NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.
1601-1700.
LEON ABANDONED—ANOTHER SITE SELECTED—DESCRIPTION
OF THE NEW CITY—THE SACRILEGIOUS MOUSE—THE TRADE OF
GRANADA—FREEBOOTERS IN NICARAGUA—CHURCH MATTERS—THE JESUITS
ENTER THE PROVINCE—THEY ARE RECALLED—THE DIOCESE SUBJECT
TO THE ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA—SUCCESSION OF PRELATES—ERUPTION
OF EL INFIERNO DE MASAYA—MASSACRE OF SPANIARDS IN COSTA
RICA—MALDONADO'S EXPEDITION TO TALAMANCA—VERDELETE'S MISSION
TO TOLOGALPA—ITS FAILURE—HIS FURTHER ATTEMPTS TO CHRISTIANIZE
THE NATIVES—MASSACRE OF SOLDIERS AND ECCLESIASTICS.
[Sidenote: LEON, GRANADA, AND REALEJO.]
The city of Leon was founded, as will be remembered, by Córdoba, in
1523,[XXV‑1] a few leagues from the shore of the South Sea. The murder
of Bishop Valdivieso, which has already been mentioned,[XXV‑2] was
believed to have entailed a curse upon the place, and after suffering a
series of disasters the inhabitants abandoned its site in 1610. First
keeping a solemn fast they marched forth under the flags of Spain and
the municipality, and about midway between the ocean and Lake Managua
in the centre of a populous Indian district named Subtiaba, established
a new city which soon became noted as one of the best built in Central
America. "Leon," says the English traveller Thomas Gage, an apostate
monk who passed through the city in 1637, "is very curiously built, for
the chief delight of the Inhabitants consisteth in their houses, and
in the pleasure of the Country adjoyning, and in the abundance of all
things for the life of man, more than in any extraordinary riches, which
there are not so much enjoyed as in other parts of America. They are
contented with fine gardens, with variety of singing birds, and parrets,
with plenty of fish and flesh, which is cheap, and with gay houses, and
so lead a delicious, lasie and idle life; not aspiring much to trade
and traffique, though they have neer unto them the Lake, which commonly
every year sendeth forth some Frigats to the Havana by the North Sea,
and Realejo on the South Sea, which to them might be very commodious for
any dealing and rich trading in Peru or to Mixco, if their spirits would
carry them so far. The Gentlemen of this City are almost as vain and
phantastical as are those of Chiapa. And especially from the pleasure of
this City, is all that province of Nicaragua, called by the Spaniards
Mahomets Paradise. From hence the way is plain and level to Granada,
whither I got safely and joyfully."[XXV‑3]
"What in Granada we observed," continues Gage, "was, two Cloisters of
Mercenarian and Franciscan Frayers, and one of the Nuns, very rich; and
one Parish Church, which was as a Cathedral, for the Bishop of Leon did
more constantly reside there than in the City. The houses are fairer
than those of Leon, and the Town of more Inhabitants, amongst whom are
some few Merchants of very great wealth, and many of inferiour degree
very well to pass, who trade with Carthagena, Guatemala, San Salvador,
and Comayagua and some by the South Sea to Peru and Panamá.... In one
day there entered six Requas (which were at least three hundred Mules)
from St Salvador and Comayagua only, laden with nothing else but Indigo,
Cochinil, and Hides; and two days after from Guatemala came in three
more, the one laden with silver, which was the Kings tribute from that
Countrey; the other with Sugar, and the other with Indigo."[XXV‑4]
In 1665 Fort San Cárlos on the Desaguadero was captured by freebooters
under Gallardillo, and thus Granada lay at the mercy of corsairs. The
city was captured, and the invaders, disappointed in their hopes of
plunder, set it on fire, putting to rout during their retreat a force
of three thousand Spaniards gathered to intercept them, and thence
extended their depredations to Realejo. San Cárlos was recaptured by
Martin Cárlos de Mencos, the president of Guatemala, and, in October
1671, the erection of new and stronger works was ordered by the king,
the site selected being near the outlet of the lake.[XXV‑5]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.]
