EARLY POTTERY.
The first government of the Spaniards was a military one, whose chief was Fernando Cortés. He had wisely surrounded himself by a body of advisers or approvers, in the early time of founding Vera Cruz when he established theAyuntamiento, composed of his companions of the voyage. This organization was maintained during the time of Cortés' administration. Its duties were to found new cities, parcel out lands and farms among the colonists, establish markets, regulate sanitary conditions, and enforce the laws; thus standing between the natives and new settlers, who began to enter the country. Many of the rules and ordinances of the early Ayuntamientos are still in force.
On account of complaints which reached the court of Spain, against the rule thus established by Cortés, the king resolved to put the new country in the hands of a body of magistrates who should be obeyed by all the governors of provinces, representing the person of the monarch and enforcing his authority. The members of the firstAudienciaarrived in Vera Cruz on the 6th of December, 1528. There were five of them; their president was Nuño de Guzman, a cruel and sanguinary man, whose despotism left the most bitter recollections throughout the country.With hisoidores, as the other members were called, he displayed the greatest cruelty toward the Indians, in direct disobedience to his instructions, which were to treat them with the greatest gentleness; he continued the traffic in slaves, by which he and his Audiencia expected to enrich themselves. They quarrelled with the ecclesiastics and religious orders, so that they were excommunicated by the bishop, in return for which they broke up by force a religious procession in the streets of the capital. In short, they made themselves intolerable alike to natives and colonists. Nuño de Guzman, finding himself thus unpopular, went away from Mexico in 1529, and paid a visit to Michoacan, where he strove to extort quantities of gold from Calzonzi, who, as we know, had hitherto escaped the violence of the invaders, and was living happily in his palaces of Tzintzuntzan and Patzcuaro, nominal sovereign of his Tarascans.
Calzonzi could not or would not satisfy the greed of the cruel Guzman, whereupon he was burned alive, as is shown in the same picture where he embraces the cross, in the town-hall of Tzintzuntzan. Nuño went away without any treasures or precious stones, and made war upon the natives of Jalisco, founding in that country a town which he called the Holy Ghost. This afterwards became Guadalajara, now one of the finest cities in the whole of Mexico.
This career of destruction and tyranny came to an end by the arrival of the second Audiencia, sent in response to the volume of complaints which reached the court of Spain. This second body had for its task to undo all that the first had done.
It published a royal decree which declared all the Indians free, and condemned to death all those who had made slaves of them. It had the care of diffusing instruction among the natives, and establishing the teaching of Latin in a college founded for the education of the natives. Its authority was used only for beneficial ends, and was of good effect in calming the agitation caused by its predecessors. The archbishops and bishops, by their religious character, also exercised a great influence over both colonists and Indians, with whom they were objects of veneration and respect.
Complaints, however, still reached the court of Spain, which, weary of so much dissension, resolved to send a viceroy as the supreme head of the colony, to represent in every thing the person of the king, subject only to the orders received from home, and controlling all affairs, civil and military, connected with the government. Difficulties often arose from quarrels between the viceroy and the Audiencia, and in extreme cases the will of the latter prevailed, while advices from the parent government were on their way from Spain; but in general the functions of the Audiencias were from this time limited to the simple administration of justice.
The country of New Spain, at the time of the the arrival of the first viceroy, had a wide extent; large tracts at that time unknown, were afterwards explored and included in its territory, through colonization by settlers. These lands extended over the immense prairies of the north, and included Texas, Alta California, Louisiana, and New Mexico, which now belong to the United States.
Antonio de Mendoza, Conde de Tendilla, was the first viceroy sent by Charles V. to New Spain. He arrived in the autumn of 1535.
He belonged to the great Spanish family of Mendoza, which counted twenty-three generations, and claimed descent from the Cid himself. Better than this, he had a well-balanced and moderate character, and governed the country with justice and generosity combined. He had no intention of enriching himself by his position, but at heart put the interests of the Spanish colonists before every other consideration, except those of the Indians, for whose welfare he had from the first a genuine regard. It would seem that Charles V., harassed as he was with the intrigues and difficulties of his own empire, already revolving the design which he put in practice later, of retiring from the world, had himself selected for his first representative in the new country a man whom he knew personally to be equal to the task, one not only of noble blood, but honorable character.
Mendoza set himself to reform the abuses which had already appeared, protected the Indians from thehumiliations which the newly arrived Spaniards were disposed to put upon them; he stimulated all branches of agriculture, and finding the natives were already well informed in the cultivation of land, he encouraged them in this pursuit by all possible efforts.
In order to develop the growth and manufacture of wool he caused sheep of fine breed to be brought from Spain; he encouraged the silk industry, and all employments coming from the productions of the earth, which the climate of Mexico greatly favors.
