships, manned by 15,000 seamen and having on board about 12,000 troops, were here collected for a descent on the mainland. Anson was directed to coöperate with Vernon by way of the Isthmus; and had not these expeditions suffered a series of reverses, caused in part by the vacillating policy of the British ministry, Spain's dominion in the western world might now have come to an end.
[Sidenote: ANSON'S EXPEDITION.]
But in place of choice troops a number of raw recruits were placed on board Anson's ships, the only veterans being invalids; and the departure of his squadron was delayed until the 18th of September 1740. After clearing the straits of Magellan they encountered a furious storm which lasted for fifty-eight days. The vessels were parted, and on the 9th of June in the following year the admiral's ship, the Centurion, arrived at the island of Juan Fernandez with her crew prostrated by scurvy. Here he was soon rejoined by two others of the squadron, and after remaining a hundred and four days at the island set sail for the coast of South America, sacking and burning the town of Paita and taking several vessels, by the men on board one of which he was told that Vernon had been defeated at Cartagena. It was resolved not to make any attempt on Panamá; and after some further adventures Anson sailed toward Manila, and captured in that vicinity a prize which rewarded him and his followers for all their toil and suffering. This was a Spanish galleon having on board nearly a million and a half of pesos. Anson then set his face homeward and arrived in England by way of the Cape of Good Hope on the 15th of June 1744, having occupied three years and nine months in his circumnavigation.[XXXI‑26]
After his repulse at Cartagena Vernon returned to Jamaica, where he was soon reënforced by four men-of-war and three thousand troops despatched from England. On the 9th of March 1742 he sailed for Portobello, intending to proceed thence to Panamá and capture that city. On arriving at the Isthmus he found that the rainy season had already set in; his men sickened, and a council of war being held it was resolved to return once more to Jamaica. Hence he was soon afterward ordered home, the remnant of his forces now mustering but a tenth part of the number that had been intrusted to his command. Thus in disaster ended an expedition sent to the conquest of an empire.
* * * * *
Notwithstanding the defeat of Vernon's expedition the settlements on the North Sea had been so frequently laid waste that after 1748 there was little intercourse between Spain and her colonies in Tierra Firme and South America except by way of Cape Horn. The despatch of fleets to the Isthmus was discontinued. Licenses were granted, however, to vessels called register ships, and in 1764 a monthly line of packets was established for intercommunication with Portobello and Cartagena. A few years later restrictions on trade were removed by international treaty; but long before the close of the eighteenth century the commerce of the Isthmus declined, and the road from Panamá to Portobello could no longer be called one of the chief commercial highways of the world. Agriculture and manufactures were neglected; the mines were exhausted; and the trade which had for more than two hundred years been the life-blood of Panamá existed no more.
XXXII. MOSQUITIA, NICARAGUA, AND COSTA RICA
1701-1800.
THE SAMBOS OF MOSQUITIA—THEIR TERRITORY—A MOSQUITO CHIEFTAIN CROWNED KING—TREATIES BETWEEN SPAIN AND ENGLAND—THE BRITISH OCCUPY MOSQUITIA—GALVEZ CAPTURES AN ENGLISH SETTLEMENT ON THE BLACK RIVER—AN ARMAMENT DESPATCHED FROM JAMAICA TO MOSQUITIA—SURRENDER OF THE SPANIARDS—COLONISTS ORDERED TO LEAVE THE COAST—THE GOVERNORS OF NICARAGUA—THE BRITISH DEFEATED AT FORT SAN CÁRLOS—THEY CAPTURE FORT SAN JUAN—BUT ARE COMPELLED TO RETREAT—CHURCH MATTERS—MISSIONARY EXPEDITIONS TO TALAMANCA—AFFAIRS IN COSTA RICA.
[Sidenote: GENERAL DESCRIPTION.]
On the eastern coast of Nicaragua and Honduras there lived in the seventeenth century a people known among themselves as Misskitos, and called by the Spaniard Mosquitos, or more frequently sambos, the offspring probably of cimarrones and native women. They were ruled by an hereditary king, whose territory, when buccaneers first visited his domain, was of very limited extent, though the Mosquito language, which was identical with the one spoken by those of similar origin in the West Indies, spread in after years from Cape Honduras to the Desaguadero, and as far inland as Black River. They were a warlike race, and, as we shall see, could hold their own against the Spaniards. Their chief weapons were the bow and arrow, in the use of which it is said that the women were as expert as the men. The bow was of ironwood, often six feet in length, and strung with twisted bark. The arrow was of wood or reed, hardened in the fire, and tipped with fish-bone, flint, or teeth, poisoned in the juice of the manzanilla tree. They fought also with lances of cane, nine feet in length, and with javelins, clubs, and heavy sharp-pointed swords made of a poisonous wood. Their defensive armor was of plated reeds covered with tiger-skins and bedecked with feathers. Toward the close of the century the Mosquitos could put more than forty thousand warriors into the field; they selected as leader on each expedition the bravest and most experienced of their number.[XXXII‑1]
"The inner parts of the Mosqueto country are very barren," states an Englishman who was in those parts near the close of the seventeenth century and wrote his description about 1699, "but in the woods near the river sides, and by the great lagunes, are many sorts of fruits, wild beasts, and fowls, in plenty.... Plantains, and bananas, ... they have plentifully, in small plantations, in obscure parts of the woods, near the river sides.... Pine apples too ... they have enough of, and mammo, which last is a very sweet fruit ... and grows on middling low trees like apples. Saffadilla trees, which bear berries as big as sloes, of a yellowish colour, which are very pleasant to the taste and wholesome, of extraordinary virtue, ... are very frequent in their woods; as are likewise a sort of a pleasing plum tree, which grows very large, and is of a most delicious odour.... Great Indian wheat, or mais, they plant a little of to make drink with; and likewise some cocoa trees, ... but their laziness will not permit them to plant much of the last, because they can steal it ready gathered from the Spaniards, who have large plantations thereof at Carpenters river, not many leagues from them. Sugar-canes I have seen growing in old king Jeremy's plantation, much larger than I ever saw in Jamaica, but the Indians not knowing how to make sugar or rum, neglect them.... Pappaw trees which bear a sweet fruit, almost like a musk-melon in shape and taste ... are very plentiful. Cocoa-nut trees, cocoa-plums, and large grapes, growing on great trees, with large stones in them ... grow up and down near the water-sides. Monelo trees, whose fruit hangs down like french-beans, and are a very rich perfume when dried, and the best for chocolate, grow very plentiful on the banks of Black River, in this country. All the flesh that these people eat ... they get by hunting.... They have a small sort of fallow deer, like our English, with shorter horns, which haunt the inner sides of the woods, close to the Savanna.... The mountain cow, which the natives call Tilbu, is of the bigness of an English calf of a year old, having a snout like an elephant and not horned; they hide all day in muddy plashes, to escape the tigers, and in the night swim across the river to get food.... Warree and pickaree abound in great herds, and are two sorts of Indian wild hogs, having both their navels on their backs.[XXXII‑2] ... Some parts of this country are pretty well stocked with fowls.... A pretty large sort of fowl haunt their plantain walks, which the natives call quawmoes and the English corasaoes; they are a small sort of Indian turkey.... Wood pigeons ... and a sort of fat doves creeping commonly on the ground, are plentiful enough.... The woods are stocked with a variety of other fowls, most curiously painted, which are good for food.... In the fresh water rivers they have a sort of tortoise, called cushwaw, ... and on the coast abundance of large sea-tortoises.... They have great shoals of mullets, silver-fish, cat-fish, cavallies, sharks, nurses, snappers, growpers, some seal, stingrays, whiprays, and sea-devils.... Their best fish is the manatee, or sea-cow ... they are sometimes found straggling in the lagunes ... but are not suffered to increase, thro' the greediness of the Indian, who spares no pains when he hath a prospect of getting any."[XXXII‑3] Here, then, was a territory rich in natural resources, which, though discovered by Columbus in 1502, was left undisturbed by the Spaniards for some two centuries, the reason being chiefly that no gold was discovered there. The western or North American division of the coast of Central America, from Cape Gracias á Dios to the gulf of Urabá, was granted as we have seen to Diego de Nicuesa, whose disastrous expedition to Veragua has already been presented.[XXXII‑4] In 1576 the coast of Mosquitia was conveyed by royal cédula to the licentiate Diego García de Palacios, Captain Diego Lopez being appointed by the licentiate governor and captain-general of the province, and undertaking to attempt the conquest of the territory at his own risk.[XXXII‑5] But it does not appear that the captain took any action in the matter, and the natives, cimarrones and Mosquitos, were left undisturbed until the arrival of the buccaneers, who found in the intricate bays and winding rivers of Mosquitia, many places well adapted for the concealment of their light swift-sailing craft. The head-quarters of the freebooters were at Cape Gracias á Dios. Here they met to divide their booty and decide upon new expeditions; and, whenever opportunity offered, they darted thence like hawks upon the galleons that were freighted with the riches of Peru.
[Sidenote: GREAT BRITAIN.]
English settlements with which it was pretended that the buccaneers had no connection were established in this territory before 1670, and by the treaty of Madrid, signed at that date, the rights of Great Britain were recognized. The seventh article of this treaty stipulated that "the King of Great Britain his heirs and successors shall hold, and possess for ever, with full right of sovereign dominion, property and possession all lands, countries, islands, colonies and dominions whatever, situated in the West Indies, or in any part of America which the said King of Great Britain and his subjects do at this present hold and possess." In the same year an alliance, offensive and defensive, was made between Great Britain and Mosquitia.[XXXII‑6]
In 1687 one of the Mosquito chieftains was sent to Jamaica in order to place his native land under British protection. "But," says Sir Hans Sloane, "he escaped from his keepers, pulled off the clothes his friends had put on him, and climbed to the top of a tree." He was presently induced by promise of kind treatment to descend, whereupon he received a cocked hat and a piece of writing under the seal of the governor dubbing him king of Mosquitia.
In truth the action of the British government at this time admits of little excuse so far as it concerns the Spanish possessions in the Indies. The governors of Jamaica connived at the raids of the buccaneers, and as we have seen, Sir Henry Morgan, the titled buccaneer, held high office in that island; although when he became rich by swindling his fellow-cut-throats, he punished those who did not bribe him with a share of their spoils. The governors were frequently changed in order that Great Britain might remain on friendly terms with Spain, but this measure did not prevent the outrages which have been described in previous chapters.
After the conclusion of the peace of Ryswick in 1697 we hear no more of piratical raids, and in that year the island of San Cristóbal was restored to Spain. Treaties were signed between Great Britain and Spain in 1713, 1715, and 1721, in the last of which it was stipulated that commerce and navigation should be left free to the Spaniards in the West Indies, and that the limits of New World possessions should remain as they were in the days of Cárlos II. of Spain.
In 1720 a treaty was concluded between Sir Nicholas Lawes, then governor of Jamaica, and Jeremy, then king of the sambos, whereby the latter agreed to assist the English planters in capturing runaway slaves, the Mosquitos being provided with boats, arms, and ammunition, and receiving pay for their services.[XXXII‑7] But the natives thus armed and equipped took advantage of their opportunity to make raids on the neighboring Spanish settlements.
[Sidenote: AN ALCALDE MAYOR'S REPORT.]
The archives of Guatemala contain the report of an alcalde mayor of Tegucigalpa, then resident in that province, and made by order of the president in obedience to a royal cédula previously issued. "The sambos," says the alcalde, "have plenty of vessels, provisions, arms, and ammunition, for they are supplied by the English of Jamaica, who egg them on to hostilities against the Spaniards. Their country is also a place of refuge for the mulattoes, negroes, and other evil-doers who flee from justice in the Spanish settlements, and who give them information of the Spanish plans, as well as join them in the execution of their own. They have had the effrontery to call their chief 'Jeremías, Rey del Mosquito.' This man gives letters of marque to his so-called vassals, who ravage the coast from Belize to Portobello, keeping the subjects of Spain, who traffic in those seas, in constant alarm—some of whom have lost their lives, others their liberty, and others their property. These people inhabit the region from the jurisdiction of Comayagua to that of Costa Rica, always near the coast. Between them and the Spanish settlements is a cordillera, for which reasons they make their incursions by ascending the rivers. Their country has a width of some six leagues between the mountains and the sea, the half nearest the sea being where they have their cultivated lands and their cattle, the other portion being useless. They live in rancherías, or in scattered houses—even in the rancherías the houses never being one near the other—so that if one house be attacked, the people of the others may have time for defence or flight. Their principal settlement is about the centre of this coast line. It is in a lagoon, and here dwell their so-called king and his principal men. The settlement is surrounded by a wall, a moat, broad and deep, and covered in such a way that the apparently solid earth gives way under the tread of the unwary stranger seeking to enter the town. There are but two entrances into the town, and these are known only to these people, to Spaniards who have been prisoners, and to the refugees."[XXXII‑8]
In this report further depredations of the natives are mentioned; and it is recommended that expeditions be sent against them by land and sea to exterminate the guilty persons. In 1740, England and Spain being then at war, the governor of Jamaica, in a letter to the duke of Newcastle, states that there were then about a hundred English in the territory and suggests that they might be used to incite the sambos to a general uprising against the Spaniards. Colonel Robert Hodgson was sent to that coast during the same year on a special mission, and winning over the sambo king and the leading men obtained from them a cession of their territory and hoisted the English flag on the shore of Mosquitia; but the failure of Anson's and Vernon's expeditions, which have already been described, and the refractory spirit of most of the natives prevented any invasion of the Spanish provinces. In 1744 Hodgson was appointed superintendent of the Mosquito shore, subject to the governor of Jamaica, and troops were forwarded, forts were erected and mounted with ordnance, the British thus taking possession of the country. The Spaniards never ceased their remonstrances against these encroachments, and in 1750 threatened to expel the intruders by force. Hodgson was then instructed to represent that his presence was merely for the purpose of restraining the natives from committing depredations on Spanish settlements. This explanation was accepted at the time, through motives of policy, but still the depredations continued, and the disputes arising in connection with England's policy in this matter helped to bring about the rupture ended by the treaty of Paris in 1763, wherein it was stipulated that Great Britain should destroy all forts that she had caused to be erected in the Spanish provinces, including the Mosquito Coast.
