With the death of King Charles II. in the year 1700 the Austrian dynasty
upon the throne of Spain became extinct. One daughter of his
predecessor, Philip IV., had married a Bavarian prince, another had
become the wife of Louis XIV. of France. The offspring of these
marriages and other candidates presented themselves for the succession
and caused endless diplomatic parleys and plunged Spain into a most
harassing state of uncertainty, even before the King expired. He had
signed a will in favor of the Bourbon claimant, Philip of Anjou, who
succeeded him as Philip V., but the Austrian archduke Charles contested
this succession, until the death of his brother. Joseph called him to
the throne of Austria and forced him to relinquish his claim to that of
Spain. The interval, however, was spent in what is known as the War of
the Austrian Succession which was far more than a war of succession to
the Spanish throne, but one which involved a European problem.
The hostility between England and France was known to be acute; the
designs of Austria upon Spain were also known to be the source of
incipient conflicts. In order to curb the insatiable ambition of Louis
XIV., England had entered into an alliance with Austria and Holland. The
unexpected ascension of the archduke Charles to the throne of Austria
suddenly changed the political aspect of the time for England. Louis
XIV. and Philip V. had agreed that in order to secure the balance of
European power the crowns of France and Spain should never be united.
Spain, however, was bound in the future to follow the trend of French
politics. It renounced her rights to the Netherlands, which were the
only barrier against invasions of France on the continent, and left
England in possession of Gibraltar. As this was its most important
fortress, Gibraltar was ever to be a thorn in the flesh of Spain.
The treaty of Utrecht, which was signed in the year 1713, seemed by its
reapportionment of the countries and the readjustment of the map of
Europe to have temporarily assured peace. But the price paid for this
peace by Spain was hardly to be estimated in currency. As Guiteras
justly remarks, Philip V. found Spain prostrate from the impudent
efforts of the Austrian dynasty to preserve her predominance among the
European nations. The wars waged during the reigns of his predecessors
had drained the coffers of Spain and alarmingly decreased her
population. The powerful kingdom which a century before had dared to
threaten the independence of England and had enjoyed prosperity and
opulence, had become almost tributary to France and England. The treaty
of Utrecht reduced Spain to her peninsular provinces and her overseas
colonies. Though united with them by the ties of racial origin, religion
and tradition, it was not an easy task to defend them against the
inimical designs of powers that planned to dominate the seas and usurp
the place which Spain had won for herself.
Philip V. realized that the condition in which Spain had been left at
the end of the wars that preceded his reign made it incumbent upon him
to maintain peace and to further the country's recovery from a century
and a half of constant warfare. He was inspired by the example of France
under Colbert and Richelieu and his aim was by applying to Spain the
lessons France had learned during the leadership of those men, to bring
about a revival of Spain's previous greatness. He aspired to make Spain
internally stronger than she had ever been, to enable her to humble
England and to wrest from that great rival her ever increasing power in
America. His task was extremely difficult, for it really meant a
thorough reconstruction of the entire government. He found Spain in such
a state of stagnation that it required extraordinary efforts to rouse
in the country only a spark of the old spirit. He was the first
sovereign since Philip II. who had a strong will and a strong
personality and made his absolute power felt in every branch of the
government. He had to create a new navy; he had to organize and train a
new army; he had to reform the legislation, the finances, even the
police of the country. So poor was Spain at that time in men of strong
character and executive power, that he was obliged to employ foreigners
in some of the most important places in the army and navy as well as in
the council chamber.
Although during the latter half of his reign of forty six years his
initiative and energy were paralyzed and he lapsed into the passive
indifference which had characterized the attitude of some of his
predecessors, his innovations and reforms were the means of stimulating
inquiry into some of the evils, political and social, that Spain had
suffered from. He ushered in a new life, which slowly penetrated to
every corner of the kingdom and brought it into closer contact with the
outside world for which it had hitherto had a curious contempt. However
slow was the work of regeneration which he had inaugurated, it was sure
to benefit the next generation which could never return to the old order
of things.
