Chapter XXXVII: Guatemala and Chiapas (13)

[XXXVII‑18] This portion of García's manuscript here ends
abruptly.

[XXXVII‑19] During the Tzendales' revolt the town of Chamolla
was the most loyal of all in the province, although it had
been the most injured by the city. At first some of the
Chamolltecs had been inclined to rise, but this partial
defection soon died out, and the people gave many proofs of
loyalty. _Id._, 111. During this period a female leader had
arisen at Guatinpan and greatly aided the priestess of Cancuc
in infusing religious fanaticism into the insurgents. _Id._,
109.

[XXXVII‑20] The work from which I have chiefly gathered
material for this sketch, quoted as '_Garcia_, _Sublevacion
de los Zendales_,' has for its full title _Informe sobre
la Sublevacion de los Zendales, escrito par el Padre W.
Pedro Marselino García de la orden de Predicadores, Predor.
General, Calificador del Santo Oficio y Vicario Provincial
de San Vicente de Chiapa, dirigida al Ilmo. Señor Obispo
desta diocesis y fecho en 5 de Junio de 1716_, MS., 1 vol. in
imperial 8vo, pp. 154. It contains a copy of testimony taken
by PP. Frs Maxelina, García, and Diego de Cuenca, by direction
of the bishop, concerning the death of the several Dominican
friars at the hands of the revolted Tzendales; the details of
these murders are given. The manuscript also contains copies
of letters and journals of Padre García written at the time,
which contain a very full account of the origin of the Tzendal
rebellion, the singular religious schism which they sought
to establish, and the various proceedings, civil, military,
and ecclesiastical, which led to the final suppression of the
rebellion. The continuity of the events related is not easily
followed, since the manuscript was carelessly arranged for
binding. In places, moreover, it is wanting, and is somewhat
worm-eaten. It is therefore difficult at all times to decipher
the facts, which are moreover hidden in the verbosity common
to an ecclesiastical writer of that time.

[XXXVII‑21] _Chiapas_, _Informe del Intendente_, in _Soc.
Mex. Geog._, _Bol._, 3d ép., ii. 326-7. In 1800 the office of
alcalde mayor at Ciudad Real was sold for 4,687 pesos, those
of eight regidores for 400 pesos each. The position of notary
public and secretary of the cabildo sold for 627 pesos and at
a later date for 1,110 pesos. _Pineda_, _Descrip. Geog._, 45.

[XXXVII‑22] 'No se descubria otra cosa que pesadas Cruzes,
agudas espinas, abroxos, crueles imbenziones de diziplinas,
arrastrados por los suelos los Hombres, lagrimas, y
humilidad.' _Arana_, _Relacion Estragos Guat._, 383.

[XXXVII‑23] The missions were now closed with a 'prosesion de
sangre.' Most of the shocks lasted for the space of an Ave
María. _Arana_, _Rel. Estragos Guat._, 380-98. The volcano
threw up stones, ashes, and other matter. Letters could be
read distinctly in the dead of the night, although the volcano
was at least two leagues distant from the city. _Alegre_,
_Hist. Comp. Jesus_, iii. 179.

[XXXVII‑24] Out of the 40,000 inhabitants who resided in the
city before these earthquakes, scarcely 1,500 could be counted
when they had ceased. On the plaza mayor on the 5th of Oct.
were the president and five or six families. On the plazuela
de San Pedro were Diego de Oviedo and Tomás de Arana, the
oidores, the nuns of Santa Clara, and two other families. In
the Jesuit square remained the members of that order and some
other persons. Under the porch of Santo Domingo were some
monks and a few seculars. In the potrero of the apostolic
missionaries were six religious and a few others. There were
a few more at Jocotenango. _Arana_, _Relacion Estragos Guat._,
380-98.

[XXXVII‑25] The bishop, on one occasion of unusual alarm,
being sick in bed, was brought to the centre of the plaza
mayor by the hands of the president himself, who remained
steadfastly in the city, and, with others, rendered whatever
assistance was in his power. _Id._, 398.
[XXXVII‑26] _Arévalo_, _Col. Doc. Antig._, 146-8, contains the
lengthy document in extenso, in addition to its recital of
the dire consequences of the visitations. Arana's report of
the matter is briefly referred to in _Alegre_, _Hist. Comp.
Jesus_, iii. 179. See also _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 208-9;
and ii. 208; _Alzate_, _Gaceta Literatura,_ iii. 442; _Album
Mexicano_, i. 418.