Before his arrival the Franciscan brotherhood had founded several convents. As early as 1521 Cortés, after the conquest of Tenochtitlan, had sent home an urgent request that priests should be sent from Spain to convert the heathen in the new province. For Cortés, through all his undertaking, earnestly regarded his mission as a crusade against the unbeliever; he never hesitated to destroy the temples and gods of the Aztecs, and his first step after victory was to forcibly baptize all his prisoners and the inhabitants of conquered cities into the Christian religion.
As soon as the knowledge of so wide a field was noised abroad, five missionaries of the Franciscan order started for New Spain. One of them was Fray Pedro, of Ghent, a nation of Flanders, who of all the early missionaries in Mexico was the most able and zealous. He was especially endeared to the Emperor Charles V. on account of the holiness and usefulness of his life, and from him he was greatly aided in his work by grants of land and sums ofmoney. Later twelve missionaries were sent out by order of the Emperor, and protected by a Bull from the Pope. These "twelve apostles of Mexico," as they are usually called, arrived in 1524. Their leader was Fray Martin de Valencia, who bore the title of Vicar of New Spain.
To the religious orders in Mexico is due in great measure the firm base upon which the government of Spain was established there. The new viceroy fully recognized this, and encouraged the foundations of colleges and schools already undertaken by them.
In every way he promoted the prosperity and growth of the country, and had the satisfaction in the course of his government, which lasted fifteen years, to see every thing bear the marks of his judgment and enterprise.
It was he who founded two cities which have reached great importance. The first was Guadalajara, near the site where Nuño de Guzman had established a town under the name Espiritu Santo, in the state of Jalisco. Mendoza removed it from its first situation to the one it now occupies. It has become one of the largest and most flourishing cities in Mexico, and at the present time it is one of the most interesting, because, as it has been until very lately remote from railroad communication, it has preserved all the early characteristics of Spanish-Mexican civilization which attended its foundation and first growth. There may still be seen many customs and peculiarities of old Spanish life, which are fast disappearing from the Peninsula. The citizensare well educated, highly cultivated, with the manners of the pure hidalgo, and the houses contain relics and mementos of the past of Mexico, such as are nowhere else to be found.
Mendoza also founded the city of Valladolid, in the late kingdom of Michoacan, of which the poor King Calzonzi had lately been sacrificed to the greed of Nuño de Guzman. This latter received the just punishment for his cruelty. He was imprisoned in 1537, and shortly after died, "in misery and oblivion," says the chronicle.
The large province of Michoacan, now one of the states of Mexico, called by the same name, stretches from the state of Mexico to the Pacific ocean. It contains some of the most beautiful scenery to be found in the whole country, now revealed by the National Railway, which runs from the city of Mexico to Morelia, the capital of Michoacan, and farther on to Patzcuaro. The ultimate destination of the road is Colima, near the Pacific coast. The country of Michoacan was peopled by Tarascans, who, as we have seen, preserved their kingdom until after the Conquest. They have always been known for their sturdy independence, like other mountaineers, for their state is traversed by ridges of lofty hills, making picturesque effects of scenery. It was in suppressing the Indians of Michoacan and the neighboring Jalisco that the ferocious Pedro de Alvarado received a blow, from which he died in 1541.
Mendoza the better to civilize these turbulent tribes, chose a site for a city in the midst of their population. The royal parchment exists, sent fromSpain by Queen Juana, under the date of October 27, 1537, in which permission is given to the viceroy—"Insomuch as I am informed by the relation you have made to me, that in these lands you have found or discovered a most beautiful site towards the part of the Chichimecas, in the Province of Michoacan, in which, as it is a place both attractive and convenient, you wish to establish and found a city with more than sixty Spanish families and nine religious advisers, for this purpose acknowledging the service of God and of the Royal Crown, we give and concede faculty and license to the viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, to establish and people the said city."
The day being fixed for the ceremonial of founding the city, all the pueblos in the neighborhood were summoned, and a great conference of people, both Indians and Spaniards, assembled to listen to the royal mandate, which was read aloud. Then the commissioners and the governors of the Indios kissed the parchment in sign of obedience; a mass was celebrated upon an altar, which had been improvised for the occasion under a canopy made of the branches of trees, for the ceremony took place in the open air. Thereupon followed festivities, which lasted several days; the plan of the city was laid out, and lots assigned to the "more than sixty families," who took possession at once.
Among the lists of these families, of which the names remain, is Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, a connection, we may assume, of the viceroy. Other noble families were later sent to occupy the newcity, so that Valladolid had every reason to hold itself high as a town of distinction.
It was named Valladolid after the birthplace of Mendoza in Spain, and called always Valladolid de Michoacan, in distinction from the town in the old country, until the name was changed, in this century, to Morelia, for reasons we shall understand better further on in the story.