The influence of this new life in the mother country was, of course,
still slower in manifesting itself in her colonies. Cuba had still to
rely upon her own resources, both in inaugurating internal improvements
and in combatting external dangers. As both Great Britain and France
were eagerly pursuing their plans to extend their colonial power in
America, conflicts between these powers and the Spanish possessions in
America were inevitable. Towards the end of the seventeenth century
attempts to establish direct maritime intercourse between France and the
Mississippi, and to colonize the southwest of the continent; which was
under the patronage of Louis XIV. created no little anxiety in the old
Spanish settlements of Florida and eventually had to lead to armed
conflicts in which the West Indies, and especially Havana, as the
metropolis of the Spanish island colonies, became involved.
As early as the year 1693 D. Andres de Pes had settled in Pensacola and
three years later three hundred Spaniards from Vera Cruz and other parts
had under the leadership of D. Andres d'Arriola taken formal possession
of the harbor. Henceforth no foreign ship could enter without being
challenged. This the valiant commander of the French expedition,
d'Iberville, the pioneer founder of Louisiana, was to experience. He had
sailed in October, 1698, with a company of Marines and some two hundred
colonists, among them women and children. At Santo Domingo he took on
board a seasoned veteran of the golden age of piracy, a man who in 1683
had made a fortune of eight million pesos by the capture of Vera Cruz,
had been an associate of M. de Grammont, Lolonois, Morgan and other
notables of the Brotherhood of the Coast, and as such was familiar with
every spot along the Gulf of Mexico and the coasts of New Spain; it was
Captain Laurent Grave or Graff, linguist, sailor and intrepid fighter.
They arrived at the island St. Rose in January, 1699, cast anchor and
applied for permission to enter the harbor of Pensacola. This being
refused they sailed westward and settled in the country west of the
Perdido River, which was later recognized by King Philip V., who was
bent upon a conciliatory policy, as the boundary between Louisiana and
Florida.
From that time, however, Pensacola was to know no peace, for the French
cast ever a covetous eye upon that Spanish settlement. Nor did the
authorities of Pensacola hesitate to harass the settlers to the west,
resenting the appearance of any rival neighbor. Governor Ravolli made an
expedition in 1700 against the French who had settled on Ship Island,
but he himself was soon to experience that he was being surrounded by
neighbors determined to show their hostility towards Spain by open or
secret operations against the Spanish settlement in Florida. Governor
James Moore of South Carolina, which bordered on Spanish Florida,
undertook in the year 1702 an expedition against the old Spanish town of
St. Augustine, in the defense of which a Cuban force was eventually to
take part. The British succeeded in making their entry into the town and
ravaging it; but they could not reduce the fort, which the garrison
defended with desperate determination. The British sent to Jamaica for
some heavy artillery. But in the meantime the Spanish viceroy had been
informed of the attack and sent two war ships for the relief of the
town. The governor of Cuba, too, dispatched five vessels with troops of
infantry and militia, which sailed from the port of Havana under the
command of Captain D. Esteban de Beroa, a Havanese of great enterprise
and valor. When the Spanish fleet arrived near the harbor, Moore with
his South Carolinians made a hasty retreat by land, leaving behind his
vessels and stores of ammunition. The help which D. Esteban had lent the
garrison of St. Augustine in this critical moment was highly appreciated
by the King of Spain, who took notice of this valuable service in a
cedula addressed to the Captain General of the island in 1703, in which
he especially lauded the exploits of D. Esteban.
The administration of D. Diego de Cordova Lazo de Vega, Knight of the
military order of Santiago and General of the Galleons, was profoundly
affected by the political unrest of Europe, due to the controversies
about the succession and by the conflicts with the French and the
British in the newly settled continent, which began to darken the future
of the Spanish possessions. Cordova had entered upon his office on the
third of October, 1695, and was reported to have bought the governorship
for fourteen thousand dollars. Some very important internal improvements
were made during his time of office. The territory from the gateway of
la Punta to la Tanaza and the hospital of San Francisco de Paula was
organized into districts. He was like some of his predecessors much
concerned with the religious life of the island and encouraged the
building of churches and convents. One of the most important convents
founded at this time was the third convent of the barefoot Carmelites,
dedicated to Saint Teresa.
