The History of Puerto Rico by R.A. Van Middeldyk

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FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 20: The king's favorites in the metropolis, anxious to
enrich themselves by these means, obtained grants of Indians and sent
their stewards to administer them. Thus, in la Espanola, Conehillos,
the secretary, had 1,100 Indians; Bishop Fonseca, 800; Hernando de la
Vega, 200, and many others, "The Indians thus disposed of were, as a
rule, the worst treated," says Las Casas.]

CHAPTER VIII

LAWS AND ORDINANCES

1511-1515

We have seen how Diego Columbus suspended Ponce in his functions as
governor _ad interim_, and how the captain after obtaining from the
king his appointment as permanent governor sent the Admiral's nominees
prisoners to the metropolis. The king, though inclined to favor the
captain, submitted the matter to his Indian council, which decided
that the nomination of governors and mayors over the islands
discovered by Christopher Columbus corresponded to his son. As a
consequence, Ceron and Diaz were reinstated in their respective
offices, and they were on their way back to San Juan a few months
after Ponce's final success over the rebellious Indians.

Before their departure from Spain they received the following
instructions, characteristic of the times and of the royal personage
who imparted them:

"1. You will take over your offices very peaceably, endeavoring to
gain the good-will of Ponce and his friends, that they may become
_your_ friends also, to the island's advantage.

"2. This done, you will attend to the 'pacification' of the Indians.

"3. Let many of them be employed in the mines and be well treated.

"4. Let many Indians be brought from the other islands and be well
treated. Let the officers of justice be favored (in the distributions
of Indians).

"5. Be very careful that no meat is eaten in Lent or other fast days,
as has been done till now in la Espanola.

"6. Let those who have Indians occupy a third of their number in the
mines.

"7. Let great care be exercised in the salt-pits, and one real be paid
for each celemin[21] extracted, as is done in la Espanola.

"8. Send me a list of the number and class of Indians distributed, if
Ponce has not done so already, and of those who have distinguished
themselves in this rebellion.

"9. You are aware that ever since the sacraments have been
administered in these islands, storms and earthquakes have ceased. Let
a chapel be built at once with the advocation of Saint John the
Baptist, and a monastery, though it be a small one, for Franciscan
friars, whose doctrine is very salutary.

"10. Have great care in the mines and continually advise Pasamonte
(the treasurer) or his agent of what happens or what may be necessary.

"11. Take the youngest Indians and teach them the Christian doctrine;
they can afterward teach the others with better results.

"12. Let there be no swearing or blasphemy; impose heavy penalties
thereon.

"13. Do not let the Indians be overloaded, but be well treated rather.

"14. Try to keep the Caribs from coming to the island, and report what
measures it will be advisable to adopt against them. To make the
natives do what is wanted, it will be convenient to take from them,
with cunning (con mana), all the canoes they possess.

"15. You will obey the contents of these instructions until further
orders.

Tordesillas, 25th of July, 1511.

F., King."

It is clear from the above instructions that, in the king's mind,
there was no inconsistency in making the Indians work in the mines and
their good treatment. There can be no doubt that both he and Dona
Juana, his daughter, who, as heir to her mother, exercised the royal
authority with him, sincerely desired the well-being of the natives as
far as compatible with the exigencies of the treasury.

For the increase of the white population and the development of
commerce and agriculture, liberal measures, according to the ideas of
the age, were dictated as early as February, 1511, when the same
commercial and political franchises were granted to San Juan as to la
Espanola.

On July 25th the price of salt, the sale of which was a royal
monopoly, was reduced by one-half, and in October of the same year the
following rights and privileges were decreed by the king and published
by the crown officers in Seville:

"1st. Any one may take provisions and merchandise to San Juan, which
is now being settled, and reside there with the same freedom as in la
Espanola.

"2d. Any Spaniard may freely go to the Indies--that is, to la
Espanola and to San Juan--by simply presenting himself to the
officials in Seville, _without giving any further information_ (about
himself).

"3d. Any Spaniard may take to the Indies what arms he wishes,
notwithstanding the prohibition.

"4th. His Highness abolishes the contribution by the owners of one
'castellano' for every Indian, they possess.

"5th. Those to whom the Admiral grants permission to bring Indians
(from other islands) and who used to pay the fifth of their value (to
the royal treasurer) shall be allowed to bring them free.