When England withdrew from the military occupation of Mosquitia most of the settlers still remained; and believing that Great Britain would ere long establish a provisional government on the coast, some of them purchased lands from the natives suitable for the cultivation of sugar-cane, cotton, and cacao. In 1771 eight persons joined in the purchase of a large tract on the Polloy River, said to contain gold, and extending thirty miles on either bank. Two years later a number of miners were set to work, but through their misconduct, as it is alleged, the venture met with poor success.
A new system of administration for the British settlements in Mosquitia was framed by Lord Dartmouth in 1775, and put in execution by Sir Basil Keith, then governor of Jamaica.[XXXII‑9] Hodgson was ordered home, and in 1776 Colonel Lawrie took his place. The new superintendent found the natives and settlers greatly agitated on account of the seizure by Spaniards of an English vessel on the Black River,[XXXII‑10] and the attitude of the latter toward the sambos and their allies. The colonists were in a dilemma, for the Spaniards hated them, and the English government gave them little encouragement.[XXXII‑11]
In March 1782 Matías de Galvez, the captain-general of Guatemala, left Trinidad with a flotilla well manned and equipped, for the avowed purpose of chastising the men of Mosquitia, and driving the English from the shore. Galvez had chosen his time well. After the disaster of 1780, which will be described later, the English had left Black River in a defenceless condition, and in the April following a detachment from Trujillo had scattered the few remaining colonists, pillaging and destroying their settlements. Soon afterward Superintendent Lawrie returned to Black River, with the remnant of the settlers, much reduced and in precarious health. There were stationed at that point twenty-one regular soldiers, according to the English official report, besides settlers, negroes, and several hundred natives. They were ill prepared for defence, being short of arms and provisions.
The Spanish forces advanced from the southward, with 1,350 foot and 100 horse, and from the westward, with 1,000 men. A line-of-battle ship and a frigate came to anchor in the river and under a heavy fire landed 500 men. The day after these vessels arrived Captain Douglas, who commanded the English militia, spiked his guns and while in retreat was captured by the Spaniards. A council of war was held and it was resolved to retire to Cape Gracias á Dios, which point the British and their allies reached in safety, though suffering severely from sickness caused by want of food and clothing.
Galvez soon afterward returned to Guatemala by way of Trujillo, leaving garrisons at several points on the river. These soon found themselves in a critical position on account of the numerous hostile parties who roamed the neighboring woods to intercept provisions and cut off foraging parties. By sea the winds and currents rendered supplies difficult to obtain. Moreover, heavy rains had made the roads almost impassable. At a council held July 10th it was resolved on abandonment unless relief came by the last of the month. Before that time arrived, however, a number of veterans, under one Terry, succeeded in reaching the Black River. The garrison was further encouraged by the news that an armed merchant vessel was lying at Trujillo awaiting orders from the president to operate in their behalf.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: ENGLISH NAVAL VICTORY.]
The decisive naval victory of the English over the French in April enabled the governor and admiral at Jamaica to turn their attention to the Mosquito shore. A small squadron, with a detachment of troops, furnished with arms, stores, ammunition, provisions, and presents for the natives, sailed from Port Royal, and the 17th of August arrived at Cape Gracias á Dios, the purpose of the expedition being to assist the settlers and natives in expelling the Spaniards from the neighborhood of the Black River.[XXXII‑12] Here they found the superintendent at the head of eight hundred settlers, Mosquitos and negroes, intending to start in a few days for an attack on the Spaniards.
The armament sailed from the cape on the 26th of August, Colonel Despard in command, and on the 28th landed at Plantain River, where it was joined by a number of free men and negroes in that neighborhood, and by Captain John Campbell, who, with about 150 volunteer negroes, had attacked and carried Fort Dalling, which was defended by a like number of Spaniards.
On the 29th the entire body, mustering about a thousand men, advanced to the bluff at the mouth of the Black River, and the next day encamped on the banks of the lagoon opposite the enemy. The Spanish commander then opened conference with Colonel Despard, which resulted in a capitulation, and his men, though numbering more than seven hundred regular troops, surrendered as prisoners of war.
In 1783 a treaty was concluded between England and Spain, in which the former agreed to abandon all settlements on the Spanish continent; but England would not concede that the Mosquito Coast was included in this definition.[XXXII‑13] Hence disputes arose; and three years later a supplementary treaty was negotiated, on the first article of which it was distinctly stipulated that "His Britannic Majesty's Subjects, and the other Colonists who have hitherto enjoyed the Protection of England, shall evacuate the Country of the Mosquitos, as well as the Continent in general, and the Islands adjacent, without exception, situated beyond the line hereinafter described, as what ought to be the Frontier of the extent of territory granted by his Catholic Majesty to the English."
In article II. certain territory in Yucatan is ceded to the British, of which mention will be made in its place.[XXXII‑14] Positive orders were soon afterward sent to the settlers to depart from the coast. Most of them obeyed,[XXXII‑15] though slowly and reluctantly, a few only remaining at their own risk, and carrying on a trade with Jamaica, principally in slaves.
After the treaty of 1786 the British government held no further relations with the natives of the Mosquito Coast until Spain had lost her possessions in Central America.[XXXII‑16] Meanwhile there were several attempts by governors of the Spanish provinces to make permanent establishments in Mosquitia, but without success. In 1796 the sambos captured their last settlement on Black River, and drove the Spaniards from their shore.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: GOVERNORS OF NICARAGUA.]
Of affairs in Nicaragua during the eighteenth century little need be said. The administrations of Pablo de Loyala, the first governor of whom we have any record[XXXII‑17] during this period, and of Miguel de Camargo, were uneventful. To Camargo succeeded José Calvo de Lara, and in 1721 appears the name of Sebastian de Aransivia y Sasi, who was superseded in the following year by Antonio Poveda, the latter losing his life during an insurrection of the Indians. In 1728 Tomás Duque de Estrada was appointed to office, and in 1730 Bartolomé Gonzalez Fitoria. In 1744 José A. Lacayo de Briones[XXXII‑18] was in power, and in 1757 Melchor Vidal de Lorca y Villena Vivas was acting governor.[XXXII‑19] In an official report, dated 1759, appears the name of Colonel Pantaleon Ibañez as ruler.
Among the governors of Nicaragua in this period was Alonso Fernandez de Heredia, mariscal de campo of the royal army. As to the precise year authorities differ. Juarros mentions 1760 as the date, while Pelaez states that a report of the guardian of missionaries alludes to him as acting in 1747.[XXXII‑20] Domingo Cabello was governor in 1766, as appears from the audiencia's book of sentences of December in the following year, and Manuel de Quiroga in 1780.
About this time was an eruption of the volcano Nindiri at no great distance from El Infierno de Masaya. In 1775, when the outburst occurred, a torrent of lava rolled into the lake of Masaya, destroying the fish and heating the lands adjacent so that the cattle perished. A brigadier of the royal army, named José Estacheria, was made governor of Nicaragua in 1783, and ruled until 1789, when he departed for Spain. He was afterward appointed governor of Pamplona, and eventually president of Guatemala. The last governor to whom reference is made in the eighteenth century was Juan de Ayza, probably he who defended San Juan[XXXII‑21] during the attack of the British under Polson and Nelson, which will be mentioned later.
* * * * *
The Desaguadero had in 1727 twelve military stations along its winding course of nearly one hundred and twenty leagues. Among these was the castle of San Juan and Fort San Cárlos, which had been captured and restored. Fort San Juan was built at a bend of the river, and could command it from above and below. The hill upon which it stood was steep and rocky, and it could be approached only on one side by a narrow tortuous path. Through this port flowed the commerce of Nicaragua with Europe and the West Indies. It was made a port of entry by royal order of the king in February 1796, and by a cédula of the month following regulations were issued for furthering the settlement of the adjacent country. In 1769 the English, with an armament of two thousand men and fifty vessels, attempted the capture of Fort San Cárlos, which they desired as a basis for future operations. Pedro de Herrera, the governor of the post, lay in the throes of death, and surrender seemed inevitable. But his daughter, a maiden of sixteen, at once issued orders from her father's death-chamber for the defence, and then placed herself at the head of the Spanish troops. Inspired by her fearless mien, the garrison fought with a courage rarely seen among Spaniards of that day, and repulsed the assailants with loss, the governor's daughter firing with her own hand the two last cannon shot at the discomfited British.
A few years later the English government decided on an expedition against Nicaragua, intending to strike a blow at the power of Spain in the heart of her possessions, and control the communication between the two oceans. The plan of operations was finally arranged at Jamaica in January 1780. It was purposed to capture Fort San Juan, take possession of the Desaguadero and Lake Nicaragua, occupy the cities of Granada and Leon, and thus sunder the Spanish provinces of Central America. Another object in view was the capture and retention of the route for an interoceanic canal, a project then dear to the heart of the English nation.
[Sidenote: NELSON IN NICARAGUA.]
The British force consisted of at least eighteen hundred men,[XXXII‑22] including three regiments of the line and a party of marines, the latter being under command of Horatio Nelson, then a post captain of about twenty-three years, but one who had already given proof of the qualities which afterward raised him to the foremost rank among naval commanders. The English proceeded up the Desaguadero in boats, encountering many difficulties. On a small island named San Bartolomé,[XXXII‑23] in a portion of the stream where the current was swift and shoal, a small garrison had been stationed and earthworks erected, mounted with a few swivel-guns. On approaching this spot Nelson leaped from his boat, followed by a few of his men, and though sinking ankle-deep in the mud and exposed to a hot fire, captured, or, as he expresses it, 'boarded' the island. Here the English remained for a brief rest, and the future hero of Trafalgar narrowly escaped being bitten by a poisonous snake, and afterward suffered severely from drinking the water of a spring into which poisonous leaves had been thrown. The English were now joined by 'George King,' a Mosquito chieftain, and a large number of his subjects, together with several English smugglers.[XXXII‑24] The Mosquitos proved invaluable allies indeed, and but for their bravery and fidelity it is probable the British would have perished to a man.
[Sidenote: ILL-SUCCESS OF THE ENGLISH.]
Two days after the capture of San Bartolomé the expedition arrived before Fort San Juan. Nelson advised an immediate assault, believing it could be carried, but his senior officer, Major John Polson, decided otherwise. Next day the English secured a hill in rear of the fort, threw up batteries, and began the siege. Nelson was now seized with a violent attack of dysentery, and was compelled to return to Jamaica,[XXXII‑25] where he arrived in such weak condition that he was carried on shore, life being saved only through skilful nursing.
