1. It is asked that the contents of this document may be read
attentively; the writer asserts that it is not his intention that
corporal injury shall come to the guilty, but only that the truth
may be known and these many evils be set forth.
2. Early in January of the said year, very secret conferences were
held in the palace, in which Bobadilla, Atienza, and Cervantes took
part--all opposed to the auditors, to Zalaeta and Lezama, and to Don
Juan de Vargas. They began to favor the designs of the archbishop, and
the governor to act despotically, according to the dictation of Verart.
3. The result of the said conferences was the imprisonment of
Zalaeta and Lezama, on the twenty-second of January. Their property
was sequestered, and with great cruelty their papers were seized;
and they were very closely confined in the fort. He [142] asked for
a confessor from the Society, but the governor would not grant this,
only consenting that he might confess to one of three fathers whom he
designated; these were Juan Gonzalez, Don Esteban Olmedo--adherents
of himself and the Dominicans--and Doctor Atienza, brother of the
Atienza already named.
4. Toledo denounced Don Juan Zalaeta, saying that he gave him a
pasquinade so that he could publish it, which was of the following
tenor: The governor was seated on a chair, with his favorites Endaya
and Verart at his side; at his feet lay the king, his head cut off,
and his hands disjointed. This picture explains the state of affairs,
which is expressed by the verses that appear below. [143]
5. The cause of Lezama's imprisonment was a paper which they attributed
to him, although it was not known with certainty that he had written
it; and both tribunals proceeded against him--the government with
imprisonment and sequestration, the archbishop with censures; the
two powers agreed very well.
6. Guards were placed in the house of Lezama, from which resulted some
extravagant remarks by Dona Josefa, the wife of Bolivar; and these set
in motion what will be hereafter related. The wife of Lezama presented
a document to the governor, asking for what reason her husband had
been imprisoned; he sent the paper to an alcalde-in-ordinary. The said
wife had recourse to the Audiencia, who commanded the said alcalde
to deliver up the documents under penalty of five hundred pesos, but
he resorted to the governor, who forbade him to obey, and imposed a
penalty of two thousand pesos if he should surrender the documents.
7. On the same day the governor summoned the auditors to a session and
conference, and with language of anger and rage informed them that
the alcalde was proceeding by his orders in the said imprisonments,
and ever, that they were involved in the same charges. At this they
were struck with great fear, with good reason dreading the governor's
outrageous manner of proceeding; and to this fear that some calamity
would happen to them also were added the reports that were current
of the dungeons that were being prepared, of various persons whom he
was arresting and examining, etc.
8. The auditors, now terrorized, secretly retired one night to the
college of the Society of Jesus, and carried with them the fiscal,
in order to consult as to the measures of which they should avail
themselves to secure their persons from the tyranny of the governor,
and whether they should remain in the said college in order to
administer justice from that place, etc. They could not reach a
decision in the matter, and with the same secrecy they returned to
their houses; and afterward the fiscal sold them.
9. The reasons for the governor's hatred against Don Diego de
Viga were: his having proposed that the ship which served for the
armada should make a voyage in the year 1686, which was contrary to
the governor's purposes; and his proposal in the Audiencia that a
consultation should be held with the governor in regard to a packet
of letters from the king which were said to have arrived, in which
there were decisions of the utmost importance--which letters, it is
supposed, the governor tried to hold back and conceal.
10. He entertained ill-will against Bolivar for having replied
with independence and decision to an act of which he was notified
on the part of the bishop, in which he threatened the auditor with
fearful excommunications and pecuniary fine, because the said auditor
protected the interests of the royal patronage in the suit which the
Augustinians brought against the Society in regard to the village
of Jesus de la Pena, and challenged the jurisdiction of the said
archbishop in this case.
11. The governor [144] set spies on the steps and actions of the
auditors, and seized a bit of paper, without signature, which
Bolivar was sending to Viga, in which he informed the latter that
they could not trust the fiscal, who had that very day taken dinner
with the governor; and that he presumed the fiscal had betrayed them,
disclosing their consultation above mentioned.
12. The governor conjured from this bit of paper many mysteries;
he arrested the page who carried it, and commanded that the fiscal
be summoned. He planned the exile of the auditors, with the seizure
of their property and papers--in all of which meddled Cervantes,
who was an enemy of the royal Audiencia, and known as such; and now
was elevated to be the favorite of the governor by the favor of the
Dominicans, in order to be judge in the most important lawsuits of
this commonwealth.
13. On February 7 of the said year, the day following the above
incident, they seized Don Diego de Viga, and conveyed him to
Mariveles, a village in charge of the Dominicans, where he stayed in
a mean hut. From that place he went to Lucban, a village belonging
to the same friars, where he remained in close confinement and
lacking the necessary comforts; they allowed him not even an
Indian servant who had remained with him. All this severity was
practiced on him, notwithstanding that (as was notorious) the said
auditor was so burdened with sickness and infirmities that in the
judgment of intelligent persons he could not hold out three months in
Lucban. The commandant shamefully treated a brother of the Society,
who accidentally passed through that place, because he gave the said
auditor a little linen and some paper, which the prisoner entreated
for the love of God--which it is said, was taken from him and sent
to the governor; and that sacrilegious man even had the brother sent
there a prisoner and in fetters.
