THE ENTRADA OF PADRE FRAY DIEGO DELGADO AND
THE EVENTS THAT FOLLOWED, 1621-1624
Padre Fray Diego Delgado's Offer to Christianize the Itzas. In spite of
the unfortunate turn that events had taken while Fuensalida and Orbita
were at Tayasal, another Franciscan, Fray Diego Delgado, was filled
with a desire to Christianize the Itzas. He set out from Merida;
Villagutierre (lib. ii, cap. 8) relates the story thus:
"... A year and a half, with a slight difference, after the return of
the Padres Orbita and Fuensalida, repulsed by the Itzaex, at a time
when already the year 1621 was running its course and the Provincial
Chapter of the Order of Saint Francis had already been held in the City
of Merida, a proposal was made by the Padre Fray Diego Delgado, of the
same Order and a Son of the Province of Los Angeles, to the new
Provincial of Yucatan, the proposal being dictated by the desires of
his Spiritual Love."
There follows a setting forth of Delgado's belief that the fugitive
Indians were likely to relapse into idolatry. Delgado asked leave to go
and reconvert them; this was given by Arias Conde, Governor _ad
interim_ of Yucatan.
Delgado Travels to the Convent of Xecchacan. "Everything having been
made ready for his journey, the Monk journeyed to that Convent of his
Order which is in the Village of Xecchacan. And when his intention was
known there, several Indians of the Village offered to go with him, for
those of that place are well-versed in the Woodlands. And also certain
other Indians who were Singers and Sacristans of the Convent, as is
customary ..., also promised to go with him."
He is well Provided with Guides and Other Indians. "So that now Fray
Diego Delgado found himself not only with Guides, but with those who
would aid him in celebrating the Divine Services and the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass. And also some of the Indians of the Sierra came to him
with a great inclination and desire to accompany him on that Voyage.
And together with These and Those, he entered into the Woodlands to the
Southward of that Land of Yucatan.
"And as soon as he began to penetrate the Woods, he kept encountering
many of the Indians who were fugitives from the Villages of the
Province, and who were living without Decency, Towns or Sacraments, but
merely in Huts in several places of that Wilderness."
Zaclun. "He went about, bringing them with flattering caresses and the
great suavity of his holy and loving words, and bearing them to the
Mountains which are called the Mountains of Pimienta (which are very
near the Sierra of Alabaster).... He formed with them a great Village
on the same site as where had been before the village called Zaclun,
which had been depopulated when the Guardians of the Province of San
Francisco, who had gone, in former times, toward those inland Mountain
Places, had been lost.
"He gave the Village the Name of San Felipe or Santiago de Zaclun. And
in virtue of the Power given him by the Governor of Yucatan, to appoint
Justices and Rulers in whatever Villages might be founded, he did this
in the new Village of Zaclun in the Name of his Majesty and of his
Governor of the Provinces of Yucatan, giving the posts to the most fit
of those very Indians he had recently assembled.
"He appointed a Cacique and gave Authority to Alcaldes, Regidores, and
other Officials of Government and of Public Weal, all of whom he
appointed in order that those Indians might live in Justice,
Christianity, and service to God and the King. And when this was done
he gave an account of the whole matter to the Governor of Yucatan,
begging him to confirm the Elections and Appointments that he had made
for that new Village.
"The Governor of those Provinces of Yucatan at the time was Don Diego
de Cardenas, who celebrated with very great merriment the reception of
such news, a delight which was participated in by all the Dwellers in
the City of Merida and even in the rest of that Land and Province of
Yucatan.
"Captain Francisco de Mirones, who was Juez de la Grana [agrarian
officer] of the Territory of the Coast of Yucatan, and a very great
Soldier, and the gallantry of whose Spirit was delighted at this new
turn of affairs, conjectured that it was a fine occasion to enter by
that Village of Zaclun to conquer by Arms the Itzaex; for the
Religious, with all their preaching, had made no headway. Captain
Mirones was persuaded that by way of Zaclun the Conquest would be
easier, on account of the convenience which the nearness of that place
would offer for whatever military operation he might wish to carry out."
