Doña Beatriz—truly La Sin Ventura, the hapless one, as she had signed herself the day before—at the first alarm, gathering her maids around her, hastened to the oratory. But of what avail was prayer? The waters were upon them, and at the second outburst swept down the chapel and buried beneath its ruins the lady-governor and her handmaidens.[XVIII‑12] Before striking Alvarado's house the flood had washed away two others with their occupants. There were in the dwelling other members of the household, and among them Doña Leonor, the eldest natural daughter of Alvarado. These Doña Beatriz sent for, but most of them were carried away by the torrent, though Doña Leonor and some others escaped. A large number of Indians of both sexes belonging to the household were also drowned. Two chaplains who were in the house were swept through a window and carried for some distance to the plaza where they were rescued. Several attempts were made during the night to reach Alvarado's house, but only one person, Francisco Cava, succeeded. Doña Beatriz' apartment which she had left was the only portion of the building left standing. Had she remained there, instead of rushing to the church, she and those with her would have been saved. Many supernatural horrors were reported to have occurred during the night, the particulars of which are related by Bernal Diaz.
While this blow was falling upon Alvarado's house and household, his kinsman Francisco de la Cueva was in extreme peril. At the first roar of the descending flood, heard above the raging tempest, he imagined that some violent disturbance had occurred in the town and rushed out lance in hand, only to be driven back, however, by the avalanche of water. Retiring with the Spaniards of his house to his study, he escaped the danger, though that apartment was the only portion of the building left standing.[XVIII‑13]
When day dawned the scene of desolation was heartrending. The water had passed away, and on all sides the ruins of the city were exposed to view. Most of the houses had been overthrown or swept away, and the few which remained were so filled with mud that they were untenantable. Whole families had perished.[XVIII‑14] The streets were choked up with accumulated debris, trunks of mutilated trees, and huge rocks. Scattered in all this wreck lay disfigured corpses and carcasses of drowned cattle.[XVIII‑15]
And now began the sad, sad search for the dead, followed by mournful burial. Many of the lost were never found. The bodies of Doña Beatriz and those who perished with her were recovered with one exception. Her remains were interred with due solemnity near the high altar of the cathedral,[XVIII‑16] and those of her companions in death were reverently laid side by side in one common grave.[XVIII‑17] While the last rites of the church were duly performed for the behoof of this hapless lady, the stricken community regarded the catastrophe which had befallen them as a manifestation of divine wrath; and though most of the survivors looked upon it as a merited punishment for their own sins, there were not wanting those who attributed the cause of God's anger to the intemperate language made use of by Doña Beatriz in her frenzied grief.[XVIII‑18] So much insane foolishness can be wrapped in words of wisdom! The bishop endeavored to encourage his flock though in such deep dejection. A penitential procession was held and the litany chanted before the high altar. He enjoined them, moreover, to fast and pray on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Further to cheer them he recommended all mourning to be put aside.
Nevertheless the gloom which had fallen upon the community was not soon dispelled, and at every threatening change of the sky the panic-stricken settlers sought safety on the hills. A unanimous desire to abandon the spot prevailed; many of the inhabitants left it and went to reside on their farms,[XVIII‑19] while those who remained[XVIII‑20] expressed their determination to go elsewhere. To arrest total abandonment and dispersion the cabildo, on the 22d of October, issued a decree prohibiting any citizen from leaving under a penalty of one hundred pesos de oro.[XVIII‑21] And long after the capital had been removed to another site, a penitential procession, attended by the civil and ecclesiastical orders, left the new city at daybreak on each anniversary and visited the former capital in mournful commemoration of this calamity. Bearing crosses in their hands, chanting the litany, and praying for the safety of their city, the people marched in all humility to the former cathedral.[XVIII‑22] There mass was celebrated and the graves of the dead were decorated, after which the procession dispersed.[XVIII‑23]
The death of Doña Beatriz had left the province without a ruler. Cueva's position at the head of the government was no longer recognized, and in the crisis of affairs the cabildo met on the 16th and 17th of September, and after some discussion elected Cueva and Bishop Marroquin joint governors provisionally.[XVIII‑24]
The bishop in a letter addressed to the king, dated February 20, 1542, informs his Majesty that in accepting the appointment he had not been influenced by any desire of wealth, honor, or power but by the actual state of affairs, and at the same time urgently brings before his notice the necessity of his appointing a governor of great influence and ability. He had previously suggested certain individuals,[XVIII‑25] whom he deemed fully capable and worthy of filling the office. These recommendations he now reiterates, holding himself responsible should the king be pleased to act in accordance with his views. The bishop, moreover, intimates that the municipal government had fallen into unworthy hands, owing to the resignation or death of honorable regidores who had been members of previous cabildos. The necessity of selecting men of good judgment and zealous in the royal service, is pointed out, and of such vital importance is the election of such men to the welfare of the province, that Marroquin implores his Majesty to order that those who had resigned should resume office.[XVIII‑26]
Ancient and Modern Guatemala.
