After the discovery of this kingdom, as the very reverend father Don Fray Vincente Valverde[547] was in the conquest, he received Bulls from the Supreme Pontiff, and was nominated as bishop by his Majesty. He held the post until the Indians killed him in the island of Puna. Afterwards, as the Spaniards founded new cities, the number of bishops was increased. The very reverend father Don Juan Solano,[548] of the order of San Domingo, was made Bishop of Cuzco, and is so still in 1550, the diocese extending to Guamanga,[549] Arequipa, and the new city of La Paz. The most reverend father Don Jeronymo de Loaysa,[550] a friar of the same order, has been nominated archbishop of the City of the Kings, with a diocese reaching to Plata, Truxillo, Huanuco, and Chachapoyas.[551] Don Garcia Diaz Arias is bishop of the city of San Francisco del Quito, including San Miguel, Puerto Viejo, and Guayaquil. He has his seat in Quito, which is the chief place in the diocese. The bishop of the government of Popayan is Don Juan Valle. These fathers were the bishops of this kingdom when I left it, and they have the duty to perform of placing clergymen to celebrate mass in the towns and villages. The government of this kingdom is so good, in these times, that the Indians are complete masters of their goods and persons. By the will of God the former tyranny and ill-treatment of Indians have ceased, for He cures all things by his grace. Royal audiences and chancelleries have been established, composed of learned men, who give an example to others by their incorruptible justice, and who have established the rules for the payment of tribute. The excellent lord Don Antonio de Mendoza,[552] a knight as full of valour and other virtues as he is wanting in bad qualities, is the viceroy; and the licentiate Andres de Cianca, the doctor Bravo de Saravia, and the licentiate Hernando de Santillan are the judges. The court and royal chancellery are established in the City of the Kings.
I will conclude this chapter by saying that, when the lords of his Majesty’s council of the Indies were examining my work, the very reverend father Fray Don Tomas de San Martin was appointed bishop of Charcas. His diocese commences at the limit of that of Cuzco, and extends to Chile and Tucuman, including the city of La Paz and the town of Plata, which is the seat of this new bishopric.
CHAPTER CXXI.
Of the monasteries which have been founded in Peru, from the date of its discovery down to the present year 1550.
IN the previous chapter I have briefly stated what bishops there are in this kingdom, and it will now be well to mention the monasteries which have been founded in it, and who were the founders, for in these things grave worthies and some very learned doctors have assisted.
In the city of Cuzco there is a house of the order of San Domingo, on the site where the Indians had their principal temple. It was founded by the reverend father Fray Juan de Olias. There is another house of the order of San Francisco, founded by the reverend father Fray Pedro Portugues. Another house exists of the order of our Lady of Mercy,[553] founded by the reverend father Fray Sebastian. In the city of La Paz there is another monastery of San Francisco, founded by the reverend father Fray Francisco de los Angeles. In the village of Chucuito there is a house of Dominicans founded by the reverend father Fray Tomas de San Martin. In the town of Plata there is another of Franciscans, founded by the reverend father Fray Jeronimo. In Guamanga there is another of Dominicans founded by the reverend father Fray Martin de Esquivel; and a monastery of our Lady of Mercy founded by the reverend father Fray Sebastian.[554] In the City of the Kings there is another of Franciscans founded by the reverend father Fray Francisco de Santa Ana;[555] another of Dominicans, founded by the reverend father Fray Juan de Olias[556] and another of our Lady of Mercy, founded by the reverend father Fray Miguel de Orenes. In the village of Chincha there is a house of Dominicans, founded by the reverend father Fray Domingo de San Tomas. In the city of Arequipa there is another house of this order, founded by the reverend father Fray Pedro de Ulloa; and in the city of Leon de Huanuco there is another, founded by the same father Fray Pedro de Ulloa. In the town of Chicama there is also a house of Dominicans, founded by the reverend father Fray Domingo de San Tomas. In the city of Truxillo there is a monastery of Franciscans, founded by the reverend father Fray Francisco de la Cruz, and another of Mercy. In Quito there is a house of Dominicans, founded by the reverend father Alonzo de Monte-negro, another of Mercy, and another of Franciscans, founded by the reverend father Fray Jodoco Rique Flamenco. There are some other houses, besides the above, which have been founded by the numerous friars who are constantly sent by his Majesty’s council of the Indies, to engage in the conversion of the Indians, for so his Majesty has ordered, and they occupy themselves in teaching the natives with great diligence. Touching the rules and other things of which I should treat, it w¡ll be more convenient to do so in another place.
With this I make an end of my first part, with glory to God, our Almighty Lord, and to his blessed and glorious Mother our Lady. I commenced writing in the city of Cartago, in the government of Popayan in the year of 1541, and I finished writing originally in the City of the Kings, in the kingdom of Peru, on the 8th day of the month of September 1550, the author being thirty-two year’s of age, and having passed seventeen of them in these Indies.
THE END.