The History of Cuba, vol. 1

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

Immediately after this, at the beginning of December, 1525, Altamarino's chief antagonist, Gonzalo de Guzman, a life Councillor of Santiago, was appointed to succeed him as Governor, and also as Repartidor of the natives, with all the plenary authority that Velasquez had exercised. Nor was that all. Guzman was commissioned juez de residencia, to investigate the affairs of the deposed Altamarino as the latter had investigated those of the deceased Velasquez. Guzman appears not actually to have taken office until April 25, 1526, and not to have begun his inquest into his predecessor's affairs until midsummer of that year. But he then made up for the delay with the searching and ruthless character of his investigation. We can scarcely doubt that he was moved by a large degree of personal vindictiveness. Certainly he seemed to try to be as irritating and as humiliating to Altamarino as possible; the more so, perhaps, because he realized that there was nothing serious to be proved, and that the chief penalty the ex-Governor would suffer would be the heckling and denunciation which he received during the investigation. There were charges enough against him, but not one warranted any severe punishment. As a matter of fact, all the penalties imposed upon him were light, and they were all promptly remitted by the King; the royal advisers at Madrid reporting to His Majesty that the whole business had been nothing but a tempest in a teapot. Nevertheless, the episode ended the career of Altamarino in Cuba. He at once departed to Mexico, and was seen in the island no more.

We may now fittingly observe a certain highly significant political development which at this time was manifested in the island. Reference has already been made to the rise of a feeling of local pride and municipal independence in the various provinces into which the island was divided, and also to the marked assertion of insular patriotism under Rojas and his colleagues. The former movement dated from as early as 1518, when Panfilo de Narvaez secured from the King a decree giving to some of the members of municipal councils life terms of office. In that year, accordingly, Gonzalo de Guzman and Diego de Sumana were appointed by the King to be life Councillors, or Regidors, in Santiago; Alonzo Bembrilla and Bernardino Yniguez in Trinidad; and Francisco Santa Cruz and, as we might suppose, Panfilo de Narvaez himself in Bayamo. A little later Diego de Caballero and Fernando de Medina were appointed in Sancti Spiritus, and Rodrigo Canon and Sancho de Urrutia in Puerto del Principe. In addition to these there were, of course, other Councillors appointed by the Governor for limited terms. But the life Councillors gave tone and direction to the municipal administrations and developed a certain degree of local independence of the general government of the island. In brief, there began to be promulgated at this early date the salutary principle that the various municipalities or provinces were to enjoy home rule in all purely local matters, while of course remaining subject to the Governor in everything relating to the general welfare of the island; and also that the island was to enjoy home rule in all matters pertaining exclusively to it, while subject and loyal to the Crown in everything affecting the general welfare and integrity of the Spanish kingdom and its colonial empire.

The motives and purpose of Narvaez in seeking this permanent tenure for municipal Councillors have been much debated. He has been charged by some, and not unnaturally, with a selfish purpose to entrench himself and his friends irremovably in office. On the other hand there have been those who have credited him with a high-minded and statesmanlike design of promoting the welfare of Cuba by securing stability of local government under the best men. Knowing what we do of his character, it seems reasonable to suppose that the latter motive was potent, even if the other also had some influence. What is quite certain is, however, that the system quickly became a formidable power in Cuban politics, sometimes beneficent and sometimes mischievous. These permanent Councillors were powerful in bringing to naught the brief administration of Zuazo, and they formed, as already stated, the head and front of the successful opposition to Altamarino. At the same time, through their control of the election of alcaldes and other local officers they gave to the local administrations a stability which they might not otherwise have enjoyed.

With the accession of Gonzalo de Guzman to the Governorship, however, a strong and widespread reaction against the Councillors arose. This was doubtless largely provoked by the injudicious action of Guzman himself. As a life Councillor of Santiago he had been foremost in securing the exclusion of Altamarino from sessions of the councils. But when he himself became Governor, he retained his life Councillorship and therefore insisted upon his right to continue attending the meetings. Remonstrance against this was made, to the King; he having appointed Guzman to both offices; but he declined to interfere. He did, however, appoint additional life Councillors, enough largely to outnumber the partisans of Guzman. He also took the very important step of authorizing each municipality to elect from among its Councillors a Procurator, or public advocate, corresponding in some respects to a Tribune of the ancient Roman Republic.