Realizing the need of greater garrisons for the protection of the people
of Cuba from invasions, whether by foreign powers or by corsairs, the
Spanish government sent over twelve companies of militia. So impressed
was the governor with their general condition and their discipline, that
he sent the king a special message referring to them. But he was too
prudent to rest satisfied with this help from the government overseas;
he raised and organized four more companies of infantry and cavalry,
recruited from the population of Cuba itself, and this placed the island
in a better state of defense than it had ever been before. He also
granted a number of merchant mariners privateering privileges, which
enabled them to cruise about and hunt down foreign pirates and
smugglers. These men, among whom the Regidor of Trinidad, Juan Vasquez,
distinguished himself by his valor, made numerous excursions in the
neighborhood, retaliating upon the French colonies for the outrages of
French corsairs, by invading them and capturing some of their vessels,
not excepting the crew, and by carrying off their cattle. Cordova was
also instrumental in promoting the tobacco culture of the island, by
encouraging the employment of new mechanical contrivances.
When on the thirtieth of November, 1700, King Charles II. expired in
Madrid, and was followed by Philip V., the first Spanish sovereign of
the house of Bourbon, the Spanish Colonies in America paid no heed to
the war of the succession which was carried on between King Philip and
the Archduke of Austria. Without hesitation they recognized the former
as their ruler and thanks to the wholesome influence exerted upon the
population by Governor Cordova and the estimable Bishop Compostela, King
Philip was formally and peacefully proclaimed in Cuba. Cordova's
governorship was so highly appreciated by the royal government in Spain
that he received for his services the title of Marquis de Valdo and was
soon after promoted to the presidency of Panama. But he later returned
to Spain and died in Madrid as Counsellor of State in the year 1720.
After the departure of Cordova in September, 1702, the government of the
island was for a number of years once more of a rather interimistic
nature, which greatly hampered the efforts of the government to insure
the safety of the coasts against invaders. The British, being since the
accession of Philip V. to the Spanish throne no longer the allies of
Spain as they had been during the validity of the "American Treaty,"
were now her enemies, and once more began to harass the Spanish colonies
by encouraging the pirates to interfere with their traffic. The squadron
of three vessels which France sent over to patrol the ocean in the
vicinity of the Antilles, did not seem to intimidate the lawless
elements working more or less directly under orders of and agreements
with the British.
The administration of Cordova's successor, D. Pedro Benitez de Lugo,
Maestro de Campo and former Counsellor to the Elector of Bavaria, began
on the twentieth of September, 1702, and ended with his death only three
months later, on the fourth of December. But in that brief period
occurred the invasion of the island of Trinidad by the British pirate
Grant, who had under him a force of three hundred men and succeeded in
thoroughly terrorizing the people.
After the death of D. Benitez, the provisional government was entrusted
to two Habaneros, D. Luis Chacon, Castellan of the Morro, and D. Nicolas
Chirmo Vandeval. They seem to have governed with commendable prudence.
Determined to defend the island against the corsairs which renewed their
activity, the Cuban authorities retaliated by sending out corsairs of
their own. Thus D. Juan Baton de Chavez, governor of Santiago de Cuba,
started from that city in 1704 with a force of two hundred and fifty men
and invaded the islands of New Providence and Siguatey. He destroyed
their fortifications, sacked the houses, took one hundred prisoners and
returned with twenty-two cannon and a large quantity of ammunition and
arms. The town of Santiago having generously contributed to the success
of this enterprise both with volunteers and with material resources, the
king rewarded the city with the title "muy noble y muy leal" (very noble
and very loyal). In the same year there died in Havana the venerable and
much beloved Bishop, D. Diego Evelino de Compostela. In fifteen years of
faithful service he had succeeded in stimulating the religious life of
the diocese by the building of churches, especially those in the plains,
where tobacco was raised and thousands of laborers lived with their
families, and in raising the moral standard of Cuban society.