"6th. Indians once given to any person shall never be taken from him,
except for delinquencies, punishable by forfeiture of property.

"7th. This disposition reduces the king's share in the produce of the
gold-mines from one-fifth and one-ninth to one-fifth and one-tenth,
and extends the privilege of working them from one to two years.

"8th. Whosoever wishes to conquer any part of the continent or of the
gulf of pearls, may apply to the officials in Seville, who will give
him a license, etc."

The construction of a smelting oven for the gold, of hospitals and
churches for each new settlement, the making of roads and bridges and
other dispositions, wise and good in themselves, were also decreed;
but they became new causes of affliction for the Indians, inasmuch as
_they_ paid for them with their labor. For example: to the man who
undertook to construct and maintain a hospital, 100 Indians were
assigned. He hired them out to work in the mines or on the
plantations, and with the sums thus received often covered more than
the expense of maintaining the hospital.

The curious medley of religious zeal, philanthropy, and gold-hunger,
communicated the first governors under the title of "instructions" did
not long keep them in doubt as to which of the three--the observance
of religious practises, the kind treatment of the natives, or the
remittance of gold--was most essential to secure the king's favor. It
was not secret that the monarch, in his _private_ instructions, went
straight to the point and wasted no words on religious or humanitarian
considerations, the proof of which is his letter to Ponce, dated
November 11, 1509. "I have seen your letter of August 16th. Be very
diligent in searching for gold. Take out as much as you can, and
having smolten it in la Espanola, send it at once. Settle the island
as best you can. Write often and let Us know what happens and what may
be necessary."

It was but natural, therefore, that the royal recommendations of
clemency remained a dead letter, and that, under the pressure of the
incessant demand for gold, the Indians were reduced to the most abject
state of misery.

[Illustration: Columbus monument, near Aguadilla.]

Until the year 1512 the Indians remained restless and subordinate, and
in July, 1513, the efforts of the rulers in Spain to ameliorate their
condition were embodied in what are known as the Ordinances of
Valladolid.

These ordinances, after enjoining a general kind treatment of the
natives, recommend that small pieces of land be assigned to them on
which to cultivate corn, yucca, cotton, etc., and raise fowls for
their own maintenance. The "encomendero," or master, was to construct
four rustic huts for every 50 Indians. They were to be instructed in
the doctrines of the Christian religion, the new-born babes were to be
baptized, polygamy to be prohibited. They were to attend mass with
their masters, who were to teach one young man in every forty to read.
The boys who served as pages and domestic servants were to be taught
by the friars in the convents, and afterward returned to the estates
to teach the others. The men were not to carry excessively heavy
loads. Pregnant women were not to work in the mines, nor was it
permitted to beat them with sticks or whips under penalty of five gold
pesos. They were to be provided with food, clothing, and a hammock.
Their "areytos" (dances) were not to be interrupted, and inspectors
were to be elected among the Spaniards to see that all these and
former dispositions were complied with, and all negligence on the part
of the masters severely punished.

The credit for these well-intentioned ordinances undoubtedly belongs
to the Dominican friars, who from the earliest days of the conquest
had nobly espoused the cause of the Indians and denounced the
cruelties committed on them in no measured terms.

Friar Antonia Montesinos, in a sermon preached in la Espanola in 1511,
which was attended by Diego Columbus, the crown officers, and all the
notabilities, denounced their proceedings with regard to the Indians
so vehemently that they left the church deeply offended, and that same
day intimated to the bishop the necessity of recantation, else the
Order should leave the island. The bishop answered that Montesinos had
but expressed the opinion of the whole community; but that, to allay
the scandal among the lower class of Spaniards in the island, the
father would modify his accusations in the next sermon. When the day
arrived the church was crowded, but instead of recantation, the
intrepid monk launched out upon fresh animadversion, and ended by
saying that he did so in the service not of God only, but of the king.