After a siege of ten days the fort was surrendered, the garrison being allowed their liberty and permitted to march out with the honors of war, and vessels being furnished to convey them to any port of Spanish America that might be agreed upon. The situation of the English was now very critical, and they found it impossible to proceed farther. The rainy season had begun and brought with it malaria and deadly fevers. Their force was soon decimated and their condition was distressing and helpless in the extreme. There were not strong men enough left to build a hospital. It became impossible even to bury the dead with decency, and many were dropped in the river and devoured by carrion birds. Longer stay became impossible, and a retreat was ordered of all the men engaged in this expedition. Exclusive of the Mosquito contingent, only three hundred and eighty survived; and of Nelson's crew of two hundred, only ten lived to return.[XXXII‑26] Thus ended the first attempt of the British to gain a foothold in Nicaragua, and to obtain possession of the route for an interoceanic canal.[XXXII‑27]
* * * * *
During the eighteenth century fifteen prelates are recorded as having occupied the bishopric of Nicaragua. Diego Morcillo was the first; he took possession in 1704, and in 1709 was promoted to La Paz.[XXXII‑28] Bishop Benito Garret took charge of the diocese in 1711. He became involved in a turbulent controversy with the audiencia of Guatemala, and was dismissed from office on the 4th of July 1716. On his way to Spain he was ill at Pedro Ursula, and died the 7th of October. In 1718 Andrés Quiles Galindo, a graduate and afterward a professor in the university of Mexico, was on the eve of departure for Europe, as pro ministro provincial, when he received his nomination to the bishopric of Nicaragua. He did not live to reach the diocese.[XXXII‑29] A native of Leon de Nicaragua, José Giron de Alvarado, was consecrated bishop of this see and assumed the administration of its duties in 1721, but died within the same year, his successor being Dionisio de Villavicencio, whose decease occurred in 1735. In the following year Domingo Antonio de Zataram, precentor of Pueblo de los Angeles, was chosen bishop of Nicaragua, and was consecrated in Guatemala the 5th of October 1738. Isidro Marin Ballon y Figueroa, an honorary chaplain of the king and rector of the college of the order of Alcántara at Salamanca, was elected bishop in 1743 and died in 1749. In the year of his election was finished the great cathedral of Leon, which had occupied thirty-seven years in its construction, and cost five millions of pesos. On the decease of Ballon, Pedro Agustin Morel de Santa Cruz, dean of Cuba, was appointed. In 1751 and 1752, he made an inspection of his diocese, giving seven months to an examination of every part of its wide domain, preaching, confessing, and confirming wherever he went. He was soon after promoted to the bishopric of Cuba.
José Antonio Flores de Rivera, a native of Durango, New Spain, venerable in years and distinguished in scholarship, was elected to the episcopacy of Nicaragua in 1753. He was consecrated with great pomp May 1, 1754, in the city of Mexico, and entered on his duties in February 1755, amidst the rejoicings of the people, for his reputation for kindliness and charity had preceded him. But their joy was short-lived; he died in July of the following year,[XXXII‑30] being succeeded by Mateo de Navia y Bolanos, a native of Lima, and the latter by Juan de Vilches y Cabrera, dean of the cathedral of Nicaragua, who was in charge of the diocese until his death in 1774.
In 1775 Estéban Lorenzo de Tristan was appointed to the see, and remained in that position until 1783. He labored zealously in his cause. During his administration and a few years previously several attempts were made to pacify the Guatusos, but without success.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: PACIFICATION OF THE GUATUSOS.]
In 1750 Father Zepeda left Guatemala for the purpose of exploring this region. He followed the entire chain of the mountains of Tilaran, "the country of many watercourses," to say nothing of the many volcanoes,[XXXII‑31] and braved all manner of hardships until he came to the great plains beyond, where he spent several months, and reported the existence of more than five hundred houses and gardens occupied by the natives. In 1751 the guardian of the Franciscan convent at Esparza communicated the information received from the padre to the government of Costa Rica, and being instructed to follow up the discoveries, accordingly set forth with several comrades, but the party lost its way and came near being starved to death. In 1761 were captured in the mountains several natives, whom the chroniclers describe as of a mixed breed, and who, when taken to Esparza, revealed some knowledge of Christian doctrines. The many conjectures to which the circumstances gave rise were soon to be explained by the fact that a native of Tenorio, who had qualified for orders, came under the displeasure of the bishop and fled to the country of the Guatusos. There he lived and died, not being permitted to return.
The cura of Esparza and the friar Zamacois then volunteered for the work and took the captured natives as their guides, who led them into the forests and there deserted them. Father Tomás Lopez in 1778 made another attempt to penetrate the country. Setting out by water from the island of Ometepec in Nicaragua, he proceeded to the Rio Frio, entered it, and ascended the stream until he reached cultivated gardens and plantations. But the moment his attendants caught a glimpse of a raft, evidently manned by the Guatusos, they turned the boat and fled. In vain did Lopez threaten and implore; he could not even prevail on them to allow him to land alone.
In 1782 Lopez, accompanied by Friar Alvarado of Cartago, entered the country by way of Tenorio; but after seventy-five days of wandering found himself on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, a long way above the mouth of the Frio. President Galvez, considering it necessary to make a survey of this river and the adjacent country, sent Captain Brizzio for that purpose in the same year. He ascended its banks until he saw a number of fishing canoes and many large cultivated fields; but it does not appear that he had any communication with the Guatusos themselves.
[Sidenote: ON THE RIO FRIO.]
Bishop Tristan, when informed of Brizzio's discovery, applied for and was granted two vessels with which to follow up the latter's exploration. On the 20th of February 1783 the prelate and his suite entered the Frio. On the fourteenth day they discovered in a secluded and shaded bower on the banks of the river, three fishermen "of good size and white," who at the sight of them at once threw away nets, provisions, and everything except their bows and arrows, and took to flight. They were followed by Lopez with cries of peace and good-will in the language of the island of Solentanami, but he was not heard, or if so was disregarded.
The bishop, concluding that a town could not be far distant, and that a few would be less likely to cause alarm than if the whole party came in sight of it, sent a small boat forward containing fathers Lopez, Mejía, Alvarado, and Corral. They soon beheld evidences of populous life, and saw descending the river a raft on which was a solitary voyager with plantains and provisions, a fire being lit on the raft. The Indian landed in a grove of cacao trees, which seemed to extend as far as the eye could reach. Lopez followed him, attended by a servant and three natives of Solentanami to act as interpreters. No sooner had these gone ashore than the voyager reappeared upon the bank of the river, and raised loud and peculiar outcries, which soon brought to his aid numbers of the natives, who, without parley, began to discharge arrows at the padre and his companions. One of the interpreters was wounded, and, overcome with fear, plunged into the river and swam down the stream. The missionary lay down in the boat and made signals of peace, which were unheeded. The padre then advised his attendants to leap overboard and escape, which advice, nothing loath, they followed. Lopez then rose, crucifix in hand, and presented himself defenceless and alone before the crowd of assailants. The attack ceased, and in compliance with his signs of entreaty a number entered his boat and escorted him to their village. The companions of Lopez, who had fled for safety, observed these proceedings from a distance, but as they were soon after pursued by a party of the natives, they continued their flight.
The wounded interpreter had in the mean time reached the boats left by Lopez a little lower on the river, and reported that the latter and his companions had been attacked and killed by a multitude of natives; whereupon the party hastened down the Frio to inform the bishop of the catastrophe. They accomplished in three hours a distance which had taken a day and a half when rowing against the stream, and the bishop and his associates decided to return immediately to Granada. The morning after their retreat, the attendants who had left Father Lopez and witnessed his movements toward the village, having seized an abandoned canoe, overtook the bishop, and somewhat calmed the excited party by their disclosures. It was decided to continue the retreat, however, and Fort San Cárlos was soon reached. The commandant immediately applied to the governor of the province for aid to attempt the rescue of Lopez; but it is not known whether the request was granted, or what became of the padre. No further expeditions were attempted and the matter remained a mystery. Who the Guatusos were, and how they lived; what their religion, language, customs, and whence derived, none knew, and it seemed as though none were destined to know. They appear to have sworn that no one, not born of them and among them, should set foot within their domain. Armed soldiers succeeded no better than peaceful missionaries, and the see of Rome saw fit in after years to bar this inscrutable region from the benefits of clergy.[XXXII‑32]
In 1784 Juan Felix de Villegas, inquisitor of Cartagena, was appointed bishop of Nicaragua, but was promoted to the archbishopric of Guatemala in 1794, when Juan Cruz Ruiz de Cabañas y Crespo was appointed his successor, but while preparing to set forth was elected to the see of Guadalajara. The last bishop of the century in this diocese was José Antonio de la Huerta Caso, who was consecrated by the archbishop in Guatemala May 29, 1798.[XXXII‑33]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: THE TALAMANCANS.]
Resuming the narrative of the pacification of the Talamancans in connection with the expeditions which resulted in the subjugation of their territory, we find the Franciscans the leading spirits in all that was undertaken, although to the college of Jesus in Guatemala it had been first assigned. If the Talamancans had in 1502 a civilization of their own, and in 1602 a civilization imported by the Spaniards, they had by 1702 reverted to a barbarism which lacked the vitality of the first and the grace of the second, without any compensating element. The close of the seventeenth century witnessed the establishment of the Franciscan missionary college at Guatemala, and thence in 1694, under the direction of Lopez, had proceeded Francisco de San José and Pablo de Rebullida to the territory of the Changuenes. Andrade and Benavides returned to Guatemala from a brief visit of inspection in 1605, and through the guardian of the college made the oft-repeated demand for a military escort. On the 31st of March a council of war adopted the system put in force half a century before in Vera Paz when dealing with the Chols and Manches. Fifty soldiers, with Captain Noguera as governor, accompanied the fathers to Talamanca.
Francisco Bruno Serrano de Reina, who was governor of Costa Rica in 1704, does not appear to have acted with much alacrity in the matter, and the guardian Arrivillaga reported complainingly to the audiencia on the 4th of April 1707.[XXXII‑34]
Many of the Talamancans were gathered into settlements;[XXXII‑35] but none the less insecure was the position of the missionaries; their danger so increased that Andrade started for Guatemala to beg more adequate protection than the remnant of an escort left with them. It was too late. While the question was being discussed in Guatemala the Talamancans rose in revolt, burned their churches, tore down their dwellings, and killed the friars and the soldiers, the latter but ten in number. Rebullida's head they cut off on the 28th of September 1709.
On the 20th of May preceding this catastrophe a royal cédula ordered the conquest of Talamanca, with a view to improve the communication between Guatemala and Costa Rica with Veragua.[XXXII‑36] Lorenzo Antonio de Granda y Balbin, the governor of Costa Rica, reported to the audiencia the massacre in Talamanca, and in accordance with their orders took summary vengeance on the natives. Balbin collected a large force, and sent one detachment by the pueblo Tuiz, heading himself a force of two hundred who made a detour by the province of Boruca. Both detachments met at San José de Cabecar, in the heart of the enemy's country, where they intrenched themselves. They killed many of the Talamancans and captured others, bringing with them over five hundred prisoners of all ages and both sexes.[XXXII‑37] The rebels were utterly routed, and their cacique was tried, sentenced, and executed as an instigator of revolt.
In 1719, in a report on the condition of the country to the king of Spain, Governor de la Haya[XXXII‑38] of Costa Rica says: "In reference to the establishment and maintenance of missions which had been the primary object in the conquest of Talamanca, nothing had been done since the massacre of September 1709; no precautionary measures had been taken in behalf of missionaries."
The Recollets did not believe this policy of indifference and neglect to be according to the royal pleasure, and petitioned the king for the establishment of a suitable garrison and the founding of a Spanish settlement. By whatever motives impelled, several parties came from the mountains of Talamanca at sundry times between 1713 and 1716, to request the presence of missionaries from Cartago.
In response to the petition of the Recollets, the king, by cédula dated September 1, 1713, directed the president to convene a junta of state officials and persons familiar with Talamanca, to devise and adopt by majority vote plans for the occupation of that territory. The junta, which was not held until the 9th of September, 1716, consisted of the president of Guatemala, the oidores, royal officials, two Recollets, and a representative of the revenue of Cartago. The Recollets advocated the planting of mission stations protected by a garrison. The rest of the council favored the establishment of a military guard of fifty soldiers, and the removal of fifty families from Cartago to Boruca; it was a compromise measure, but it carried the votes.
The fathers were discouraged. The town chosen was without the missionary field, and the force named inadequate to effect subjugation, and needlessly strong for a simple escort. But the arrival of a new president, Rivas, and the disastrous earthquake of 1717 in Guatemala, crowded such matters from view.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: EARTHQUAKES.]
In a report dated the 14th of March 1723 Haya tells us how, from the 16th of February till the 14th March, there had been rumblings beneath the city of Cartago, as if from the rushing of subterranean rivers, while the volcano of Irazu kept open jaws, and belched forth billows of smoke. The sulphurous exhalations well nigh stifled the people alike on the slopes and in the valleys. Sheets of flame illumined the sky by night, until miles of the horizon were brighter than in the glare of day. Red-hot cinders and scoriæ multiplied in volume until the waters of the neighboring stream, river, and lake were turned into seething mud; the city was strewn with burning dust; and buildings were loosened from the trembling earth.
Costa Rica, if we can believe Haya, was the poorest province in all America. The only currency was cacao; silver was never seen, and the name for aught its people knew might have been adopted in derision. Officers were incapable and stupid; the people quarrelsome, chimerical, and unruly. There was not in all the province a physician or apothecary; nor even a barber. Of foreign trade there was practically none.
In Cartago the ayuntamiento had come to an end; at Esparza, the only other city of the province, there had been none for thirty-nine years past, for no one had money enough to send to Spain to have an appointment confirmed.[XXXII‑39]
[Sidenote: PIRATES AND THE MILITARY.]
The decay of the settlements in Costa Rica might have been irremediable but for the sharp pruning judiciously applied by Haya.[XXXII‑40] His successor, Francisco de Valderrama, made a report to the captain-general of Guatemala in 1732 containing a curious revelation of the condition of affairs. The governor describes himself as fulfilling the functions of a clerk rather than those of a governor, as there was not a single person in the province capable of writing. Offices remained vacant, because the poverty of the country did not allow of even its chief residents appearing in the plaza in a coat. If the erection of Fort Matina, then in progress, was to proceed, an artificer would have to be sent out, as the only one familiar with such work was an old Indian whose proper business it was to repair roofs, and he unfortunately had just died of the small-pox.[XXXII‑41] Twice during the year 1740 the province was harassed by pirates, who carried off, as was their custom, the crop of cacao, and such slaves as they could lay hands upon.
The military force stationed in Costa Rica about the middle of the eighteenth century was little short of one thousand men, and yet the magistrates throughout the province were unable to enforce their authority. The administration of justice had ceased. Judges did not dare to impose, nor governors execute sentence upon criminals.[XXXII‑42] Even the forms of restraint disappeared. Yet officials were numerous enough. The governor appointed on the first day of the year 1740 five lieutenant-generals, one each for Cartago, Esparza, and Matina, and two for the valley country, invested with civil and criminal jurisdiction, besides four alcaldes, an attorney-general, and an administrator.
After 1746 we have no reliable records as to the succession of governors in Costa Rica until 1773. In the former year Francisco Fernandez de la Pastora was in power;[XXXII‑43] in the latter Joaquin de Nava. To him succeeded in 1779 José Perie, and then occur in the order of their succession the names of Juan Fernandez Bobadilla in 1780, Juan Flores in 1782, and José Terci in 1785.
XXXIII. BELIZE
1650-1800.
BUCCANEER SETTLEMENTS IN YUCATAN—THE PIRATES ENGAGE IN WOOD-CUTTING—GOVERNOR FIGUEROA ORDERED TO EXPEL THEM—RAID OF THE WOOD-CUTTERS ON ASCENSION BAY—THEY ARE DRIVEN BACK BY THE GOVERNOR—THEIR SETTLEMENT IN BELIZE DESTROYED BY FIGUEROA-THEY RETURN IN STRONGER FORCE—FURTHER EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THEM—THE WOOD-CUTTERS UNDER BRITISH PROTECTION—THEY ARE ATTACKED BY GOVERNOR RIVAS—THE BOUNDARIES OF BELIZE DEFINED BY THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES—STIPULATIONS OF A LATER TREATY—FURTHER ENCROACHMENTS OF THE ENGLISH.
Not the least valuable among the spoils obtained by the buccaneers during their depredations on the Spanish main were the quantities of dye-wood which they found deposited at certain points on the coast of Yucatan and Honduras awaiting shipment. With the decline of their lawless pursuits, the more industrious, especially the English, turned their attention to the cutting and shipment of dye-woods and mahogany, and with this object established settlements on the coasts of these two provinces. The most extensive of their settlements were those in the bay of Términos. Here they remained for many years, varying their industrial pursuits with occasional incursions into the surrounding country, or attacks on the Spanish vessels which plied between Campeche and Vera Cruz.
Neighbors so dangerous could not long be tolerated, and, as soon as circumstances permitted, the authorities of New Spain took measures to expel them. The wood-cutters successfully resisted the many expeditions sent against them, not unfrequently retaliating by laying waste the Spanish settlements, until about 1717, when they were finally driven from that part of the coast and their establishments destroyed.
In the latter half of the seventeenth century that portion of Yucatan bordering on the bay of Honduras was abandoned by Spaniards, owing to the destruction by pirates and Indians of the town of Bacalar.[XXXIII‑1] Its henceforth isolated position, together with the ruggedness of the surrounding country and the numberless reefs and shoals on its sea-coast, made it peculiarly fitted for the haunts of the buccaneers. One of these, Peter Wallace, a Scotchman, landed with some eighty companions at the mouth of the Belize river, and erected on its banks a few houses, which he enclosed with a rude palisade. His name was given both to the river and settlement, and subsequently to the whole region occupied by the English. By the Spaniards this territory was variously termed Walis, Balis, and Walix, and the word became finally corrupted into the present name of Belice or Belize.[XXXIII‑2]
The district was rich in dye-woods and mahogany, and wood-cutting soon became the chief occupation of the freebooters, whose numbers had gradually increased. With the same object, many Mosquito Indians had also settled in the country. The buccaneers who were driven from the bay of Términos also harbored in Belize, and after attempting in vain to retake their settlements finally settled there.
The existence of the piratical establishment of Wallace and his companions was not discovered by the Spaniards until the beginning of the eighteenth century. In 1725 Antonio de Figueroa y Silva was ordered to expel the English from Yucatan, and for this purpose was appointed governor of that province.[XXXIII‑3] Soon afterward, in obedience to instructions from the crown, he visited the ruined town of Bacalar, or Salamanca, as it was also called, and erected a fort which he garrisoned with forty-five men. This fortress, situated on a lake of the same name and connected with the bay of Espíritu Santo by a navigable river, was to serve as the base of future operations. To insure its permanency it was decided to rebuild the town. The want of settlers in Yucatan, however, compelled the transportation of a colony from the Canary Islands, the first portion of which did not arrive until several years later.[XXXIII‑4]
[Sidenote: FIGUEROA'S EXPEDITION.]
Meanwhile governor Figueroa began the preparations for a combined sea and land expedition against the English settlements, which, it was hoped, would result in their complete destruction. Apprised of this design, the wood-cutters of Belize not only prepared for a determined resistance, but with their usual intrepidity resolved to anticipate the Spaniards by invading their territory. A large force of Indians was obtained from Mosquitia, and an expedition despatched by sea to Ascension Bay marched on the important town of Tihosuco. The first settlement encountered, named Chuhuhú, was taken and sacked, but ere long Figueroa arrived with a large force and drove them back to their vessels with considerable loss.[XXXIII‑5]
This event induced Figueroa to hasten his preparations, but it was not until about the end of 1732, or the beginning of the following year,[XXXIII‑6] that the expedition set out for Bacalar. The land force it would appear numbered considerably over seven hundred men,[XXXIII‑7] but of those who went by sea no mention is made. Arrived at Bacalar the troops embarked, and the fleet sailed in the direction of Belize.
The wood-cutters in the mean time had strengthened their fortifications at the mouth of the Belize river, mustered all their available force, and were said to have received aid from the governor of Jamaica. Their number at this time it is difficult to ascertain. According to the report of a Spanish missionary in 1724, there were at that date about three hundred English, besides Mosquito Indians and negro slaves, these latter having been introduced but a short time before from Jamaica and Bermuda. It is equally difficult to ascertain the extent of territory occupied by the wood-cutters at this period, for although previous to 1718 their settlements extended between the rivers Hondo and Belize,[XXXIII‑8] in 1733 they were apparently confined to the course of the latter river.[XXXIII‑9]
[Sidenote: DEFEAT OF THE WOOD-CUTTERS.]
Figueroa's plan was to land his troops on the coast at some distance from the mouth of the Belize, and while the fleet engaged the attention of the enemy by a feigned attack in front, to make a detour with a land force and fall on the rear of the town. This proved successful, for while the English were eagerly awaiting the approach of the fleet, Figueroa suddenly appeared in their rear, and attacked them with such impetuosity that despite their efforts their town with nearly all its defenders was within three hours in the hands of the Spaniards. Having destroyed the town and fortifications, and all other settlements on the river, and seized or destroyed the vessels and other property, the expedition returned.[XXXIII‑10]
The Spaniards were greatly rejoiced at this success, but their joy was short-lived. The wood-cutters soon returned with reënforcements and a strong fleet, reoccupied their former settlements, successfully resisted all subsequent attempts to expel them, and, as we shall see, the English government afterward extended over them its protection. In 1736, after various unsuccessful efforts to dispossess them, the governor of Yucatan proposed to the Spanish crown that a strong fort be erected at the mouth of the Belize River to prevent the passage of vessels, but this suggestion does not appear to have been acted on.[XXXIII‑11]
In 1739 war again broke out between Spain and England, and, compelled to defend their coasts from a powerful English fleet, the Spaniards desisted for a time from further operations against Belize, although the determination to regain their territory thus usurped had not been abandoned. Peace was declared in 1748; but it was not until two years later, in a subsequent treaty, that the commercial relations between the two countries were settled. The damage caused by Figueroa had in the mean time been made the subject of diplomatic negotiations, and though no definite understanding was reached, the efforts of England appear to have been limited to the protection of her subjects from molestation in the bay of Honduras, while the Spanish government continued secretly to adopt measures for their expulsion.[XXXIII‑12]
In April 1754, a formidable attempt was made to expel the wood-cutters. An expedition of fifteen hundred men was organized for this purpose at Peten, Guatemala, but upon reaching the coast after a long and difficult march, they were met by two hundred and fifty of the English and completely defeated. This appears to have been the last expedition sent against Belize for several years.[XXXIII‑13]
During the seven years' war in Europe, which began in 1756, England, in her endeavors to induce Spain to join her against France, offered among other things to evacuate the establishments made by her subjects in the bay of Honduras since October 1748, including Mosquitia, all of which had been made the subject of complaint. This does not necessarily imply, as certain Spanish writers would have us believe, that England thereby acknowledged the illegality of the wood-cutter's right to occupy that territory.[XXXIII‑14]
[Sidenote: THE WOOD-CUTTERS REËNFORCED.]
Indeed, it is clearly evident that England considered, or pretended to consider, that her subjects in Belize had acquired the right to cut and ship dye-woods and mahogany in this and other districts, without molestation, for in the subsequent treaty with Spain, in 1763, although agreeing to demolish "all fortifications which her subjects may have constructed in the bay of Honduras, and other places of the territory of Spain in that part of the world," England insisted upon the insertion of a clause in the treaty whereby the cutters of log-wood were guaranteed the right to continue unmolested the cutting and shipping of the same, and the erection of the necessary buildings for this purpose, within those districts.[XXXIII‑15]
This weakness on the part of Spain, attributed to the incapacity of her commissioner, the marqués de Grimaldi, though apparently a simple relaxation in favor of the English of the law which excluded all foreigners from the Spanish colonies, was virtually a recognition of the right of the English to occupy indefinitely a portion of her territory; and though not explicitly surrendering her sovereignty, no limits were fixed to the encroachments of the wood-cutters, nor were they in any way made subject to the Spanish authorities. Thus the way to future complications was opened.[XXXIII‑16]
Soon after the ratification of this treaty, the English government commissioned Sir William Burnaby to proceed to Belize, establish the limits within which wood-cutting was to be confined, and draw up a code of laws for the regulation of the colony. This he did; and though we have no information as to the limits fixed, for many years the Burnaby Code, as it was called, formed the only laws by which Belize was governed. The establishment of limits, however, availed but little; for, emboldened by their previous success in resisting the Spaniards, and encouraged by the protection of the English government, they gradually extended their wood-cutting operations beyond these boundaries, and carried on smuggling to the great prejudice of Spanish commerce. In consequence, the governor of Yucatan forbade all communication between Belize and the Spanish settlements; required that all persons settling in Belize should present a permit to that effect from either the English or Spanish government; expelled the wood-cutters from the coast district of the Hondo River, and ordered that all wood-cutting should be confined to the region lying between the Belize and New rivers, and not farther than twenty leagues from the coast.
As a result of these measures the business of the wood-cutters was injured, as they claimed, to the extent of one hundred and eighty thousand pesos. In the latter part of 1764 a demand for the satisfaction of these losses was presented by the English minister at the court of Spain, who also insisted that the governor of Yucatan be reproved for his conduct, and that the wood-cutters be permitted to return to the Hondo River district. The English minister intimated that war would be the result if these demands were not granted; but after a protracted correspondence he succeeded only in obtaining permission for the return of the wood-cutters to the districts from which they had been expelled; and the claims were added, for future settlement, to the long list of those already pending between the two governments.[XXXIII‑17]
[Sidenote: RIVAS ATTACKS THE ENGLISH.]
During the next five years there is no evidence that the wood-cutters were disturbed; but in 1779, war having broken out afresh between Spain and England, the former determined to profit by the opportunity to give the final blow to the existence of the English settlements in her territory. In that year Don Roberto Rivas Vetancur, the recently appointed governor of Yucatan, in accordance with his instructions began to organize an expedition against Belize, Bacalar as before becoming the base of operations. The wood-cutters were soon informed of the declaration of war, and made all haste to fortify the mouth of the Belize River and St George Key, which lies directly opposite. Not content with this, they determined again to anticipate the Spaniards by capturing Bacalar, which ever since its reëstablishment they had regarded as a standing menace to their safety. In this, however, they were disappointed; for Governor Rivas, informed of their design, hastily organized a force of some eight hundred men, and procuring canoes and piraguas hastened on to Bacalar. Thence, though his men were ill equipped, he proceeded against the English; and having driven them from the Hondo River district, and captured and armed three small vessels, he sent a strong force against St George Key, and captured the fort with its garrison.
Further operations were prevented by the sudden appearance of three English vessels of war sent by the governor of Jamaica. The Spaniards had barely time to escape with their prisoners and prizes, the latter including many small craft. Proceeding up New River they drove the English from this region, destroying over forty establishments, and inflicting a loss on the wood-cutters of more than five hundred thousand pesos. At this juncture reënforcements arrived for the wood-cutters, and Rivas was compelled to abandon their territory; but in consideration of the important results accomplished with so small a force, his conduct was approved by the Spanish crown.[XXXIII‑18]
[Sidenote: TREATY BETWEEN SPAIN AND GREAT BRITAIN.]
The sixth article of the treaty of Versailles, signed September 3, 1783, defined the limits of Belize and the rights of the wood-cutters. The boundaries now fixed as unalterable were the Belize and Hondo rivers, the north-western boundary being almost a straight line between the two rivers so as to pass through the source of New River, the south-eastern boundary being the coast. The navigation of these two rivers was to be open to both nations; certain places, to be agreed upon by the respective commissioners, were to be marked out where the wood-cutters might erect all necessary buildings; and it was provided that the foregoing stipulations should not be "considered as derogating in any wise" to the rights of Spanish sovereignty. All English subjects in the Spanish colonies, in whatever part, were to retire within this district before the expiration of eighteen months, dating from the ratification of the treaty; and the right of fishery on the coast and among the adjacent islands was granted, but no establishments could be made on such islands.[XXXIII‑19]
Although this treaty so clearly defined the boundaries subject to British colonization, there were certain points which had been omitted, and accordingly another and final treaty was celebrated between Spain and England "to prevent even the shadow of misunderstanding which might be occasioned by doubts."
This treaty was signed at London July 14, 1786. While confirming the former one of 1783, and expressly stating that "all the lands in question" were "indisputably acknowledged to belong of right to the crown of Spain," it contained the following additional privileges and restrictions. The Sibun, or Jubon river, was made the western boundary of Belize, which included all the territory between it and the Belize as far inland as the source of the Sibun. Within six months, all possible facilities being provided by the Spanish government, English subjects in any part whatsoever of the Spanish colonies were to retire within the boundaries of Belize; in addition to the existing privilege of cutting dye-woods, that of cutting all other woods, mahogany included, was granted; all the natural or cultivated products of the soil could be used and carried away, but no "plantations of sugar, coffee, cacao, or other like articles, or any fabric or manufacture by means of mills or other machines," saw-mills excepted, could be established under any pretext. On account of the insalubrity of the adjacent coast St George Key was granted for the purpose of settlement, but it could not be fortified, nor could any armed force be stationed there. Certain small islands off the coast about midway between the mouths of the Sibun and Belize rivers were granted, together with the intervening waters, for the purpose purely of refitting ships; no government, either military or civil, could be established except such as could be agreed upon by the two powers for the maintenance of peace and order. To preserve entire the right of Spanish sovereignty over the territory granted, such settlements only would be permitted as should be necessary for the trade in wood and fruits. Finally, two commissioners, one from each government, were to visit the country twice a year to see that these stipulations were observed.[XXXIII‑20]
By these treaties the respective rights of the two countries in the territory of Belize were clearly defined. Spain held undisputed sovereignty; England's right was limited to an indefinite occupation for purposes of trade. But it is not always sufficient to declare rights; the powers of Europe keep their agreements when compelled by force of arms, and this, Spain, with her declining strength, was eventually unable to do.
Colonel Enrique de Grimarest, the Spanish commissioner, arrived in Belize early in 1787 and was soon joined by the English commissioner and superintendent of the colony, Colonel Edward M. Despard. Article thirteen of the treaty of 1786 required that all other portions of the Spanish colonies should be evacuated by the English before the new grants could take effect. The Mosquito kingdom appears to have been the only territory then occupied by the English besides Belize, and nearly all of its inhabitants having arrived at this latter colony by the middle of 1787, the commissioners proceeded to mark the boundaries; but the formal transfer of the territory between the Sibun and Belize rivers was not made until the 11th of August. In the course of the survey of the Belize River it was found that the wood-cutters had anticipated this new grant of territory by extending their operations beyond the former boundaries, the country for some distance on the western side of the river not only being stripped of mahogany, but several establishments were found in active operation outside the boundaries newly assigned. These the owners were compelled to abandon and retire within the limits of the colony, but it was hardly to be expected that men who claimed independence, and denied even the right of England to make their laws, would respect the boundaries after the departure of the Spanish commissioner. Indeed they openly declared their intention of establishing a government and framing laws of their own. The Spanish commissioner complained of this condition of affairs, but without any apparent result.[XXXIII‑21]
[Sidenote: FINAL EFFORTS OF THE SPANIARDS.]
In October 1796 England declared war against Spain, and upon the receipt of this news in Yucatan, Arturo O'Neill, the governor of that province, began immediate preparations for an attack on Belize. It was not until May 20, 1798, however, that the expedition, consisting of between two and three thousand men and a large fleet of small vessels, departed for Belize, escorted by two Spanish frigates. The frigates accompanied them only part of the way, returning, it is said, on account of lack of provisions, and the shallowness of the water on the coast. The remainder of the expedition continued the voyage. Nothing was accomplished, however, as the settlers were fully prepared; and being reënforced by many of the planters who had been ordered to abandon Mosquitia, and aided by the English sloop-of-war Merlin, they prevented the Spaniards from effecting a landing. After hovering off the coast for a few days the expedition returned to Yucatan.[XXXIII‑22] This was the last attempt made by the Spaniards to expel the men of Belize. Thenceforth the stipulations of treaties were disregarded, and the territory as far south as the Sarstun was gradually taken possession of and held by right of conquest, the subsequent revolution throughout the colonies rendering the Spaniards powerless to prevent these encroachments.[XXXIII‑23]
XXXIV. HONDURAS
1550-1800.
PIRATICAL RAIDS ON TRUJILLO AND PUERTO DE CABALLOS—CONDITION OF THE SETTLEMENTS—CHURCH MATTERS—MISSIONARY EXPEDITION TO TEGUCIGALPA—MARTYRDOM OF THE MISSIONARIES—LABORS OF THE FRANCISCANS IN HONDURAS—INTERFERENCE OF THE BISHOP—TRUJILLO DESTROYED BY THE DUTCH—FORT SAN FERNANDO DE OMOA ERECTED—ITS CAPTURE BY THE ENGLISH—AND RECOVERY BY PRESIDENT GALVEZ—ROATAN SEVERAL TIMES OCCUPIED BY BUCCANEERS—THEIR FINAL EXPULSION.
In Honduras, and Higueras as the northern portion of this territory was termed, there were, it will be remembered, but seven Spanish colonies about the middle of the sixteenth century;[XXXIV‑1] and of these, Trujillo, the largest, contained only fifty settlers. It is probable that the entire number of Spaniards in the province at this time did not exceed two hundred; and so slightly had the resources of the country been developed that the few who lived there were by no means wealthy.
But poor as the colonists were, their condition did not shield them from the depredations of freebooters, who during the latter portion of the century made several raids on the coast of Honduras. In 1576 Andrew Barker, a so-called merchant of Bristol, resolved to reimburse himself for loss of property confiscated by the Spaniards during a trading venture to the Canary Islands, and set forth on a piratical expedition. Fitting out two vessels, he sailed from Plymouth in June. After touching at various points and capturing a small amount of treasure, he arrived at the mouth of the Chagre, where men were sent in search of friendly cimarrones who might act as guides. As none could be found, the expedition sailed for Honduras, captured on the way a ship containing a little gold and a small quantity of arms, and anchored off the island of San Francisco. Here, on account of a quarrel with his chief officer, Barker was forcibly sent on shore, where, with thirty of his men, he was surprised by a party of Spaniards, and nine of the English were slain, himself among the number. A detachment from the ships was then sent in a pinnace to capture the town of Trujillo, where but slight resistance was encountered, and a good store of wine and oil was secured, but not an ounce of treasure. A squadron of Spanish men-of-war now appeared in sight, and the robbers were glad to regain their pinnace, leaving on shore eight of their number, of whom no tidings were afterward heard. On the homeward voyage one of the vessels was capsized in a squall, and fourteen of the men lost with most of the treasure. The survivors arrived in England without further adventure, and the proceeds of the expedition yielded but thirty pesos as the share of a common soldier. This was vengeance indeed!
In 1592, when Puerto de Caballos and Trujillo were attacked by pirates, affairs seem to have been more prosperous, for considerable booty was found at the former place. "Wee remained in the towne all night," says one who took part in the expedition,[XXXIV‑2] "and the next day till towards night: where we found 5 or 6 tuns of quick silver, 16 tuns of old sacke, sheepe, young kids, great store of poultrie, some store of money, & good linnen, silkes, cotton-cloth, and such like; we also tooke three belles out of their church, and destroyed their images. The towne is of 200 houses, and wealthy; and that yere there were foure rich ships laden from thence: but we spared it, because wee found other contentment."
In 1595 a raid was attempted on Puerto de Caballos by the French, but on this occasion the corsairs were defeated, many of them being killed or captured, and the remainder compelled to put to sea "blaspheming and averring that neither they nor the English had met with similar disaster in any part of the Indies."[XXXIV‑3] During the next year Trujillo and Puerto de Caballos were again assailed by the English under Sherley and Parker, and the latter town was once more sacked; but, says the chronicler who described the expedition: "It was the most poore and miserable place of all India."[XXXIV‑4]
Notwithstanding the depredations of freebooters, the colonies of Honduras appear to have been fairly prosperous at the close of the sixteenth century. The lands around Trujillo were then under cultivation, producing large crops of maize and fruit; grapes, oranges, and lemons being raised in abundance. On two sides of the town were rivers abounding in fish. Pasture was abundant, and the cattle introduced from Spain multiplied so rapidly that they were of little value except for their hides. The walls of the houses were of bushes interlaced, plastered within and without, and covered with palmetto-leaves. The cathedral and the convent of San Francisco, the latter being founded in 1589, were the most prominent buildings.
[Sidenote: REMARKS OF THOMAS GAGE.]
"This is a woody and mountainous Country," writes Thomas Gage, who journeyed through the western part of Honduras, on his way from Trujillo to Santiago in 1636; "very bad and inconvenient for Travellers, and besides very poor; there the commodities are hides, Canna fistula, and Zarzaparilla, and such want of bread, that about Truxillo they make use of what they call Cassave, which is a dry root, that being eaten dry doth choak, and therefore is soaked in broth, water, wine, or Chocolatte, that so it may go down. Within the country, and especially about the city of Comayagua (which is a Bishop's seat, though a small place of some five hundred inhabitants at the most), there is more store of Maiz by reason of some Indians, which are gathered to Towns, few and small. I found this Country one of the poorest in all America. The chief place in it for health and good living is the valley which is called Gracias á Dios, there are some rich farms of Cattle and Wheat; but because it lieth as near to the Country of Guatemala as to Comayagua, and on this side the ways are better than on that, therefore more of that Wheat is transported to Guatemala and to the Towns about it, than to Comayagua or Truxillo. From Truxillo to Guatemala (Santiago) there are between four score and a hundred leagues, which we travelled by land, not wanting in a barren Country neither guides nor provision, for the poor Indians thought neither their personal attendance, nor any thing that they enjoyed too good for us."
Small as may have been Comayagua—or as it was now termed by the Spaniards Nueva Valladolid—in comparison with other cities which Gage visited during his travels in the New World, it was the most flourishing settlement in the province, and continued to prosper until 1774, when it was destroyed by earthquake. In 1557 it was declared a city, and in 1561 its church was raised to cathedral rank. The seat of the bishop's diocese was soon afterward transferred there from Trujillo, the chapter including a dean, archdeacon, rector, and doctor of common law.[XXXIV‑5] In 1602 there were in Nueva Valladolid convents of the orders of La Merced, San Francisco, and Juan de Dios, and an endowed college under the patronage of the king.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.]