The spirit of animosity between France and England on the one hand, and
Spain and England on the other, gave birth to two schemes to attack
Charleston in the year 1706. The valiant Canadian pioneer d'Iberville
was on the way with a respectable force. He reached Santo Domingo, where
he was reenforced by Spanish troops, and set sail for the coast of South
Carolina. He was stricken with yellow fever and the undertaking had to
be abandoned. At the same time the Spanish authorities in the West
Indies, having decided upon an aggressive policy towards the British in
America, planned retaliation for some of the wrongs suffered in recent
years. The unwarranted attack of Governor James Morgan of South Carolina
upon the old Spanish town of St. Augustine, only four years before, was
not forgotten and offered a welcome pretext to launch an offensive
movement. Accordingly an expedition was fitted out in Havana, mostly of
French privateers, but also some Cuban forces and on the way was joined
by more from St. Augustine. The squadron arrived at Sullivan's Island
off Charleston on Saturday afternoon in August of that year. The
militia of the city was rapidly mobilized but open combat did not begin
until the following Wednesday, when the French commander demanded the
surrender of the city in the name of Louis XIV. The South Carolinians
replied by a violent attack, which drove a large number of the French
that had landed into the water. The fight was renewed when more ships of
the expedition came up, and though the attack was repulsed and there was
considerable loss of life, the Cuban force that had participated,
returned with considerable booty.
The new governor who entered upon his office May 13, 1706, was Field
Marshal D. Pedro Alvarez de Villarin, a native of Asturia, gentilhombre
(a nobleman-attendant of the young princes of Spain and counsellor of
the Elector of Bavaria). But his reign was one of the shortest in Cuban
history. He died on the eighth of July, and the former provisional
governors, D. Luis Chacon and D. Nicolas Chirmo Vandeval, once more
administered their duties, political and military. British warships were
haunting the coasts of the island and kept the authorities and the
residents in a perpetual state of suspense. But the French were now the
allies of the Spaniards and their able admiral Chavagnac came to the
rescue of Cuba. The unrest due to the disputed Spanish succession
encouraged the defiant attitude of the British. In the year 1707 a
British armada appeared on the coast for the purpose of engaging in
propaganda against Philip V. and winning over the population to the
support of the Austrian Archduke's claims. They flooded the island with
grandiloquent proclamations and tried to bribe the people by making the
most alluring promises. But D. Luis Chacon was not the man to betray the
king to whom the island had sworn allegiance at his accession in 1700.
He so effectively replied with cannons that the conspirators withdrew.
The next duly appointed governor of Cuba and the thirty-second in order
was Colonel D. Laureano de Torres Ayala, a native of Havana, Knight of
the Order of Santiago and former Governor of Florida. He entered upon
his office on the eighteenth of January, 1708. His attention was at once
directed to an economic problem of great importance. The landowner Orri,
an official in the service of Spain, had conceived the project to sell
the tobacco on the island for the government. This measure was opposed
by the speculators in tobacco, who sold it without custom duties to the
Peninsula and other parts of America. But Governor Torres was so
impressed with the advantage which would accrue from the new arrangement
to the government of Spain, that he did not rest until the measure was
carried and enforced. The Exchequer of Spain was henceforth enabled to
purchase almost the entire tobacco crop and to make enormous profits
thereby, which the coffers of the kingdom, depleted by the many wars of
the past century, sorely needed. For the successful negotiation of this
matter, which created the government's tobacco monopoly, the governor
was rewarded with the title Marquis de Casa-Torres.
Governor Torres like his predecessors was much concerned with the safety
of the island, and accordingly resumed work on the Havana forts. He
added to the fortifications by having the bulwark halfway between la
Punta and la Fuerza built; it was considered of great importance at that
time, but was later demolished, when Governor Don Dionisos Martinez
proceeded with the wall of la Punta in the same direction. The Marquis
de Casa-Torres had grave disputes with the Lieutenant-Auditor Don Jose
Fernandez de Cordova, which caused endless discussion, not only among
the officials of the island, but also in the population. The Court was
finally compelled to submit the controversy to the Oidor D. Pablo
Cavera, who came over from Spain to begin an investigation. Governor
Torres was temporarily suspended. But the Oidor Cavera died while the
inquiry into the differences between the two men was in progress. Hence
Torres and the lieutenant-auditor were obliged to sail for Spain and
explain their grievances.