It is hard to account for the presence in Mexico of the "more than sixty families," and many, many more which served as nucleus for all the cities founded by the Spaniards. In the prosperous condition of Spain at that time, when the empire of Charles V. was at the greatest period of glory, it is a question to solve why any noble families took the trouble to risk a perilous voyage, in those days long and, to say the least, uncomfortable, in order to make a new life in the recently conquered colony. Doubtless the reports given by the Conquistadores of the great wealth of the new land attracted many adventurers, who left their country for their country's good, thus seizing a short cut to wealth; but this does not account for whole families, in numbers sufficient to settle city after city over the newly grasped possessions in the hands of the viceroy. Religious liberty was not the motive, for here the strong arm of the Church was stretched as firmly as at home. As early as 1527 a royal order was issued, by which all Jews and Moors were banished from New Spain. The Inquisition was established in 1570, but although theauto da féwas of frequent occurrence during two centuries, the institution neverflourished with the vigor it acquired in the old country.
The city of Valladolid flourished exceedingly. Its native population to this day has the reputation of being industrious, docile, and self-restrained. While moderate, at the same time true to heroism, jealous of independence and liberty, restless under oppression, but easily led by gentleness and reason. The character of the Spanish families is hospitable, their manners open and attractive, while at the same time they are exclusive and tenacious of their birth, position, and religious belief.
The church of Michoacan was created by a bull of the Pope Paul III. in 1536. The queen of Spain decreed that a cathedral should be constructed in a suitable place, to be selected by the viceroy and the good Bishop Vasco de Quiroga, who was known as a friend of the Tarascans.
Among the members of the second Audiencia, which retrieved by its wisdom the evil deeds of Nuño and his assistants, was an eminent lawyer, the Licenciado Vasco de Quiroga. As the proceedings of Guzman were fresh in everybody's mind, he heard of them, and at once went into the neighborhood of Tzintzuntzan to relieve, if possible, the condition of the people of Calzonzi. They had fled in terror from their homes, deserting the towns and hiding in the mountains. Quiroga, with great perseverance and gentleness, found them out, and prevailed at last upon the poor Tarascans, who came to love him with passionate devotion. He lived among them until 1536, when he was made their bishop,having been quickly passed through the successive grades of promotion necessary for that purpose, for he was, to begin with, a layman and not under orders. While stilloidorof the Audiencia he assumed the cares of his office; by the end of the same year he had received all the necessary orders, from the tonsure to the priesthood.
The city of Tzintzuntzan was first selected for the foundation of the cathedral, as the pueblo of the largest population thereabout. It is now a forlorn Indian village, with straggling rows of adobe huts running down a slope towards the lonely Lake Patzcuaro. Pottery is made there by the simplest methods from clay which abounds in the neighborhood; the people are ignorant, gentle Indians, pursuing their humble lives with the content which characterizes the native Mexican. But behind an orchard of large old olive-trees neglected and decaying, is the parish church, which contains a wonderful picture, so wonderful as to be startling among such incongruous surroundings. In the sacristy, and lighted by one little window with small panes of glass, is a large and impressive canvas, representing the entombment of our Saviour. Surrounding the dead Christ are the Virgin, the Magdalen, St. John, and other figures, all life size. One of the figures in the background is said to be the bishop of Philip II., and tradition asserts positively that the picture is by Titian. The composition, grouping, and treatment are certainly like Titian, especially the introduction of a bit of landscape in the upper left-hand corner. It is possible that the picture is by the great master;even if not, the interest attaching to it is great, for it is beautiful, whoever painted it, and far beyond, as well as utterly different from, many of the altar pieces and "old masters" which abound in Mexico without any value whatever. It is possible that Philip II. sent the picture, or more likely that before his time Charles V., who personally knew Quiroga, and possibly loved him, caused the picture to be sent him for his Indians by reason of his devotion to them, and the eloquence with which he reported their cause to his royal master. This would account for its being in the little church at Tzintzuntzan, where the documents say Quiroga was bishop only for one year. If Charles sent the picture, the likeness of Philip was taken before he had come to the throne, and was only Prince Imperial. As for its remaining at Tzintzuntzan, instead of finding a fit place in the cathedral of Morelia, the Indians have in every generation absolutely refused to have it removed. It would be a brave archbishop, or secular authority who should endeavor now to take it away from them. Unguarded, it hangs in the bare little sacristy, safe and uninjured by irreverent touch.
The cathedral was begun at Patzcuaro, and was to be, says the account, "so magnificent that it has entirely filled the imagination of all those who can remember it." But it was decided that the ground it was on was too near the lake to support so great a structure. In 1550 the king of Spain sent to command a suspension of the works, and it was finally built at Valladolid, where it now stands, a beautiful building, superior to the cathedral in the city ofMexico. It was only completed in 1744. It stands in an open space between two plazas, where the effect of the two lofty well-proportioned towers is uninterrupted by other buildings. The Mexicans delight in church bells, and the towers of the Morelia cathedral are well provided with them, great and small, for all occasions. On a feast-day of the Church these bells are ringing continuously, filling the air of the town with their joyous clangor.
