[XXXVII‑21] Chiapas, Informe del Intendente, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Bol., 3d ép., ii. 326-7. In 1800 the office of alcalde mayor at Ciudad Real was sold for 4,687 pesos, those of eight regidores for 400 pesos each. The position of notary public and secretary of the cabildo sold for 627 pesos and at a later date for 1,110 pesos. Pineda, Descrip. Geog., 45.

[XXXVII‑22] 'No se descubria otra cosa que pesadas Cruzes, agudas espinas, abroxos, crueles imbenziones de diziplinas, arrastrados por los suelos los Hombres, lagrimas, y humilidad.' Arana, Relacion Estragos Guat., 383.

[XXXVII‑23] The missions were now closed with a 'prosesion de sangre.' Most of the shocks lasted for the space of an Ave María. Arana, Rel. Estragos Guat., 380-98. The volcano threw up stones, ashes, and other matter. Letters could be read distinctly in the dead of the night, although the volcano was at least two leagues distant from the city. Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, iii. 179.

[XXXVII‑24] Out of the 40,000 inhabitants who resided in the city before these earthquakes, scarcely 1,500 could be counted when they had ceased. On the plaza mayor on the 5th of Oct. were the president and five or six families. On the plazuela de San Pedro were Diego de Oviedo and Tomás de Arana, the oidores, the nuns of Santa Clara, and two other families. In the Jesuit square remained the members of that order and some other persons. Under the porch of Santo Domingo were some monks and a few seculars. In the potrero of the apostolic missionaries were six religious and a few others. There were a few more at Jocotenango. Arana, Relacion Estragos Guat., 380-98.

[XXXVII‑25] The bishop, on one occasion of unusual alarm, being sick in bed, was brought to the centre of the plaza mayor by the hands of the president himself, who remained steadfastly in the city, and, with others, rendered whatever assistance was in his power. Id., 398.

[XXXVII‑26] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 146-8, contains the lengthy document in extenso, in addition to its recital of the dire consequences of the visitations. Arana's report of the matter is briefly referred to in Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, iii. 179. See also Juarros, Guat., i. 208-9; and ii. 208; Alzate, Gaceta Literatura, iii. 442; Album Mexicano, i. 418.

[XXXVII‑27] It was especially prayed that Indians might be allowed to work on the indigo plantations, this being the chief reliance of the provinces of Guatemala. Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 148, 151-2.

[XXXVII‑28] In Escamilla, Not. Cur. de Guat., 6, he is styled D. Echevers y Subija. He had been chamberlain to his Majesty and was a knight of Calatrava.

[XXXVII‑29] Alluding to these disturbances, we find in Gac. Mex., Jan. 1728, and in Arévalo, Compend., 5-6, that these riots were suppressed by the prudent determination and dignified but firm measures of the marques de Casa Fuerte, viceroy of New Spain.

[XXXVII‑30] In this instance the alcaldes were deprived of their offices by the king, and made to pay a fine of a thousand reales de ocho. Providencias Reales, MS., 300-9.

[XXXVII‑31] In 1723 Bishop Juan Bautista Álvarez de Toledo was succeeded by Nicolás Cárlos Gomez de Cervantes. During the administration of the former the king had found it necessary to issue a cédula, dated November 15, 1717, ordering that no new churches, convents, or hospitals should be founded without his permission, since they were already so numerous as to interfere with each other's usefulness. Providencias Reales, MS., 207-8.

[XXXVII‑32] Among other charges made against the clergy of this period may be mentioned the following: sick persons were compelled to go to the church to receive extreme unction, many dying on the road thither; Indians were compelled to marry at a tender age in order to increase their contributions; fraternities were organized, to the members of which great pecuniary loss was occasioned; curates absented themselves without permission, and the priestly office was sold to the highest bidder. Ordenes de la Corona, MS., iv. 155-7.

[XXXVII‑33] Up to 1730 the tithes collected in the bishopric had never exceeded 3,000 pesos; but from that time they increased, until in 1750 they amounted to 30,000, and ten years after they were estimated at 60,000 pesos. Escamilla, Not. Cur. de Guat., 78. Pedro Pardo de Figueroa, seventeenth bishop and first archbishop of Guatemala, was born in Lima of noble parentage. He assumed the religious habit of the Franciscans at the age of sixteen. Having filled the chairs of philosophy and theology, he was sent by his order to the courts of Madrid and Rome, occupying the position of secretary-general of his order. He was elected bishop of Guatemala in 1735, and on the 13th of September of the same year was consecrated by the archiepiscopal viceroy of New Spain, Juan Antonio de Vizarron y Eguiarreta. In these dates the Concil. Prov., 1-2, 297, is followed according to Juarros, Guat., i. 291. Figueroa was consecrated on September 8, 1736, and on Nov. 18th Manuel Falla, precentor of the cathedral, took possession of it in his name. On the 22d of September 1737 the bishop made his public entry into the cathedral. Escamilla, Not. Cur. de Guat., 16, confirms Juarros.