These procurators soon found their chief occupation in resisting and protesting against those acts of the Councils which they deemed inimical to the public welfare. The procurators of all the municipalities met together, to compare notes and to take counsel together for the common good, and there was an increasing inclination among them to oppose what they regarded as the growing tyranny of the Councils. At such a meeting of all the procurators, in March, 1528, Manuel de Rojas, procurator for Bayamo, took the sensational action of presenting a formal popular protest against what was described as the arrogance and oligarchical tendencies of the Councils. This provoked an impassioned reply from Juan de Quexo, the procurator for Havana, who denied the statements and insinuations of the document and opposed its reception by the meeting. But after an acrimonious controversy, Rojas won the day. The protest was received, adopted by the convention, and forwarded to the King of Spain. Together with it the procurators forwarded to the King some radical recommendations for the improvement of the insular government. These were, that the Governor should always be selected from among the bona fide residents of the island and should be appointed for a term of three years; that the life tenure of Councillors should be abolished; and that all councillors, alcaldes and procurators should be elected yearly by the people.

These suggestions were not in their entirety received favorably by the King. He refused outright to adopt those relating to the selection and appointment of governors, and to the abolition of life councillorships. He did, however, order that the procurators should be elected yearly by the people, and he greatly enlarged the functions and powers of that office. A new system of choosing alcaldes was also decreed. Instead of their being elected yearly by the Councils, it was ordered that the Council presided over by the alcalde should nominate two candidates, that the Council members without the alcalde should nominate two more, and that the Governor should name one; and that from among these five a first and second alcalde should be chosen by lot.

Thus in the administration of Gonzalo de Guzman the principle of "Cuba for the Cubans," afterward long neglected, was pretty efficiently established. The Governor, at that time, and all other royal officers of the island, were Cuban colonists; and the people were invested with power to select their own procurators or advocates, who were irremovable, and who were competent to represent the people not only in the Cuban courts and in those of Hispaniola, but also before the Royal Council for the Indies at Madrid, and who were empowered to proceed against the municipal councils, the royal officials, or even the Governor himself.

CHAPTER X

The early part of the administration of Gonzalo de Guzman was chiefly occupied with the investigation of his predecessors' stewardships, and with controversies with the municipal councils. There was also a controversy with the Crown over the payment to him of a salary for his services, which he requested of the King, and which the King ordered to be paid to him, but which he did not receive. Then came complications over the royal treasurership in the island. Christopher de Cuellar had been succeeded in that office by Pedro Nuñez de Guzman. The latter died, leaving a considerable fortune, and the colonial government at Hispaniola immediately designated Andres Duero to succeed him temporarily, until the King should make a permanent appointment; the expectation apparently being that Duero would be confirmed in the office. Unfortunately for the success of this design, however, the temporary appointment had been made without consulting the royal officials; who were not unnaturally piqued and offended. The result was that a protest was made to the King, not only against the method of his appointment but also against Duero himself. To this the King listened sympathetically, and he presently overruled the appointment of Duero, and in place of him named Hernando de Castro as temporary treasurer, until such time as he could have conditions investigated and could select some fitting man as a permanent incumbent.

Oddly enough, Castro had once before supplanted Duero, as the royal factor in Cuba. This office had first been held by Bernardino Velasquez, upon whose death Andres Duero had been appointed to hold it temporarily, only to be speedily replaced by Castro. The latter appears to have been one of the most enterprising men of affairs of that time, and to have done more than most of his contemporaries for the industrial and economic development of the island. He became engaged in commerce between Spain and the West Indies at an early date, and paid much attention to agriculture, which he believed would be the chief permanent industry of Cuba. It was he who introduced the cultivation of wheat and other staples, with a view to making the island self-supporting, and for such activities he received the formal thanks of the King. Unfortunately, he too somewhat compromised himself by attempting to appropriate as his own the native Cubans who had been the serfs of Bernardino Velasquez and whom Duero, the factor pro tempore, had seized.