The administration of Governor Torres was a period of comparative peace.
The enemies of Spain that were ever waiting for an opportunity to do
something that might weaken her power in America and deprive her of some
of her American possessions had not molested Cuba and the governor was
able to devote his energies to internal improvements and even to aid the
new bishop in his many works for the welfare of the diocese. This worthy
successor of the unforgettable Bishop Compostela was D. Jeronimo Valdes,
formerly Bishop of Porto Rico, provincial of the order of St. Basil and
professor of Alcala. He had entered upon his duties on the thirteenth of
May, 1706, and at once proved that he, too, was imbued with that noble
disinterestedness which characterized his predecessor. He insisted upon
strict observance of the doctrines and customs of the church and founded
many new parishes. He enlarged the Belen convent by adding to the
building a wing which was to be used as hospital for convalescents. He
also founded the Casa de Beneficiencia, a Foundlings' Home, investing in
it eleven thousand pesos of his private fortune. Another charitable
institution which he called into being was a home for the poor that were
reduced to beggary. He also succeeded in having a building finished,
which was destined to be a hospital for lepers. In all these enterprises
for the public welfare he was seconded by the Marquis de Casa-Torres.
The island increased in population during this time and among the towns
founded was Bejucal.
The year 1709 is also memorable for an important measure which was to
safeguard the public health of the island. As early as the year 1634 a
so-called Protomedicato had been created by a certain Nunez, a graduate
of the university of Seville. It was an institution intended to check
the unlawful practice of medicine by ignorant and inexperienced persons
or by downright quacks. For some years Dr. Don Francisco Teneza,
assisted by a duly appointed clerk, who performed the functions of a
notary, embodied in his person the authority of a Protomedico, examining
surgeons, druggists and barbers, who at that time were performing dental
and minor surgical operations. But not until the beginning of the
eighteenth century was the Protomedicato completely organized for
efficient work. It was a college or tribunal composed of physicians duly
licensed by royal patent, who were charged with examining and issuing
licenses to students of medicine. In this way the government hoped to
combat the evil of unlawful medical practice by unknown and incapable
individuals, which had long been a grave menace to the public health.
The king endowed the Protomedicato of Cuba with the same prerogatives
and the same jurisdiction as were enjoyed by the corresponding
institutions of Lima and Mexico.
Upon the departure of the Marquis de Casa-Torres the affairs of the
island were once more in the hands of a provisional government. The
ayuntamento (municipal government) entrusted D. Luis Chacon with the
military governorship and in default of an auditor the political was
given to two alcaldes, D. Augustin de Arriola and D. Pedro Hobruitinier.
But by royal order of the year 1712 D. Luis Chacon resumed the superior
authority, both civil and military. At the end of the year, when the
re-election of the alcaldes took place, violent disputes arose, which
necessitated the intervention of Chacon and the Bishop Valdes. The court
was called to inquire into the matter and settled the quarrel which had
threatened to disturb the peace of the community.
In the year 1712 the official circles of Cuba were greatly agitated by a
sensational occurrence. It was the affair between the acting governor of
Cuba, Don Luis Sanudo, and the royal Ensign, who was also Alcalde of
Bayamo. The governor had ordered the Ensign to imprison two Indian
chiefs who were accused of theft, but the Ensign, interpreting
differently a certain royal decree and the municipal ordinances, made no
move to obey the command. Governor Sanudo accordingly betook himself to
Bayamo, and as the Ensign failed to present himself, went to his house.
There he upbraided him, and as was reported by some at the time, slapped
his face. Boiling with wrath at this insult and outrage, the Ensign
killed him on the spot. The court before which he was tried condemned
him to death and ordered his home to be razed. The office was for the
time abolished, but later re-established.