[XXXVII‑34] Dec. 17, 1740, the king decided that at all receptions of bishops the two alcaldes should occupy the chairs of the dean and archdeacon in the choir. Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 9-13.

[XXXVII‑35] Concil. Prov., 1-2, 297-8. Juarros, Guat., i. 292, states that the bull was issued in December 1743. A copy of it is given in Nueva España, Breve Resúmen, 370-5.

[XXXVII‑36] Two prominent bishops of Honduras maybe mentioned: Antonio Guadalupe Lopez Portillo, a native of Guadalajara and delegate to the general council held at Rome in 1723, Figueroa, Vindicias, MS., 75, and Francisco Molina who was elected in 1743; but of the events of their administrations no records exist.

[XXXVII‑37] Guat., S^to Domingo en 1724, 22-4.

[XXXVII‑38] The following is a copy of this curious edict: 'Vengan sobre ellos, y á cada vna de ellos, la ira, y maldicion de Dios todo poderoso, y de la Gloriosa Vírgen Santa María su Madre, y de los Bienaventurados Apostoles San Pedro, y San Pablo, y de todos los Santos del Cielo. Y vengan sobre ellos todas las plagas de Egypto, y las maldiciones que vinieron sobre el Rey Pharaon, y sus gentes por que no obedecieron, y cumplieron las Mandamientos divinales; y sobre aquellas cinco Ciudades de Sodoma, y Gomarra, y sobre Datàn, y Abiròn, que vivos los tragó la tierra, por el pecado de la inobediencia, que contra Dios Nuestro Señor cometieron; y sean malditos en su comer, y beber, y en su velar, y dormir, en su levantar, y andar; en su vivir y morir, y siempre estèn endurecidos en su pecado; el diablo esté á su mano derecha; quando fueren en juizio siempre sean condenados; sus dias sean pocos, y malos; sus bienes, y hazienda sean traspassados en los estraños; sus hijos sean huerfanos, y siempre estèn en necesidad.' Ordenes de la Corona, MS., vi. 143-4.

[XXXVII‑39] The northern limit of the government of Guatemala was established as early as 1549. At this date the licentiate Gasca, commissioned by the viceroy of New Spain, and aided by president Cerrato, of Guatemala, fixed as the boundary between New Spain the provinces subject to the audiencia of the Confines, 'a line beginning at the bar of Tonala, in 16° north latitude, and running thence in the direction of the gulf of Mexico, between the towns of Tapana and Maquilapa, leaving the former on the left and the latter on the right, to a point opposite San Miguel Chimalapa; thence turning and running as far as the Mijes Mountain, situated in 17° 21' of the same latitude; thence to the town of Sumazintla (modern spelling Usumasinta), situated on the river of the same name; thence following up this river to a point opposite Huehuetlan, in 15° 30' of the same latitude, and thence to Cape Three Points in the Gulf of Honduras.' In 1599 the line was again changed, leaving to Guatemala the territory lying between 8° and 18°, more or less, north latitude. In 1678 another change was made by the viceroy of New Spain, which took from the captain-generalcy of Guatemala many towns on the coast, as far as the river Huehuetlan, and also extended the boundary of Yucatan. Finally, upon the establishment of the intendencias in 1787, the boundary line was again fixed, and the captain-generalcy of Guatemala made to include the territory within 7° 54' and 17° 49' north latitude. These limits were confirmed by subsequent commissions in 1792, 1794, and 1797, and adopted by the Spanish government in its map of 1802. Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 3da ép., iii. 78-9. Although these boundaries were approved by the crown, the exact location of the dividing line between Chiapas and New Spain appears to be a matter of dispute among many authorities. Pineda, Descripcion Geog., 17; Larrainzar, Hist. Soconusco, 1-2.

