In Tierra Firme and in the islands of the Spanish West Indies the new laws were partially obeyed, although complaints were still frequent of the ill-treatment of natives, of their being punished with stripes if they dared to complain, and of the arrival in Panamá of cargoes of slaves from Nicaragua. The priests were earnest in their protestations, and their reports to the emperor abounded in lofty expressions of concern for the cause of Christ and of humanity. The ecclesiastical and secular interests were ever at variance. Should the alcaldes render any decision that threatened to work adversely against the authority of the church, they were excommunicated, and thus rendered incapable, in the eyes of the people, of discharging the functions of their office. The governor and the bishop were continually at war, the latter cloaking under his pretended zeal for the conversion of the Indians, and the former under the pretext of upholding the dignity of the crown, the real purpose for which each was too often striving—that of gathering into his coffers the gold of his Majesty's vassals.[XIV‑20]
CHAPTER XV.
PANAMÁ AND PERU.
1538-1550.
Administration of Doctor Robles—Interoceanic Communication—Proposed Change of the Site of Panamá—Nombre de Dios and its Trade—The Isthmus the Highway of Commerce between the Hemispheres—Vasco Nuñez Vela Lands in Peru—Gonzalo Pizarro at the Head of a Rebellion—Dissolution of the Audiencia of Los Reyes and Arrest of the Viceroy—His Release—His Defeat and Death at Añaquito—Gonzalo's Dreams of Conquest—He Despatches Bachicao to Panamá—Hinojosa's Expedition—His Bloodless Conquest of the Province—Melchor Verdugo's Invasion—Pedro de la Gasca—His Negotiations with the Revolutionists—Gasca Lands in Peru—Execution of Gonzalo Pizarro.
Of Pedro Vazquez, who succeeded Barrionuevo as governor of Castilla del Oro, little is known; but of Doctor Robles, the successor of Vazquez, under whose administration the government was continued till 1546, it is alleged, and probably with truth, that he wrought more harm to his fellow-man in a twelvemonth than the malign genius of a Pedrarias even could accomplish in a decade. In his greed for wealth he was rivalled only by the all-grasping Pedro de Los Rios, and in the astute cunning with which he cloaked his evil deeds he was without peer even in a community where the prevailing code of morals taught neither fear of God nor regard for man. Appointed oidor of the audiencia of Panamá, in 1538, he held office for several years, and the abolition of that tribunal was probably due in a measure to his malefeasance. There are no explicit details as to the precise charges which were brought against Robles, but we learn that in every instance he contrived to baffle the scrutiny of his judges. The licentiate Vaca de Castro was first ordered to bring the offender to justice, but called in vain on his fellow-oidores of the audiencia of Panamá to aid him in so doing. On the establishment of the audiencia of the Confines, the trial was yet unfinished, and as the aggrieved parties still clamored that it be brought to a conclusion, Ramirez, one of the oidores, and the first alcalde mayor of Panamá, was ordered to take his residencia. Robles appears to have escaped punishment, for he soon afterward figures as senior oidor of the audiencia of Lima. He returned before long to Panamá, and we learn that on the capture of that city in 1550, by Hernando and Pedro de Contreras, some of Gasca's treasure was captured at the house of Robles, who thenceforth disappears from the page of history.[XV‑1]
ISTHMUS HIGHWAY.
When Pedro de los Rios set out for Nicaragua he left orders with Captain Hernando de la Serna and the pilot Corzo to make a survey of the Rio de los Lagartos, now known as the river Chagre, for the purpose of facilitating communication between the two seas. They were directed also to examine the river Panamá, flowing in the opposite direction, and to explore the country between the highest navigable points on the two streams. This was done with a view of discovering the best route for a grand thoroughfare across the Isthmus, over which the tide of commerce might flow between Spain and the Spice Islands; and although this object was never realized, the discovery which reduced land carriage to a distance of nine leagues proved most useful in the subsequent intercourse of Spain and Peru.
The project for interoceanic communication by way of the isthmus of Panamá was first mooted more than three hundred and fifty years ago, and to Charles V. probably belongs the merit of its suggestion. The plan first proposed was to unite the Rio Grande with the Chagre, which except in seasons of drought was navigable for vessels of light draught as far as the present town of Cruces, and so make the connection on the Pacific side near the modern city of Panamá. Andagoya, who has already been mentioned as the one who in 1522 conducted an expedition to Birú, was directed to make a survey and to furnish estimates of the probable cost. His report was unfavorable; for in a despatch addressed to the emperor, about 1534, he expresses his belief that there was no monarch in all Europe rich enough to furnish the means to carry out such an enterprise.[XV‑2]
In the same despatch Andagoya also reports adversely on a question which had been for several years under discussion—that of moving to another site the population of Panamá. In a letter addressed to Francisco Pizarro in 1531, Antonio de la Gama declares his intention of making such a change; for ever since the city had been founded by Pedrarias, complaints had been made of its unhealthy climate.[XV‑3] A royal cédula was afterward issued ordering that the citizens should meet and discuss the question, and Andagoya states that the matter was decided in the negative; for, he tells us: "There is no other port in all the South Sea where vessels could anchor alongside the streets." Moreover he affirms that "God himself had selected the site."
The chronicler Benzoni, who travelled in Darien between 1541 and 1556, mentions that the road from Panamá[XV‑4] to Nombre de Dios was about fifty miles in length, and that during the first day's journey it was tolerably smooth, but the remainder of the route lay over rugged and difficult ground, through forest and through streams sometimes almost impassable during the rainy season.[XV‑5] Merchants doing business at Nombre de Dios usually resided at Panamá. At the time of Benzoni's visit to the former town, about the year 1541, it contained but fifteen or twenty wholesale merchants, the remainder of the population being principally small tradesmen, innkeepers, and sailors.
The trade of Nombre de Dios was extremely fluctuating. Fourteen or fifteen Spanish vessels of various sizes, the largest being about three hundred and sixty tons burden, arrived there annually, with miscellaneous cargoes, but laden principally with wine, flour, biscuit, oil, cloth, silk, and household merchandise. The prices obtained for goods depended altogether upon the supply. When the market was overstocked, prices frequently ruled lower than first cost in Spain, and cargoes were sometimes forfeited by the consignee as not worth the freight. On the other hand, when an article was scarce, an enormous price could be obtained for it, sometimes its weight in gold.