History of the Spanish Conquest of Yucatan and of the Itzas Part 8

Revolt of the Indians. After they had been ordered to go to Zaclun, they proffered various excuses, and the matter was ended at last by one Padre Fray Juan Enriquez, who offered to go thither himself. He was well received by Mirones; at about that time Bernardino Ek arrived with the news of the death of Delgado and his companions. Mirones would not believe him. He soon had ample cause to do so. On the Day of Purification, 1624, when all the Spaniards of Zaclun were at Ma.s.s, the Indians rose in revolt and put most of them to death.

Some time later Padre Fray Juan Fernandez and Captain Juan Bernardo came to Zaclun by way of Mani. The latter joined him at Mani, and as both were made suspicious by some Indians leading a mule of which they could not give a satisfactory account, Fernandez and Bernardo determined to go to Zaclun. When they reached that place they found the bodies of their compatriots, who had died "by the very arms with which they had thought to go against the Itzaex, in opposition to the orders and will of the King." (Villagutierre, p. 144.) A Christian burial was given to the dead, after which Fernandez and Bernardo returned to Merida to report on what they had found. Eventually an Indian captain named Don Fernando Camal captured many of the aggressors, the chief of whom, Ahkimpol, with several others, was beheaded in Merida.

An Epidemic of Apostasy; the Third Phase of the Conquest of the Itzas Begins. A direct result of this insurrection was a general epidemic of apostasy which especially affected such villages as Tipu. There, a few years later, a general exodus of the Indians into the mountains and woods took place, and a widespread relapse into idolatry occurred.

By a cedula of March 29, 1639, the King (Philip III) reiterated his desire that henceforth all efforts to reduce provinces should be carried on by means of spiritual methods only. These were not enough. A series of misfortunes and mutinies occurred at Bolonchen, Zahcabchen, Petenecte, and elsewhere. (Villagutierre, p. 147.)[6.1]

We have now, with the year 1624, reached the close of the second phase of the Spanish conquest of the Maya-Itza stock. The first phase, an exploratory one, began with Cortes in 1524 and ended with Montejo in 1545 or thereabouts. The second phase, a proselytizing one, began with the year 1614, when the feigned submission of the Itzas took place, giving rise to the entrada of Fuensalida and Orbita. It came to a dose about 1624 as a result of the mournful events following upon the entrada of Delgado and the mercenary meddling of Mirones. The third and last phase, a commercial and military one, we shall consider in Chapter VIII. It had its inception about 1692.

CHAPTER VII

THE EARLY HISTORY OF GUATEMALA AND THE ENTRADA FROM THAT COUNTRY, 1694-1695

Hitherto all our attention has been absorbed by the Maya-speaking peoples of Yucatan and northern Guatemala and with the entradas made from Yucatan into the Peten region and to Tayasal. Now, however, we are to consider, first, the early history of the Maya-speaking peoples of southern Guatemala and the entradas made from that region into the northern parts of the country in search of Lake Peten and Tayasal.

The Indian Tribes of Guatemala. The two chief tribes were the highly cultured Cakchiquel and Quiche. They lived in what may be described as the central portion of modern Guatemala. To the north of them dwelt the Choles, Lacandones, Mopanes, and Itzas; to the south, along the Pacific coast, were the Pipiles. With the exception of the latter, all these people spoke dialects of Maya. It is well to note, however, that both Fuentes y Guzman (1882) and Stoll (1884) arrived at the conclusion that at least two thousand years must have elapsed to permit of the development of the differences that exist between the Maya of Yucatan and the Maya of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiche.

Account of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiche. The migration myths of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiche show that they came originally from the region of Mexico. Much later the Pipiles, a Nahuatl tribe, formed trade colonies on the Pacific coast.

The Government and the Cities of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiche. The ruler was chosen alternately from two families, the Zotzil and the Xahil. In like manner the early Colombian chiefs of Tunja and of Muequeta alternately chose from among their relatives the chief of Suamo. The t.i.tle of the ruler was Ahpo-Zotzil or Ahpo-Xahil, as the case might be. The word _ahpo_, like the Quichua word _apu_, which it resembles, means "Great Chief." There was a marked division into cla.s.ses among the Cakchiquel and the Quiche. In addition the sacerdotal body was strongly intrenched in the social system. The Annals of the Cakchiquel (Brinton, 1885) throw some light on the history of these people. These Annals were written by a member of the Xahil family. The mythical accounts go back to the reign of King Gagavitz, who flourished about 1380. Sometime early in the fifteenth century the Cakchiquel came into violent contact with the Quiche, and Quikab, King of the Quiche, made good, for a time, his rule over the Cakchiquel. Later the latter regained their freedom and founded Iximche.