[XXXVII‑40] Guat., Apunt., 8. The Nueva España, Breve Resúmen, MS., ii. 349, says, 'it extends for more than 300 leagues along the coast of the South Sea, but in a straight line from east to west it is but 240, its greatest width being 180;' and again, 'from the limits of Tehuantepec, the last of the provinces of New Spain, to the Escudo de Veraguas, the limits of the kingdom of Tierra Firme (via the cities of Santiago, Leon, Nicoya, Cartago, Boruca), it is 650 leagues.'

[XXXVII‑41] Nueva España, Breve Resúmen, MS., ii. 349.

[XXXVII‑42] Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 3da ép., iii. 78-9. In the enumeration of provinces but twelve are mentioned, that of Guatemala being omitted also. Eco de España, Aug. 27, 1853; García, Reseña Geog., 7.

[XXXVII‑43] A junta of ministers was appointed by the king, whose duty it was to oversee the actions of the various viceroys, presidents, etc. This junta gave instructions to the regents. Cedulario, MS., i. 34-6; iii. 81-91. The functions of the regents are described in Reales Cédulas, MS., ii. 159. Previous to arriving at their place of duty the regent was to notify the ruling authority, president, viceroy, etc., and they were required to meet him one league from the capital. The archbishop and clergy were required to call upon him. The enumeration of their duties fills 78 articles.

[XXXVII‑44] After Herrera came Juan Antonio de Uruñuela, a knight of the order of Cárlos III.; Juan José de Villalengua y Marfil, minister of the supreme council of the Indies; Ambrosio Cerdán, knight of the royal order of the Immaculate Concepcion; Manuel Castillo Negrete, and José Bernardo Asteguieta y Sarralde. Juarros, Compendio, 356. According to Gomez, Diario, 151, the second regent was Orihuela, actual oidor of the audiencia of Mexico when appointed to this office.

[XXXVII‑45] In 1767 the salaries of the various officials were: governor, captain-general, and president of the audiencia, 5,000 ducats; the four oidores, and the fiscal of the audiencia, each 750,000 maravedís; the royal accountant and treasurer, each 300,000 maravedís.

[XXXVII‑46] 'De èstas, quatro tenian titulo de Gobíerno, que eran: Comayagua, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Soconusco; Alcaldías Mayores, San Salvador, Ciudad Real, Tegucigalpa, Zonzonate, Verapaz, Suchiltepeques, Nicoya, Amatique, y las Minas de San Andrés de Zaragoza; Corregimientos, Totonicapán, Quezaltenango, Atitán, Tecpanatitán ó Sololá, Escuintla, Guazacapán, Chiquimula, Acasaguastlan, el Realejo, Matagalpa, Moninbo, Chontales, Quesalguaque, Tencoa, Quepo, Chirripo, Pacaca y Ujarraz, y el Valle de Guatemala.' The governors, and the alcaldes of the first six alcaldías mayores named, were appointed by the crown; the president of the audiencia making the appointments for two years, to the remaining districts, except that of the Valley of Guatemala, which was conferred by the Ayuntamiento of Santiago on their common alcaldes, who with the title of corregidores exercised the office alternately for six months each. Juarros, Guat., ii. 37-8.

[XXXVII‑47] The corregimientos of Quepo, Chirripo, Ujarráz, and Pacaca, owing to the decreasing population of Costa Rica, were incorporated into that government; the corregimiento of Tencoa was absorbed by the government of Comayagua; and to the government of Nicaragua were united the corregimientos of Moninbo, Chontales, and Quesalguaque. Juarros, Guat., ii. 38.

[XXXVII‑48] In the beginning of the century the alcaldías mayores of Amatique and San Andrés de la Nueva Zaragoza were suppressed; a few years later the corregimientos of Escuintla and Guazacapan were consolidated to form the alcaldía mayor of Escuintla; and that of Sololá was formed of the corregimientos of Atitlan and Tecpanatitlan; in 1753 the alcaldías mayores of Chimaltenango and Sacatepeques were formed of the corregimiento of the valley of Mexico; in 1760 the corregimiento of Acasaguastlan was annexed to that of Chiquimula; and in 1764 the provinces of Chiapa and Zoques was separated from the alcaldía mayor of Ciudad Real and formed into that of Tuxtla. Juarros, Guat., ii. 38. About the middle of the century, according to Nueva España, Breve Resúmen, MS., ii. 349, there were nineteen governments in nine provinces and ten districts; and Cadena, Breve Descrip., 9, writing in 1774, says there were twenty-four governments and alcaldías mayores.

[XXXVII‑49] As intendencias were first established in Mexico their functions are described in the history of that country.

