The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

But the zeal of the viceroy went farther than the royal mandate intended, and over-reached itself in the execution of an Inca chief, who had assumed the masca paicha on the death of Inca Manco’s son, and who, according to the viceroy, constantly stimulated among the Indians a spirit of revolt, which might break out in open insurrection at any moment. The Inca had refused to consider any offer as the price of his claim to royalty, and the viceroy ordered him to be seized and put to death, in spite of the intercession of the bishop, the municipal council and other notable authorities of Cuzco. When Toledo returned to Spain, expecting the thanks of his sovereign for the services he had rendered the Crown in twelve years of arduous labor under the most adverse conditions, Philip II. greeted the aged cavalier coldly and requested him to withdraw from court, saying, “I did not send you to Peru to kill Kings, but to serve Kings.” Yet the Viceroy Toledo has been called the Solon of Peru, for the wisdom displayed in his government. During his administration, the colony made wonderful progress in wealth and culture, and the “royal fifth” was greater than it had ever been before. The Spanish monarchs apparently did not esteem very highly the sacrifices made by their discoverers, conquerors and pioneers of authority, who contributed to the sovereign possessions so handsomely, by the annexation of a continent, the gift of a houseful of gold, and the collection of “royal fifths” large enough to pay for building the Invincible Armada!

During the last year of the Viceroy Toledo’s rule, the port of Callao was sacked by the English corsair, Sir Francis Drake; and in order to avoid a repetition of such a catastrophe, the viceroy fitted out ships and sent his pilot Sarmiento to explore the Pacific Coast as far as the Strait of Magellan; Sarmiento recommended the fortification of the Strait and the establishment of a colony, for which preparations were being made at the time of Toledo’s return to Spain. Upon his departure, Don Martin Enriquez, a former viceroy of Mexico, was appointed to the vacant post, but he died after two years, the affairs of the colony being left in charge of the Real Audiencia of Lima for two years, when the Count del Villar Don Pardo was named viceroy.

The expedition which was sent out by Spain to form a colony on the shore of the Strait of Magellan, encountered a fierce tempest and only eighteen of the colonists survived. Their leader abandoned them to join the first pirate ships that appeared, which were those of Cavendish, following in the track of Drake, though with less success, as the Pacific ports were better protected than they had been eight years before. But if the pirates took little treasure, their departure was soon followed by the appearance of an epidemic of smallpox, which wrought terrible havoc in the colony. Whole families and even towns were destroyed by the plague, the fields remained uncultivated, the cattle neglected, even the mines were abandoned, the horrors of famine being added to those of the plague. This was in the year that witnessed the defeat of the “Invincible Armada,” a catastrophe that brought in its train many others for the proud monarch of Spain, whose power was no longer in the ascendant among the arbiters of European destiny, as it had been when he was crowned king. But, although Peru suffered much from the plague, the natural riches of the country were so abundant that the worst effects soon disappeared and prosperity reigned, more flourishing than ever. The viceroy did all in his power to promote the best interests of the colony, though his humane laws made him many enemies. He prohibited the forcing of mitayos to do excessive labor and to live in unhealthy localities, and forbade the treating of yanaconas (Indians who carried burdens) as slaves. During his administration the king accorded to graduates of the University of San Marcos in Lima honors and privileges equal to those of Salamanca, the great centre of learning in Spain.

The second Marquis de Cañete was appointed viceroy to succeed the Count del Villar in 1589. He came accompanied by his wife and a large suite of Spanish nobility. Their arrival marked a new era in the social life of the capital, which became brilliant with gay functions and the fashionable amusements of a court. The noble Marquis and his retinue were not only received with great ceremony under the crimson canopy of state, but the festivities attending their arrival were of the most elaborate description throughout the whole colony. The viceroy established a strict court etiquette, according to the historian Lorente, giving special instructions “that the women of the court should maintain the greatest reserve, not receiving attentions or seeking husbands, and should pay to the vicereine all the respect which court etiquette demanded.” In harmony with the viceregal grandeur, a royal chapel was erected in the palace and the religious ceremonies of the court were observed with imposing formality. The number of oidores was increased and the Real Audiencia assumed a greater importance, as the growing prosperity of the colony added to its responsibilities and influence.

