The History of Cuba, vol. 1

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

Though Governor Ledesma had in this instance yielded to the pressure exercised by the British, he was by no means convinced of the honesty and sincerity of the Governor of Jamaica. He had reasons to believe that in spite of peace between the two countries the governor of Jamaica was secretly in league with the pirates that had molested Cuba, and that while pretending to persecute the outlaws, he had really encouraged them in their raids upon the Spanish colonies. Governor Ledesma collected evidence to that effect and presented it at the court of Spain. But his appeal arrived at a time when Spain's European losses had alarmingly decreased her prestige and when even her national wealth showed a perceptible shrinkage. So the court at Madrid did nothing but deliberate at length upon the ever present problem of insuring the safety of the colonies and limited its practical assistance to the sending over of a few ships with instructions to organize an armada which was to patrol the coasts and force the outlaws to respect Spanish possessions. The island itself armed a few vessels and the garrisons were slightly increased.

The great earthquake of the year 1675 added to the sufferings of the people of Cuba and caused loss of life and property. Three years later a violent hurricane swept over the island and worked great havoc. It not only robbed great numbers of the inhabitants of their homes, and did serious damage to commerce and traffic, but it also destroyed the recently finished cathedral. Though such catastrophes were of no rare occurrence in that climate, they invariably left the people's spirits depressed and indirectly affected their initiative and enterprise. Thus the copper mines were abandoned about this time, because their production seemed out of proportion to the labor and expense of working them. But the real reason was probably the ignorance and inefficiency of the forces in charge of the work and the lack of energy and courage which frequently manifested itself in the wake of great disasters.

A change in the ecclesiastical affairs of Cuba caused considerable commotion during the administration of Governor Ledesma. Bishop Saenz de Manosca was promoted to the bishopric of Guatemala. The Trinitarian (in Mexico a member of a society hired to carry the corpse in the funeral procession) who had temporarily succeeded him was shortly after appointed Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo. Thus the diocese came under the wise spiritual guidance of the Canon of Avila, D. Gabriel Diaz Vara Calderon, who was not only a learned theologian of great reputation, but a priest of uncompromising moral austerity. He devoted himself with great ardor to reforming the church in the West Indies. On a single visit to Florida he was reported to have made as many as four thousand converts. On his return to Cuba he inaugurated a reign of unwonted severity. He had been deeply shocked by the levity and frivolity of his diocesans; he had learned that even ordained priests and personages in high official positions were in the habit of attending public balls and masquerades, the latter especially offering opportunity to indulge in polite intrigues and adventures of a dubious nature. He justly opined that men in clerical garb and those in responsible government offices lowered their dignity and abused the trust reposed in them by participating in such entertainments. He prohibited his diocesans under threat of excommunication to attend such amusements and by this rigorous restriction of the gayeties in which the people had been accustomed to indulge, made not a few enemies. When he died on the sixteenth of March, 1676, public rumor attributed his death to poison administered by some person in revenge for his interference with the social life of his diocese.

Spain was at this period at the lowest ebb of her power. Financially she was on the brink of bankruptcy. Her commerce was paralyzed by stupid laws. The scandalous conduct of her officials had sadly lowered her prestige. Nature herself seemed to conspire against the once so powerful empire. Storms and inundations had swept over the country and ravaged the land, until its very soil had become unproductive. Tempests along her shores had destroyed even the ships lying in port. The mentally and physically feeble monarch, Charles II., was a helpless puppet in the hands of his favorites. A believer in witchcraft, astrology and the black arts and devoted to superstitious practices, he left the affairs of state to his prime ministers who conducted them with varying ability.

When Ledesma's governorship terminated on the thirty-first of August, 1680, there was appointed in his place D. Alonso de Campos Espinosa. But as Valdes and other authorities on Cuban history have nothing to record about his official career, it must have been only provisional, and was certainly very brief. For in September of that year the Field Marshal D. Jose Fernandez de Cordova Ponce de Leon took charge of the office. Governor Cordova proved to be a very conscientious and energetic functionary and distinguished himself first by the vigor and perseverance with which he pushed work on the fortifications of Havana. He also showed his ability in fighting the pirate scourge. The filibusters had begun to organize bases of operation on the islands of Signale and Lucayas, similar to those of Tortuga. He sent against them an expedition headed by the captains Acosta and Urubarru, who succeeded in destroying the outlaw colonies in the name of the king and took a great number of prisoners. The chief event of Governor Cordova's administration was an encounter which the coast guard Galliot of the port Virgen del Rosario y Santa Jose had with a host of French invaders. The governor and organized forces of patriotic citizens so ably seconded the guard in the defense of the place that the enemy was defeated.