[XXXVII‑50] Guat., Apunt., 106. According to Juarros, Guat., ii. 38-9, the districts of Realejo, Matagalpa, and Nicoya were united to the government of Nicaragua to form the intendencia of that name; the alcaldía mayor of Tegucigalpa was united to the government of Comayagua to form the intendencia of Honduras; and to the government of Soconusco were united the alcaldías mayores of Ciudad Real and Tuxtla to form the intendencia of Chiapas. The fourth intendencia was San Salvador. Forty subdelegaciones are by this author assigned to the four intendencias, as follows: To the intendencia of Nicaragua six: Granada, Realejo, Subtiava, Segovia, Matagalpa, Nicaragua; to the intendencia of Chiapas eleven: Ocozingo, Simojovel, Palenque, Tonalá, Soconusco, Tila, Istacomitán, Tuxtla, Guista, Comitán, and San Andrés; to the intendencia of Honduras nine: Gracias á Dios, Olancho, Olanchito, San Pedro Sula, Yoro, Santa Bárbara, Trujillo, Tegucigalpa, Choluteca; and to the intendencia of San Salvador fourteen: San Miguel, San Vicente, Santa Ana Grande, Chalatenango, Olocuilta, Cojutepeque, Texutla, Opico, Metapas, Usulutan, Gotera, San Alexo, Sacatecoluca, Sensuntepeque. Under this former system in later times all appointments were made by the crown, the president of the audiencia having the power to make temporary appointments only. Usually, however, the presidents were authorized to fill all the offices under the government and in the city, some ad interim, others permanently. After the establishment of the intendencias the president had the privilege of appointing as subdelegado, one of three persons proposed to him by the intendente, whenever a subdelegacion became vacant.

[XXXVII‑51] José Vazquez Prego Montados y Sotomayor, of the order of Santiago, lieutenant-general of the royal armies, and commander-general of the forces before Gibraltar, assumed office January 17, 1752. He died at Guatemala June 24, 1753, from the effects of a cold contracted during an official visit to Omoa, whose fortress he had ordered built. From the date of his death the senior oidor, Juan de Velarde y Cienfuegos, governed until October 17th of the following year, when his successor, Alonso de Arcos y Moreno, arrived. He was a knight of the order of Santiago, mariscal de campo, and subsequently lieutenant-general of the royal armies. This latter appointment, however, did not arrive until after his death, which occurred October 27, 1760. The oidor Velarde again assumed charge of the presidency, and when relieved in the following year was transferred to the audiencia of Mexico, subsequently to that of Granada, and eventually became a member of the council of the Indies. On the 14th of June 1761 Alonso Fernandez de Heredia, mariscal de campo, took possession of the presidency. He had already served as governor in the provinces of Nicaragua, Honduras, Florida, and Yucatan. Joaquin de Aguirre y Oquendo was appointed to succeed him, but the latter dying at Guatemala April 9, 1764, when about to take possession of office, Heredia continued in charge till Dec. 3, 1765, when he was relieved by Pedro de Salazar y Herrera, Natera y Mendoza. He remained in Guatemala, where he died March 19, 1772, while undergoing his residencia. President Salazar was a knight of the order of Monteza, commander of Vinaroz and Benicarlo, captain of grenadiers of the royal Spanish guards, and mariscal de campo of the royal armies. Like President Sotomayor, he, too, experienced the fatal effects of the climate of Omoa, for he died May 10, 1771, from a disease contracted while on a visit to that port. His successor, President Mayorga, did not arrive till June 1773, the government in the interim being administered by the senior oidor, Juan Gonzales Bustillo y Villaseñor. This officer was subsequently transferred to the audiencia of Mexico, thence to the India House at Cádiz, and finally to the supreme council of the Indies. Juarros, Guat., i. 270-1; Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 157-9; Escamilla, Not. Cur., 7; Cadena, Breve Descrip., 26.

[XXXVII‑52] 'It stood under a cupola, supported by 16 columns, faced with tortoise-shell, and adorned with medallions in bronze of exquisite workmanship; on the cornices were statues of the virgin and the 12 apostles.' Juarros, Guat., i. 86.

[XXXVII‑53] In 1795 it was 23,434. Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 497.

[XXXVII‑54] Cadena, Breve Descrip., 4-9; Juarros, Guat., i. 85-7.

[XXXVII‑55] The Jesuit church suffered most. Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, iii. 295-6. See also Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 154; Escamilla, Not. Cur., 17; Cadena, Breve Descrip., 7, 11.