While describing the country as tranquil he pictures the colony as almost in a state of dissolution. The late calamity had involved the settlers in great poverty,[XVIII‑27] and the contrast between their present condition and the state of prosperity to which they had arrived under Alvarado's rule induced them to meditate leaving the province altogether. To obviate this evil Marroquin distributed a portion of the Indians which had belonged to the adelantado among a few of the most deserving who were thus induced to remain.[XVIII‑28]
After the election of the joint governors the important question of removal was discussed by the authorities and citizens. That the interests of the country demanded such a step was the almost unanimous opinion,[XVIII‑29] and the selection of a new site at once occupied general attention. On this matter opinions were more varied and several localities were proposed. The argument in favor of the valley of Tianguez in the plains of Chimaltenango was again revived and found supporters, while by others the valley of Petapa or that of Mixco were preferred. There were, however, objections to the removal of the city to any great distance from its existing site. It was borne in mind that the valley of Almolonga was already cultivated, and that in its vicinity were cattle farms which owing to the prevailing poverty and the necessities of the inhabitants should not be abandoned;[XVIII‑30] and after a careful investigation of the advantages offered by different localities,[XVIII‑31] those of the valley of Panchoy were considered to be so superior that in cabildo held on the 22d of October it was ordered that the future city should be there erected.[XVIII‑32]
At no greater distance therefore than half a league from the ruins of Santiago, on the site occupied by the present Antigua Guatemala, the Spaniards once more laid out a city. The customary assignment of lots was made, town commons set apart, and the natives again made to toil in the erection of buildings for their oppressors.[XVIII‑33] Nevertheless the work did not progress with the rapidity which the authorities seem at first to have expected,[XVIII‑34] and though during 1542 some progress was made, even the house of the cabildo had not been completed in April 1543. The exact date of the formal removal of the municipality to the new city is not known,[XVIII‑35] but on the 10th of March 1543 a session was held there.[XVIII‑36] On the 12th of June following the host was transferred from the church of the ruined town in solemn procession, attended by the civil authorities, and all the people present in the city.