The Casa-Torres affair had been in the meantime thoroughly aired before
the Court of Spain and the king had found the charges against the
Marquis unfounded. So he restored him to office on the fifth of July,
1712, and in February of the following year he re-entered upon his
duties as Captain-General of Cuba. During the three years of this his
second term, Governor Torres actively promoted the armament of corsairs
which were sent out to counteract the manoeuvres of the enemy pirates
cruising along the Spanish-American coasts. Among the men entrusted with
this venturesome task one especially distinguished himself by his
prowess: Don Juan del Hoye Solorzano. He was later appointed governor of
Santiago de Cuba. About the same time Spain suffered the loss of a rich
fleet, which, sailing from Vera Cruz under command of General Ubilla,
with port at Habana, was on its way to the mother country. It was
wrecked at el Palmar de Aiz, the place where the New Canal of Bahama was
located. To the energetic efforts of the Marquis de Casa-Torres, who at
once ordered divers to go to work, was due the recovery of more than
four million pesos and some valuable merchandise.
The thirty-third governor duly appointed by decree of the Spanish court,
dated December 15, 1715, was the Field-marshal Don Vicente Raja. He was
inaugurated May 26, 1716, and although in office little more than a year
succeeded in completely reorganizing the tobacco industry of the
island. He was accompanied on his arrival from Spain by a commission of
financial and industrial experts; the director of the bank of Spain, D.
Salvador Olivares, the Visitador, a judge charged with conducting
inquiries, D. Diego Daza, and the licentiate D. Pedro Morales, the chief
of the revenue department. The historian Alcazar gives a clear account
of the proceeding of this commission and the disturbances they created.
He relates that the success of the first tobacco sales in the Peninsula
had suggested the establishment of a factory in Seville. But Orri, the
great landowner and planter, knew that the three million pounds of
tobacco produced by Cuba would not suffice for consumption, and not
wanting to have recourse to the inferior leaf produced in Brazil and
Venezuela, decided to monopolize the tobacco industry of Spain. To
realize this plan he proposed to increase the production of tobacco in
Cuba by extending its cultivation over the whole island and guaranteeing
the laborers full value of their harvest, but insisting that the product
be submitted for examination to the committee presided over by Olivares.
This proposition, however just it seemed, produced serious disturbances.
The commission favoring the government monopoly had ordered by decree on
April 17, 1717, that there should be established in Havana a general
agency for the purchase of tobacco with branch offices in Trinidad,
Santiago and Bayamo. This decree in reality was of great advantage to
the laborers who were thus certain of selling their crops and with
advance payments could extend and improve their sembrados (tobacco
fields). On the other hand it was opposed by the speculators, who had up
to this time lived on the fat commissions which their operations had
brought them. These men spread all sorts of rumors detrimental to the
newly appointed commission and its work among the producers of tobacco.
Deluded by this insidious propaganda, the men rebelled. Five hundred
vegueros or stewards of the tobacco fields armed themselves and captured
Jesus del Monte. Even in the capital there were public demonstrations
against the commission and the municipal authorities so weakly supported
the governor in his defense of the employees of the estance (monopoly)
established by the royal government, that he resigned his office in
favor of the royal tenente Maraveo (according to the historian Valdes he
was expelled) and sailed for Spain in company of D. Olivares. The
earnest exhortations of Bishop Valdes and the archbishop of Santo
Domingo induced the rebels to cease their hostile activities and to
withdraw to their homes and temporarily quiet was restored.
So much confusion had been created by frequent changes of governorship
and the interim rule of provisional authorities, that the royal
government at Madrid took steps to establish greater stability and
insure an uninterrupted function of the administrative machine of Cuba.
After the affair of Casa-Torres it became imperative to provide for the
cases of absence or suspension from office. A royal decree dated
December, 1715, ordered that in future, whenever the office of the
Governor and Captain-General should become vacant, by default, absence
or sickness, the political and military power should be held by the
Tenente-Rey (or Royal Lieutenant), or in his default by the Castellan
(warden or governor) of el Morro.
