The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

THE FIRST COAT-OF-ARMS BESTOWED ON LIMA BY CHARLES V.

After the Conquest, all the Spanish dominions in the New World were divided under two governments, one of which was subject to the Viceroy of Mexico and the other to the Viceroy of Peru. As representatives of His Catholic Majesty, and directly appointed by him, the viceroys were chosen from the noblest families of Spain, especially distinguished for their services to the Church and the army. These proud grandees established their court in the colonial capitals on a scale of magnificence hardly excelled by that of their royal master; and the City of the Kings grew even to rival Madrid in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as a metropolis of Spanish fashion and culture.

But the period immediately following the Conquest gave little promise of peace and prosperity for the colony of Peru. Revolution and anarchy prevailed even after the ignoble strife between the Pizarros and the Almagros was ended by the tragic death of the Conqueror and the execution of the younger Almagro. The firm authority of Governor Vaca de Castro sufficed to maintain order and tranquillity as long as he remained in the country, but with the arrival of his successor, the first viceroy, a storm of revolt broke over the colony with such tumultuous force that it threatened to overthrow permanently the authority of the Spanish king in his richest and most valued possession.

Blasco Nuñez de Vela, the first viceroy of Peru, who was appointed to succeed Vaca de Castro in 1544, is described as a brave, honorable, and devout man, but arrogant and imperious, utterly incapable of understanding and dealing with the turbulent spirit of the adventurers, in whom ambition, avarice, and jealousy were the ruling passions, fostered by the peculiar circumstances which had governed Peru ever since the capture of Atahuallpa. It was especially unfortunate that a man of the temperament and prejudices of the new viceroy should have been chosen to effect a change in existing conditions, requiring the most judicious and delicate management.

The harsh treatment to which the Indians were subjected under the Conquerors was brought to the attention of the King of Spain by a Dominican friar, Las Casas,—whose benevolent labors gained for him the title of “Protector of the Indians,”—in a remarkable document, containing such an appalling record of the wickedness practised against these helpless wards of the Crown that the king, deeply impressed, called a council to devise means of ameliorating their condition. As a result, the Viceroy Blasco Nuñez de Vela was the bearer of strict orders from Spain to abolish the system of encomiendas, by which the Indians had been made ostensibly the protégés but really the slaves of the Conquerors, not only their lands but their persons being appropriated as the legitimate spoils of victory. It is true that, under the Incas, the people had possessed no freedom, but they had been given no tasks too heavy for their strength and they had been kindly treated and well provided with food and clothing; under their new masters they were both abused and neglected. The granaries which formerly were well filled after every harvest were allowed to become empty, because tillage was abandoned for the more profitable labor in the mines; and the llamas, whose wool furnished the Indian with clothing, were slaughtered so recklessly that, within four years, more of these animals perished than in four centuries under the Incas.

According to the royal decree, the viceroy was to declare the Indians vassals of the Crown, though the present encomenderos, or owners, were to retain their privileges, except in the case of public functionaries, ecclesiastics, religious corporations, all who, by cruelty and neglect, had shown themselves unworthy of the privilege, and all who were implicated in the crimes resulting from the quarrel between Pizarro and Almagro. On the death of the present proprietors, their Indians reverted to the Crown. The viceroy, although representing the supreme authority, was accompanied by a Real Audiencia consisting of four oidores, or judges, clothed with extensive powers both civil and criminal, the viceroy being president of their council. At the same time the Real Audiencia of Charcas was appointed to have jurisdiction in Alto Peru and its dependencies. It was largely owing to the differences which arose between Blasco Nuñez de Vela and the Real Audiencia of Lima that his mission was a failure.

The order abolishing encomiendas was received with demonstrations of discontent throughout the colony. Few of the Conquerors could hope to retain their Indians under the new law, and they were furious at what they considered an effort to despoil them of the fruits of their hard-earned victory. In the streets, plazas, and churches, indignant crowds gathered to protest against the decree, news of which reached Peru some months before the viceroy’s arrival. The governor, Vaca de Castro, succeeded in calming the turbulent leaders by explaining that it would be the wisest course to petition the Crown asking for the repeal of the law, and then patiently to await the arrival of the viceroy, who might be prevailed upon to delay action until the answer to their petition should be received from Spain. Vaca de Castro was not slow to recognize that the most powerful friend of the malcontents was Gonzalo Pizarro, at that time engaged in exploiting rich silver mines in Charcas (now Bolivia), to whom they had already appealed for protection; and in a diplomatic letter, he cautioned Pizarro not to be drawn into the revolt. By his judicious policy, public order was maintained and preparations were made to welcome the viceroy with the imposing ceremony due to the highest representative of His Catholic Majesty.

LIMA RESIDENCE OF THE MARQUIS OF TORRE-TAGLE DURING THE VICEREGAL PERIOD, SHOWING “MIRADORES,” OR BALCONIES.