[XXXVII‑27] It was especially prayed that Indians might be
allowed to work on the indigo plantations, this being the
chief reliance of the provinces of Guatemala. _Arévalo_, _Col.
Doc. Antig._, 148, 151-2.

[XXXVII‑28] In _Escamilla_, _Not. Cur. de Guat._, 6, he is
styled D. Echevers y Subija. He had been chamberlain to his
Majesty and was a knight of Calatrava.

[XXXVII‑29] Alluding to these disturbances, we find in _Gac.
Mex._, Jan. 1728, and in _Arévalo_, _Compend._, 5-6, that
these riots were suppressed by the prudent determination and
dignified but firm measures of the marques de Casa Fuerte,
viceroy of New Spain.

[XXXVII‑30] In this instance the alcaldes were deprived
of their offices by the king, and made to pay a fine of a
thousand reales de ocho. _Providencias Reales_, MS., 300-9.

[XXXVII‑31] In 1723 Bishop Juan Bautista Álvarez de Toledo
was succeeded by Nicolás Cárlos Gomez de Cervantes. During the
administration of the former the king had found it necessary
to issue a cédula, dated November 15, 1717, ordering that no
new churches, convents, or hospitals should be founded without
his permission, since they were already so numerous as to
interfere with each other's usefulness. _Providencias Reales_,
MS., 207-8.

[XXXVII‑32] Among other charges made against the clergy of
this period may be mentioned the following: sick persons were
compelled to go to the church to receive extreme unction, many
dying on the road thither; Indians were compelled to marry
at a tender age in order to increase their contributions;
fraternities were organized, to the members of which great
pecuniary loss was occasioned; curates absented themselves
without permission, and the priestly office was sold to the
highest bidder. _Ordenes de la Corona_, MS., iv. 155-7.

[XXXVII‑33] Up to 1730 the tithes collected in the bishopric
had never exceeded 3,000 pesos; but from that time they
increased, until in 1750 they amounted to 30,000, and ten
years after they were estimated at 60,000 pesos. _Escamilla_,
_Not. Cur. de Guat._, 78. Pedro Pardo de Figueroa, seventeenth
bishop and first archbishop of Guatemala, was born in Lima
of noble parentage. He assumed the religious habit of the
Franciscans at the age of sixteen. Having filled the chairs
of philosophy and theology, he was sent by his order to
the courts of Madrid and Rome, occupying the position of
secretary-general of his order. He was elected bishop of
Guatemala in 1735, and on the 13th of September of the
same year was consecrated by the archiepiscopal viceroy of
New Spain, Juan Antonio de Vizarron y Eguiarreta. In these
dates the _Concil. Prov._, 1-2, 297, is followed according
to _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 291. Figueroa was consecrated on
September 8, 1736, and on Nov. 18th Manuel Falla, precentor
of the cathedral, took possession of it in his name. On the
22d of September 1737 the bishop made his public entry into
the cathedral. Escamilla, _Not. Cur. de Guat._, 16, confirms
Juarros.

[XXXVII‑34] Dec. 17, 1740, the king decided that at all
receptions of bishops the two alcaldes should occupy the
chairs of the dean and archdeacon in the choir. _Arévalo_,
_Col. Doc. Antig._, 9-13.

[XXXVII‑35] _Concil. Prov._, 1-2, 297-8. Juarros, _Guat._, i.
292, states that the bull was issued in December 1743. A copy
of it is given in _Nueva España, Breve Resúmen_, 370-5.

[XXXVII‑36] Two prominent bishops of Honduras maybe mentioned:
Antonio Guadalupe Lopez Portillo, a native of Guadalajara
and delegate to the general council held at Rome in 1723,
_Figueroa_, _Vindicias_, MS., 75, and Francisco Molina who was
elected in 1743; but of the events of their administrations
no records exist.

[XXXVII‑37] _Guat._, _Sto Domingo en 1724_, 22-4.