Upon the return of Vicente de Raja to Spain, Lieutenant-Colonel D. Gomez
de Maraveo Ponce de Leon temporarily exercised the functions of
governorship. Cuba was at that time in a peculiar state of political and
social unrest. There were still some demonstrations of the
tobacco-planters going on in different parts of the island. Maraveo,
instead of being upheld in his authority, soon discovered that he was at
the mercy of the magistrates and some of the wealthy citizens who seemed
to back the rebellious elements. In the eastern part of the island the
miners had joined the tobacco-planters in disturbances, intended to
convey to the government their disapproval of its measures. It required
all the persuasive power of Bishop Valdes and other spiritual leaders of
the colony to pacify the turbulent agitation fermenting among the
people.
The court of Spain realized the seriousness of the situation and was
particularly circumspect in the choice of the new governor. A man was
needed, firm of will, yet possessed of a sense of justice and of tact in
the handling of the two hostile factions. After long and serious
deliberation D. Gregorio Guazo Calderon Fernandez de la Vega, a native
of Ossuna, Brigadier-General and Knight of the Order of Santiago was
selected. D. Guazo had in his previous official activities proved his
energy and bravery and soon after entering upon his office relieved the
Spanish authorities of their worries concerning the state of affairs in
Cuba. He took charge of his duties on the twenty-third of June, 1718,
and immediately called a meeting of the Ayuntamento, the bishop and
leading prelates. The men who by their participation in the recent
disturbances compromised their reputation were filled with anxious
apprehension. But the king wished to avoid internal unrest and
discontent and had recommended a policy of reconciliation.
It was an auspicious beginning of D. Guazo's administration when he
announced at this meeting that the King in his clemency would forget the
past occurrences, if the mischief-makers would in future show loyal
obedience to his orders. A proclamation which Governor Guazo issued the
next day informed the people of the whole island that royal pardon had
been granted to the chiefs of the recent mutiny, and quiet and order
were soon restored. The tumultuous manifestations which a few greedy
speculators had deliberately stirred up among the people associated with
tobacco culture, ceased for the time being. He reorganized the
tobacco-factory and reinstalled the former employees. The factory
advanced funds to the vegueros, who, having no other creditors, could
now fix the price and sell the crop themselves.
But in the year 1721 the vegueros once more revolted; they resented the
dictatorial manner in which the Visitador D. Manuel Leon exercised his
functions as inspector and supervisor. The Bishop and D. Jose Bayona
Chacon who filled the office of provisor (a sort of ecclesiastical
judiciary), managed by earnest exhortations and promise of watching over
their welfare to pacify the insurgents and prevent blood-shed, a service
for which Bayona was later rewarded by the rank and title of a count.
But the arguments of the two prelates had no effect upon the Visitador
who continued his unwarranted severity. The result was a revolt in 1723
of the vegueros of San Miguel, Guanabacoa and Jesus del Monte, who
numbered five hundred men with arms and horses. They proceeded to
destroy the tobacco fields of the cultivators of Santiago and Bejucal
who had agreed to sell their tobacco at the price proposed by the
Visitador. Governor Guazo was obliged to send a company of mounted
soldiers under the command of D. Ignacio Barrutia to parley with the
rebels. But at the suggestion of submission they replied with
musket-shot and Barrutia was forced to fire upon them. Several were
killed and wounded, and twelve were taken prisoners. These unfortunates
were hanged at Jesus del Monte on that same day.
As soon as this matter was disposed of, Governor Guazo directed his
attention to the military affairs of the island. Florida had at this
time been annexed to the government of Cuba and Guazo reorganized the
army of both colonies, and called into being a number of new militia
companies in different parts of the island. He replaced the old pike or
lance and the antiquated musket or blunderbus by the bayonet and rifle.