Governor Cordova made many enemies by his vigorous persecution of the smugglers who had greatly increased in number and by their clandestine operations were interfering with and discrediting the legitimate trade of the island. They had become such a power that they had the audacity to bring denunciations and accusations against the governor before the court, which, however, set these charges aside and approved all of Cordova's measures directed against them. He also had grave difficulties with the commissary of the Santo Officio, D. Jose Garaondo. They were not yet settled, when Governor Cordova suddenly died on the second of June, 1685. There were rumors afloat that he, too, like Bishop Calderon, had been poisoned by his enemies. During the interim between his death and the arrival from Spain of his successor, the affairs of the island were administered by D. Antonio Manuel de Murgina y Meña and Captain D. Andres de Munive, who shared between them the political and military authority.

The newly appointed governor of Cuba was the general of artillery, D. Diego de Viana y Hinojosa. When he arrived in Havana in November, 1687, he brought with him the first copies of the "Codigo e Recopilacion de India," as the statutes or laws of the West Indies were called. They were in force by royal decree, although they were in reality only a confirmation of the famous Ordinances of 1542. They were distinguished by a spirit of rectitude and impartiality and were particularly commendable for their justice towards the native Indians, who were exempted from all servitude and were accorded equal rights with the Spaniards. Unfortunately these laws suffered from one serious defect: they were framed so as to apply to all dominions of Spanish America and did not take into account the indisputable fact that laws applicable to and beneficent in Peru, might be prejudicial in Mexico and Cuba. This did not, however, diminish in the least the ethical significance and humanitarian value of this codex of some four hundred laws, decrees and mandates; they gave proof of the admirable sentiment of the mother country towards her colonies.

Among the functionaries who arrived from Spain at the same time as Governor Viana, were a new Auditor, D. Manuel de Roa, and a new bishop, D. Diego Evelino de Compostela. This noted ecclesiastic was famous in Spain not only for his sterling character as a man, but also for his extraordinary gifts as an orator. On his succession to the episcopate a spirit of altruism seemed to awaken in the population and find fruition in various works of charity. Bishop Compostela was conspicuous in these organizations and in every possible way encouraged his diocesans in contributing to and actively participating in such works. He founded many parishes and in Havana organized the seminary of San Ambrosio, the academy for young ladies called San Francisco de Sala, and the hospital for convalescents of Bolen. During the fifteen years of his episcopate Bishop Compostela accomplished what none of his predecessors had succeeded in doing. He really raised the moral standard of the diocese, and he attained that end more by his own noble example, than by his eloquent sermons on moral issues. He was a gentleman of distinguished manners, who treated all that came in contact with him with the utmost courtesy. He lived very modestly and was known always to travel on foot. He devoted his income to alms freely dispensed to all the needy, and by his numerous works of beneficence built for himself an imperishable monument in the memory of the grateful population.

Governor Viana's administration was filled with what at first appeared a petty local squabble, but later developed into a serious conflict. Harassed by pirates, the town of San Juan de los Remedios del Cayo had in the year 1684 obtained permission to remove to another place, sufficiently distant from the coast to insure the safety of the inhabitants. The permission arrived at a time when conditions seemed to have improved and the majority of the population was satisfied to remain where they were. The parish priest, however, had favored and decided upon removal to a place called Cupey, and Governor Viana approved of this choice. When the residents began to discuss the problem of the new location, it was found that the greater number was of the opinion that the cattle farms known as Santa Clara offered a more convenient site, and the governor and bishop were won over to this view and agreed. As head of the town was appointed the Alcalde Manuel Rodriguez de Arziniega and as its spiritual adviser was chosen the Cura Gonzales. It so happened that neither of the two favored the place that had been selected. The Alcalde and his adherents wanted to settle at Sabana Largo, near the hacienda of Santa Clara. The priest preferred the place called El Guanal, in the body of that farm. To adjust the difference the governor and the bishop chose two men, D. Christobal de Fromesta, Cura and Vicar of Sancti Spiritu, and the Contador D. Diego de Penalver, who were both residents of that town. It is characteristic of the manner in which municipal and other public business of importance was then conducted, that the two men deliberated without result until the year 1689, when the administration of Governor Viana came to an end.

Of Governor Viana's share in furthering the building of fortifications an inscription in the ravelin of the gate of Tierra bears proof. It reads: