Sedeno - Changes In The System Of Government
1534-1555
A slight improvement in the gloomy situation of the people of San Juan
took place when, driven by necessity, they began to dedicate
themselves to agriculture. At this time, too (1535), Juan Castellanos,
the island's attorney at the court, returned with his own family and
75 colonists. Yet scarcely had they had time to settle when they were
invited to remigrate by one of Ponce's old companions.
This was Sedeno, a perfect type of the Spanish adventurer of the
sixteenth century - restless, ambitious, unscrupulous. The king had
made him "contador" (comptroller) of San Juan in 1512 and perpetual
"regidor" (alderman) in 1515. In 1518 we find him in prison under
accusation of having brought a woman and child from a convent in
Sevilla. He broke out of the prison and escaped in a ship. In 1521 he
was in prison again for debt to the Government. On this occasion the
judge auditor wrote to the emperor: " ... It is said of the
comptroller that he has put his hands deep into your Majesty's
treasure. He is the one who causes most strife and unrest in the
island, ... everybody says that it would be well if he were removed."
In 1524 Villasante accused him of malversation of public funds. In
1531 he appears as Governor of Trinidad, accused of capturing natives
of the neighboring continent, branding them and selling them as
slaves. In 1532, reinstated in his post as comptroller, he leaves
Alonzo de la Fuente as his deputy and goes on an expedition to conquer
Trinidad. In 1535 he complains to the emperor that the authorities in
San Juan have not assisted him in his enterprise, and in the following
year the governor and crown officers address a complaint against him
to the empress, saying: "Sedeno presented a schedule authorizing him
to bring 200 men from the Canary Islands to make war with fire and
sword on the Caribs of Trinidad, and permitting him, or any other
person authorized by him, to fit out an expedition for the same
purpose here.
"Under this pretext he has collected people to go to the conquest of
Meta. We wrote to the Audiencia in la Espanola, and an order came
that he should not go beyond the limits of his government, but he
continues his preparations and has already 50 horses and 120 men on
the continent, and is now going with some 200 men more and another 100
horses. He takes no notice of your Majesty's commands, collects people
from all parts without a license, and causes grave injury to the
island, because since the rage for going to Peru began the population
is very scarce and we can not remedy the evil...."
This restless adventurer died of fever on the continent in 1538.
Sedeno's emigration schemes deprived the island of many of its best
settlers. The wish to abandon it was universal. Lando's drastic
measures to prevent it roused the people's anger, and they clamored
for his removal. The Audiencia sent Juan Blasquez as judge auditor,
and Vasco de Tiedra was appointed Lando's successor in 1536. But in
the following year a radical change was made in the system of
government.
The quarrels, the jealousies, and mutual accusations between the
colonists and the Government officials that kept the island in a
continual ferment, were the natural consequence of the prerogatives
exercised by Diego Columbus, which permitted him to fill all lucrative
positions in the island with his own favorites, often without any
regard to their aptitude.
The incessant communications to the emperor, and even to the empress,
on every subject more or less connected with the public service, but
dictated mostly by considerations of self-interest, coming, as they
did, from the smallest and poorest and least important of his
Majesty's possessions, must have been a source of great annoyance to
the imperial ministers, consequently they resolved to remove the
cause. The Admiral was deprived of the prerogative of appointing
governors, and henceforth the alcaldes (mayors) and "chief alguaciles"
(high constables), to be elected from among the colonists by a body of
eight aldermen (regidores), were to exercise the governmental
functions for one year at a time, and could not be reelected till two
years after the first nomination. The wisdom of this innovation was
not generally acknowledged. The crown officers wrote: " ... All are
not agreed on the point whether the governor should or should not be
elected among the residents of the island. For the country's good he
should, no doubt, be a resident."
Alonzo la Fuente was of a different opinion. He wrote in November,
1536: "It has been a great boon to take the appointment of governors
out of the Admiral's hands. As a rule, some neighbor or friend was
made supreme judge, and he usually proceeded with but little regard
for the island's welfare. All the rest were servants and employees of
the Admiral, which caused me much uneasiness, seeing the results.
Appoint a governor, but a man from abroad, not a resident." In the
following year he wrote regarding the elective system just introduced:
" ... If the alcaldes must take cognizance of everything, this will
become a place of confusion and disorder. A few will lord it over all
the rest, and the alcaldes themselves will but be their creatures."