At a session held on the 21st of May 1543 a decree was passed by the cabildo that the city should retain the title of the one destroyed,[XVIII‑37] and the notaries were ordered to use in all documents the heading Ciudad de Santiago and no other, under penalty of a fine of ten pesos de oro. This decree was publicly proclaimed on the 13th of June following.[XVIII‑38]
Meantime another change had taken place in the government. On the 2d of March 1542 the viceroy of New Spain appointed the oidor Alonso de Maldonado provisional ruler of Guatemala, pending instructions from the crown, and on the 17th of May following the new governor presented his commission to the cabildo and was placed in office the same day.[XVIII‑39]
During the following year excitement prevailed in Guatemala owing to information having been received in October of the new code of laws and the establishment of the audiencia of the Confines. It was at once resolved to make an appeal to the throne, and on the 12th of the same month the cabildo met to appoint procurators to Spain. The opinion of the inhabitants having been taken,[XVIII‑40] a committee invested with power of electing representatives was appointed,[XVIII‑41] but it was unable to agree, and on the 29th of February 1544 Hernan Mendez presented a petition to the cabildo proposing that a mass meeting be held in the principal church in order that the general vote of the people might be taken.[XVIII‑42] Nevertheless considerable delay occurred, and it was not until the following August that the appointments were decided upon, when an examination of the votes showed that Hernan Mendez and Juan de Chavez were elected. The latter, however, declined to accept, and a still further delay was caused by Mendez insisting upon proceeding to Spain by way of Vera Cruz instead of through Puerto de Caballos. At length, on March 16, 1545, Mendez received his papers and instructions, and departed for Spain.[XVIII‑43]
The bitter controversy which took place during the sessions of the audiencia in 1545 has been described in the preceding chapter, but it remains to be added that Maldonado and the oidores, although they had avowed their intention of enforcing the new laws, practically discountenanced their enforcement so far as they related to repartimientos. In a letter addressed to the king dated the 30th of December 1545 they state that if all Indians were liberated whose owners had no legitimate title none would be left to serve, and many Spaniards would be reduced to poverty. The same result would occur to those who were married and had families, if encomiendas as they became vacant were transferred to the crown.[XVIII‑44]
In 1545 the new laws were repealed, and at a somewhat later date the concession of perpetual repartimientos was granted to the colonists of Guatemala.[XVIII‑45]
Meanwhile the controversy relating to the treatment of the Indians was being vigorously carried on. The tribute which had been imposed upon them by Marroquin and Maldonado was a ground of complaint against those functionaries,[XVIII‑46] and I find that Marroquin considered himself obliged to explain that it had been levied without sufficient knowledge of facts, and that some changes were necessary.[XVIII‑47]
Among other suggestions made by Marroquin for the amelioration of the condition of the natives was that the authority of the bishop over them should include the right to inflict corporal punishment and to settle their difficulties. He moreover strongly recommended that for the purposes of better instruction and government Indian towns should be consolidated and subjected to a system of police.[XVIII‑48]
Meanwhile Alonso Lopez Cerrato had been appointed president of the audiencia of the Confines. It was already admitted that Gracias á Dios was not a suitable place for the seat of that body, and both Cerrato and bishop Marroquin made representations to the king advising its removal.[XVIII‑49] Accordingly his Majesty by royal cédula authorized the president and oidores to move to the city of Santiago,[XVIII‑50] where they arrived in 1549, and according to Remesal accepted Bishop Marroquin's offer of his palace for their use.[XVIII‑51]
Cerrato's administration as president of the audiencia caused grievous offence to the settlers of Guatemala, and in a representation to the king they charge him with being ungenerous, undignified, wanting in zeal for the honor of God, and unconscientious.[XVIII‑52] The grounds of their objection to him naturally originated in his action regarding the protection of Indians, and they bitterly complain of his nepotism in assigning encomiendas to relatives of various degrees. Justice at his hands they could not obtain; consequently many of the best colonists had left the province and others were preparing to do so. Bishop Marroquin's remonstrances with Cerrato only developed hostile feelings in the latter, which were publicly evinced by his absenting himself for a long time from the services of the church,[XVIII‑53] conducted by the prelate.
But the settlers in Guatemala were obstinately opposed to any measures which clashed with their own views, and consequently represented matters from their own point of view. Under the first audiencia of the Confines, divided as it was against itself, they had to a great extent maintained their previous position relative to the natives;[XVIII‑54] but in Cerrato they perceived one who recognized them as merciless taskmasters,[XVIII‑55] and possessed both the determination to arrest the existing destructive system, and the courage to inflict punishment upon them for any gross infringement of the law.[XVIII‑56]
A Convent Founded by the Merced Order—Ciudad Real Appointed a Cathedral City—Las Casas a Bishop—He Attempts to Enforce the New Laws—He Refuses Absolution during Holy Week—His Controversy with the Audiencia of the Confines—He Departs for Spain—His Dispute with Sepúlveda—His Appeal to the Conscience of Philip—The Audiencia Transferred from Panamá to Guatemala—Death of the Apostle of the Indies—His Character—The Dominicans in Chiapas.