[XXXVII‑56] Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 154. According to Cadena, Breve Descrip., 11, the two shocks in 1765 occurred on June 21st and October 24th, respectively.

[XXXVII‑57] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 157-9.

[XXXVII‑58] During the alarm caused by the threatened outbreak the authorities of Santiago armed a force, and the royal officials had their valuables removed to one of the churches for safety. Before this excitement had subsided a Jesuit priest was cruelly murdered in the jail by three negro criminals whom he was confessing. The jailer gave the alarm by ringing the bell of the jail, and thereupon the people, in the belief that a riot had broken out, seized their arms and hastened to the principal square, even the women flocking thither with stones. The three negroes were captured after a determined resistance, and one of them having been killed in the scuffle the other two were hanged the same afternoon. A few days later a Dominican was found murdered in his cell. Escamilla, Not. Cur. Guat., MS., 18-19.

[XXXVII‑59] Iturriaga, El Dolor del Rey.

[XXXVII‑60] Batres, Relacion de las Fiestas.

[XXXVII‑61] Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 153-4.

[XXXVII‑62] From the incidents narrated by old residents, eye-witnesses of the event, and the appearance of the city in his time, Juarros, Guat., ii. 266-8, concludes that even the official reports of the effect of this earthquake were grossly exaggerated, probably owing to the interested reports of engineers, architects, and notaries. He quotes from two pamphlets published at Mexico in 1574, to show instances of exaggeration in the details of this calamity. In one that appears in Cadena, Breve Descrip., 40, the statement is made that trustworthy persons affirmed that during the earthquake they saw the mighty Volcan de Agua opened from cone to base by the first shocks, and again united by those that succeeded. This and other vagaries equally absurd, the effects only of a terrified imagination, form part of every description of this disaster, but do not necessarily impair the truthfulness of the account as a whole. The work of Cadena here quoted has been used as the base of the present account, and from the fact that its author was a prominent churchman, an eye-witness of the events related, and that his book, which received the sanction of superior authority, was published within a year of the occurrence, its trustworthiness can hardly be doubted. The work, a reprint of the original made in Guatemala in 1858, is a small 12mo of 56 pages, and describes the events of the period extending from June 11, 1773, to March 10, 1774, including a detailed description of the city of Guatemala, its destruction, and the measures for its removal up to the last date. It is written in the usual inflated religious style. The author, Fray Felipe Cadena, was a Dominican, professor of theology in the university of San Cárlos, synodal examiner of the archbishopric, and secretary of his order in Guatemala. There are other accounts, however, whose exaggerations are gross, and whose narrative could not have been obtained from any reliable source. According to Russell's Hist. Amer., i. 390, the city of Guatemala, with 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, and nearly 15,000,000 pesos in treasure and merchandise, was so completely swallowed up in April 1773 that not even a trace was left of it. Flint's Hist. and Geog. gives the date of the earthquake as 1779, and says that it was accompanied by terrific and destructive phenomena; the sea rose from its bed; one volcano poured out boiling water, another waves of blazing lava; and 8,000 families were swallowed up in a moment.

[XXXVII‑63] According to Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 25-7, the soldiery were guilty of pillaging the convents. Succecion chronologica de los Presidentes que han governado este Reyno de Goath^a. Obispos de Goathemala y Noticias Curiosas Cronologicas destas Indias is the title of a manuscript volume in folio of 78 pages, usually attributed to José María Escamilla. It was begun in 1777. It opens with a list of the governors up to that date, taken from the cabildo records of the city of Guatemala. This is followed by a list of bishops and archbishops, though from what source is not stated. Beginning with the dates of the discoveries of America and the South Sea and with the conquests of Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru, a brief chronological list is given of the more important events in Guatemala and its dependent provinces from 1525 to 1762. From the latter date until 1779 the events are described with more fulness, especially the account of the destructive earthquake in 1773, the consequent removal of the city, and the bitter controversy to which it gave rise. It is uncertain whether the author was in Guatemala previous to 1777, as the minuteness with which he describes the events of the preceding four years may have been the result of information obtained from the residents of the city. Nor is there anything to indicate the name of the compiler. The manuscript was presented to the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg in 1856 by Escamilla, according to notes in the handwriting of the abbé on the title-page, and at the end of the volume, and in his Bibliothèque Mexico-Guatemalienne, p. 60. Its chief value is the account of the destruction and rebuilding of Guatemala City.

[XXXVII‑64] Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 157.