14. On the same day and the following one, they searched for Bolivar in
various houses; for, when he learned what was being plotted against
them, he had concealed himself. They surrounded his house, with
a large force of soldiers; and because Dona Josefa and her sister
spoke some saucy words, in regard to certain questions that were
asked them, they were banished with much severity, and conveyed to
the village of Abucay, a village in charge of the Dominicans. [145]
Dona Josefa was sent first, and afterward her sister Dona Ynes, on
account of the latter being very ill when they carried away her sister.
15. The governor learned that Don Pedro Bolivar was in the college
of the Society of Jesus, and availed himself of his good friend
the archbishop to remove the auditor from sanctuary. The archbishop
readily assented to whatever he demanded; indeed, he has left no stone
unturned to injure the Society of Jesus. They surrounded the college
of the Society with a great number of soldiers, within and without,
who caused the religious incredible vexations and troubles during the
nine days while this blockade lasted. The [archbishop's] provisor was
on hand to incite the soldiers and make mischief; and he notified the
rector of an act by the archbishop requiring him to surrender Bolivar.
16. The city and all the religious orders, except that of St. Dominic,
showed great resentment at this performance and felt exceedingly
scandalized. The governor, as obstinate as Pharaoh, said that he would
not remove the blockade from the Society's house until Bolivar should
make his appearance, if it lasted a year; and that he intended to
destroy the auditor. The latter, seeing the constraint and uneasiness
of the religious, and the obstinacy of the governor and the archbishop,
gave himself up of his own accord; and they took him away from
sanctuary in great haste, and carried him to the municipal building;
and afterward, near midnight, he was sent by boat to Mariveles,
with the same harshness which they had showed to Auditor Viga.
17. The convenient pretext and imaginary reasons which they gave
for these seizures were that those auditors intended to depose the
governor, and hand over his office to General Zalaeta. It was proved
that this plan would not suit the actual condition of affairs, even
in the judgment of a man of mediocre ability, much less in that of
the auditors; and even if such a thing were intended, they would
find it impossible to secure the means for its execution, since all
the military leaders were of the governor's faction and opposed to
the auditors.
18. Crafty actions, intrigues, seizures, and severities were employed
with persons of various stations, in order to give some semblance of
proof to the above fantastic idea; and they terrorized many persons
to make them relate, if possible, what suited their purpose, and no
more. Some they tortured; others were left without food for two or
three days, and one they deprived of drink for seventeen days. Most of
the persons thus examined had little courage, and were sons of fear,
so they found it easy to tell lies; and if they were under compulsion
they would say that Judas and Mahoma were in heaven.
19. The governor soon found himself embarrassed by the lack of an
Audiencia; he therefore formed one in his own way, which was thoroughly
accommodated to his opinions. It was composed thus: a fiscal so
terrified and possessed by fear that, if he were commanded to flog
an image of Christ, apparently he would not hesitate to do so; one
Cervantes, as coadjutor to the fiscal, a young fellow of malicious
disposition and perverse inclinations, who not many years before
had been condemned to death; one Angulo, in everything a man after
Cervantes's own heart--young and of little understanding; and of so
little ability that neither when he was a receptor of the Audiencia,
nor now when filling the office of attorney-general [promotor-fiscal],
did he know what to do, etc.
20. Among the papers of Zalaeta was found one which was imputed to the
cantor Herrera, in which he spoke ill of Endaya; and on this account
the archbishop demanded aid from the governor, seized Herrera, [146]
and placed him in the fort--treating him with ignominy unusual for
[a member of] the cabildo, placing him under the guard of secular
officials, and treating him like a highwayman. Yet the said archbishop
had previously favored him, and regarded lightly other offenses of
his--for no other reason than because Herrera had, to please the
archbishop and his friars, drawn up documents expressing in positive
terms, detestation of appeals to the royal Audiencia.
21. With these scandals and harsh measures, the city experienced
profound affliction; the minds of the people were appalled, and
they were so shut in by fears and terrors that no one considered
himself safe even in his own house. No one opened his lips, seeing
the two powers of the commonwealth thus jumbled together, and that
in the greatest calamities there was no recourse except to God. The
inhabitants could not communicate with one another, without criticism;
nor was it even lawful to breathe, since rigorous scrutiny was made
of the most trifling acts.
22. Great were the calamities which at this time came unexpectedly
upon this commonwealth--epidemics, famines, vessels returning to
port, [attacks by] enemies, losses of vessels. The governor the more
pretended that his conduct was influenced by an imaginary conspiracy;
for on the night of Holy Thursday, when he went to visit the stations
[of the cross], a multitude of soldiers went with him as escort,
besides his usual guard, and he was accompanied by the personages
who were in league with him.