The ecclesiastical records of the province during the seventeenth
century contain few incidents worthy of record. In 1616 the Jesuits of
Guatemala attempted to establish themselves in Nicaragua, and at the
instance of the Conde de la Gomera, president of the audiencia, Pedro
de Contreras was despatched to Granada in charge of the work.[XXV‑6] He
was welcomed to the diocese of Nicaragua by the Bishop Don Pedro Villa
Real,[XXV‑7] and every assistance was afforded him, the cathedral being
placed at his disposal during the whole of lent. But when he made known
the main purpose of his mission—the establishment of a Jesuit college
in Nicaragua—the people of Granada, though they listened to him with
delight, refused to respond to his appeals for aid. Means were supplied,
however, by an ex-captain-general of the province, Vicente Saldívar
y Mendoza, whose deceased wife had left one fifth of her property for
the endowment of a college. The sum thus bequeathed was increased by
Saldívar to twenty-seven thousand pesos and presented to Contreras.
Until 1621 the Jesuits remained in Nicaragua, Contreras and Padre Blas
Hernandez being the only names recorded in connection with the mission.
It was then announced that the superiors of the order had recalled
them, and immediately the widespread interest in the labors of the
fathers was manifested by large public meetings, at which petitions were
adopted against such a measure.[XXV‑8] But the orders of the Provincial
Nicolás de Armoya were peremptory, for the location, he alleged, was
deemed too remote to be governed in keeping with the strict rules of
the Jesuits.[XXV‑9]
Meanwhile the people of Realejo had sent frequent petitions to
Guatemala, and as a last resort addressed themselves directly to
the king, asking for the establishment of a Jesuit college in their
midst,[XXV‑10] especially as the cura of the town had made donations
which would yield a revenue of six thousand pesos. The royal license for
the foundation of the college was issued, accompanied by a grant from
the royal treasury of three thousand ducats, whereupon the provincial
relented, and notwithstanding the opposition of his fellow padres,
authorized its institution. About the close of 1621 the Jesuits returned
for a while to Granada, but the consent of the provincial to the
establishment of the order in this province had in truth been given only
with the expectation of multiplying dependencies until Guatemala could
claim the dignity of a vice-provincia. When this failed the padres were
not allowed to remain in Nicaragua, and henceforth the Jesuits disappear
for a time from the history of the province.
The see of Nicaragua was subject to the archbishop of Lima, and
the remoteness of the archiepiscopal court was a frequent source of
complaint among the Spaniards, for the expense of the voyage often
exceeded the monetary value of the interests involved. In 1621 Benito
Valtonado was prelate at Granada.[XXV‑11] He was a man noted for his
kindness of heart, and mainly from his own resources, which were ample,
he founded the hospital of Santa Catalina at Leon. After his decease in
1627 little worthy of special note is mentioned in connection with the
prelates of Nicaragua until after the appointment in 1667 of Andrés de
las Navas y Quevada,[XXV‑12] who built an episcopal palace, a church
college, and received by royal order a grant of religious books.
About the middle of the seventeenth century the income of the diocese
amounted to 3,000 pesos, of which sum the dean received 600 pesos, the
archdeacon 400, and two canons each 300 pesos a year. At this period
the convent of La Merced in Leon contained twenty ecclesiastics.
If Fray Blas del Castillo could have deferred until 1670 the journey
which he made through Nicaragua in 1537, discovering, as we have seen,
that providence had reserved for the ecclesiastics the molten treasures
of El Infierno de Masaya,[XXV‑13] he would have had a better opportunity
to test his belief. "Some assert," relates Oviedo, who it will be
remembered was in that neighborhood in 1529, when a violent outburst
occurred, and resided for three years in Nicaragua,[XXV‑14] "that the
light caused by the eruption is sufficient to read by at the distance of
three leagues." From the northern slope of the mountain poured in 1670
a volume of lava so vast as to extend almost to the lake of Managua, or
as many conjecture, to reach far into the lake.[XXV‑15]
Toward the close of the century the raids of buccaneers, of which a
description will be given in its place, coupled with the restrictions
on trade imposed by the home government, were sore afflictions to
Nicaragua and Costa Rica, both of which territories were rich in natural
resources. The governor of the latter province, writing to the king at
the opening of the eighteenth century, reports that Costa Rica does not
yield enough for the support of the priests and the secular officials.