[XXXVII‑65] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 160-71.

[XXXVII‑66] Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 24-65; Juarros, Guat., i. 85-9; ii. 266-72; Cadena, Breve Descrip., 10-53.

[XXXVII‑67] Juarros, Guat., ii. 353-4; Squier's States Cent. Am., 493-4.

[XXXVII‑68] Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 157-8.

[XXXVII‑69] Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 4.

[XXXVII‑70] Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., iii. 86-94.

[XXXVII‑71] Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., iii. 106-29.

[XXXVII‑72] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 171-6.

[XXXVII‑73] Juarros, Guat., i. 272-3.

[XXXVII‑74] He was a native of Granada, precentor, and bishop of Popayan, to which he was raised in 1740. His appointment to the archbishopric of Guatemala was dated 1751; his bulls issued January 23, 1752. On the 10th of May 1753 Doctor Agustin de la Caxiga, chancellor of the cathedral, took possession in his name, and on the 13th following inducted him into office. Juarros, Guat., i. 292-3.

[XXXVII‑75] The manner of proceeding was somewhat summary. The clergyman who was assigned to the curacy without previous notice suddenly appeared, accompanied by the alcalde mayor of the district, who gave him possession, and the friar in charge was compelled to transfer everything to his successors under inventory. Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 20.

[XXXVII‑76] Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 20; Juarros, Guat., i. 293.

[XXXVII‑77] Guat., Constit. Coleg. Xpto, i. 292.

[XXXVII‑78] Pineda, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, iii. 348-9.

[XXXVII‑79] Juarros, Guat., i. 292-3; 1776 is given as the date of his death by Concilios Prov., 1555, 1565, 298; and Alcedo, Dic., ii. 315.

[XXXVII‑80] A native of Belchite in the kingdom of Aragon, professor of sciences in the university, and subsequently canon in the cathedral of the city of Saragossa. He was appointed to the archbishopric of Guatemala in 1767. Juarros, Guat., i. 294.

[XXXVII‑81] The motives and nature of this measure are fully treated in my History of Mexico, this series.

[XXXVII‑82] Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 19-20; Jesuits, Colec. Gen., 24, and Pelaez, Mem. Guat., iii. 66-8, give a somewhat different version. According to these authorities the decree was given to the alcalde mayor, who notified the friars at two o'clock in the morning. The statements of Escamilla, who was present in Guatemala at this time, are to be preferred.

[XXXVII‑83] Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 65-74; Juarros, Guat., i. 294-5; Id., Compend., 292-4.

[XXXVII‑84] Francos was a native of the Villa of Villavicencio de los Caballeros, and was canon of the cathedral of Plasencia when appointed to the archbishopric of Guatemala. He died on the 17th of July 1792. His successors were Don Juan Felix de Villegas, who ruled from May 8, 1794, to February 3, 1800; and Don Luis Peñalver y Cárdenas who entered office on June 3, 1802. Juarros, Guat., i. 295-7. Although Juarros is justly regarded as the chief historian of the Central American provinces for the conquest and colonial period, he has failed to describe in a connected form the political, social, and moral development of those countries during that period. This omission has, in part, been filled by the assiduous labors of the presbyter Francisco de Paula García Pelaez. Residing for many years, as parish priest, at the old city of Guatemala, known as the Antigua, he devoted his leisure time, from 1833 to 1841, in examining as opportunity permitted the public and private archives of the province, and in studying the principal ancient and modern writers on that territory. The result of this research was a work of three volumes in small quarto, entitled Memorias para la Historia del Antiguo Reyno de Guatemala, which was published in Guatemala in 1851. It is divided into the aboriginal and the colonial epochs. The former treats of the origin of the natives and the degree of civilization they had attained at the time of the conquest, and consists of a brief and systematically arranged compilation of facts, with the corresponding references to the authorities from which they were obtained, each chapter being devoted to a separate topic. This occupies but 32 pages of the first volume, the remainder of the work being taken up with the political history of the country to the beginning of the nineteenth century, and with the general condition and progress of the people and their institutions from the conquest to 1821. The manner of treatment, though more connected, is similar to that of the first epoch. The style is terse and clear, though somewhat dry, as few comments are made, and those of an impartial nature. It contains a multitude of valuable facts not found elsewhere; yet Pelaez deplores the incompleteness of his work; for, though he examined many of the original documents in the public archives of Guatemala, the want of an assistant to aid him in extracting notes compelled him to leave the bulk of them untouched. The author subsequently became archbishop of Guatemala.