The province of Chiapas was at first included in the see of Tlascala, and paid tithes to that bishopric till it was transferred to the diocese of Guatemala in 1536. When Ciudad Real was laid out, under the direction of Mazariegos, an allotment was assigned for a church building, and its erection was begun almost immediately.[XIX‑1] The first parish priest of Ciudad Real was Pedro Gonzalez, who was appointed by the cabildo in 1528, with a salary of three hundred pesos de oro. On his death Pedro Castellanos succeeded to the benefice in 1532.[XIX‑2] In 1537, through the exertions of Bishop Marroquin, a convent of the order of La Merced was founded by frailes Pedro de Barrientos and Pedro Benitez de Lugo. On the 18th of May these friars petitioned the cabildo for an allotment of land on which to found a monastery, but though their request was granted they remained but a short time.[XIX‑3] In 1539 Fray Marcos Perez Dardon, as superior, in company with Fray Juan Zambano took possession of the deserted building. Finding that it was situated too far from the settlement, the former petitioned for a new site and for contributions and assistance in erecting a new convent. His request met with a liberal response, and the friars who arrived in after years were well supplied with the means of support.[XIX‑4]
By a papal bull issued on the 19th of March 1538,[XIX‑5] Ciudad Real was appointed a cathedral city, the diocese to be subject to the archbishopric of Seville, and the pope reserving to himself the appointment of the first prelate. The salary of the bishop was fixed at two hundred ducats a year, payable from the revenues of the province, while the privileges and revenues of the bishopric were to be based on the system prevailing in Spain. The church patronage and the choice of dignitaries were conceded to the crown of Spain. The limits of the see were also left to the decision of the emperor.[XIX‑6]
On the 14th of April 1538, Juan de Arteaga y Avendaño, a friar of the order of Santiago, was appointed to the charge of the newly created bishopric, but it was not until nearly three years later that he was consecrated at Seville, whence he issued a document framing the constitution of his diocese.[XIX‑7] The prelate did not like to take possession, for on his arrival at Vera Cruz in 1541 he was attacked with a severe fever, and though he succeeded in reaching Puebla de los Angeles he died there shortly afterward,[XIX‑8] his diocese remaining in charge of the bishop of Guatemala until the arrival, in 1545, of Bartolomé de las Casas.
Arms of the City of Chiapas.
Chiapas.
Lying between the territory under the jurisdiction of the audiencias of New Spain and the Confines were the provinces of Chiapas, Soconusco, Yucatan, and Tezulutlan, so remote, even from the latter court, that a strong hand was needed to enforce therein the new laws. In 1543 the apostle of the Indies after refusing the bishopric of Cuzco, lest his avowed disinterestedness should be doubted, accepted the prelacy of this extensive diocese,[XIX‑9] one fourth of the tithes of his bishopric and an additional sum of 500,000 maravedís payable by the crown being assigned him as salary. He was consecrated at Seville, on passion Sunday of 1544, and having by virtue of a royal decree caused the liberation of all the Indian slaves brought to Spain from the New World he embarked at San Lúcar on the 11th of July.[XIX‑10] He was accompanied by his constant companion, Father Rodrigo de Ladrada, and forty-five Dominican friars, including Father Tomás Casillas, their vicar, and his successor to the bishopric of Chiapas. After touching at Santo Domingo where he was detained over three months awaiting a vessel, he sailed for Campeche, where he arrived on the 6th of January 1545. Las Casas soon aroused the opposition of the colonists by insisting on the enforcement of the new laws, so exasperating them that they refused to acknowledge him as their bishop, on the ground that his papers were defective. They could not, indeed, prevent him from taking possession of the bishopric, but they could and did withhold the tithes, thus compelling him to send to Ciudad Real for money to defray his expenses. His messenger reached Ciudad Real early in February and the cabildo's answer is dated the 12th of the same month. They sent him a few hundred pesos which had been advanced by the public administrators on the security of one of the citizens.[XIX‑11]
From Campeche, Las Casas despatched by sea to Tabasco ten of the friars, but the vessel being overtaken by a storm foundered off the island of Términos, and nine of the ecclesiastics together with twenty-three Spaniards were drowned. Las Casas and the remainder of the Dominicans soon afterward departed for Ciudad Real, where his reception was cordial and enthusiastic. He was escorted into the city under the pallium; a house had been prepared for his reception, and thither all classes flocked to pay him homage.[XIX‑12]
The cathedral chapter consisted, on Las Casas' arrival, of the dean, Gil Quintana, and the canon, Juan de Perera, besides which dignitaries there were three priests in the diocese. The Dominicans, who were also kindly received, having reported their arrival to the provincial in New Spain, established a temporary convent and began their labors.