[Sidenote: OBSERVATIONS OF THOMAS GAGE.]
There are no reliable records of the condition of affairs in Esparza
until, as we shall see later, the settlement was several times sacked
by buccaneers toward the close of the century, its site being changed in
1688. Of the capital of Costa Rica, Gage, who sojourned there four days
during his journey to England, writes: "We came at last through thousand
dangers to the City of Carthago, which we found not to be so poor, as
in richer places, as Guatemala and Nicaragua it was reported to be.
For there we had occasion to inquire after some Merchants for exchange
of gold and silver, and we found that some were very rich, who traded
by land and sea with Panamá and by sea with Portobello, Cartagena, and
Havana, and from thence with Spain. The City may consist of four hundred
Families, and is governed by a Spanish Governour. It is a Bishops See,
and hath in it three Cloisters, two of Fryers, and one of Nuns."
Calle, whose work was published in 1646, states that Cartago had sixty
vecinos, and that in the entire province there were but a hundred and
twenty vecinos and fifteen thousand peaceable Indians. The capital, he
says, had two judges, and among other officials a high constable, with
a salary of a thousand pesos a year.[XXV‑16]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: TALAMANCA AND TOLOGALPA.]
The district of Talamanca, which lay on the coast of the North Sea and
within the province of Costa Rica, was not fully explored until 1601, in
which year the city of Concepcion was founded on the Rio de la Estrella.
The establishment of this colony was quickly followed by an insurrection
of the natives who, incited by the rapacity and cruelty of the
Spaniards, rose en masse on the 10th of August 1610, and massacred the
inhabitants of that settlement and of Santiago de Talamanca, which had
been built on the left bank of the river, slaughtering indiscriminately
men, women, children, and priests.
Nothing else worthy of record occurred in this district until the year
1660, when Rodrigo Arias Maldonado, being governor and captain-general
of Costa Rica,[XXV‑17] resolved upon the subjugation of the natives of
Talamanca, then consisting of some twenty-six tribes. Maldonado proposed
to carry the gospel in one hand and the sword in the other; but his
ambition was rather to represent the church militant than to follow the
example of previous conquerors.
With a corps of one hundred and ten men he started forth upon his
self-imposed mission, expending his own private fortune upon the
enterprise,[XXV‑18] enduring great fatigue and hardship, exploring all
the coast as far as Boca del Drago and Boca del Flor, and visiting the
adjacent islands. His success was remarkable. He gathered the Indians
into villages, had them instructed in the faith, and erected churches;
but with his retirement from the scene the natives returned to their
nomadic life, the villages were deserted, and the churches fell into
decay. The intelligence of his labors, when communicated to the king,
won for him the title of marqués de Talamanca, but before the royal
decree reached him he had turned his back upon the honors of this
world, and enrolled himself as a humble brother of Bethlehem, to be
thenceforward known as Fray Rodrigo de la Cruz.[XXV‑19]
In 1684 the two Franciscans, Melchor Lopez, and Antonio Margil, resumed
the work of christianization, and found the paths that had led to the
interior overgrown and hidden as if they had never been opened, and the
people as fierce and untractable as though no efforts had been made
to civilize them. Yet these two priests, without arms or protection,
advanced into the interior of the country and reported within five
years the baptism of forty thousand Indians and the establishment of
fourteen villages. The work was continued with varying success by a
number of ecclesiastics, several of whom suffered martyrdom in their
cause,[XXV‑20] but the final result of all efforts was failure so
complete that, to use the words of Pelaez, "it was as if these mountains
were the gates of hell, from within which there was no redemption."
* * * * *
In connection with the attempted pacification of Talamanca may be
mentioned certain missionary expeditions to Tologalpa, the name given
to a mountainous country lying between the Desaguadero and the Nueva
Segovia river, and peopled by sambos, by the Xicaques, the Lencas,
and other tribes[XXV‑21] or admixtures of tribes, differing widely in
language, government, and manners. The Spanish government had repeatedly
directed inquiries to be made concerning them and the best means of
effecting their reconciliation;[XXV‑22] and in letters addressed to the
president of the audiencia early in the seventeenth century the king
urges that efforts be made for the peaceful conquest of this province.
