CHAPTER XIX.

THE ECCLESIASTICS IN CHIAPAS.

1550.

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.

[Sidenote: CIUDAD REAL.]

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.

[Sidenote: ARRIVAL OF DOMINICANS.]

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.

[Sidenote: ARBITRARY MEASURES.]

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]

[Sidenote: REVOCATION OF THE NEW LAWS.]

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.

[Sidenote: DEATH OF LAS CASAS.]

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]

[Sidenote: ANTONIO DE REMESAL.]

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]