The Proposal of Mirones. "He went to communicate this Proposal to the
Governor, adorning the plan with arguments as to its suitableness,
which he well knew how to do; to the Governor it appeared a very good
thing that that Entrada into the Itzaex should be executed even as
Captain Mirones proposed."
Mirones and the Governor Make an Agreement. There follows a passage
relating to the agreement made between the Governor and Mirones. It is
in no way unusual. The remissness of Brizeno at the time of the entrada
of Orbita and Fuensalida is touched upon, and the usual protestations
as to the desirability of converting the Indians to Christianity.
Mirones Raises an Army for his Entrada. "Captain Francisco de Mirones
raised his Banner for the King, and having enlisted as many as Five
hundred Spanish Soldiers, he set forth with them and with some Indians
of War and of Service from the City of Merida to join the rest who were
being recruited at the Village of Oxcutzcab in the Sierra. The journey
through that region led the Guide to tell Captain Mirones that from
Oxcutzcab he had surveyed the highlands of the Itzas of Yucatan, that
in a direct line or through the Air it was a distance of only eighty
leagues, so that more than a half of the Road had already been
traversed; having believed it all to be so, Captain Mirones ... set
forth with his Troops, and many Indian laborers, from the Village of
Oxcutzcab, opening many Roads through the Woods and Thickets and among
the Lakes and Swamps and sterile Lands, lacking water in many places.
So that not only for the Indians who opened the roads, but also for the
Spanish Soldiers, it was very painful work."
Mirones Arrives at Zaclun. "But at last, these difficulties being
overcome, they arrived at the Village of Zaclun, where the Padre Fray
Diego Delgado was established, administering to his Indians recently
collected. In the Village Captain Mirones made a halt, making a Plaza
de Armas so as to wait for the rest of his Troops, who were still being
levied in Merida, in order that, on their arrival, he might begin with
all his forces the Conquest of the Itzas."
The Wanton and Foolish Oppression Caused by Mirones. "The Recruiting of
Troops in Merida could not be concluded in the short space of time
expected by Captain Mirones, and so all the remainder of that year of
1622 was spent thus in the Village of Zaclun waiting for the Levies.
And at that time, failing in wisdom and lacking proper consideration of
the fact that those Indians of Zaclun were people newly reduced and
that it would not be fitting to treat them with the sort of oppression
with which it is sometimes customary to treat others in those parts of
America, that Captain gave himself up to trades and unduly profitable
contracts with them, which did not please them. So they began to be
exasperated and to show some asperity of temper.
"Padre Fray Diego, recognizing the harm, and perceiving that it was not
a good way to maintain his hold over the Indians or to keep the Indians
on the right path, asked the Captain not to persist in those trades and
contracts with the Indians, for the time of Conquests was not the time
for merchandizing. He pointed out to him what he already knew, that the
Indians were getting very much put out, and that grave obstacles to the
carrying on of what had been begun might arise, and that it was not
without cause that our Kings had ordered in so many Laws and
Ordinances, the good treatment of the Indians."
Delgado Opposes Mirones. "The Padre, by these representations, was
unable to procure any change in the Captain, but each day increased the
latter's profits and extortions, so that the Indians of that Village
became increasingly restless.
"The quarrels which the Captain and the Padre came to have over these
questions were now declared in public and even talked of to a certain
extent, and both were displeased with the other, and the Indians were
uneasy and half mutinous. And the disquiet of these latter was
increased by the arrival at that Village of Zaclun of news that Captain
Juan Bernardo de Casanova was now in the Village of Mani on his march
with fifty Soldiers who had been recruited in Merida to join in the
Village of Zaclun with Captain Mirones and those whom he had with him.
All of which gave cause to the unfortunate events which I shall now
describe."
Villagutierre (lib. ii, cap. 9) has an account of how Fray Diego
complained to his Provincial of Captain Mirones and his actions. The
Provincial, urging the illegality of Mirones' projected entrada to the
Itzas, and especially that of his intention to conquer them by arms,
advised Fray Diego to depend for advice as to the course he should
pursue solely upon heavenly inspiration.