Cortés was away when the Viceroy Mendoza arrived in Mexico. He still retained his title of governor, with the same powers always conferred upon him; but his long absences from the capital made it necessary, as he fully recognized, that some other strong authority should be established there. Nevertheless, he never got on very well with such other authorities, and on his return soon became at odds with Mendoza, who, in his opinion, interfered with his prerogatives. It was then that Cortés bade farewell to his family, and taking with him his eldest son and heir, Don Martin, then eight years old, he embarked for Spain, leaving Mendoza undisturbed in the execution of his office.
It is evident that the rule of the viceroy was judicious and well adapted to grafting a new civilization upon the old. The native tribes were made peaceable without a great deal of contention, and by the adroit and gentle management of the viceroy, ably helped by the religious orders who came to his assistance, readily transferred their old beliefs to the mysteries and miracles of the Roman Catholic faith.
CATHEDRAL AT MORELIA.
There was genuine enthusiasm for the viceroy on the part of the Indians. On the Central Railway, about five hours out from the city of Mexico, is a station called Cazadero, which means "place for pursuing game." The name clings to it since 1540, when an immense hunt took place there upon the broad plain which stretches out in all directions. This hunt was a pleasant attention from the Indians to the viceroy to express their approval of his ways with them.
In 1536 was issued the first book printed in Mexico, on a press imported by Mendoza, and put into the hands of one Juan Pablos. In the same year both silver and copper coins were stamped, the latter in the form of an irregular polygon. In 1550 this good ruler sailed away from Mexico, where he had done so much to advance the interests of his royal master. He passed on to take charge of the government of Peru, by a practice which came to be quite common—a sort of diplomatic succession by which the viceroys of New Spain were promoted to the post at Peru.
Don Luis de Velasco, second viceroy of New Spain, made his entrance into the capital with great pomp, at the end of the year 1550. He, like his predecessor, had been selected with care by the orders of Charles V., if not from his personal knowledge, and he brought to his new position qualities as admirable. His first decree was one liberating one hundred and fifty Indians from slavery, who were working chiefly in the mines, and when the objection was raised that this industry would be paralyzed by the step, he stated that the liberty of the Indians was of more importance than all the mines in the world, and that the rents due to the crown were not of such a nature that for them must be interrupted laws human and divine.
He established in Mexico, for the security of travellers upon the highway, the tribunal of the Holy Brotherhood, instituted in Spain for the same purpose in the time of Isabella. He founded the Royal University of Mexico, and the Royal Hospital for the exclusive use of the natives. He recognized the capacity of these Indians for developing lands hitherto uncultivated, and, in fact, favored themby every means in his power, while he encouraged the development of all the resources of the country, especially the mines, of which some important discoveries were made in his time.
The building of the cathedral at Puebla was pushed with great activity under this viceroy, although the building was not finished until the middle of the next century.
Puebla de los Angeles, second in importance in all Mexico to Guadalajara only, receives its name from the tradition that before the light of Christianity was shed on New Spain, the heathen used to see visions of angels marshalled in mighty hosts in the heavens above the spot where the city stands. It is in the Province of Tlaxcalla, where Cortés found his first friends and stanch allies, on the highway between the coast and the capital.
Of the founding of the city a local chronicler writes that the illustrious Fray Julian Garces, the first bishop who came to Tlaxcalla, fully shared the project for establishing a town somewhere in these parts that might be a resting-place in the long and weary walk from the coast to the city of Mexico; yet he was uncertain in his mind as to where the town had best be, until one night in a vision he beheld a most lovelyvega, a plain, bounded by the slope of the great volcanoes on the west, broken by two little hills, and dotted by many springs, and cut by two rivers which gave abundant water, and made all things fresh and green. And as he gazed in pleased amazement, the dream revealed two angels, who with line and rod were measuring boundaries on the ground, as if they were marking out the place for streets and squares, and for the founding of great buildings.
PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES.
Upon this the bishop awoke, and luckily coming in his search upon the very site that his vision had shown him, chose it for the place of Puebla de los Angeles.
The city is beautifully situated with fine views of the volcanoes; the pyramid of Cholula is eight miles from it. It is a purely Spanish town, founded at the earnest request of the Franciscan friars, who entreated to be allowed to make a town of Spaniards, who should cultivate the earth in the manner and fashion of Spain, without the assistance of Indian labor or the unworthy practice of Indian slavery, thus giving employment to many Spanish good-for-nothings who were going about the country without finding any thing for their hands to do.
The second Audiencia, in whose time the request was made, readily granted it, and the city was founded in 1532. Forty families of Spanish birth assembled, and the plan of the city was marked out, accompanied by the celebration of mass, as at Valladolid. The Indians of the surrounding towns willingly helped the Spaniards in great multitudes, bringing them materials for the first houses, and singing joyfully as they gave their assistance.
Puebla is so placed with regard to the capital that in the frequent battles of the country it has been time and again fought for or invested. During these periods it is to be feared that its angels have been sometimes compelled to avert their faces. Itspresent name is Puebla de Zaragoza, in honor of the brave general who defended it against the French, on the 5th of May, 1862.