The officials were furious. Pasamonte, the treasurer, the most
heartless destroyer of natives among all the king's officers, wrote,
denouncing the Dominicans as rebels, and sent a Franciscan friar to
Spain to support his accusation. The king was much offended, and when
Montesinos and the prior of his convent arrived in Madrid to
contradict Pasamonte's statements, they found the doors of the palace
closed against them. Nothing daunted and imbued with the true
apostolic spirit, they made their way, without asking permission, to
the royal presence, and there advocated the cause of the Indians so
eloquently that Ferdinand promised to have the matter investigated
immediately. A council of theologians and jurists was appointed to
study the matter and hear the evidence on both sides; but they were so
long in coming to a decision that Montesinos and his prior lost
patience and insisted on a resolution, whereupon they decided that the
distributions were legal in virtue of the powers granted by the Holy
See to the kings of Castilla, and that, if it was a matter of
conscience at all, it was one for the king and his councilors, and not
for the officials, who simply obeyed orders. The two Dominicans were
ordered to return to la Espanola, and by the example of their virtues
and mansuetude stimulate those who might be inclined to act wickedly.

The royal conscience was not satisfied, however, with the sophistry of
his councilors, and as a quietus to it, the _well-meaning_ ordinances
just cited were enacted. They, too, remained a dead letter, and not
even the scathing and persevering denunciations of Las Casas, who
continued the good work begun by Montesinos, could obtain any
practical improvement in the lot of the Indians until it was too late,
and thousands of them had been crushed under the heel of the
conqueror.

* * * * *

King Ferdinand's efforts to make Puerto Rico a prosperous colony were
rendered futile by the dissensions between the Admiral's and his own
partizans and the passions awakened by the favoritism displayed in the
distribution of Indians. That the king took a great interest in the
colonization of the island is shown by the many ordinances and decrees
issued all tending to that end. He gave special licenses to people in
Spain and in Santo Domingo to establish themselves in Puerto Rico.[22]
In his minute instructions to Ponce and his successors he regulated
every branch of the administration, and wrote to Ceron and Diaz: " ...I
wish this island well governed and peopled as a special affair of
mine." On a single day (February 26, 1511) he made, among others of a
purely private character, the following public dispositions: "That the
tithes and 'primicias'" [23] should be paid in kind only; that the
fifth part of the output of the mines should be paid only during the
first ten years; that he ceded to the colony for the term of four
years all fines imposed by the courts, to be employed in the
construction of roads and bridges; that the traffic between San Juan
and la Espanola should be free, and that this island should enjoy the
same rights and privileges as the other; that no children or
grandchildren of people executed or burned for crimes or heresy should
be admitted into the colony, and that an exact account should be sent
to him of all the colonists, caciques, and Indians and their
distribution.

He occupied himself with the island's affairs with equal interest up
to the time of his death, in 1516. He made it a bishopric in 1512. In
1513 he disposed that the colonists were to build houses of adobe,
that is, of sun-dried bricks; that all married men should send for
their wives, and that useful trees should be planted. In 1514 he
prohibited labor contracts, or the purchase or transfer of slaves or
Indians "encomendados" (distributed). Finally, in 1515, he provided
for the defense of the island against the incursions of the Caribs.

If these measures did not produce the desired result, it was due to
the discord among the colonists, created by the system of
"repartimientos" introduced in an evil hour by Columbus, a system
which was the poisoned source of most of the evils that have afflicted
the Antilles.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 21: The twelfth part of a "fanega," equal to about two
gallons, dry measure.]

[Footnote 22: Cedulas de vecindad.]

[Footnote 23: First-fruits.]

CHAPTER IX

THE RETURN OF CERON AND DIAZ--PONCE'S FIRST EXPEDITION TO FLORIDA

1511-1515

Ceron and Diaz returned to San Juan in November, 1511.

Before their departure from Seville they received sundry marks of
royal favor. Among these was permission to Diaz and his wife to wear
silken garments, and to transfer to San Juan the 40 Indians they
possessed in la Espanola.

We have seen that the first article of the king's instructions to them
enjoins the maintenance of friendly relations with Ponce, and in the
distribution of Indians to favor those who had distinguished
themselves in the suppression of the revolt.

They did nothing of the kind.

Their first proceeding was to show their resentment at the summary
treatment they had received at the captain's hands by depriving him of
the administration of the royal granges, the profits of which he
shared with King Ferdinand, because, as his Highness explained to
Pasamente in June, 1511, "Ponce received no salary as captain of the
island."