In the enslavement of the natives, the settlers of Chiapas, if we are to believe Las Casas, committed many excesses,[XIX‑13] and there is abundant evidence that in their subsequent treatment of them there was much harshness and cruelty.[XIX‑14] Daily appeals were made to him by the Indians for protection, but the futility of any exhortations to the settlers, where the natives were concerned, he well knew, and therefore resolved on vigorous measures, firmly believing that his efforts would be seconded by the audiencia in their enforcement of the new laws. Las Casas, however, had misjudged the character of the oidores, as we shall see hereafter.
Upon the approach of holy week he took the bold but injudicious step of refusing absolution to all who should not forthwith liberate their slaves,[XIX‑15] and made this the chief of certain sins for which he reserved to himself the right of granting absolution. The publication of this measure caused great excitement among the settlers, which was further increased by his refusal to listen to any compromise. In their despair they applied to the dean, who, failing to influence the bishop, took upon himself the responsibility of granting absolution in certain cases. Las Casas sent for the dean purposing to place him under arrest, but the latter suspecting his design refused to obey; whereupon the former, determined not to be thus thwarted, sent his bailiff and a few attendants with orders to bring the contumacious dignitary, if necessary, by force. The dean resisted, and with this object drew a sword, with which he wounded himself in the hand and the bailiff in the leg.[XIX‑16]
At this juncture an alcalde, who among others had been attracted by the disturbance, added to the excitement by loudly shouting: "Help in the name of the king!" Thereupon the citizens hurriedly gathered from all sides with arms in hand and prevented the arrest of the dean. Las Casas was beside himself with rage, and the settlers were equally exasperated. That throughout holy week they should be deprived of the sacraments for no other reason than that they held slaves was a measure without precedent in the New World, and their indignation was increased by the numerous letters of sympathy and condolence received from all parts of New Spain. The dean in the mean time had escaped to Guatemala where he was absolved by Bishop Marroquin and permitted to say mass. Las Casas made a requisition for him, but it was ignored,[XIX‑17] and he was obliged to content himself with declaring him anathematized and excommunicated.[XIX‑18]
Las Casas was baffled but not defeated. He received an invitation to assist in the consecration of Bishop Valdivieso at Gracias á Dios, which it will be remembered was then the seat of the audiencia of the Confines, and thither he repaired. The news of the occurrences at Ciudad Real had, however, preceded him, and with the exception of Herrera all the oidores were prejudiced against him.[XIX‑19]
Las Casas found little sympathy from his brother prelates, Bishop Marroquin, as has already been shown, entertaining a bitter dislike toward him. Indeed, the apostle of the Indies was in some respects ill-fitted for the noble work to which he had devoted his life, his impetuous fearless character and ardent zeal blinding his judgment and making him impatient of opposition and heedless of the rights of others. Thus he made enemies where the interests of his cause demanded friends and active supporters. Few if any of the prominent ecclesiastics in the New World viewed the question of slavery as he regarded it, and they resented his unqualified condemnation of it as a reflection on their learning and piety.
Under these circumstances it is not strange that, as before stated, his appeals to the audiencia were disregarded and that, meeting only with rebuffs, he departed in disgust for his diocese. In the mean time the settlers of Ciudad Real had by their importunities driven the vicar general of Las Casas from the city. The bishop was not disposed, however, to renew the struggle. His faith in the efficacy of the new laws had received a severe shock, for by this time he had heard of the determined resistance to them throughout the provinces. He had expected that they would be opposed, but not to this extent, and now there was no mistaking the hostile attitude of the settlers.