Thus the efforts of the viceroys were ably seconded by the zeal of the first ecclesiastics of the church of Mexico. Fray Juan de Zumárraga was the first bishop presented by the emperor to Pope Clement VII., in 1527. The next year he arrived at Vera Cruz, bearing the titles of bishop-elect and protector of the Indians, honors which he fairly earned by his interest in them and his devotion to their cause.
These holy men worked zealously with the natives and by adroitly substituting for their heathen superstitions, the legends and miracles of the Catholic Church succeeded in engrafting the new faith upon the old without violence. The Indians accepted readily the narration of the life of the Saviour, his miraculous power, his spotless life, his death upon the cross, but their favorite object of worship and reverence was from the first the Holy Virgin, the mother of Jesus. To her they transferred all the fervor of their idolatry. Her image has always been to them most sacred, her shrine the constant place for votive offerings of flowers, ribbons, and all small objects of familiar use. To the superstitious minds of these people, it was possible to introduce every form of miracle without danger of incredulity; they were soon closely bound to the Church by their faith in the supernatural interference of the heavenly powers, and above all of the Virgin. These superstitions still remain in Mexico, and are so closely heldby the Indians, that no government, however "advanced" in religious thought, has dared to interfere with certain rites and ceremonials, pieced upon their ancient garment of faith, in the earliest time of the first viceroys and bishops. The "twelve apostles," godly men who devoted their lives to Christianizing the Indians, have themselves become objects of tradition, and their deeds, as handed down from generation to generation, are as miraculous as any of those they revealed in their day to the simple and credulous Aztecs.
Of all the Apostles the memory of good Fray Martin de Valencia is most highly valued, and many are the traditions concerning his life and works.
An early history of the Indians of New Spain, written in 1541, tells of his life in Amecameca, an Indian village several hours by rail south of the capital, which still preserves all the simplicity of its earliest days. It was in existence long before the Conquest. The Spanish army stopped there a couple of days on their first approach to the city, kindly received by the Cacique in "large commodious stone buildings." Of these latter we must doubt. Near here, Fray Martin loved to dwell "because," as the narrative relates, "it is a very quiet place, most appropriate to prayer, for it is in the side of a little mountain, and is a devout hermitage. Close to this house is a cave devoted to and very suitable for the service of God. In this he used at times to give himself to prayer; and at times he used to go out of the cave into a grove, and amongst those trees there was one which was very large, under which he went topray early in the morning; and it is asserted that as soon as he placed himself there to pray, the tree swarmed with birds which by their songs made sweet harmony, through which he felt much consolation, and praised and blessed the Lord; and when he went away from there the birds went also; and so, after the death of this servant of God nevermore gathered there in this manner. Both these things were noted by many who used to hold converse there with the servant of God, as well seeing them come and go before him, as their not appearing after his death. I have been informed by a monk of good life that in this hermitage of Amecameca, there appeared to the man of God Saint Francisco and Saint Antonio, who leaving him much comforted departed from his presence."
"Just outside Amecameca, is a hill, rising abruptly from the plain and closely covered with a growth of ancient trees, some of themahuehueteswhich rival those at Chapultepec in size and venerable aspect. This hill is called the Sacro Monte; there is room for thinking that it was sacred to the Aztec deities even before the coming of the Spanish priests, and that they adopted it to carry on the traditions belonging to it. However, this may be, it was one of Fray Martin's favorite retreats for retiring sometimes to an oratory which he had made in a cave on the mountain, to give himself to special exercises of the highest contemplation and rigorous penance. He continued to labor in teaching the Indios, especially boys, for whom he manifested singular love; he remained there but littletime, because in the following year, 1533, he was attacked with the pneumonia which caused his death. This was accompanied by very particular circumstances. A few days before he fell ill, with a few brief words, being in Amecameca, he manifested to his companion that now had arrived the term of his life; and he not having understood this, very soon believed it by seeing the calentura of the servant of God. As the illness increased he was forced to conduct him to the convent of Tlalmanalco, where the evil having declared itself, the holy sacraments were administered. The holy man seeing this case, resolved to bear him to the infirmary of Mexico; and, in fact, upon shoulders of Indians, with much toil, they bore him to the shore at Ayotzinco, two leagues from the pueblo, and laid him in a canoa to carry him by the lake. Scarcely had he entered it when, feeling his hour arriving, he begged them to bring him to land. Yielding to his entreaties, they disembarked, although he was in a dying state, and putting himself upon his knees and causing them to recommend his soul to God, his spirit joined the Lord, falling into the arms of his companion, St. Antonio Ortiz, verifying the prophecy he had made many years before, in Spain, that he was to die in his arms in the middle of a field. As soon as the monks had notice of his death they took his corpse, and with millions of tears of their own and the Indians, gave it sepulture in the church in bare ground, without any precaution to preserve relics so precious. After some time the custodian learned this, and hastening to Tlalmanalco, had him exhumed,and finding him in as good condition as when alive, putting the corpse in a box and separate sepulchre, had a great stone put over it with a corresponding epitaph.