Among others who were imbued with a passion for this particular work
was a Franciscan named Estévan Verdelete, who was appointed local
superior in Comayagua and to whom the provincial granted a license
authorizing the adoption of any measures that would be likely to prove
successful. Under the guidance of some Indians, who avowed sympathy
with his projects, he and his friend Juan de Monteagudo, penetrated
this territory, only to be abandoned, however, by the natives when in
the midst of a vast wilderness, without food, and apparently cut off
from all human aid. Guided by the stars they succeeded in making their
way through the wilds, and after suffering excessive hardship arrived
in safety at Comayagua, whence they immediately afterward set forth for
Santiago to assist at the provincial synod held there in 1606.
Not disheartened by this failure, Verdelete asked permission from
the synod to proceed to Spain, for the purpose of asking the king's
assistance in the conversion and pacification of the natives. His
request was granted and eight assistants were appointed, whose expenses
were to be paid out of the royal treasury.[XXV‑23]
In October 1609 Verdelete left Santiago in company with his party of
ecclesiastics, and in passing through Comayagua obtained the services
of Captain Daza and three other Spaniards, who were familiar with
the country. After several days' travel they came in sight of Indian
dwellings and were received with every manifestation of joy. Verdelete
in the enthusiasm of the hour declared that he was prepared to live
and die among them. Converts were numerous,[XXV‑24] and the mission
so promising that Verdelete wrote to the provincial asking for more
missionaries.
[Sidenote: WAR ON THE MISSIONARIES.]
But soon a change came over the scene, caused mainly by the deep feeling
of hostility that sprang up among the unconverted natives against their
christianized brethren. A frenzy of hatred against the very semblance of
religion seized upon them, and they resolved to burn down the settlement
of the missionaries and to massacre the inmates. On the evening set
for the execution of their purpose the ecclesiastics received warning
through some children, and while yet Verdelete was exhorting them to
stand steadfast in the hour of trial, hideous yells roused them to an
immediate sense of peril. Issuing forth they found the village enveloped
in flames, and encompassed by war-painted Indians brandishing lances and
torches. Verdelete at once rushed into their midst, crucifix in hand,
and with words of indignation upbraided them for their baseness and
treachery, and threatened the vengeance of offended heaven. His courage
inspired his associates, and at the spectacle of such boldness the
natives shrank abashed, and one by one slunk away. At daybreak not an
Indian was to be seen, and the missionaries then returned to Guatemala,
where their story only incited a more determined effort at the reduction
of the offending tribes, and another and larger expedition was organized
again under the leadership of Verdelete.
The missionaries were accompanied by an escort of twenty-three soldiers
under Captain Daza, and reached the confines of Tologalpa in April 1611.
They found some of their old converts, and by their agency others were
brought into the fold. Thus encouraged, they wished to penetrate farther
into the interior, but were dissuaded by Daza, who volunteered to go
in advance with some of his men and test the feeling of the natives.
After waiting some time for their return,[XXV‑25] the ecclesiastics
were beguiled into the mountain fastnesses, and found upon turning the
brow of a hill a large hostile band, brandishing lances and hideous
in war-paint. Their first glance showed them the head of Daza and some
of his soldiers carried on the points of lances, and at once they saw
that their fate was sealed. Nothing daunted, Verdelete advanced toward
them and began to expostulate. He was answered by a flight of javelins,
and fell pinned to the earth by a lance. Of the entire party but two
escaped,[XXV‑26] and for many years the inhabitants of Tologalpa saw no
more of the Christians.
Toward the close of the century, however, the rule of the Spaniards had
become somewhat milder throughout the provinces of Central America, and
in 1674 two of the Tologalpan tribes sent representatives to Guatemala
and besought Fernando de Espino, the provincial of the Franciscan
order, to send instructors to their countrymen. Soon afterward the
governor, after consultation with the provincial, resolved to send
another missionary, and out of many candidates Pedro de Lagares, a
young man of culture and an enthusiast in the cause, was chosen for the
task. At Nueva Segovia Lagares opened a missionary school, to which all
were admitted who were willing to work. He made numerous journeys into
the interior, and converts multiplied until in 1678 they were counted
by hundreds. His decease occurred during the following year, and his
successors, though meeting with some encouragement, finally abandoned
the field, though without any obvious cause.