Iturrigaray was exceedingly well received in Mexico, where his reputation as an eminent servant of the crown preceded him. Shortly after his arrival he undertook a journey to the interior, in order to examine personally into the condition of the mining districts; and, after his return to the capital, he devoted himself to the ordinary routine of colonial administration until it became necessary, in consequence of the breaking out of the war, between Spain and England, to adopt measures for the protection of his viceroyalty. In consequence of this rupture Iturrigaray received orders from the court to put the country in a state of complete defence, and accordingly, he gathered, in haste the troops of Mexico, Puebla, Peroté, Jalapa and Vera Cruz, and, descending several times to the latter place, personally inspected all the encampments and garrisons along the route. Besides this, he made a rapid military reconnoissance of the country along the coast and the chief highways to the interior. The road from Vera Cruz to Mexico was constructed in the best manner under his orders, and the celebrated bridge called El Puente del rey, now known as El Puente Nacional, was finally completed.
These preparations were designed not only to guard New Spain from the invasions of the English, but also, from a dreaded attack by the people of the United States. This fear seems to have been fostered by the Marques de Casa Irujo who was Spanish envoy in Washington at this epoch, and informed the government that the menaced expedition against Mexico, would throw twenty thousand men upon her shores. Nor was the attention of Iturrigaray diverted from the enterprise which was projected by Don Francisco Miranda to secure the independence of Caraccas; and although the scheme failed, it appears to have aroused the whole of Spanish America to assert and maintain its rights.
It was during the government of this viceroy, that the celebrated Baron Humboldt, visited Mexico,—by permission of the patriotic minister D'Urquijo,—authorized, by the home government, to examine its dominions and their archives, and to receive from the colonial authorities all the information they possessed in regard to America. He was the first writer who developed the resources or described the condition of the Spanish portion of our continent, which, until that time, had been studiously veiled from the examination of all strangers who were likely to reveal their knowledge to the world.
In 1806, the news of the destruction of the combined fleets in the waters of Cadiz became known in Mexico, and the resident Spaniards, exhibiting a lively sympathy with the mother country in this sad affliction, collected upwards of thirty thousand dollars for the widows of their brave companions who had fallen in action. Meanwhile, the war in Europe was not only destroying the subjects of the desperate belligerants, but was rapidly consuming their national substance. In this state of things America was called upon to contribute for the maintenance of a bloody struggle in which she had no interest save that of loyal dependence. Taxes, duties, and exactions of all sorts were laid upon the Mexicans, and, under this dread infliction, the domestic and foreign trade languished notwithstanding the extraordinary yield of the mines, which, in 1805, sent upwards of twenty millions into circulation. Of all the royal interferences with Mexican interests and capital, none seems to have been more vexatiously unpopular, than the decree for the consolidation of the capitals of obras pias, or, charitable and pious revenues, which was issued by the court; and Iturrigaray, as the executive officer employed in this consolidation, drew upon himself the general odium of all the best classes in the colony.
Charles IV. fell before the revolutionary storm in Europe, and signed his abdication on the 9th of August, 1808, in favor of his son Ferdinand VII. But the weak and irresolute monarch soon protested against this abdication, alleging that the act had been extorted from him by threats against his life; and, whilst the Supreme council of Spain was examining into the validity of Charles's renunciation, and Ferdinand was treating his father's protest with contempt, Napoleon, who had steadily advanced to supreme power after the success of the French revolution, took prompt advantage of the dissentions in the peninsula, and, making himself master of it, seated his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. As soon as Joseph was firmly placed in power, Ferdinand congratulated him upon his elevation, and ordered all his Spanish and colonial subjects to recognize the upstart king. But the servility of Ferdinand to the ascending star of European power did not meet with obedience from the people of Mexico, who, resolving to continue loyal to their legitimate sovereign, forthwith proclaimed Ferdinand VII. throughout New Spain. The conduct of the colonists was secretly approved by the dissembling monarch, although he ratified a decree of the Council of the Indies, commanding the Mexicans to obey Joseph. The natives of the Peninsula, dwelling in New Spain, were nearly all opposed to the Bourbons and faithful to the French propagandists, whilst the creoles, or American natives denounced the adherents of Joseph and burned the proclamation which declared him to be their king. The orders received at this period by Iturrigaray from Ferdinand, Joseph, and the Council of the Indies, were, of course, all in conflict with each other; and, in order to relieve himself from the political dilemma in which he was placed by these mixed commands, Iturrigaray determined to summon a Junta of Notable Persons, similar to that of Seville, which was to be composed of the viceroy, the archbishop of Mexico and representatives from the army, the nobility, the principal citizens and the ayuntamiento of the capital. But inasmuch as this plan of concord leaned in favor of the people, by proposing to place the creoles of America upon an equality with the natives of Spain, the old hatred or jealousy between the races was at once aroused. The Europeans, who composed the partisans of France, headed by Don Gabriel Yermo, a rich Spaniard and proprietor of some of the finest sugar estates in the valley of Cuernavaca, at once resolved to frustrate the viceroy's design. Arming themselves hastily, they proceeded, on the night of the 15th of September, 1808, to his palace, where they arrested Iturrigaray, and accusing him of heresy and treason, sent him as prisoner to Spain. This revolutionary act was openly countenanced by the Audiencia, the Oidores Aguirre and Bataller, and the body of Spanish traders. For three years, until released by an act of amnesty in 1811, Iturrigaray continued in close confinement; and, although he was not regarded favorably by all classes of Mexicans, this outrage against his person by the Spanish emigrants seems to have produced a partial reaction in his favor among the loyal natives.
The administration of Iturrigaray was not only defective, but corrupt in many executive acts, for offices were scandalously sold at his court,—a fact which was proved in the judicial inquiry subsequently made into his conduct. The Council of the Indies, in 1819, sentenced him to pay upwards of three hundred and eighty-four thousand dollars, in consequence of the maladministration that was charged and maintained against him.
Field Marshal Don Pedro Garibay,
LVII. Viceroy of New Spain.—1808.
This chief was more than eighty years of age when honored with the viceroyalty of New Spain. He had passed the greater portion of his life in Mexico, and rose from the humble grade of lieutenant of provincial militia to the highest post in the colony. He was familiar with the habits and feelings of the people; was generally esteemed for the moderation with which he conducted himself in office, and was altogether the most endurable viceroy who could have been imposed upon the Mexicans at that revolutionary period.
During the government of the preceding viceroy the troubles which began, as we have seen, in the old world, had extended to the new, and we shall therefore group the history of the war that resulted in Mexican independence, under the titles of the last viceroys who were empowered by Peninsular authorities to stay, if they could not entirely control, the progress of American liberty.