23. Royal decrees were despatched against the preachers who zealously
proclaimed from the pulpits the arbitrary and malicious character
of the recent acts, and the Dominicans alone had the privilege to
utter whatever absurdities they pleased in the pulpits. There is no
counterpart to the satire against the Society which a [father from]
Santo Tomas preached one day.
24. Recourse to the royal Audiencia was entirely barred, as was seen
in the case of Don Juan de Vargas, who thus far had been posted on
the list of excommunicates, and all persons who held intercourse
with him threatened with punishment. Tardiness and delay followed
him until the fourth decree [was issued] in regard to his absolution,
and it had no result--as little carried out as was the king's decree
which he issued in regard to the banishment of the archbishop.
25. In Cagayan Fray Raimundo de Rosa killed Fray Juan Zambrano, his
vicar and superior; but the archbishop has not made any demonstration
[of displeasure], although he has so often done so in the more venial
offenses of the clerics. The Order of St. Dominic has honored the
Dominicans who were most rebellious against the king with the best
offices in the provincial chapter; and those of their following, like
Aduna, Gonzalez, Carballo, Cervantes, and others, are now in high
favor, although they are hostile to the prerogatives of his Majesty.
26. No authentic statement of the evil deeds of these years can be
sent to the court; for the scriveners are intimidated and will not give
official statements of anything of what occurs, except what may be in
favor of the governor and the archbishop. Item, [this] is written in
much distrust and fear, on account of the numerous spies who go about
prying into and noting everything that is done. One notary is in prison
on account of a statement that he drew up; and another is in exile.
27. The governor causes many scandals in the matter of chastity,
not sparing any woman, whatever may be her rank or condition; and he
keeps some worthless women who serve as procuresses for conveying to
him those whose society will give him most pleasure. In this scandal
the zeal of neither the archbishop nor his friars is active.
28. The governor will hinder the voyage of the ship to Nueva Espana,
on account of the fabulous ships which, it is reported, have been
seen, according to the statement of an Indian, although there is no
confirmation of such news. The great amount that was spent in the
despatch of the armada, as the capitana of which the ship "Santo Nino"
sailed, without having the desired result; the malicious purpose with
which the said despatch was conducted, on account of his having had
information by way of Yndia which caused this government to hasten.
29. As the archbishop would not absolve Don Juan de Vargas, the
Audiencia again decided to banish him; but the governor kept the
royal decree signed and sealed, without being willing that it be put
into execution. Instead, he joined with the bishop of Sinopolis to
convoke the religious orders, planning that they demand that he be
not banished. An inquiry was made among his partisans, who swore that
they knew nothing of it, and had not imagined it.
30. The archbishop prevented the confirmation of three prebends which
his Majesty had presented--to Don Francisco Gutierrez Briceno,
Bachelor Domingo de Valencia, and Doctor Pedro de Silva; the
first-named for cantor, the second for schoolmaster, the third for
treasurer. He refused to give them canonical installation, because
they are not among his admirers; and the last two are graduates from
the university of the Society of Jesus.
31. The Augustinians, in alliance with the archbishop and his friars,
brought suit against the Society in regard to the administration
of Jesus de la Pena, or Mariquina. The numerous disputes [dares et
tomares] which have occurred in this lawsuit, and the great eagerness
with which the archbishop has tried to favor the Augustinians;
and finally, against all the right that the Society had to such
ministry--by royal decree, by permission from Senor Arce, and by permit
of the vice-patron, etc.--he has despoiled them of it with violence,
and by the aid which the governor allowed him for tearing down and
demolishing the church of the said fathers; and he has adjudged it
to the Augustinians, because the hatred and aversion which he has to
the said order [of the Jesuits] is implacable.
32. The archbishop mortified the religious of St. Francis; on account
of regarding them as favorable to the royal patronage, he forbade them
[to celebrate] the feast of the tears of that saint, and he has not
granted them many permissions which they asked from him. He deprived
them of the celebration of the feast of the Conception in the jail; and
finally, on the day of St. Stephen the protomartyr, he gave them his
congratulations on that feast by causing to be read an edict against
them, in which he suspended their licenses to hear confessions and
preach. All this caused great uneasiness in the minds of the people,
and gave just cause for the murmur against the said archbishop that
he had, by the measures here related, undertaken to revenge himself
on all those persons who, as he fancied, had taken part in his exile,
or had in any way approved it.
33. They attempt to absolve Auditor Calderon in the hour of death in
what he replied, and what the Dominicans did, and how the governor
pretended not to notice it. It seems as if the governor had come to
the islands for nothing else than to encourage the Dominicans in their
rebellious acts, to trample on the laws, to abolish recourse to the
royal Audiencia, to sow dissension, to be a tyrant, to disturb the
peace, and to enable the archbishop to secure whatever he wishes, even
though he imposes so grievous a captivity on the commonwealth. [147]