Spanish Conquest. What Cortes was to Mexico and Montejo was to Yucatan, Pedro de Albarado or Alvarado was to Guatemala. He was sent to that country by Cortes, with whom he had been in Mexico. Leaving Mexico on November 13, 1523, he went to Guatemala with about eighty adventurous followers, an abundance of munitions, and some s.h.i.+ps. He reduced the whole region of the Cakchiquel-Quiche peoples to a Spanish province.

(Cortes, apud Mac.n.u.tt, 1908, vol. ii, p. 178; Fuentes y Guzman, 1882, vol. i, p. 46.) On July 25, 1524, the official t.i.tle of this city became Santiago de los Cavalleros de Goathemala. In 1533 the King ordered Alvarado, whom he had made Governor of Guatemala, to make to him a full report concerning the country and its people and their customs. In 1541 Alvarado died at Guatemala, having in the meantime been to Peru. From that time down to about 1675 the city and Audiencia of Guatemala enjoyed a fair measure of prosperity under the usual type of Spanish rule. In 1675 some Chol Indians arrived there, asking the Dominican Provincial of Guatemala, Padre Maestro Fray Francisco Gallegos, for missionaries to teach them the Christian faith.

(Villagutierre, p. 150 ff.)

Gallegos and Delgado. As a result of this Gallegos himself and Padre Fray Joseph Delgado set off from Guatemala and traveled twenty-three leagues through very rough country. At length they came upon some Choles, whom they formed into three small villages called San Lucas, Nuestra Senora del Rosario, and Santiago. They later made these villages one and placed in it the thirty or so Indians whom they had baptized. As the other Indians had withdrawn further to the north, the Provincial and Delgado determined to go after them. The Indian converts objected to this, but the missionaries overcame their fears. In due time they came to a certain hill which the natives wors.h.i.+ped as G.o.d of the Mountains. Some Indian lads they had with them as servants urged the Padres to place an offering of copal before this G.o.d in order to propitiate him and prevent him from destroying them all. Of course the two priests refused to give in to the superst.i.tious fears of their servants. They said Ma.s.s instead. As a result all their followers, save two bearers, left them.

The Indians are Friendly to them. Once the mountains had been safely crossed, the Padres found that the Indians on the other side came to see them readily enough. When the natives found that their white visitors meant them no harm, they welcomed them and made a comfortable pathway, over which they conducted the Padres.

The Route Taken by the Two Padres. After some time they reached the sh.o.r.e of a large, fine river called Yaxha. There they encamped for a while, going on afterward to the house of a cacique named Matzin, who was later christened Martin. He treated them very well and they founded the village of San Jacinto Matzin and preached the Christian faith there. Four leagues away lived another cacique, called Ilixil, to whom, in spite of the risk of hunger, they went. First founding a village called San Pedro y San Pablo Ilixil, the Padres baptized many children.

In that same village of Ilixil they met some Indians who had come thither from Cahabon and who offered to act as guides. With them the Padres went to a place called May. After several interesting adventures, told by Villagutierre (p. 157), they renamed the village San Joseph May.

The rainy season shortly afterward began, and the missionaries retired toward Cahabon, setting up crosses as landmarks at suitable places along the way. When they regained their first village, San Lucas Tzalac, they found matters much as they had left them. From San Lucas they went to Cahabon, and from there to Cohan, in search of some Indians called Axoyes, of whom they had heard. In response to a call issued from Coban by Gallegos, one hundred and eighty persons came to him. They had already been baptized and wanted only to confess.

Several Villages Founded. On this trip Padres Gallegos and Delgado baptized twenty-three hundred and forty-six persons and founded many villages: San Lucas Tzalac, Nuestra Senora del Rosario, San Jacinto Matzin, San Pedro and San Pablo Ilixil, a.s.sumpcion, San Joseph May, San Miguel Manche, San Francisco Sacomo (= Secouamo on Hendges 1902?), and San Fernando Axoy. Villagutierre (p. 161) gives a long list of the places to which the Padres did not go.