Over the turbulent inhabitants of Ciudad Real he had no further desire to rule, and had already for the third time asked the emperor to allow him to be transferred to Vera Paz, and that bishops be appointed for the provinces of Soconusco, Chiapas, and Yucatan.[XIX‑20] No further troubles appear to have occurred between the bishop and the colonists.[XIX‑21]
In 1547 Las Casas embarked for Spain. The revocation of the new laws of which he must have heard before his departure, was a death-blow to his hopes in the new world. During the first two years after his arrival his efforts in behalf of the natives appear to have produced nothing more than a few decrees, comparatively unimportant. Later he resigned his bishopric, and retired to the college of San Gregorio de Valladolid, still continuing, however, to take an active interest in Indian affairs, although he had already passed his seventy-fifth year. From this retreat he soon issued to defend the principles which it had been his life-long labor to maintain.
The conquerors had found a champion in Doctor Juan Ginés Sepúlveda, who contended that it was lawful to make war on the natives and enslave them in order to promote their conversion and prevent human sacrifices. Las Casas presented thirty propositions in refutation of this view in which he maintained that over a nation whose only sin was idolatry no authority could be justly exercised save by peaceful conversion. Though this was clearly a condemnation of the policy of Spain in the New World, the sincerity of Las Casas and the justice of his cause prevented the king from taking offence at his boldness, and induced him to permit the unrestricted publication of his works while those of his opponent were forbidden to be printed. Henceforth he continued to be consulted on all questions of importance concerning the Indians, his time being devoted mainly to the writing of his history.
In 1555 Philip, who had lately ascended the throne, and was then in England, proposed to sell the right of the crown to the reversion of the encomiendas. Las Casas, ever on the alert, saw that this meant perpetual slavery, and determined to exert all his powers to prevent the measure. Through the king's confessor, who had written to him on the subject,[XIX‑22] he made a bold and earnest appeal to the royal conscience. The appeal was not in vain, and he thus paved the way for the final emancipation of the natives.
His last service to the New World was his representation to the council of the Indies of the great inconvenience and prejudice caused to the settlers and natives of Guatemala by the removal to Panamá of the audiencia of the Confines. In 1569, partly owing to his influence, the audiencia was reëstablished in Guatemala. He did not live to see this accomplished, however, for falling ill at Madrid, he died in July 1566, in his ninety-second year. He was buried with becoming honors in the convent chapel of Our Lady of Atocha.
Judged by his works Las Casas was the greatest philanthropist of his age. Like all vigorous reformers, he was treated as a visionary by most of his contemporaries, a conclusion which they deemed warranted by the unflinching courage and tenacity with which he maintained his opinions. His compassion for the natives, and his abhorrence for their oppressors, were increased from year to year by his failure to alleviate their sufferings, until it had become the all-absorbing idea which colored his every act and word. In pursuit of this ambition no obstacle could intimidate him. To resolve was to act. He hesitated not in the advocacy of his cause to brave the anger of an emperor, or that of an excited populace, and for this cause he endured persecution, insult, loss of friends, the enmity of countrymen. It must be admitted that he was resentful, and even bitter against his opponents, and to this reason may also be attributed his frequent exaggeration, his misrepresentation, the readiness with which his judgment was biassed, his unfitness for dealing practically with the condition of affairs then existing in the New World. By his contemporaries he is accused of harshness, arrogance, uncharitableness, but it must not be forgotten that this was probably due to the intolerant religious and scholastic spirit of his times. The purity of his motives none can doubt, and while no defence can vindicate the name of his adversaries from the charge of injustice and cruelty, the errors of Bartolomé de Las Casas are forgotten, and his spirit of noble self-devotion and high-souled philanthropy will make him known to all posterity as one of the greatest benefactors of his race.