"The body was afterwards secretly moved to the Cave of Amecameca, where it awaits the glorious day of triumph for saints and confusion to reprobates. Many miracles are related of the saint, but more than for these his name will be forever glorious in our country for his great virtues, and above all for the grand services which the order he founded for the glory of God had given to the Mexicans during more than three hundred years."
A further account confirms the devotion with which the Indians, encouraged by thepadres, preserved the relics of the holy father.
"In this cave are guarded, night and day, by the Dominican monks, certain relics of this friar: a leathercelicio, a coarse and rough tunic, and two chasubles of native linen cloth, in which the servant of God said mass; and on the other side is a great box, locked, which serves as the sepulchre of a wooden Christ.... This sainted man died in the year 1534 and was buried in the convent of Tlalmanalco, where his body remained untouched for the space of more than thirty years, since when it has not appeared, nor does any one know where it is nor who disturbed it." In fact, for fifty years the Indians of Amecameca guarded the relics with great devotion, but in secret, passing them from hand to hand, but without giving them up either to Franciscans or Dominicans, until in 1884 they were discovered bythe vicar, who collected them and put them in this chapel of the Sacro Monte.
The Indians of Amecameca and of all the surrounding pueblos greatly reverenced, with strange ceremonies, an image of Christ made by the Indians of Amecameca, and carefully preserved by them year after year. A legend states that long ago certain muleteers who were carrying this image to a southern town, missed the mule upon whose pack it had been placed. When the mule was discovered he was standing quietly in the cave upon the sacred mountain, surrounded by all the people of the town, who, conceiving the Christ had chosen their cave for his abode, purchased the image from the muleteers, and constructed for it in that spot a shrine, where it still remains after three centuries. A great pilgrimage is made to the shrine on the top of the sacred Mount. Every year, in Holy Week and on Ash Wednesday, the image is brought down to the parish church. The annual fair is held at this time in the Market Place, doubtless a continuation of some ancient Aztec festival in honor of the return of the Sun. All the country around assembles, and the culmination of the feast is on Good Friday, when the Christ is returned to his shrine on the mountain.
The good Viceroy Velasco died in 1564, having governed the country for fourteen years. Both Mexicans and Spaniards sincerely mourned his loss, giving him the affectionate title of the Father of the country.
During the government of this ruler and his predecessor all the administration of New Spain, political,civil, and religious was established upon so firm a foundation that it could go on in daily action like a well regulated machine. An interregnum occurred, owing to the death of Velasco, which was filled by the government of the Audiencia, always on hand to come to the surface on such occasions. There were two years in which they had the management, but they did not succeed in very much deranging the harmony so well inaugurated by the two viceroys.
Events in Spain underwent great changes during these years. On the 25th of October, 1555, Charles V., executed an instrument by which he ceded to his son, Philip II., the sovereignty of Flanders. It was in Brussels that the ceremony took place, with all the pomp and solemnity suited to it. On the following 16th of January, in the presence of such of the Spanish nobility as were at the court, the emperor gave up also the sovereignty of Castile and Aragon, and then retired to the Convent of Yuste, weary of the cares of government.
By this act, Philip became master of the most widely extended and powerful monarchy in Europe. He was king of Spain, comprehending under that name Castile, Aragon, and Granada, which, for centuries independent states, had been brought under one sceptre in the reign of his father, Charles V. He was king of Naples and Sicily, duke of Milan, lord of Franche Comté and the Low Countries; he had important possessions in Africa; in the true Indias he owned the Philippine and Spice Islands; and in America, besides his possessions in the West Indies, he was master of Mexico and Peru.
In all this multiplicity of affairs entailed upon thesovereign, Philip II. has maintained the reputation for admirable management, constant attention to public affairs, and the strictest sense of justice. It may well be believed, however, that he had not the same interest in the remote acquisition to his territories which his father had. Charles knew Cortés personally; received the first exciting reports of the discovery of the new country and the rich gifts which were sent him as trophies and specimens of the advantages to be derived from the conquests. Philip had had no part in these things. Much of his early life was passed elsewhere, absorbed in other more closely personal events.
By the time he became king the exciting days of the Conquest were over. Cortés was dead. The government of New Spain was established. The vital interest to the monarch of Spain in his American colonies was to secure the large sums of gold and silver that were expected from them, and the mines of Peru by that time so far exceeded those of Mexico, that the latter had to take a second place.
Rumors of discontent that rose to him from the distant colony sounded to him "like a tale of little meaning, though the words were strong."
Under these circumstances, the character of the viceroys was lowered from the high standard adhered to when Charles the Emperor selected them himself. To follow the long list of them would be most tedious and useless, as they passed in rotation, governing according to the best of their lights for several years in Mexico, and then passing on, either by death or by promotion to Peru.
In 1571 the Inquisition was fully established, the period marked, by the way, with a formidable eruption of Popocatepetl, and the next year the Jesuits arrived.