The Dominicans and the Franciscans. We have already seen that most of the curacies in Yucatan were in the hands of friars of the Franciscan Order. In Guatemala, on the other hand, there was for a long time a dispute between the Dominicans and the Franciscans as to which should have the privilege of proselytizing in Guatemala. This quarrel, which Remesal (p. 587 ff.) plainly thought disgraceful, was at its height from 1551 to 1560. On January 22, 1556, cedulas were dispatched from Valladolid bidding both the orders to live at peace with each other.

Both orders had fine churches in Guatemala.

Struggles between the Dominicans and the Indians. We have already noticed how, as early as 1533, the King had expressed a wish to know everything possible about the dwellers in Guatemala. In 1555 the Lacandones and Puchutla put to death the good Dominican missionary.

Fray Domingo de Vico. From that time there was a constantly growing wish on the part of the Spaniards to conquer those people, not only because they were not Christians and ate human flesh, but because they were a constant menace. On January 22, 1556, a cedula was dispatched ordering that the trouble-makers be reduced to obedience. (Remesal, lib. x, cap. 11.) For a long time after that bitter struggles between the Dominicans and the Indians lasted, struggles which caused the Spaniards to give the name of Tierra de Guerra to the region. One of the missionaries in this region. Fray Diego de Ribas, had some success in the region north of Huehuetenango in 1685. (Villagutierre, p. 176 ff.) He and his men opened up a road that led from Huehuetenango into the regions north and east of there. They got on very well until they came into contact with some Lacandones, who proved to be spies. From that time on their troubles increased.

From all this it is easy to deduce that the peoples to the south of the Lacandones and Maya (such people as the Choles) were of a comparatively docile temperament and were easily won over, temporarily, to the Christian faith. As soon, however, as the fiercer and more stubborn Lacandones brought their influence to bear upon the converts, the latter found that their attachment to the new religion was but superficial. (Remesal, lib. x, cap. 10.) Moreover, the lack of authority to use armed force wherever necessary was another disadvantage under which the missionaries labored. There can be but little doubt that they also were too hasty in their attempts to exchange the somewhat abstruse spiritual wors.h.i.+p of the Catholic Church for the veneration of tangible G.o.ds of stone or wood. They were quick to destroy the old and long-venerated G.o.ds, but they were unable to replace them with something the Indians were able to understand.

In 1686 the King (Charles II), calling the Viceroy's attention to the great number of unconverted tribes in Guatemala, Yucatan, and elsewhere, ordered further reductions to be made, at once, but as gently as possible.

The Inception of the Plan to Subdue the Itzas, 1689. In 1689 Captain Juan de Mendoza wrote to the court to tell how the reductions had been begun, and to ask that he might be placed at the head of fifty soldiers. On the advice of Guzman, who had now returned from Guatemala to the Spanish court, his wish was granted. The following plan for the reduction of the Choles and the Lacandones was decided upon.

(Villagutierre, p. 190.)

Three entradas were to be made at the same time. One from the province of Guatemala, which was in the hands of the Dominicans; a second from Huehuetenango, which was Mercedarian; and the third from Chiapas, which was Dominican. Fray Augustin Cano, of the Order of Predicadores, and Fray Diego de Ribas, of the Order of la Merced, were to go first and try, by peaceful means, to accomplish their purpose. Mendoza was to try more vigorous measures. Juan de Mendoza and his men were to be nothing more than an escort to the Padres, and the conquest was to be accomplished only by the evangelical word.

Soberanis Ordered to Cooperate. On November 24, 1692, like orders were given to Don Roque de Soberanis y Centeno, Governor of Yucatan, and he was told to cooperate with President Barrios Leal of Guatemala.

Unfortunately the enterprise was interrupted by the fact that unjust accusations caused a suspension of Leal's powers from 1691 to 1694.

Ursua to Succeed Soberanis in Office. At about this time an arrangement was made by the King whereby the Sargento Mayor Don Martin de Ursua y Arizmendi[7.1] was to succeed Don Roque de Soberanis y Centeno in the government of Yucatan. At the time Ursua was in Mexico, at the court of the Viceroy. Ursua, who is to occupy much of our attention for some time to come, wrote a letter to King Charles, which is given by Villagutierre (lib. iii, cap. 8) and which I here translate in part.