They next sent a lengthy exposition to Madrid, accusing the captain of
maladministration of the royal domain, and, to judge by the tenor of
the king's letter to Ponce, dated in Burgos on the 23d of February,
1512, they succeeded in influencing him to some extent against his
favorite, though not enough to deprive him of the royal patronage. "I
am surprised," wrote the king, "at the small number of Indians and the
small quantity of gold from our mines. The fiscal will audit your
accounts, that you may be at liberty for the expedition to Bemini,
which some one else has already proposed to me; but I prefer _you_, as
I wish to recompense your services and because I believe that you will
serve us better there than in our grange in San Juan, _in which you
have proceeded with some negligence_."

In the redistribution of Indians which followed, Ceron and Diaz
ignored the orders of the sovereign and openly favored their own
followers to the neglect of the conquerors', whose claims were prior,
and whose wounds and scars certainly entitled them to consideration.
This caused such a storm of protest and complaint against the doings
of his proteges that Diego Columbus was forced to suspend them and
appoint Commander Moscoso in their place.

This personage only made matters worse. The first thing _he_ did was
to practise another redistribution of Indians. This exasperated
everybody to such an extent that the Admiral found it necessary to
come to San Juan himself. He came, accompanied by a numerous suite of
aspirants to different positions, among them Christopher Mendoza, the
successor of Moscoso (1514). After the restoration of Ceron and Diaz
in their offices, Ponce quietly retired to his residence in Caparra.
He was wealthy and could afford to bide his time, but the spirit of
unrest in him chafed under this forced inaction. The idea of
discovering the island, said to exist somewhere in the northwestern
part of these Indies, where wonderful waters flowed that restored old
age to youth and kept youth always young, occupied his mind more and
more persistently, until, having obtained the king's sanction, he
fitted out an expedition of three ships and sailed from the port of
Aguada March 3, 1512.

Strange as it may seem, that men like Ponce, Zuniga, and the other
leading expeditionists should be glad of an opportunity to risk their
lives and fortunes in the pursuit of a chimera, it must be remembered
that the island of Bemini itself was not a chimera.

The followers of Columbus, the majority of them ignorant and
credulous, had seen a mysterious new world rise, as it were, from the
depths of the ocean. As the islands, one after the other, appeared
before their astonished eyes, they discovered real marvels each day.
The air, the land, the sea, were full of them. The natives pointed in
different directions and spoke of other islands, and the adventurers'
imaginations peopled them with fancied wonders. There was, according
to an old legend, a fountain of perennial youth somewhere in the
world, and where was it more likely to be found than in this hitherto
unknown part of it?

Ponce and his companions believed in its existence as firmly as, some
years later, Ferdinand Pizarro believed in the existence of El Dorado
and the golden lake of Parime.

The expedition touched at Guanakani on the 14th of March, and on the
27th discovered what Ponce believed to be the island of which he was
in search. On April 2d Ponce landed and took possession in the king's
name. The native name of the island was Cansio or Cautix, but the
captain named it "la Florida," some say because he found it covered
with the flowers of spring; others, because he had discovered it on
Resurrection day, called "Pascua Florida" by the Spanish Catholics.

The land was inhabited by a branch of the warlike Seminole Indians,
who disputed the Spaniards' advance into the interior. No traces of
gold were found, nor did the invaders feel themselves rejuvenated,
when, after a wearisome march or fierce fight with the natives, they
bathed in, or drank of, the waters of some stream or spring. They had
come to a decidedly inhospitable shore, and Ponce, after exploring the
eastern and southern littoral, and discovering the Cayos group of
small islands, turned back to San Juan, where he arrived in the
beginning of October, "looking much older," says the chronicler, "than
when he went in search of rejuvenation."

Two years later he sailed for the Peninsula and anchored in Bayona in
April, 1514. King Ferdinand received him graciously and conferred on
him the titles of Adelantado of Bemini and la Florida, with civil and
criminal jurisdiction on land and sea. He also made him commander of
the fleet for the destruction of the Caribs, and perpetual "regidor"
(prefect) of San Juan Bautista _de Puerto Rico_. This last surname
for the island began to be used in official documents about this time
(October, 1514).