On many occasions the viceroy reproved the arrogance of the clergy, his high office giving him the authority of vice-patron of the Church; and he never forgot that his first duty was to his sovereign, whose coat-of-arms he caused to be placed above the Archbishop’s on the façade of the seminary, in opposition to clerical opinion, while he did not hesitate to reprimand even the saintly Toribio for carrying complaints to Rome. But it was as his sovereign’s Superintendent of the Exchequer that the Marquis de Cañete made his government memorable. By every possible means the declining revenues of the mother country were reinforced from the resources of her colonial treasury, and the genius of the viceroy was displayed in the success with which he devised plans for collecting new taxes. Excise duties, the sale of deeds to illegal landholders and of privileges to office-seekers, extraordinary service from the Indians, the extension of tribute claims to include negroes and mulattoes, the income from legitimatizing mestizos, who paid large sums to enjoy the privileges of inheritance, the confiscation of the property of ecclesiastics who died intestate,—these were only a few of the sources from which the king’s coffers were filled. The proceeds of the mines of Huancavelica, which continued to increase in wealth at this time, yielded an important share of the accumulated wealth, and Castrovireina, named in honor of the vicereine, whose maiden name was Castro, became an important mining centre and a valuable source of revenue to Spain. The numerous exactions of the viceroy met with little opposition in an age when the most liberal governments did not hesitate to tax the subjects of the Crown to any extent required by the demands of the royal exchequer. The placing of restrictions on colonial commerce, from which foreigners, heretics and Spaniards without a license were altogether prohibited by the Spanish Crown, was not unusual in those days, and it was only at the beginning of the nineteenth century that any American colony under European sovereignty was permitted to open its ports to the commerce of the world. During the viceroyalty, Seville was the centre of the commercial monopoly, a royal board of trade regulating the sailings of ships, their condition, length of voyage and other matters relating to transportation.

THE KEY OF THE CITY OF LIMA.

The death of Philip II. of Spain, which occurred in 1598, left the fortunes of the rapidly declining monarchy in the hands of a weak and indolent prince, his son, Philip III., during whose reign the colonies obtained little protection from the Crown, but were continually called upon to contribute funds to its depleted treasury. The Marquis de Cañete was succeeded in the viceroyalty of Peru by Don Luis de Velasco, Marquis de las Salinas, during whose administration the colony enjoyed great prosperity and wealth through the increased production of the mines; a new theatre was built in Lima, the streets and plazas were improved and beautified and many handsome churches and other buildings were erected. The Count de Monterey, appointed viceroy on the retirement of Velasco, lived only a year after his arrival in Peru, and was succeeded by the Marquis de Montes Claros. Like many of his predecessors, this viceroy had previously held the same office in Mexico. He was one of the best financiers the Court of Spain had ever sent to the Indies, and so zealous were his labors in behalf of the royal exchequer that he was nicknamed the king’s steward. He went himself to visit the mines of Huancavelica, the product of which amounted to eight thousand two hundred quintals annually, and he sent mitayos to the gold mines of Carabaya and Zaruma and to the silver mines of Castrovireina, Vilcabamba, and Potosí. His successor, the Prince of Esquilache, who arrived in Lima with a numerous suite in 1615, devoted particular attention to the defense of the maritime ports, especially Callao, which he fortified with three cannons and a garrison of five hundred men. He also organized a navy. But he was a poet and a connoisseur rather than a statesman and his financial ability was not equal to the demands put upon it. Although the annual budget of the colony showed its receipts to be nearly three million ducats, hardly enough remained to meet current expenses after the “royal fifth,” amounting to a million ducats, had been sent to Spain and the cost of various improvements effected by the viceroy had been paid. His court was, however, distinguished for its brilliancy and culture, and he entertained many noted scientists and litterateurs. During his rule, several copies of celebrated paintings, and even some masterpieces, were purchased to adorn the churches of Peru.

DOORWAY OF A CHURCH IN AREQUIPA, BUILT DURING THE COLONIAL PERIOD.