The unseemly disputes which occurred among the ecclesiastics at an earlier period in the history of Honduras[XXXIV‑6] were now at an end. On the death of Bishop Pedraza, whose high-handed measures had rendered him unpopular with the colonists, and driven nearly all the religious from the province, Gerónimo de Corella, a Jeronimite, was appointed to the see. To Corella succeeded Alonso de la Cerda in 1572,[XXXIV‑7] and in January 1588 the mitre was bestowed on Gaspar de Andrade, a Franciscan, who held office until his decease in 1612.[XXXIV‑8]
The income of the bishopric at this date was three thousand pesos a year; there were five prebends; and within the diocese a hundred and forty-five Indian towns, with nearly four thousand heads of families.[XXXIV‑9] In 1610 the metropolitan of the diocese, the archbishop of Santo Domingo, empowered the dean of the chapter in Honduras, to hear and determine appeals in order that the expense and delay incident to the journey to Santo Domingo might be avoided. In October 1613 Alonso Galdo was consecrated bishop, and during this and the following year visited all parts of the province, confirming more than seven thousand persons, some of whom were over ninety years of age. During his administration two synods were held, the last one in April 1631. Three years before that date Luis de Cañizares was appointed coadjutor in the diocese at the request of the prelate, who was now aged and enfeebled by incessant toil. After the death of Galdo in 1645[XXXIV‑10] the see remained vacant until 1647, when Juan Merlo de la Fuente accepted the bishopric of Honduras, after having refused that of Nueva Segovia.
Between Honduras and Nicaragua lay the district of Tegucigalpa, of which mention has before been made in connection with missionary labors.[XXXIV‑11] In the principal Indian town, which was known by the same name, was founded in 1589 a convent of the Franciscans, and later one of the Merced order. Nevertheless the greater portion of this territory had never yet been visited by the ecclesiastics. In 1622 the missionaries Cristóbal Martinez de la Puerta and Juan Vaena, accompanied by five native interpreters, sailed from Trujillo, and landing at Cape Gracias á Dios journeyed toward this region. On their way they several times came in sight of bands of natives, but all fled at their approach. The interpreters could not obtain a hearing, and in vain the missionaries held forth the cross and beckoned peaceful overtures to the timid savages. Puerta and his colleague were becoming discouraged, when one day they beheld a vast multitude of Indians approaching them, and in their midst a venerable chieftain with long white hair, who advanced to welcome the missionaries. He told them that their coming had been eagerly anticipated, as it had been foretold in a vision by the most beautiful child he had ever seen, with melting tenderness of glance and speech, that he should not end his days before being a Christian, and that men would come for the purpose of teaching him. The natives at once erected a dwelling and church for the missionaries, and the baptism of the aged leader and all his family speedily followed.
Vaena then proceeded to Guatemala, where his tidings caused great excitement. Many volunteered their services, and from them Benito Lopez was chosen, accompanying the former on his return in January 1623. Meanwhile seven hundred adults had been baptized, and seven villages founded by the different tribes of the country. The chief difficulty of the missionaries was to overcome the nomadic instinct of the natives, who would depart for the woods or the mountains when least expected and without apparent cause.
During the year the three ecclesiastics visited the country of the Guabas, where they met with remarkable success, baptizing some five thousand persons. While the missionaries were thus gathering a rich harvest of souls, they and their converts were attacked and overpowered by a hostile tribe named the Albatumas, and the former were put to death with cruel tortures. A large force was sent to punish the natives, and the remains of the missionaries were recovered but their murderers had fled to the mountain fastnesses. The bodies of the martyred men were conveyed to Trujillo, where they remained until the city was captured by pirates, when the guardian of the convent had them removed to Santiago, and they were there interred with great ceremony in the church of San Francisco.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: THE XICAQUES.]
About the year 1661 the Xicaques, whose territory bordered Tegucigalpa on the north, made frequent raids on the Olancho Valley. One of the principal sufferers by these forays, Captain Bartolomé de Escota, resolved on their suppression, and capturing a large number gathered them into settlements in Honduras. Accompanied by three Lencas he then proceeded to Guatemala in search of a priest to instruct them. The president urged the Franciscans to undertake the task, as they had been the pioneers in the work, and now an abundant harvest seemed to await the gathering. Fernando de Espino, at the time a member of the convent of Almolonga, was a native of Nueva Segovia, a town bordering on the lands of the Xicaques, and was familiar with the Lenca language and people. He undertook the work and associated with himself Pedro de Ovalle. They started from Guatemala in May 1667, and met with moderate success. In 1668 Espino was recalled, and Ovalle, with additional assistants, carried on the work despite multiplying difficulties, through many years. In 1679 seven small villages contained upward of a thousand christianized natives and the number was continually increasing. Lopez paid a visit to this district in 1695, and became so enthusiastic in the work that he spent the remainder of his life there, dying in 1698 in the midst of work accomplished or projected for the good of the people.
The Franciscans were greatly impeded in their labors by the opposition of the bishop of Honduras,[XXXIV‑12] who caused a portion of their buildings to be destroyed, and placed them and their converts under the ban of excommunication. According to Vasquez these proceedings caused him to be suspended from office.[XXXIV‑13] The prelate lived to repent of his error, and during his last sickness was waited upon by members of the order which he had sought to injure.
The few remaining records that have come down to us concerning the history of Honduras until the close of the eighteenth century, apart from the social, political, and industrial condition of the province, which will be mentioned in a future volume, relate chiefly to the raids of freebooters and hostilities with foreign powers.[XXXIV‑14]
In 1643 Trujillo was once more captured and pillaged, the town being almost destroyed by the Dutch, although protected by a fort mounting seventeen heavy guns and a number of smaller pieces. So disheartened were the Spaniards by this disaster that the place was abandoned and remained in ruins until 1789, when it was rebuilt and fortified by order of the king. In 1797 it was again attacked by an English squadron; but after a sharp fight the assailants were repulsed with loss.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: DEFEAT OF THE ENGLISH.]
In obedience to a royal cédula dated August 30, 1740, a fort named San Fernando de Omoa was built on a harbor of the same name, near Puerto de Caballos, as a further protection for the coast of Honduras, and to serve as a calling-place for the guardas costas employed in those parts. The works were begun in 1752 by Vazquez de Sotomayor, president of Guatemala, and completed three years later. Although the site was very unhealthy, a town was established there which soon contained a considerable population, and became the outlet for the commerce of eastern Guatemala. On the 25th of September 1779, Spain and Great Britain being then at war, the fort was attacked by four English men-of-war. It was gallantly defended by its commandant, Desnaux, with five hundred men, and the British, not being in sufficient force, were compelled to retire.[XXXIV‑15]
On the 16th of October, the English returned with twelve line-of-battle ships, a large body of troops, and a horde of Mosquito Indians. As on the previous occasion they at once opened fire; but the guns of the fort replied so vigorously that one of the vessels was disabled; and another having run aground, the attack was suspended. By this time, or soon after, a body of auxiliaries from Puerto de Caballos had gained the heights opposite the town, after setting fire to all rancherías which interfered with siege operations. The besieged, being surrounded, and attacked on all sides, were soon forced to surrender. A better fate might have attended them had not some of the negro artillerymen and a company of regulars, dismayed by the odds against them, turned recreant and broken down with their axes the gates of the fortress.[XXXIV‑16] Four hundred prisoners and an immense booty, said to have exceeded three millions of pesos, were captured, besides several vessels ready freighted for Europe.[XXXIV‑17] The conquerors destroyed the town; but no sooner had they secured their plunder than a violent storm came on, and the ship on which the treasure was placed foundered, the rest of the fleet having a narrow escape.
At this time Don Matías de Galvez ruled in Guatemala, and no sooner did he hear of the disaster than he despatched messengers to the governors of Cuba and Yucatan, and to Viceroy Mayorga, of Mexico, calling for contributions of men and material. The viceroy responded at once, sending reënforcements by way of Oajaca.[XXXIV‑18]
Galvez soon organized the militia of the settlements, and collecting all the regulars he could muster advanced on San Fernando de Omoa. By the 26th of November he had constructed six lines of intrenchments before the castle. Fruitless negotiations were held, and on the last day of the month a midnight attack was made on the English, who being partially surprised slowly retreated from the fort after spiking the guns, and succeeded in gaining their ships, carrying off the leading men among their prisoners, together with considerable booty.
[Sidenote: RENDEZVOUS OF THE PIRATES.]
Of the numerous islands that studded the bay of Honduras, more or less thickly peopled when discovered by Columbus at the beginning of the sixteenth century, but three were to any extent inhabited a hundred years later. These, Roatan, Guanaja, and Utila, remained quietly subject to the Spanish rule until 1642, when they were taken without resistance from the natives, and garrisoned by English pirates. The situation became critical for Spanish interests, as the robbers could dart out from the islands like hawks and pounce upon the commerce of the seas, or make unexpected descents upon the main.
A few years later the governors of Guatemala, Habana, and Santo Domingo united in an expedition for the recovery of these islands. Four ships of war under the command of Francisco de Villava y Toledo sought to surprise the English, and arrived at Roatan before daybreak. They were discovered by the sentinels, and the assault successfully resisted. The Spaniards, after expending all their ammunition, re-embarked and sailed for Santo Tomás de Castilla to obtain a fresh supply and await reënforcements.
In 1650 a second expedition consisting of 450 men was despatched for the same purpose, and after a sharp resistance the English were compelled to betake themselves to their ships. From that date Roatan was left undisturbed by the British until 1742, when they again took possession of the place and fortified it with materials obtained at Trujillo. There they remained until 1780, when they were again driven out by the governor of Guatemala. In 1796 the English once more gained possession of the island and stationed there a guard of two thousand negroes; but in the following year José Rossi y Rubia, being ordered by the governor of Honduras to attempt its reconquest, induced the garrison to capitulate without resistance.
XXXV. GUATEMALA AND CHIAPAS
1601-1700.
PRESIDENT CASTILLA—PORT SANTO TOMÁS FOUNDED—FACTIONS—A GAMBLING PRESIDENT—CONDITION OF THE COLONISTS—GRIEVANCES—PATRONAGE OF THE CROWN, THE AUDIENCIA, AND THE CABILDO—DISPUTES—DEFENSIVE MEASURES—RULE OF PRESIDENT CALDAS—REORGANIZATION OF THE AUDIENCIA—PRESIDENT BARRIOS AND BISHOP NAVAS—POLITICAL DISSENSIONS—A TROUBLESOME VISITADOR—THE BERROPISTAS AND TEQUELIES—A LINE OF BISHOPS—WEALTH OF THE REGULAR ORDERS—A PRELATE BEWITCHED—THE BETHLEHEMITES—ROYAL ORDER CONCERNING CURACIES—THE NEW CATHEDRAL AND FESTIVITIES—SUCCESSION—THE PROGRESS OF CHIAPAS.
Although the Guatemalan historian Juarros passes an encomium upon President Castilla, who it will be remembered was appointed governor of Guatemala in 1598,[XXXV‑1] it is much to be doubted whether the citizens of Santiago, over whom he ruled, gave unqualified assent to his praise. In the records of the cabildo appear frequent complaints charging him with encroachment upon the prerogatives of the municipal authorities, with neglect of his magisterial duties, and with interference with the privileges of citizens,[XXXV‑2] and rights of precedence on public occasions. But more than this, the gradually increasing poverty of the nobles was laid at his door by these jealous petitioners, who were strongly opposed to an equal division of property, as is evidenced by their representing to the king that the subdivision of the encomiendas had rendered such property almost valueless. In view, also, of exposure to attack on their frontiers, they besought the king not to appoint a civilian as their president, but a man of military training.
It was during the administration of Castilla that the bay of Amatique was discovered, and the port of Santo Tomás founded. The immediate cause of the establishment of this port was a piratical raid in 1603 on Puerto de Caballos, which town had for some time been exposed to attacks from corsairs. In that year a squadron of eight vessels, under command of Pié de Palo and a mulatto named Diego, with a force of more than twelve hundred men entered the harbor, and notwithstanding the brave resistance of Captain Juan de Monasterio, who had only two ships, they defeated him and captured his vessels.[XXXV‑3]
This disaster induced the president to order an exploration to be made with the object of discovering a more secure site; and in March of the following year Estévan de Alvarado, assisted by Francisco Navarro, an experienced pilot, surveyed the coast. Their favorable report of the bay of Amatique[XXXV‑4] induced the audiencia to give orders for the founding of a town which was called Santo Tomás de Castilla in compliment to the president.[XXXV‑5] The removal of the population of Puerto de Caballos was effected as quickly as possible, and by the beginning of 1605 the commerce of Guatemala on the Atlantic was carried on through the new port.[XXXV‑6] Although the advantages of San Tomás were evident and the king approved of the change, no fortifications had been constructed there for several years at least. In 1607 eight Dutch pirate vessels appeared in the bay just as Monasterio was ready to sail for Spain, but on this occasion the pirates were driven off with the loss of one ship sunk, the rest of the squadron having sustained much damage.[XXXV‑7] So inactive was the Spanish government in taking measures for the protection of the town that Monasterio determined to fortify it himself, and in 1609 mounted seven pieces of artillery on a large rock near the shore.
Though situated on a spacious harbor, easy of access, and well sheltered from the winds, the new settlement did not prosper; for the surrounding country was so sterile as not to yield provender enough, even for the mules employed in transporting merchandise. It was consequently gradually abandoned for Puerto Dulce, lying to the west.