The establishment of the audiencia of the Confines and the attempted enforcement of the new laws produced the same excitement in Chiapas as in other territories, but the transfer of this province to the jurisdiction of the new audiencia caused no change in its local government. The alcalde mayor, however, still the chief authority, ruled with greater rigor, and by the appointment of deputies in all of the native towns greatly increased the burden of their inhabitants.[XIX‑23]
Through the solicitation of Las Casas, Diego Ramirez, of whom mention has been made in connection with the history of Mexico,[XIX‑24] was sent to investigate the alleged oppression of the natives and their opposition to their Dominican teachers. He appears to have been an upright judge, and favorable to the Indians, but even his efforts, supported as they were by various decrees in their favor, did not accomplish the desired object.[XIX‑25]
After the departure of Ramirez, matters relapsed into their former condition. Within less than a year, however, Cerrato having taken charge of the audiencia determined to remedy these abuses, declaring that the natives continued to be destroyed without pity, the previous official visits having accomplished nothing.[XIX‑26]
Before the arrival of the Dominicans, little seems to have been done to improve the religious and social condition of the natives, except to baptize such as were encountered by the ecclesiastics in the principal towns, or during their journeyings from point to point. Indeed, if we are to believe Remesal, and in this instance we may certainly do so, the Indians were morally and religiously more degraded under Christian than under pagan domination. Idolatry was openly practised, and to their former vices were added those of the Spaniards, which their chiefs, now deprived in great part of their authority, were powerless to restrain. Little cared the encomendero for the souls or bodies of the Indians if the required tribute were but promptly paid. The labors of the Dominicans were of course interrupted by the persecution to which they were subjected because of their bold support of Las Casas. Alms were refused them, and their supplies soon becoming exhausted they abandoned their temporary convent and proceeded to the native town of Chiapas whence, having fixed upon this point as their base of operations, they gradually extended their labors over the province. The settlers placed in their way every obstacle that self-interest and ingenuity could devise, but the energy and devotion of the friars overcame all opposition, and when in 1549 Cerrato came to their support they had already established several convents including that of Ciudad Real, and had visited and carried their teaching to the remotest parts of the province.[XIX‑27]
A New Cathedral Wanted—A Poor Prelate and Unwilling Tithe-Payers—Two Contentious Bishops—Charitable Institutions Founded—Dominican Convent Organized—Franciscans Arrive—Their Labors—Motolinia Founds a Custodia—Disputes between Franciscans and Dominicans—La Tierra de Guerra—Las Casas' System—His First Efforts in Vera Paz—He Goes to Spain—Decrees Obtained by Him and an Indignant Cabildo—Las Casas Returns—Progress in Vera Paz—Peaceful Submission and Heavy Tributes—Cancer's Expedition to Florida—Ominous Opinions—An Indifferent Captain—A Dominican Martyr.
After the destruction of Santiago and the removal of the city to a new site the erection of another cathedral and episcopal residence was necessary.[XX‑1] The means, however, for the construction of these edifices could not be immediately procured. The bishop therefore caused to be built a hermitage, called Santa Lucía, which served temporarily as the parish church in the new city.[XX‑2] The removal of the episcopal seat was, moreover, a matter which did not depend upon either the decision of the cabildo or the prelate, and both his Majesty and the pope had to be consulted on so momentous a question. The necessity of permission to make such a change was pointed out to the cabildo by the bishop, who during a visit to Acajutla was informed by that body that the roof of the old church had been removed.[XX‑3] With regard to the building of the new cathedral few particulars are known, other than that the bishop was compelled for a number of years to appeal to the king for aid in its completion.[XX‑4]
Marroquin's bishopric, indeed, was not a rich one. In 1542 he represents to the king the objection of the settlers to pay tithes, which they regarded as an unheard of demand, and implores his Majesty to enforce the payment to the church of one tenth of all tributes.[XX‑5] He, moreover, assures him that his salary of five hundred thousand maravedís was not sufficient to meet the demands of hospitality and charity, and requests that a portion of the revenues of Honduras and Soconusco be granted to him.[XX‑6]
But the colonists were not easily compelled to pay their tithes of cacao,[XX‑7] maize, and feathers, and in 1545 the bishop again brought the matter before the notice of the throne, declaring that the frequency of disputes between the clergy and the colonists on this account was prejudicial in the extreme. He represented the poverty of his church and his own indebtedness, and asked that some compensation might be made him for his services, and the expenses which he had incurred in his visits to Honduras and Chiapas. Nevertheless the colonists maintained a stubborn opposition, and in 1548 matters had so little improved that Marroquin once more asks for aid from the crown.[XX‑8]