The matter of the Inquisition had been under discussion for many years, a council, as early as the year 1529, having solemnly declared it to be "most necessary that the Holy Office of the Inquisition shall be extended to this land, because of the commerce with strangers here carried on, and because of the many corsairs abounding upon our coasts, which strangers may bring their evil customs among both natives and Castilians, who, by the grace of God, should be kept free from heresy."
The full fruit of the declaration ripened only in 1570, when Don Pedro Moya de Contreras was appointed Inquisitor-General, with head-quarters in the city of Mexico. The Indians were especially exempted from its jurisdiction, only heretics from other nations falling under the ban.
TheQuemadero, a burning place in the city of Mexico, upon land since included in the Alameda, was a square platform in a large open space, where the spectacle could be witnessed by the population. The firstauto-da-féwas celebrated in the year 1574, when, as its chronicler mentions cheerfully, "there perished twenty-one pestilent Lutherans."
From this time such ceremonies were of frequent occurrence, but the Inquisition never reached the point it did in Old Spain. Although large numbers undoubtedly perished in these,autos-da-fé, the numberof those actually burned to death was comparatively small and insignificant compared to that of the victims to this religious fury in Europe. Early in the present century the Holy Office was suppressed throughout Spain and all Spanish dependencies, and, although the Inquisition was again established, it was only for a short time.
Philip II. died just before the end of the century. With him ends the greatness of Spain, which from that time declined rapidly. Naturally the remote provinces felt the loosening of the firm hand which had controlled them, yet it is to be observed that the viceroys of New Spain under Philip III. were, for the most part, men of judgment and moderation. While the government at home, in the hands of profligate favorites, was growing weaker and weaker, that of Mexico was becoming more firmly established. Spanish blood had descended into a new generation, with Mexican habits, thoughts, and impressions. The national character, as always happens with colonists remote from their origin, was becoming modified into a new shape by change of climate and environment. Meanwhile the Indians were undoubtedly greatly improved by the genial influence of their new religion. They were like children, for it was not the intention of the Church to teach them to think, as they were only too ready to acquire the knowledge of how to obey.
In the beginning of the sixteenth century the city of Mexico was overwhelmed by inundations such as had from time to time caused the Aztecs great trouble. Their works were quite ineffectual againstthe floods which invaded the city, and it was evident that some vigorous measure must be taken. There was question, once more, of removing the whole city to the solid ground of Tacubaya; but this plan was open to great objections.
The engineer Enrico Martinez offered a plan for the rescue of the city which was accepted. It was to reduce the highest of the several lakes belonging to the network in the valley of Mexico, by diverting its waters elsewhere, and thus prevent its overflow. Work was begun in 1607. Fifteen thousand Indians were set to sinking shafts at intervals in order to bore a tunnel, to lead off the water, more than four miles long, and eleven feet wide by thirteen in height. It was completed in eleven months, and the event was celebrated by the presence of the viceroy himself with great pomp, who gave the first stroke with his spade. Mass was said, and there were great rejoicings. This cut was call thedesaguëof Huehuetoca, a small village near the hills of Nochistongo.
The canal proved too small, and several schemes were tried for enlarging and strengthening it, with varying and moderate success. The novelty of the enterprise having worn out, people began to think, during a series of dry years, that the peril from the lakes after all was not so great. The engineer Adrian Boot was sent from Spain to visit the canal of Huehuetoca; having done so, he qualified it as insufficient, in which he shared the opinion of those who had not come so far. He failed in making it more efficacious, for, in 1629, came another inundation.In 1614, the rainy season having set in with unusual violence, Martinez, the engineer, himself gave orders to close the mouth of the tunnel, perhaps to rouse the people to its importance, and the importance of not neglecting it. The result was frightful. The whole city was instantly under water, and for five years it was converted into an unwilling Venice, during which the streets were passable only in boats.
Martinez, who was put in prison for blocking the tunnel, was released in order to open it again. This he did, and erected a strong dyke which afforded some relief, but inundations were always recurring at intervals, until the whole plan of the work was altered by an open cut to replace the tunnel. This work was undertaken vigorously in 1767, and pressed to a conclusion by 1789. Thetajoof Nochistongo, as it is called, can be seen from the Central Railway, whose track runs through it, at an elevation of fifty feet or more above the stream.
Owing to such drainage, and the process of evaporation, the large lake of Texcuco has greatly subsided, and the waters which surrounded Tenochtitlan have given place to nothing more than a marsh.
The lovely river Lerma, which winds through the valley of Toluca, with fine views of a beautiful mountain, the Nevada de Toluca, bears the name of the worthless favorite of Philip III.
This Philip died, and his son, Philip IV., succeeded him, continuing the line of royal favorites, and spending the imported wealth of Mexico and Peru in the extravagances of his court, and the exhaustingdemands of frequent wars with England, Holland, and France. He left the crown to his son, Charles II., who died without an heir in 1700; and then began the troublous wars of the Succession, which involved the whole of Europe. This ended the reign of the house of Austria. The king whose cause triumphed was a Bourbon, Philip V., and Bourbons continued to reign in Spain until the latter half of the present century.
Mexico took no part in the war of succession. When Charles II. died, the ruling viceroy was the Conde de Moctezuma, whose title was from his wife, the great-great-great-granddaughter of the last emperor of the name. Events in Europe caused no disturbance in his mind; he quietly went on ruling, and awaited the result. It has been said that Philip the Bourbon at one time thought of running away from his difficulties at home, and taking refuge in Mexico.
Only one more of the viceroys need be mentioned, the Conde de Revillagigedo, Don Juan Vicente de Güemes Pacheco de Padilla, whose deeds are worth remembering. He found the city in 1787 in a wretched condition, unlighted, undrained, unpaved. Even a part of the viceregal palace was useless, being occupied by the stalls of Indian women selling things to eat, such as tortillas, andmole. The viceroy corrected all these disorders, both in the accounts and the morality of the metropolis.
Revillagigedo was honored for his justice, renowned for his energy, and feared for his severity; at the same time he was extremely eccentric, andmany anecdotes survive of his day. It is said he had the habit, like Montezuma and Haroun al Raschid, of going about incognito, with one or two aides-de-camp, to detect abuses in order to correct them. Walking one evening in the Calle San Francisco, he met a monk taking his pleasure much after the hour permitted for monks to be abroad. The viceroy went directly to the convent, where, on making himself known, he was received by the abbot with all due respect.
"How many monks, father, have you in your convent?" he asked.
"Fifty, your Excellency."
"There are now only forty-nine. Call them over and see which is the missing brother, that his name may be struck out."
The list was produced, the roll was called, and only forty-five monks presented themselves. By the order of the viceroy, when the five appeared they were refused admission to the convent, and never permitted to return.
A poor Indian came to the viceroy and told him he was in difficulty, reproached with stealing some money. He said he had found a bag full of golden ounces in the street, and seeing an advertisement containing the promise of a handsome reward for the finder, he carried them to the person therein mentioned as the owner. The Don received the bag, and counted the ounces. In doing so, not unobserved by the Indian, he slipped two into his pocket, and then accused the poor man of having stolen a part of the money, and turned him out of the house as a thief and a rascal.
The viceroy kept the Indian while he immediately sent for the Don, and asked him to relate the circumstances.
"May it please your Excellency, I lost a bag of gold. This Indian brought it to me in hopes of a reward, but he first stole part of the contents, and I drove him from my house."
"Stay," said the viceroy, "there is some mistake here. How many ounces did you have in your bag?"
"Twenty-eight."
"And how many are there here?"
"Twenty-six."
"Count them down. I see it is as you say. The case is clear, we have all been mistaken. Had the Indian been a thief he would never have brought back the bag and kept two ounces; he would have kept the whole. It is evident this is not your bag, but another which this poor man has found. Continue to search for yours. Good-morning."
And sweeping up the gold pieces he gave them to the Indian to keep for himself.
Many such tales are still current of this kind, eccentric viceroy. He rendered substantial services to the country, and especially to the city of Mexico, which continued to maintain the better standard for cleanliness and order he introduced. Revillagigedo was calumniated and persecuted by certain enemies, and withdrew to Spain in 1794.
Mexico during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries offers no picturesque situations to describe at length. In fact, the history of the country is like some pictures with admirable background and skyfull of clouds and light, the foreground crowded with emotional detail, all of great interest, but absolutely lacking in middle distance.
The early study of Mexico is, to those who can view it from its romantic side, and put up with its troublesome, unpronounceable names, as attractive as the landscape of the plateau, where the two lofty volcanoes, snow-capped, are enhanced by the movement of heavy clouds, and the play of sunshine on their lineaments. In the foreground may be seen well-built cities, with the domes and towers of many a church, regular streets, pleasantplazuelasshaded with trees, bright and perfumed with flowers. Between, there is nothing but a level plain, its monotony scarcely relieved by rows of maguey with stiff, bristling leaves. We will hasten over the uninteresting plain, and come to the emotional foreground.
There were in all sixty-four viceroys, beginning with Don Antonio de Mendoza, 1535, and ending with Juan O'Donojú in 1822. For nearly three centuries they ruled New Spain, and ruled it pretty well, according to their lights and those from whom they received their authority.
In the time of Iturrigaray, very near the close of the viceregal period, a little while before Napoleon invaded Spain, Alexander von Humboldt visited Mexico. He was a close observer of men and customs, as well as of the natural phenomena belonging to his scientific explorations. His account of the country gives a good idea of the state of society in Mexico at the time he was there, and records the progress it had reached under Spanish rule, in the hands of the viceroys. The revolutions, then so soon about to begin, destroyed much of this civilization; from the ruin brought by many a battle and riot, the country is yet but slowly recovering. We may study the description of Humboldt as we might an old daguerreotype, somewhat faded, but preserving forms and images in reality passed away.