A Letter from Ursua y Arizmendi to the King of the Spains. "SIRE,--Your Majesty having had the graciousness to confer upon me the future possession of the Governors.h.i.+p of the Provinces of Yucatan, in which post I am to succeed Don Roque de Soberanis y Centeno, ... my employment, during the time of my Governors.h.i.+p, is to be the Conversion and Reduction of the innumerable Indians, as well Infidel as Apostate, who are between the said Provinces of Yucatan and those of Guatimala.

(And I shall urge) the opening of a road from the one to the other, not only to facilitate Commerce, which would be for the Public Convenience and the service of your Majesty, but would also make for the Reduction of the so many Indians.... So I propose to Your Majesty: That at my own expense, and with no cost to the Royal Exchequer, when I shall have entered upon the Governors.h.i.+p and shall have made my Preparations, I shall put into execution the opening of a Highway from the Provinces of Yucatan to those of Guatimala, at the same time reducing, by the peaceful means of the Evangelical Preaching, all the Indians who shall be found in those regions. But the Conversion is not to interrupt the opening of the Road which is more important as it will facilitate the later reduction of all those who live in those parts by the continuous Pa.s.sing and Commerce of the Spaniards of both Provinces...."

The King Grants all that Ursua Asks. In the memorial just mentioned Ursua asked that orders be given so that the prelates of the Order of San Francisco, the President of the Audience of Guatemala, and the Viceroy of New Spain should be obliged to give him every sort of aid needed.

In 1693 the King replied, saying that he had given the desired orders to the Viceroy of New Spain, the President of Guatemala, the Bishop of Yucatan, and the Provincial of San Francisco. He then commanded that care should be taken to choose the best places for bridges, that inns should be established every four or eight leagues for the shelter of travelers, and that every effort should be made to form settlements that would insure the safety of travelers. As the work was not to begin until Ursua had entered upon his duties as Governor, the Viceroy, Conde de Galve, the Bishop, and others were unable, till well into 1694, to aid the work they all wished to see brought to a successful conclusion.

Meanwhile Barrios Leal was still under the stigma of a Visita or Inspection. When his character was cleared of all blame, in the middle of 1694, he was told how the Itzas of Tayasal and other infidel nations were infesting the country and committing various atrocities. Once Barrios Leal was restored, the reduction began in earnest.

President Barrios Aids in the Undertaking. As soon as Barrios Leal was restored to office as President of the Audience of Guatemala and as soon as circ.u.mstances permitted, active preparations for the long-discussed conquest of the Itzas were begun.

Villagutierre (lib. iv, cap. i) speaks thus of the preparations that were made: "We have already seen how intently President Don Jacinto de Barrios considered the hints which the Missionary Padres Fray Melchor Lopez and Fray Antonio Margil[7.2] and other persons had made to him, urging the importance of setting about with all possible efficiency the reduction of Barbarism in those Woodlands. So he promptly began to take the steps which seemed suitable in the matter.... It was resolved by all the leaders and ministers: That the Entrada for the reduction of the Woodlands should be made at the beginning of the next year, 1695 (which is the beginning of summer in those lands)...."

Arrangements for the Entrada; Supplies, etc. Provisions were made whereby men who voluntarily gave aid in money or in extra services to those who were directing the entrada were to be advanced in rank over their fellows. Besides it was arranged that as soon as possible the religious authorities were to give their necessary aid.

Juan de Mendoza had already been named leader of the army, and as he was absent from the province at the time, it was decided that the President should appoint as leaders those whom he thought best.

Villagutierre (p. 219) continues: "And the President was to call to the Junta de Guerra the Padres Maestros Fray Diego de Ribas, Fray Augustin Cano, Fray Joseph Delgado, Fray Tomas Guerrero, and Fray Pedro Monzon, as well as other persons well versed in the frontiers, Entradas and Woodlands of the Infidels, because of the great value of their opinions in determining the methods of operation and the manner of penetrating the forest region....

"Likewise, it was determined that the expenses they were planning to incur and which were found necessary, should be met from the Royal Funds and that the Royal Officers should issue orders for quant.i.ties of maize, beans, chili, and fowl, which were to be collected with all speed as part of the Royal Tribute from the Provinces of Vera Paz, Chiapa, and Gueguetanango.