The new system of government was unsatisfactory. Castro and
Castellanos asked for the appointment of a supreme judge in March,
1539, because an appeal to the authorities in la Espanola was made
against every decision of the alcalde. Alderman La Fuente and Martel
confirmed this in December, 1541. They wrote: " ... There is great
want of a supreme judge. More than fifteen homicides have been
committed in less than eight years, and only one of the delinquents
has been punished ..." In January, 1542, the city officers sent a
deputy to lay their grievances before the emperor, not daring to write
them "for their lives," and in February the island's attorney, Alonzo
Molina, stated the causes of the failure of the elective system to be
the ignorance of the laws of those in authority and the reduced number
of electors. "It is necessary," he said, "to name a mayor or governor
who is a man of education and conscience, not a resident, because
the judges have their 'compadres.' The governor must be a man of
whom they stand in fear, and if some one of this class is not sent
soon, he will find few to govern, for the majority intend to abandon
the island."
A law passed, it appears, at the petition of a single individual, in
1542, increased the confusion and discord still more. This law made
the pastures of the island, as well as the woods and waters, public
property. The woods and waters had been considered such from the
beginning, but the pastures, included in the concessions of lands made
at different times by the crown, were private property. The result of
this law was aggression on the part of the landless and resistance on
the part of the proprietors, with the consequent scenes of violence
and civil strife.
Representations against the law were made by the ecclesiastical
chapter, by the city attorney, and by the three crown officers in
February, 1542; but the regidores, on the other hand, insisted on the
compliance with the royal mandate, and reported that when the law was
promulgated, all the possessors of cattle-ranges opposed it, and four
of their body who voted for compliance with the law were threatened to
be stoned to death and have their eyes pulled out. "We asked to have
the circumstance testified to by a notary, and it was refused. We
wanted to write to your Majesty, and to prevent any one conveying our
letters, they bought the whole cargo of the only ship in port, and did
the same with another ship that came in afterward...."
On the 2d of June following they wrote again: " ... An alcalde, two
aldermen, and ten or twelve wealthy cattle-owners wanted to kill us.
We had to lock ourselves up in our houses.... The people here are so
insubordinate that if your Majesty does not send some one to chastise
them and protect his servants, there will soon be no island of San
Juan."
The system of electing annual governors among the residents was
abolished in 1544, and the crown resumed its prerogative with the
appointment of Geronimo Lebron, of la Espanola, as governor for one
year. He died fifteen days after his arrival, and the Audiencia
named licentiate Cervantes de Loayza in his place, who was compelled
to imprison some of the ringleaders in the party of opposition
against the pasture laws. This governor wrote to the emperor in July,
1545: " ... I came to this island with my wife and children to serve
your Majesty, but I found it a prey to incredible violences...."
Cervantes was well received at first, and the city officials asked the
emperor to prorogue his term of office, but as Bishop Bastidas said of
the islanders, it was not in their nature to be long satisfied with
any governor, and the next year they clamored for his "residencia." He
rendered his accounts and came out without blame or censure.
It appears that about the year 1549 the system of electing alcaldes as
governors was resumed, for in that year Bishop Bastidas thanks the
emperor, and tells him "the alcaldes were sufficient, considering the
small population." But in 1550 we again find a governor appointed by
the crown for five years, a Doctor Louis Vallejo, from whose
communications describing the conditions of the island we extract the
following: "It is a pity to see how the island has been ruined by the
attacks of Frenchmen and Caribs. The few people that remain in San
German live in the worst possible places, in swamps surrounded by
rough mountains, a league from the port...." And on the 4th of
December, 1550: " ... The island was in a languishing condition
because the mines gave out, but now, with the sugar industry, it is
comparatively prosperous. The people beg your Majesty's protection."
However, in October, 1553, we find Bishop Alonzo la Fuente and others
addressing King Philip II, and telling him that "the land is in great
distress, ... traffic has ceased for fear of the corsairs...." The
same complaints continue during 1554 and 1555. Then Vallejo is
subjected to "residencia" by the new governor, Estevez, who, after a
few months' office, is "residentiated" in his turn by Caraza, who had
been governor in 1547.
After this the chronicles are so scanty that not even the diligent
researches of Friar Abbad's commentator enabled him to give any
reliable information regarding the government of the island. It
remained the almost defenseless point of attack for the nations with
which Spain was constantly at war, and this small but bright pearl in
her colonial crown was preserved only by fortunate circumstances on
the one hand and the loyalty of the inhabitants on the other.
More
-
Agriculture In Puerto Rico
After the cessation of the gold produce, when the colonists were forced by necessity to dedicate themselves to agriculture, they met with many adverse conditions: The incursions of the Caribs, the hurricanes of 1530 and 1537, the emigration to Pe... Attack On San Juan By The Hollanders Under Bowdoin
1625 Holland emancipated itself from Spanish domination in 1582 and assumed the title of "the United Provinces of Netherland." After nearly half a century of an unequal struggle with the most powerful kingdom in Europe, the people's faith in fina... Attacks By French Privateers - Cause Of The War With France - Charles V - Ruin Of The Island
1520-1556 The depredations committed by the privateers, which about this time began to infest the Antilles and prey upon the Spanish possessions, were a result of the wars with almost every nation in Europe, in which Spain became involved after t... Auriferous Streams And Gold Produced From
1509 TO 1536 If a systematic exploration were practised to-day, by competent mineralogists, of the entire chain of mountains which intersects the island from east to west, it is probable that lodes of gold-bearing quartz or conglomerate, worth wo... British Attacks On Puerto Rico - Siege Of San Juan By Sir Ralph Abercrombie
1678-1797 The entente cordiale which had existed between England under Charles I and Spain under Philip IV ceased with the tragic death of the first-named monarch. Immediately after Cromwell's elevation both France and Spain made overtures for... Calamities - Ponce's Second Expedition To Florida And Death
1520-1537 Among the calamities referred to by Friar Abbad as visitations of Providence was one which the Spaniards had brought upon themselves. Another epidemic raged principally among the Indians. In January, 1519, the Jerome friars wrote to the... Commerce And Finances
Until the year 1813 the captains-general of Puerto Rico had the superintendence of the revenues. The capital was the only authorized port open to commerce. No regular books were kept by the authorities. A day-book of duties paid and expended was all... Decline Of Spain's Power - Buccaneers And Filibusters
1625-1780 The power of Spain received its death-blow during the course of the war with England. The destruction of the Armada and of the fleets subsequently equipped by Philip II for the invasion of Ireland were calamities from which Spain never ... Defenseless Condition Of The Island - Construction Of Fortifications And Circumvallation Of San Juan
1555-1641 San German disappeared for want of means of defense, and if the French privateers of the time had been aware that the forts in San Juan were without guns or ammunition it is probable that this island would have become a French possessio... Depopulation Of The Island - Preventive Measures - Introduction Of Negro Slaves
1515-1534 The natural consequence of natural calamities and invasions was the rapid disappearance of the natives. "The Indians are few and serve badly," wrote Sedeno in 1515, about the same time that the crown officers, to explain the diminution ... 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 ... Drake's Attack On San Juan
1595 Of all the English freebooters that preyed upon Spain and her colonies from the commencement of the war in 1585 to the signing of peace in 1604, Francis Drake was the greatest scourge and the most feared. Drake early distinguished himself ... Education In Puerto Rico
In Chapter XXIII of this history we gave an extract from his Excellency Alexander O'Reilly's report to King Charles IV, wherein, referring to the intellectual status of the inhabitants of Puerto Rico in 1765, he informs his Majesty that there were o... First Distribution Of Indians Repartimientos
1510 Soon after Ponce's return from la Espanola Guaybana sickened and died. Up to this time the harmony established by the prudent cacique between his tribesmen and the Spaniards on their first arrival had apparently not been disturbed. There is ... General Condition Of The Island
FROM 1815 TO 1833 That Ferdinand should, while engaged in cruel persecution of his best subjects in the Peninsula, think of dictating liberal laws for this island is an anomaly which can be explained only by its small political importance. In ... Growth Of Cities
The proceedings in the formation of a Spanish settlement in the sixteenth century were the same everywhere. For the choice of a site the presence of gold was a condition sine qua non, without gold, no matter how beautiful or fertile the region, no s... Increase Of Population
ALL statements of definite numbers with respect to the aboriginal population of this island are essentially fabulous. Columbus touched at only one port on the western shore. He remained there but a few days and did not come in contact with the inhab... Incursions Of Fugitive Boriquen Indians And Caribs
1530-1582 The conquest of Boriquen was far from being completed with the death of Guaybana. The panic which the fall of a chief always produces among savages prevented, for the moment, all organized resistance on the part of Guaybana's followe... Invasions By Colombian Insurgents
1797-1829 The raising of the siege of San Juan by Abercrombie did not raise at the same time the blockade of the island. Communications with the metropolis were cut off, and the remittances from Mexico which, under the appellation of "situados," ... 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. Th... Libraries And The Press
Books for the people were considered by the Spanish colonial authorities to be of the nature of inflammable or explosive substances, which it was not safe to introduce freely. From their point of view, they were right. The Droits de l'homme of Je... Negro Slavery In Puerto Rico
From the early days of the conquest the black race appeared side by side with the white race. Both supplanted the native race, and both have marched parallel ever since, sometimes separately, sometimes mixing their blood. The introduction of Afri... Number Of Aboriginal Inhabitants And Second Distribution Of Indians
1511-1515 Friar Bartolome de Las Casas, in his Relation of the Indies, says with reference to this island, that when the Spaniards under the orders of Juan Ceron landed here in 1509, it was as full of people as a beehive is full of bees and as be... Occupation And Evacuation Of San Juan By Lord George Cumberland
Puerto Rico and his Majesty's treasure were now safe. When there was no longer any fear of the enemy's return, haste was made to reembark the money and get rid of General Sancho and Tello and their men who were fast consuming the island's scanty res... Origin And Character Of The Modern Inhabitants Of Puerto Rico
During the initial period of conquest and colonization, no Spanish females came to this or any other of the conquered territories. Soldiers, mariners, monks, and adventurers brought no families with them; so that by the side of the aboriginals and t... Origin Character And Customs Of The Primitive Inhabitants Of Boriquen
The origin of the primitive inhabitants of the West Indian Archipelago has been the subject of much learned controversy, ending, like all such discussions, in different theories and more or less verisimilar conjecture. It appears that at the time... Political Events In Spain And Their Influence On Affairs In Puerto Rico
1833-1874 THE French Revolution of 1830 and the expulsion of Charles X revived the hopes of the liberal party in Spain, which party the bigoted absolutism of the king and his minister had vainly endeavored to exterminate. The liberals saluted tha... Ponce And Ceron
1500-1511 Friar Inigo Abbad, in his History of the Island San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico, gives the story of the discovery in a very short chapter, and terminates it with the words: "Columbus sailed for Santo Domingo November 22, 1493, and thou... Review Of The Social Conditions In Puerto Rico And The Political Events In Spain From
1765 TO 1820 After the conquest of Mexico and Peru with their apparently inexhaustible mineral wealth, Spain attached very little importance to the archipelago of the Antilles. The largest and finest only of these islands were selected for coloni... Sedeno - Changes In The System Of Government
1534-1555 A slight improvement in the gloomy situation of the people of San Juan took place when, driven by necessity, they began to dedicate themselves to agriculture. At this time, too (1535), Juan Castellanos, the island's attorney at the cour... Situation And General Appearance Of Puerto Rico
The island of Puerto Rico, situated in the Atlantic Ocean, is about 1,420 miles from New York, 1,000 miles from Havana, 1,050 miles from Key West, 1,200 miles from Panama, 3,450 miles from Land's End in England, and 3,180 from the port of Cadiz. It ... The Caribs
The origin of the Caribs, their supposed cannibalism and other customs have occasioned much controversy among West Indian chroniclers. The first question is undecided, and probably will remain so forever. With regard to cannibalism, in spite of the ... The Dawn Of Freedom
1874-1898 The Spanish Republic was but short lived. From the day of its proclamation (February 11, 1873) to the landing in Barcelona of Alphonso XII in the early days of 1876 its history is the record of an uninterrupted series of popular tumults... The Departure
1493 Eight centuries of a gigantic struggle for supremacy between the Crescent and the Cross had devastated the fairest provinces of the Spanish Peninsula. Boabdil, the last of the Moorish kings, had delivered the keys of Granada into the hands o... The Discovery
1493 THE first island discovered on this voyage lies between 14 deg. and 15 deg. north latitude, near the middle of a chain of islands of different sizes, intermingled with rocks and reefs, which stretches from Trinidad, near the coast of Venezue... The Inquisition
1520-1813 Bishop Manso, on his arrival in 1513, found Puerto Rico in a state bordering on anarchy, and after vain attempts to check the prevalent immorality and establish the authority of the Church, he returned to Spain in 1519. The account he g... The Jibaro Or Puerto Rican Peasant
"There is in this island a class of inhabitants, not the least numerous by any means, who dwell in swamps and marshes, live on vegetables, and drink muddy water." So wrote Dr. Richard Rey a couple of decades ago, and, although, under the changed pol... The Rebellion
1511 The sullen but passive resistance of the Indians was little noticed by the Spaniards, who despised them too much to show any apprehension; but the number of fugitives to the mountains and across the sea increased day by day, and it soon beca... The Rebellion Continued
1511 Salazar's arrival at Caparra with a handful of wounded and exhausted men revealed to Ponce the danger of his situation. Ponce knew that it was necessary to strike a bold blow, and although, including the maimed and wounded, he had but 120 me... The Regular And Secular Clergy
In Catholic countries the monastic orders constitute the regular clergy. The secular clergy is not bound by monastic rules. Both classes exercise their functions independently, the former under the authority of their respective superiors or generals... 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... West Indian Hurricanes In Puerto Rico From
1515 TO 1899 Whoever has witnessed the awful magnificence of what the primitive inhabitants of the West Indian islands called ou-ra-can, will never forget the sense of his own utter nothingness and absolute helplessness. With the wind rushing at ...