Delgado Determines to Anticipate Mirones. "When Padre Fray Diego
received this Reply, he determined (although with great secrecy) to
leave Captain Mirones and to go himself to the Itzaex. And so he did,
nor did he lack the company of most of the Indians who had come with
him from Xecchacan. He undertook his journey, directing his steps
toward Tipu; and although there were many trials and hardships on
account of the Woods and rough country entirely without Roads, Villages
and rest from fatigue, his Indians bore him thither.
"Being suspicious, and knowing the Road that the Padre had taken,
Captain Mirones dispatched twelve Soldiers after him with their Leader,
who was the Standard-bearer Acosta, in order that they might catch up
with him and persuade him to return to the Captain's company, and, in
case the Padre did not wish so to return, they were to follow after him
and escort him wherever he might go.
"The Squad came up with the Religious just before he reached Tipu. But
the more they insisted that he return to Zaclun, the more impossible
did it become to convince him and to make him return, so they
accompanied him, forming an escort for him, as far as the Village of
Tipu, which they entered with him and with the Indians who were with
him.
"The Chief of the Soldiers dispatched a report from Tipu to Captain
Mirones of the invincible resolution in which Padre Fray Diego
persisted, because the Soldiers had orders not to desert the Padre.
There is but little doubt what the feelings of the Infidel Indians
would be, wherever he passed with those Soldiers, and that so long as
he was accompanied by them, the Indians would not dare to maltreat him."
Delgado's Message to Canek. "Padre Fray Diego Delgado determined to
send to the Itzaex and to their King Canek to say that he was in the
Village of Tipu, and that with their Permission, he would come to see
them. An offer to bear this Message was made by the good Cacique Don
Christoval Na, who had gone with the Padres Orbita and Fuensalida to
the Itzaex both times, as has been seen. In effect, he went to
Chaltuna; crossed to the Island; delivered his Message. And when the
Itzaex and their King and Lord Canek were informed of the small number
of Spaniards who were with Padre Fray Diego in Tipu, Canek and his
Chiefs gave Permission and Safe-conduct to the Padre so that he might
come to the Island."
Delgado Receives Permission from Canek to Come to Tayasal. "And when
the Cacique Don Christoval had returned with this Reply, and when the
provisions had been made ready as usual and when all the other things
necessary for the Journey had been prepared [the Padre set out] taking
with him the Spaniards and eighty Indians from his Village to carry the
supplies and baggage of the Spaniards. All went by the accustomed Road.
And so they were spied upon by the Itzaex, who were on the lookout and
who sent to the landing-place some very good Canoes so that they might
cross to the Island."
The Treachery of the Itzas. "Padre Fray Diego, the Cacique of Tipu, and
alt the other Spaniards and Indians embarked. On landing on the Island
the Itzaex received them in Peace and without any sign whatever of
contrary feelings. But all this was pretence and evil deceitfulness and
perfidy, because as soon as they had them in their power, all the
Troops of the Village attacked the unprepared Spanish Soldiers; the
Indians from Tipu were unable to defend themselves: the Itzaex manacled
them all and even the Padre Fray Diego himself."
Delgado and Others are Put to Death. Villagutierre tells in detail how
the soldiers must have been armed, because they would not be so foolish
as to trust to the honor of natives; they were, however, but thirteen
in number. All the soldiers were killed, and their hearts were torn
from their breasts, while their heads were set up on stakes around the
village. Later they took Fray Diego, cut him up into pieces, and set
his head on a stake also. The fate of Cacique Na, whom, no doubt, the
Itzas regarded as a traitor to his own race, was no better.