The garrison of the capital was raised to eight hundred and sixty-five
men, all properly armed and equipped. At the same time the salaries in
the army were increased. The soldiers received eleven pesos a month, the
salaries of the Teniente de Rey--the King's Lieutenant--and of the
governors of el Morro and la Punta were raised and the Captain-General
was paid ten thousand pesos a year. An important measure for the
promotion of West Indian commerce was inaugurated by Patino, the
Minister of the Treasury, who, in order to increase the imports of goods
from Spain, conceded to the merchants the same rights as those given to
the merchants of Seville and Cadiz.
Guazo had warned British privateers to desist from raids upon the
Spanish possessions and in the year 1719 had to address the same warning
to the French. For the rupture of diplomatic relations between France
and Spain had once more increased the insecurity of the Spanish-American
coasts. The privateers fitted out by the Cuban government and authorized
to retaliate upon the French and British vessels they would meet, were
under the command of men of tried valor, like Gonzalez, Mendreta,
Cornego and others. They succeeded in capturing a number of bilanders
(small one-mast vessels), which carried cargoes of over one hundred
thousand pesos in value. On one of these expeditions the soldiers and
sailors attempted to revolt against the customary discipline, but Count
Bayona suppressed the incipient mutiny before it had the time to
develop.
As soon as war had been declared between France and Spain the promoters
of the French colonization schemes that had modestly begun to
materialize along southern coast of the American continent, embraced
this opportunity to attack the Spanish settlements in Florida. On the
fourteenth of May, 1718, Bienville, the brother and successor of the
famous d'Iberville, arrived at Pensacola and in the name of the French
king demanded the capitulation of the town. Unprepared for such an
eventuality and unable to resist superior forces, D. Juan Pedro
Metamores, the governor of Pensacola, surrendered and the garrison left
with all honors of war. They were transported in French vessels to
Havana. But already on this involuntary voyage Metamores was considering
measures of retaliation. When the French vessels _Toulouse_ and
_Mareschal de Villars_ reached Cuba and landed the prisoners, they were
seized by the Governor of Havana, who on learning of the disaster at
Pensacola decided upon its recapture. A fleet consisting of one Spanish
warship, nine brigantines and the two French vessels was quickly made
ready and Metamores with his captured troops embarked for Pensacola. On
the sixth of August he entered the harbor with the French vessels flying
the French colors as decoys. The French commander refused to surrender
and a cannonade began. Then the French demanded an armistice which was
followed by the exchange of more shots and finally the garrison of one
hundred men marched out, also with honors of war, under the command of
Chateaugue. They were sent to Havana and were to be transported to
Spain, but in the meantime were imprisoned in Morro castle. Metamores
resumed his governorship of Pensacola.
But in September Bienville, the brother of Chateaugue, assisted by a
French fleet under Champmeslin, with a large force of Canadians and
Indians, attacked Pensacola once more. Metamores was defeated and with
some of his Spanish troops sent to Havana to be exchanged for the French
prisoners held there since August. The remaining Spaniards were sent to
France as prisoners of war. It seems from the records of the historian
Blanchet that Governor Guazo in the following year made an attempt to
reconquer Pensacola. He sent an expedition of fourteen ships and nine
hundred men under the command of D. Esteban de Berroa, who succeeded in
taking the place. But in the further course of the engagement between
the two forces, the French regained possession and defeated the Cubans,
many of whom were made prisoners and sent to Spain.
Of Governor Guazo's efforts to improve the fortifications of Havana, an
inscription on the inner side of the gate of Tierra bears witness. It
reads:
Reynando La Majesdad Catolica del Senor Felipe V. Rey de las
Espanas y Siendo Gobernador de Esta Ciudad, E Isla de Cuba El
Brigadier de los Reales Exercitos D. Gregorio Guazo Calderon
Fernandez de la Vega, Caballero del Orden de Santiago. Ano De 1721.
In the reign of His Catholic Majesty Philip V. King of the Spains,
and when the Governor of this town and island of Cuba was the
Brigadier of the royal armies D. Gregorio Guazo Calderon Fernandez
de la Vega, Knight of the Order of Saint James. In the year 1721.