The War of Chupas

by Pedro de Cieza de León

We must also say that not all those who had estates in the Indies were so bad as to commit such great sins. On the contrary, there were many who deplored and strongly denounced such acts. There were men who had passed through great hardships, misery, and hunger such as cannot be briefly described; many had lost their lives in the exploration and subjugation of the Indies, leaving wives and children behind them. These resented their fathers' Indians being placed under the direct authority of the King, and the encomienda they held being taken from them, as it had been granted for certain lives. But this was not sufficient excuse for taking up arms, for his Majesty would have listened to the petitions of those who humbly approached him.

The laws having been made and ordained, they were proclaimed with the sound of a trumpet in the city of Seville, and are as follows:—

NEW LAWS

Don Carlos by the divine clemency Emperor always august, King of Germany; Doña Juana his mother, and Don Carlos himself, by the grace of God, King of Castille, of Leon, of Arragon, of the two Sicilies, of Jerusalem, of Navarre, of Granada, of Toledo, of Valencia, of Galicia, of Majorca, of Sevilla, of Sardinia, of Cordova, of Corsica, of Murcia, of Jaen, of the Algarves, of Algeciras, of Gibraltar, of the Canary Isles, of the Indies, islands and mainland of the Ocean Sea, Counts of Barcelona, Lords of Biscay and of Molina, Dukes of Athens and Neopatria, Counts of Roussillon and of Cerdania, Marquises of Oristan and of Gociano, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Burgundy and Brabant, Counts of Flanders and the Tyrol—to the most illustrious Prince Philip our very dear and beloved grandson and son,[163] to the Infantes our grandsons and sons, to the President of our Council of the Indies, to our Viceroys, Presidents and Judges of our Audiencias, and Royal Chancelleries of our said Indies, islands and mainland of the Ocean Sea, and our Governors, Chief Alcaldes and other Magistrates thereof, and to all our Councils, Justices, Aldermen, Knights, Squires, officials and citizens of all our cities, towns, and settlements in our said Indies, islands and mainland of the Ocean Sea, discovered and to be discovered, and to all other persons, captains, explorers or settlers, inhabitants or natives of whatever estate, quality, condition or position they may be, as well those who are already there as those who may come hereafter, to each one and to all of you in your offices and jurisdictions, to whom this our letter may be shown, or a copy of it signed by a public notary, or who may become acquainted with a part of it or its contents or anything which pertains or may pertain to any part of it in any way whatsoever: to you all health and greeting.

Know ye that for many years we have had the wish and determination to occupy ourselves with the affairs of the Indies, by reason of their great importance both in matters appertaining to the service of God our Lord and the increase of our holy catholic faith as well as in those relating to the welfare of the natives of those parts, their good government and the preservation of their persons. Although we have endeavoured to attend to these affairs, this has not been possible, owing to the numerous and constant distractions which have arisen and which we could not neglect, and to the absence from these Realms which I the King have been obliged to incur for reasons which are notorious to all. Inasmuch as these constant occupations have not ceased even in the present year, we have ordered persons of all estates, prelates as well as knights, and clerics, and some members of our Council to study and consider matters of the highest importance respecting which we have received information, in order that a decision may be reached. The subject was maturely argued and discussed, and several times considered and debated in my presence. Finally, having consulted the opinions of all, I have resolved to command, decree, and ordain the things now herein contained, which, besides the other ordinances and provisions which from time to time we have ordered to be enacted, we command to be observed inviolably as laws from henceforward.

I. Firstly, We order and command that the members of our Council of the Indies who reside at our Court and meet every morning for three hours and in the afternoon for such time as is necessary, as business may arise, shall in future attend in the same way as hitherto. And as in the said Council there are a number of Judges, we order and command that in the cases in which they all sit, which are the suits of five hundred pesos de oro and upwards, three votes in agreement may pronounce a decision, and when the other votes differ among themselves, the three can and shall determine the case. And for the quicker settlement of cases not exceeding the said five hundred pesos two members of the Council may hear and, if in agreement, settle them.

II. As We have directed certain new rules to be drawn for our Audiencias of New Spain, Peru, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the island of Española, touching the order and procedure they should adopt in considering and determining suits which may come before them, and in the conduct of other things concerning the good government and conservation of those parts and the natives of them, and that the members of our said Council may keep more exactly in mind what powers and duties are allotted to the Audiencias and not recognize nor adjudicate upon anything extraneous thereto, I have directed the said rules to be incorporated here, and we order our said President and members of our Council of the Indies to keep to and comply with what they contain, and neither adjudicate upon nor recognize anything contrary to their tenour and object.

III. We disallow and expressly forbid any servant or retainer of the President or members of our said Council, any Secretary, Public Prosecutor or Reporter to be an attorney or suitor in any business of the Indies, on pain of banishment from the Realm for a term of ten years, and we order every member of the Council above named who may know of it, to punish and prevent such things, as tending to our disservice.

IV. We order and command that it shall be the duty of those of our said Council of the Indies to keep all the laws and ordinances of our kingdoms, and especially those made by our Royal Council and the Judges of our Audiencias and the other Judges of our said kingdoms, with reference to purity as regards the receiving any gifts, payment, or loans from litigants and other persons having or expecting to have business before them, nor shall they write any letters of recommendation to the Indies on pain of punishments enacted in the said laws and ordinances.