[Sidenote: GOMERA SUCCEEDS CASTILLA.]
In August 1609 Antonio Peraza Ayala Castilla y Rojas, conde de la Gomera, was appointed by royal cédula to succeed President Castilla, and entered upon his duties in 1611, during which year his predecessor died while undergoing his residencia.[XXXV‑8] The new president gave but little satisfaction to the people of Santiago. He extorted money from the settlers by unlawful means,[XXXV‑9] and three years after his installation violent disturbances broke out. The political condition of the country attracted the attention of the viceroy of Mexico, and the visitador Juan de Ibarra was sent, in 1614, to investigate the affairs of the audiencia. Matters became more complicated. Gomera was suspended, and retired to the town of Patulul. The whole province was divided into factions and the people so incensed that a riot was imminent. This state of affairs continued until 1617, when Gomera was reinstated in the presidency, which office he held until 1626, when he retired to his birthplace in the Canary Islands.[XXXV‑10] He was succeeded by a man of very different character, one Juan de Guzman,[XXXV‑11] who, having lost his wife on the voyage to Guatemala, lost with her all interest in life. After governing for a term of five years with a mildness and beneficence which ill suited the grasping disposition of his associates, he was, as it were, driven from the presidency by their persistent disagreement with his views.
Alvaro de Quiñones y Osorio, marqués de Lorenzana, was the next to fill the presidential chair,[XXXV‑12] being transferred from Panamá. His spirit of covetousness was in strong contrast with the unselfish disposition of his predecessor, and he soon became extremely unpopular. Gambling was a favorite pastime in the capital of Guatemala, and while the president strictly prohibited all gaming in private houses, his own palace was converted at night into a regular gambling establishment, of which he reaped the profits, frowning upon the moneyed men who cared not to frequent his tables.[XXXV‑13] In 1642 he was succeeded by Diego de Avendaño, and on his voyage to Spain the vessel on which he had taken passage foundered, and he was lost. Avendaño's rule was marked by integrity and disinterestedness. He died in August 1649, and the presidency was given to the licentiate Antonio de Lara y Mogrobejo, who held office till 1654.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: CONDITION OF THE COLONISTS.]
The condition of the colonists during the first half of the seventeenth century was prosperous. The city put on an appearance of wealth and even grandeur. Magnificent private residences, and large mercantile houses filled with valuable goods, surrounded the public squares and stood upon the principal streets; while stately churches, with richly furnished interiors, convents and nunneries of different orders, and public institutions were scattered throughout the capital. Daily markets in which all kinds of provisions in great abundance were disposed of at low prices proclaimed the absence of poverty,[XXXV‑14] while the wealth of the merchants was such as to make them the peers of any in the New World. Nor was the prosperity of the country behind that of the city. Agriculture thrived and immense tracts of lands were under cultivation. But the most prominent industrial feature were the numerous and extensive cattle and sheep farms which had been established in the province, and which furnished meat for the surrounding towns at a price within reach of the poorest inhabitant.[XXXV‑15] Commerce was no less prosperous, and an extensive trade was carried on by mule trains with Mexico, Chiapas, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, and on the oceans with Peru and Spain.
"This city," says Thomas Gage, who lived for three years in Santiago, "may consist of about five thousand families, besides a Suburb of Indians called el Barrio de Sto Domingo, where may be two hundred families more. The best part of the City is that which joyneth to the Suburb of Indians, and is called also el Barrio de Santo Domingo, by reason of the Cloister of Saint Dominick, which standeth in it. Here are the richest and best shops of the City, with the best buildings, most of the houses being new and stately. Here is also a daily Tianguez (as they call it) or petty Market, where some Indians all the day sit selling Fruits, Herbs and Cacao, but at four in the afternoon, this Market is filled for a matter of an hour, where the Indian women meet to sell their Country slap (which is dainties to the Crioltans), as Atolle, Pinole, scalde Plantains, butter of the Cacao, puddings made of Indian Maiz, with a bit of Fowl, or fresh Pork in them, seasoned with much red biting Chille, which they call Anatamales."
"The climate is very temperate, far exceeding either Mexico or Guaxaca. Neither are the two forenamed Cities better stored with fruits, herbs for sallets, provision of flesh, Beef, Mutton, Veal, Kid, Fowls, Turkies, Rabbets, Quails, Patridges, Pheasants, and of Indian and Spanish Wheat, than is this City: from the South Sea (which lyeth in some places not above twelve leagues from it), and from the rivers of the South Sea Coast, and from the fresh Lake of Amatitlan and Petapa, and from another Lake lying three or four leagues from Chimaltenango, it is well and plentifully provided for of fish. But for Beef there is such plenty, that it exceeds all parts of America, without exception, as may be known by the Aids which are sent yearly to Spain from the Country of Guatemala, where they commonly kill their Cattel, more for the gain of their Hydes in Spain, than for the goodness or fatness of the flesh, which though it be not to compare to our English Beef, yet it is good mans meat, and so cheap, that in my time it was commonly sold at thirteen pound and a half for half a Rial, the least coyn there, and as much as three pence here."[XXXV‑16]
[Sidenote: SALABLE OFFICES.]
Taxation was a ground of grievance, and the complaints raised by the citizens of Santiago eventually caused a reduction of an impost, which during the years 1614 to 1626 more than doubled itself,[XXXV‑17] and was doubtless offensive. Another cause for dissatisfaction was the patronage which appertained respectively to the crown, the audiencia, and the cabildo. To the crown belonged the appointment of the president and five oidores,[XXXV‑18] ninety-two judicial and military officers, one fiscal with the same salary as that of an oidor, a contador and treasurer,[XXXV‑19] and various other minor officials. At the disposal of the president were nearly one hundred salaried appointments: namely, those of the corregidores, to the number of about fifteen, including the corregidores of Nicaragua and Honduras;[XXXV‑20] that of the alcalde mayor of San Tomás de Castilla, and other patronage.
The audiencia disposed of the offices of the alguacil mayor, the receiver and treasurer of fines and court fees, two escribanos and chief secretaries of the audiencia, the assessor of taxes and six receivers, the secretary of the court of estate pertaining to interstates, and several other positions. All these offices were salable.[XXXV‑21] The positions of all officers of the municipality were also open to purchase.[XXXV‑22] With regard to the patronage of the cabildo, it was much more limited, and naturally confined to appointments within the city limits.[XXXV‑23] Under such a system of patronage and sale of public offices, it was but natural that important positions were frequently held by incompetent favorites or by exacting officials. Hence arose repeatedly disputes and discord between the cabildo and people on the one side, and the audiencia and royal officers on the other.
Nor were the colonists exempt from calamities caused by pestilence and natural phenomena. In 1601 an epidemic carried off great numbers with startling rapidity, and the years 1607, 1621, 1640, and 1651 were signalized by fearful earthquakes which caused great loss of life.[XXXV‑24] In 1686 a pestilence decimated the population. The peculiarity of this epidemic was that the robust and healthy fell victims to it more readily than the weak and sickly. This calamity was followed in 1687 by a violent earthquake which caused great destruction to churches and houses, and a loss of over three hundred lives. A similar disaster equally destructive occurred in 1689.[XXXV‑25]
[Sidenote: DIVERS ADMINISTRATIONS.]
In May 1654 Fernando Altamirano, Conde Santiago de Calimaya, took possession[XXXV‑26] of the presidency of Guatemala. His rule was made notorious by the sanguinary quarrels of the Medenillas and Carrazas, in which implacable family feuds most of the nobles of Guatemala became involved, and the president unfortunately took part.[XXXV‑27] He died in 1657; and during the administration of his successor, Martin Cárlos de Mencos, formerly commander of the galleons, the audiencia was engaged in frequent disputes relative to privileges and jurisdiction.[XXXV‑28]
The ayuntamiento was at this time a much more powerful corporation than formerly, owing to the greatly increased number of its members, and the marked favors bestowed upon it by various sovereigns of Spain during this century. In the valley of Guatemala it had civil and criminal jurisdiction over no less than seventy-seven villages, a prerogative repeatedly confirmed by royal cédulas.[XXXV‑29] Questions of precedence, however, had for the time to give place to that of self-defence owing to the presence of freebooters on the northern coast. The fortifications of San Felipe on the Golfo Dulce had been begun in March 1651, and although in the following year the oidor Lopez de Solis objected to further expenditure without direct permission of the crown, the oidor Lara Mogrobejo, the fiscal Esquivel, and the royal officers Santiago and Sotomayor proved their right to use certain sums originally assigned for the defence of Trujillo and Santo Tomás, and the fortifications of San Felipe were completed in 1663.
In 1667, Mencos' term of office having expired, he returned to Spain, and in the same year the new president, Sebastian Álvarez Alfonso Rosica de Caldas, arrived.[XXXV‑30] Caldas advocated with enthusiasm the already projected conquest of the Lacandon country, which will be described later, and in a letter to the king offered to effect its subjugation at his own expense, on condition that it be called after his own name.[XXXV‑31] This proposal led to no result so far as the president was concerned, but its publication[XXXV‑32] stimulated inquiry and ultimately caused the opening of a road between Yucatan and Guatemala.
The administration of Caldas was warmly approved by the cabildo, and in an important question regarding authority the members espoused his cause. The fiscal, Pedro de Miranda Santillan, being accused of barratry, the president not only suspended him, but caused him to be imprisoned in San Felipe.[XXXV‑33] The king disapproved of this high-handed measure touching one of the officers of the crown, and to make matters worse the fiscal died in prison on the 9th of October 1669. Before hearing of the decease of Santillan his Majesty had, by cédula dated May 6, 1670, appointed him an oidor of the audiencia, and by another cédula of the same date Bishop Juan de Santa María Saenz Mañosca was appointed visitador and president. A tedious investigation followed, but before it was concluded Caldas died.[XXXV‑34]
The new president was noted for extreme punctiliousness in questions of etiquette. On one occasion being on foot an oidor drove by without stopping his carriage as a mark of respect, for which dereliction the president fined him two hundred pesos. At another time an oidor gave offence by making great display with his carriage and four horses, attended by two outriders. A decree was forthwith published, prohibiting a repetition of such ostentation by any one except the bishop.
By a royal cédula issued on the 18th of May 1680, the constitution of the audiencia was reformed. The position of president and captain-general was made similar to that of the viceroy of Mexico, his rule being independent of the oidores, while their department of justice could in no way be interfered with by him, his official signature only being required to authenticate their despatches and affirm their sentences.[XXXV‑35]
[Sidenote: PRESIDENT BARRIOS.]
On January 26, 1688, President Barrios y Leal took the office.[XXXV‑36] His arrival was unattended by the usual display. He had experienced on his way from Golfo Dulce such hardships that he requested the cabildo to omit the ceremony of welcome and devote the funds appropriated for the purpose to improving the defences at Golfo Dulce.[XXXV‑37] His rule was no less troublesome to him than his journey had been. Differences had again arisen between the regular and the secular clergy.[XXXV‑38] Bishop Navas, then in charge of the diocese, was greatly excited, and addressed a memorial to the cabildo, soon after the arrival of Barrios, upon what he considered flagrant abuses, stating that in view of the many disasters which the country had experienced during the last six years from various causes, taxation was taking the life-blood of an already impoverished people. The bishop was one quick to discern evils which he was powerless to remove; apt at the formation of plans he lacked the perseverance to execute; and assumed the attitude of a partisan, where it especially behooved a prelate to be unbiassed. Thus he was incessantly interfering in political matters, and personal relations between him and the president were soon exceedingly unpleasant,[XXXV‑39] finally becoming a matter of inquiry at the Spanish court. On the 13th of March 1690 a royal cédula was issued severely reprimanding the bishop[XXXV‑40] for his conduct toward the president.
On January 25, 1691, Fernando Ursino y Orbaneja, an oidor of Mexico, was appointed visitador to Guatemala, and he provisionally removed President Barrios. In 1694 Barrios was reinstated in office. The principal occupation in which he had previously been engaged was the conquest of the Lacandon country, into which he had personally led an expedition as will be narrated hereafter. He now began preparations for a second campaign. While thus employed his health failed, and he died on the 12th of November 1695.
[Sidenote: POLITICAL FEUDS.]
The death of Barrios was followed by dissension in the audiencia relative to his provisional successor. By law the right of succession fell on the senior oidor, Francisco Valenzuela Venegas, but the licentiate José de Scals was by some means installed in the presidency. Hence arose a violent party feud,[XXXV‑41] and when Gabriel Sanchez de Berrospe arrived in March 1696, as the appointed president, the government was in a state of confusion which no efforts of his could rectify. In fact a political storm closed the history of Guatemala for the century. The opposition, led by Scals and his ally, the oidor Amézqueta, baffled Berrospe's attempts at legislation, by every artifice that could cause delay.[XXXV‑42]
On the 17th of June, 1699, Diego Antonio de Oviedo y Baños, an oidor of Santo Domingo, Gregorio Carrillo y Escudero, and two others were appointed oidores of Guatemala pending an investigation concerning the audiencia, with right of succession at the close of the former oidor's term. Oviedo was named as senior oidor, but being detained in Santiago de Cuba, Carrillo usurped the position and refused to give place to the former on his arrival.[XXXV‑43] Controversies continued until the coming of the licentiate Madriz as visitador in 1699, when affairs became still more serious, and acts of violence were resorted to by the two bitter factions which were immediately formed under the denominations of Berropistas and Tequelies.
The first act of Madriz was to depose Berrospe and appoint Amézqueta as provisional president. The oidores Carrillo and Duardo were then deprived of office, but they promptly affirmed that their removal was illegal, and resuming their seats ordered the arrest of the visitador, which they endeavored to effect on Palm Sunday, 1700. Madriz took refuge in the college of the Jesuits, which on the following day was surrounded by the friends of Carrillo and Duardo. The bishop came to his relief, and he made good his retreat to Soconusco where he incited the people to rise in arms against the Berropistas. Berrospe sent the oidor Pedro de Ezguaras with an armed force to suppress the tumult, and if possible effect the capture of Madriz. Ezguaras was at first repulsed, but in a subsequent encounter Madriz and his followers were put to flight and peace was restored. Berrospe had no easy time. Madriz had a powerful ally in the bishop, who issued manifestoes exhorting all persons to obey the visitador and not the pseudo audiencia. Against those who attempted to lay violent hands on Madriz he threatened excommunication. In February 1701 the visitador returned with an armed force from Oajaca whither he had fled, and in an encounter between the rival parties lost sixty of his men, while the loss of the audiencia was only ten.[XXXV‑44]
Berrospe now retires from the scene, having either returned to Spain or died while the political struggle was still undecided.[XXXV‑45] The other chief actors continued the contest somewhat longer. In 1702 José Osorio, oidor of Mexico, was appointed to supersede Madriz as visitador, and in September of the same year the latter was arrested in Campeche, and sent prisoner to Mexico, as the originator of the disturbances in Guatemala. Bishop Navas had constantly identified himself with the Tequelies, and when ordered by his metropolitan, the archbishop of Mexico, to withdraw his ban of excommunication against certain Berrospeists he refused to do so. He died in the midst of these dissensions, not without grave suspicions of having been poisoned.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.]
Concerning the ecclesiastical history of the province, we learn that after the decease of Bishop Córdoba, in 1598,[XXXV‑46] the mitre was bestowed on Juan Ramirez de Arellano, a man said to be of royal lineage. The honor was bestowed in recognition of his zeal in the conversion of the natives of Miztecapan. He had previously made a pilgrimage from Spain to Home on foot, in as humble guise as ever journeyed the apostles of old, and was received with peculiar honor by the pope. When he arrived in Guatemala in 1601, he changed in nothing the austere mode of life for which he was noted when a simple friar. His fervor and determination in the cause of the church brought on him the enmity of the cabildo,[XXXV‑47] whose members prayed the king that the bishop might be removed to some other diocese, and their own allowed a period of tranquillity. His death, which occurred not long afterward, released the citizens of Santiago from further anxiety. During the administration of Ramirez it is commonly supposed that the bishopric of Vera Paz was abolished and its territory annexed to that of Guatemala.[XXXV‑48] Bishop Juan Cabezas Altamirano of Cuba was transferred to Guatemala in 1610, and took possession of the episcopal chair the following year. In 1613 he consecrated with imposing ceremonies Alonso Galdo, bishop-elect of Honduras, this being the first ceremony of the kind performed in Guatemala. Two years later Altamirano was seized with apoplexy and died, when the mitre was offered to Pedro de Valencia, who before his arrival in Guatemala was promoted to the bishopric of La Paz. The bishopric remained vacant till 1621, Francisco de la Vega Sarmiento, dean of Mexico, having declined to accept it, and Pedro de Villa Real, bishop of Nicaragua, the next one appointed, dying before he reached the diocese. It was then bestowed on Juan Zapata y Sandoval, bishop of Chiapas, who was born of one of the noblest families in Mexico. He was noted for his charitable disposition and was the first bishop who conferred degrees in the college of Santo Tomás of Guatemala. After occupying the episcopal chair for nine years he died in January 1630, and was buried in the cathedral of Guatemala.[XXXV‑49]
The next occupant, Bishop Agustin de Ugarte y Saravia, came also by promotion from Chiapas, and presided over the diocese for nine years. He made valuable presents to the monastery of La Concepcion; laid the foundation stone of the convent of Santa Catarina Mártyr, and founded the convent of Nuestra Señora del Cármen. He was promoted to Arequipa in Peru in 1641, and afterward to Quito, where he died in 1650.
His successor, Bartolomé Gonzalez Soltero, had held a variety of important trusts, having been thrice rector of the university in Mexico, visitador of libraries, fiscal, and afterward member of the inquisition. How soon after Saravia's transfer to Peru Soltero entered upon his duties is not quite certain, but probably not for some time.[XXXV‑50] His rule was peaceful, and his devotion to the sick, during a time of pestilence, won the respect of the cabildo.[XXXV‑51] He died on the 25th of January 1650, and was buried in the cathedral of Santiago.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: RELIGIOUS ORDERS.]
The income of the diocese in 1648, as officially reported, was eight thousand pesos per annum, and at that time there were in the city of Santiago convents belonging to the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, Jesuits, Mercenarios, and the order of San Juan de Dios. In charge of the Dominicans was the hospital of San Alejo, and in 1641 that of Santiago was assigned to the care of the friars of San Juan de Dios.[XXXV‑52] Under the management of this society was also the hospital of San Lazaro. There were, moreover, in the city four nunneries, two in charge of the Dominican order, one of the order of La Concepcion, and one of the order of Santa Catarina Mártyr, the latter containing four hundred inmates besides a large number of pupils.
In wealth and luxuries these orders had reached a degree second only to that attained by the regulars in Mexico and Peru. The cloister of the Dominicans, for instance, had large revenues flowing in from its Indian dependencies, water-mill privileges, and farms, sugar plantations, and a silver mine.[XXXV‑53] Within the ample grounds of their convent were artificial lakes, fish-ponds, and fruit and flower gardens, and their church was rich with costly ornaments and jewelry. The Dominicans may have fared better than the other orders, but to none was lacking either comfort or affluence. Hardly less wealthy than the Dominicans was the cloister of the nuns of La Concepcion, the inmates of which were very numerous. It is narrated by Gage that one fair sister of this society, Doña Juana de Maldonado, daughter of the judge, so bewitched the bishop with her youth and charms, that to gratify her he strove to install her as lady superior and abbess, despite her youth and inexperience. In fact the prelate's conduct was such as to create scandal, and many noted citizens, whose relatives were inmates, entered the convent prepared to effect a change by compulsion. The intervention of President Guzman and the young lady's father resulted in a relinquishment of her ambitious designs.
The Bethlehemites appeared in Guatemala about the middle of the seventeenth century, the founder of their order being Fray Pedro de San José Vetancur. Their first habitation was a small house which was purchased for forty pesos obtained by contribution. The order did not, however, long remain in poverty, and in a few years large gifts of money were annually presented to the society. In 1667 Vetancur was succeeded by Fray Rodrigo as the leader of the brotherhood, and soon afterward a church was erected by the Bethlehemites in Santiago at an expense of seventy thousand pesos,[XXXV‑54] as well as other costly edifices. In 1667 they adopted a code; but the Franciscan provincial objected to its approval, as it provided the same habit as that worn by his own order. This difficulty obviated, the rules and regulations were approved by the bishop on the 6th of February 1668.[XXXV‑55] The society was reorganized in 1681 on a basis which was sanctioned by the pope and the king, but not until Fray Rodrigo had spent fifteen years in advocating its cause in Madrid and Rome.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: CHURCH GOVERNMENT.]
After Bishop Soltero's death the episcopal palace was not occupied by a prelate until 1659. Juan Garcilaso de la Vega was first appointed to succeed him, but died at Tehuantepec on the 5th of May, 1654, while on his way to Santiago. His remains were conveyed thither and interred in the cathedral. Fray Payo Enriques de Ribera was next appointed to the vacant see, and took possession in February 1659.
In 1660 a royal order arrived rendering more obligatory former instructions as to the extent and stipends of curacies. Curates had been employing secular assistants, to whose charge they either partly or entirely committed their spiritual duties. They nevertheless collected all fees and dues. It was not permitted for a curate to have charge of more than four hundred natives, and when the renewed mandate arrived Bishop Ribera undertook to enforce its observance. The fiscal, Pedro Frasso, however, claimed that right and also all surplus moneys received by curates who had more than the legal number under their charge. The controversy waxed warm and extended to great length.[XXXV‑56]
Ribera traversed the length and breadth of his diocese in his zeal for the church, and the establishment of the hospital of San Pedro in Santiago was due to his labors. He was transferred to the bishopric of Michoacan and left Guatemala in February 1668.
His successor, Juan de Santo Matías Saenz Mañosca y Murillo, arrived in the following June, having previously occupied the see of Habana. The most important ecclesiastical event during his rule was the founding of a new cathedral, the corner-stone of which he laid with imposing ceremonies on the 30th of October 1669. The edifice was completed in 1680, and its dedication marked by brilliant ceremonies and festivities which lasted for eight days. The mornings were devoted to religious services and the evenings to banquets and balls. Two bands of dancers had been trained with great care and performed on alternate days; the one, composed of twelve young men, chosen from the noblest families, and arrayed in splendid costumes, exhibited the ancient dances of the New World; the other, formed of the same number of young women of great accomplishments, richly dressed in Spanish style, represented sibyls. Midnight was made radiant by spectacular fireworks provided by the different orders and congregations. When the programme of the clergy had been exhausted, three additional days were given to unreserved enjoyment. Theatrical performances, bull-fights, horse-races, and other amusements were provided, and attended by throngs of people.
After the close of his duties as president of the audiencia, Mañosca remained in office until his decease in the year 1675, having just before received notification of his appointment as bishop of La Puebla de los Angeles.[XXXV‑57]
In February 1676 the new bishop Juan de Ortega y Montañez arrived, and held office until 1682, when he was promoted to Michoacan, being succeeded by Andrés de las Navas y Quevedo, whose politico-ecclesiastical views and mode of administration have won for him an unenviable prominence among the Guatemalan prelates of the seventeenth century.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: GAGE ON CHIAPAS.]
During this period the province of Chiapas reached its highest degree of prosperity. From the time of its subjugation by Mazariegos the natives had made no attempt to recover their political freedom, and uninterrupted tranquillity had reigned in the land. The natives submitted quietly to their lot, and the Spaniards enjoyed the fruit of their labors. It is true that the territory possessed no mines, but the productiveness of the soil was such that abundance prevailed. Cacao, cochineal, and cotton were produced in large quantity and were of great commercial value, while agriculture and cattle-raising prospered in all parts of the country. Populous towns[XXXV‑58] were situated in the fertile valleys,[XXXV‑59] the rivers of which supplied the inhabitants with abundance of fish, and the forests abounded with game. But during this period a great change was gradually taking place in the character and constitution of the two races. The Spaniards became enervated and effeminate from indolence and inactivity, while the Indians were acquiring a knowledge of manly exercises and sports which their too slothful conquerors no longer practised with energy or performed with skill.[XXXV‑60] With regard to the capital of the province Gage calls it "one of the meanest Cities in all America,"[XXXV‑61] nor is he more complimentary to the Spaniards inhabiting it. These he describes as being grossly ignorant, pompous, arrogant, and cowardly, while the female portion of the community, with no high reputation for virtue, had gained a terrible notoriety as poisoners when their jealousy was aroused or their anger excited by slight or indifference; but we must not forget that Gage was a foreigner and a fanatic.[XXXV‑62]
[Sidenote: GOVERNMENT.]
The government of the province was as heretofore vested in an alcalde mayor,[XXXV‑63] whose power was almost despotic, though subject to a certain extent to the president and audiencia of Guatemala.[XXXV‑64] With occasional exceptions the political and ecclesiastical authorities seem to have worked more in harmony than those of other provinces, and the episcopal seat was successively occupied by prelates who yearly made the circuit of their diocese to administer confirmation.[XXXV‑65] Churches were built and convents founded, and the Christian faith so successfully inculcated that it was professed throughout the length and breadth of the land. But as will be seen later, this tranquillity was pregnant with the elements of revolt. The contributions collected by the ecclesiastics for the performance of the religious ceremonies were burdensome to the natives, and the taxation and exactions of the governors even more oppressive; nor can it be asserted that the harsh treatment to which the Indians were subjected by the earlier rulers was, to any extent, mitigated by their successors.