The fleet for the destruction of the Caribs consisted of three
caravels. With these, Ponce sailed from Betis on May 14, 1515,[24] and
reached the Leeward Islands in due course. In Guadeloupe, one of the
Carib strongholds, he landed a number of men without due precaution.
They were attacked by the natives. Fifteen of them were wounded, four
of whom died. Some women who had been sent ashore to wash the soiled
linen were carried off. Ponce's report of the event was laconic: "I
wrote from San Lucas and from la Palma," he writes to the king (August
7th to 8th). "In Guadeloupe, while taking in water the Indians wounded
some of my men. They shall be chastised." Haro, one of the crown
officers in San Juan, informed the king afterward of all the
circumstances of the affair, and added: "He (Ponce) left the (wounded)
men in a deserted island on this side, which is Santa Cruz, and now he
sends a captain, instead of going himself ..."

Ponce's third landing occurred June 15, 1515. He found the island in a
deplorable condition. Discontent and disorder were rampant. The king
had deprived Diego Columbus of the right to distribute Indians
(January 23, 1513), and had commissioned Pasamonte to make a new
distribution in San Juan. The treasurer had delegated the task to
licentiate Sancho Velasquez, who received at the same time power to
audit the accounts of all the crown officers. The redistribution was
practised in September, 1514, with no better result than the former
ones. It was impossible to satisfy the demands of all. The
discontented were mostly Ponce's old companions, who overwhelmed the
king with protests, while Velasquez defended himself, accusing Ponce
and his friends of turbulence and exaggerated ambition.

As a consequence of all this strife and discord, the Indians were
turned over from one master to another, distributed like cattle over
different parts of the islands, and at each change their lot became
worse.

Still, there were large numbers of them that had never yet been
subjugated. Some, like the caciques of Humacao and Daguao, who
occupied the eastern and southeastern parts of the island, had agreed
to live on a peace footing with the Spaniards, but Ponce's impolitic
proceeding in taking by force ten men from the village of the
first-named chief caused him and his neighbor of Daguao to burn their
villages and take to the mountains in revolt. Many other natives had
found a comparatively safe refuge in the islands along the coast, and
added largely to the precarious situation by pouncing on the Spanish
settlements along the coast when least expected. Governor Mendoza
undertook a punitive expedition to Vieques, in which the cacique
Yaureibo was killed; but the Indians had lost that superstitious dread
of the Spaniards and of their weapons that had made them submit at
first, and they continued their incursions, impeding the island's
progress for more than a century.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 24: Washington Irving says January.]

CHAPTER X

DISSENSIONS--TRANSFER OF THE CAPITAL

1515-1520

The total number of Spaniards in the island at the time of the
rebellion did not exceed 200. Of these, between 80 and 100 were killed
by the Indians. The survivors were reenforced, first by the followers
of Ceron and Diaz, then by some stray adventurers who accompanied
Diego Columbus on his visit to the island. We may assume, therefore,
with Mr. Acosta,[25] that at the time of which we write the Spanish
population numbered about 400, who Arango, in a memorial addressed to
the Cardinal Regent, classifies as Government officials, old
conquerors, new hirelings, and "marranos hijos de reconciliados,"
which, translated, means, "vile brood of pardoned criminals," the
latter being, in all probability, the immigrants into whose
antecedents the king had recommended his officers in Seville not to
inquire.

This population was divided into different hostile parties. The most
powerful at the time was Ponce's party, led by Sedeno, the auditor,
and Villafranca, the treasurer; opposed to whom were the partizans of
Ceron and Diaz, the proteges of the Admiral, and those who had found
favor with Velasquez, all of them deadly enemies because of the
unequal division among them of the unhappy Indians.

The expedition to Florida and the honors conferred upon him by the
king naturally enhanced Ponce's prestige among his old companions.
Diego Columbus himself was fain to recognize the superior claim of him
who now presented himself with the title Adelantado of Bemini and
Florida, so that the captain's return to office was effected without
opposition.

With his appointment as perpetual prefect, Ponce assumed the right to
make a redistribution of Indians, but could not exercise it, because
Sancho Velasquez had made one, as delegate of Pasamonte, only the year
before (September, 1515).

In virtue of his special appointment as judge auditor of the accounts
of all the crown officers, he had condemned Ponce during his absence
to pay 1,352 gold pesos for shortcomings in his administration of the
royal estates.[26]

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