Mirones Sends Ek after Delgado. Meanwhile Mirones had received no word
from the men he had sent as an escort to Padre Diego Delgado. He sent
two Spaniards from Zaclun with an Indian servant of his who was very
cunning and who was to act as an interpreter and guide. His name was
Bernardino Ek. These three were to go to Tipu and learn all that they
could of the whereabouts of the Padre and the soldiers. On their
arrival at that village they were told that Delgado and the rest had
gone to the Itzas. The three determined to follow; they did so, and
directly they had reached the lake, canoes came in response to a smoke
signal and bore them to the island, where they were all shut up in a
corral and kept under guard. They made an attempt to escape, Ek leading
the way. He succeeded in getting out on the lake in a very bad canoe
which he found on the beach, but the two Spaniards found themselves
greatly hampered by their bonds and were recaptured. Ek hid in the
woods from those who were pursuing him and eventually made his way to
Salamanca, where he told all that had happened. A report was sent to
Governor Don Diego de Cardenas in Merida, and Ek himself was sent to
Captain Mirones at Zaclun. The latter straightway entered a complaint
against Fray Diego for having done anything so foolhardy as to go to
the Itzas. The upshot of the report made by Mirones' agent, Juan de
Eguiluz, was that the Provincial of the Order of San Francisco in
Yucatan sent to Zaclun one Padre Fray Juan de Berrio, a native of
Castile. Villagutierre continues (lib. ii, cap. 10): "He, having been
there [at Zaclun] a matter of fifteen days, because he did not well
agree with the affairs and actions of the Captain and the Soldiers,
returned to Merida without saying anything to them, and he went to the
presence of his Provincial, who, being informed of all that was going
on, considered his retreat to that City [Merida] a deed well done.
"A second time Captain Mirones made complaint through Contador Eguiluz,
and he asked, as he did the first time, for another Friar. The
Provincial refused to give him one because of what had occurred with
the other two whom he had sent before...." As a result of these
wranglings two Creole monks were finally sent to Zaclun.
Revolt of the Indians. After they had been ordered to go to Zaclun,
they proffered various excuses, and the matter was ended at last by one
Padre Fray Juan Enriquez, who offered to go thither himself. He was
well received by Mirones; at about that time Bernardino Ek arrived with
the news of the death of Delgado and his companions. Mirones would not
believe him. He soon had ample cause to do so. On the Day of
Purification, 1624, when all the Spaniards of Zaclun were at Mass, the
Indians rose in revolt and put most of them to death.
Some time later Padre Fray Juan Fernandez and Captain Juan Bernardo
came to Zaclun by way of Mani. The latter joined him at Mani, and as
both were made suspicious by some Indians leading a mule of which they
could not give a satisfactory account, Fernandez and Bernardo
determined to go to Zaclun. When they reached that place they found the
bodies of their compatriots, who had died "by the very arms with which
they had thought to go against the Itzaex, in opposition to the orders
and will of the King." (Villagutierre, p. 144.) A Christian burial was
given to the dead, after which Fernandez and Bernardo returned to
Merida to report on what they had found. Eventually an Indian captain
named Don Fernando Camal captured many of the aggressors, the chief of
whom, Ahkimpol, with several others, was beheaded in Merida.
An Epidemic of Apostasy; the Third Phase of the Conquest of the Itzas
Begins. A direct result of this insurrection was a general epidemic of
apostasy which especially affected such villages as Tipu. There, a few
years later, a general exodus of the Indians into the mountains and
woods took place, and a widespread relapse into idolatry occurred.
By a cedula of March 29, 1639, the King (Philip III) reiterated his
desire that henceforth all efforts to reduce provinces should be
carried on by means of spiritual methods only. These were not enough. A
series of misfortunes and mutinies occurred at Bolonchen, Zahcabchen,
Petenecte, and elsewhere. (Villagutierre, p. 147.)[6.1]
We have now, with the year 1624, reached the close of the second phase
of the Spanish conquest of the Maya-Itza stock. The first phase, an
exploratory one, began with Cortes in 1524 and ended with Montejo in
1545 or thereabouts. The second phase, a proselytizing one, began with
the year 1614, when the feigned submission of the Itzas took place,
giving rise to the entrada of Fuensalida and Orbita. It came to a dose
about 1624 as a result of the mournful events following upon the
entrada of Delgado and the mercenary meddling of Mirones. The third and
last phase, a commercial and military one, we shall consider in Chapter
VIII. It had its inception about 1692.