[XXXVII‑38] The following is a copy of this curious edict:
'Vengan sobre ellos, y á cada vna de ellos, la ira, y
maldicion de Dios todo poderoso, y de la Gloriosa Vírgen
Santa María su Madre, y de los Bienaventurados Apostoles San
Pedro, y San Pablo, y de todos los Santos del Cielo. Y vengan
sobre ellos todas las plagas de Egypto, y las maldiciones
que vinieron sobre el Rey Pharaon, y sus gentes por que no
obedecieron, y cumplieron las Mandamientos divinales; y sobre
aquellas cinco Ciudades de Sodoma, y Gomarra, y sobre Datàn,
y Abiròn, que vivos los tragó la tierra, por el pecado de
la inobediencia, que contra Dios Nuestro Señor cometieron; y
sean malditos en su comer, y beber, y en su velar, y dormir,
en su levantar, y andar; en su vivir y morir, y siempre estèn
endurecidos en su pecado; el diablo esté á su mano derecha;
quando fueren en juizio siempre sean condenados; sus dias sean
pocos, y malos; sus bienes, y hazienda sean traspassados en
los estraños; sus hijos sean huerfanos, y siempre estèn en
necesidad.' _Ordenes de la Corona_, MS., vi. 143-4.

[XXXVII‑39] The northern limit of the government of Guatemala
was established as early as 1549. At this date the licentiate
Gasca, commissioned by the viceroy of New Spain, and aided
by president Cerrato, of Guatemala, fixed as the boundary
between New Spain the provinces subject to the audiencia of
the Confines, 'a line beginning at the bar of Tonala, in 16°
north latitude, and running thence in the direction of the
gulf of Mexico, between the towns of Tapana and Maquilapa,
leaving the former on the left and the latter on the right,
to a point opposite San Miguel Chimalapa; thence turning
and running as far as the Mijes Mountain, situated in 17°
21' of the same latitude; thence to the town of Sumazintla
(modern spelling Usumasinta), situated on the river of the
same name; thence following up this river to a point opposite
Huehuetlan, in 15° 30' of the same latitude, and thence to
Cape Three Points in the Gulf of Honduras.' In 1599 the line
was again changed, leaving to Guatemala the territory lying
between 8° and 18°, more or less, north latitude. In 1678
another change was made by the viceroy of New Spain, which
took from the captain-generalcy of Guatemala many towns on
the coast, as far as the river Huehuetlan, and also extended
the boundary of Yucatan. Finally, upon the establishment of
the intendencias in 1787, the boundary line was again fixed,
and the captain-generalcy of Guatemala made to include the
territory within 7° 54' and 17° 49' north latitude. These
limits were confirmed by subsequent commissions in 1792,
1794, and 1797, and adopted by the Spanish government in
its map of 1802. _Soc. Mex. Geog._, _Boletin_, 3da ép., iii.
78-9. Although these boundaries were approved by the crown,
the exact location of the dividing line between Chiapas
and New Spain appears to be a matter of dispute among many
authorities. _Pineda_, _Descripcion Geog._, 17; _Larrainzar_,
_Hist. Soconusco_, 1-2.

[XXXVII‑40] _Guat._, _Apunt._, 8. The _Nueva España, Breve
Resúmen_, MS., ii. 349, says, 'it extends for more than 300
leagues along the coast of the South Sea, but in a straight
line from east to west it is but 240, its greatest width being
180;' and again, 'from the limits of Tehuantepec, the last
of the provinces of New Spain, to the Escudo de Veraguas,
the limits of the kingdom of Tierra Firme (via the cities of
Santiago, Leon, Nicoya, Cartago, Boruca), it is 650 leagues.'

[XXXVII‑41] _Nueva España, Breve Resúmen_, MS., ii. 349.

[XXXVII‑42] _Soc. Mex. Geog._, _Boletin_, 3da ép., iii. 78-9.
In the enumeration of provinces but twelve are mentioned, that
of Guatemala being omitted also. _Eco de España_, Aug. 27,
1853; _García_, _Reseña Geog._, 7.

[XXXVII‑43] A junta of ministers was appointed by the king,
whose duty it was to oversee the actions of the various
viceroys, presidents, etc. This junta gave instructions
to the regents. _Cedulario_, MS., i. 34-6; iii. 81-91. The
functions of the regents are described in _Reales Cédulas_,
MS., ii. 159. Previous to arriving at their place of duty the
regent was to notify the ruling authority, president, viceroy,
etc., and they were required to meet him one league from the
capital. The archbishop and clergy were required to call upon
him. The enumeration of their duties fills 78 articles.

[XXXVII‑44] After Herrera came Juan Antonio de Uruñuela, a
knight of the order of Cárlos III.; Juan José de Villalengua
y Marfil, minister of the supreme council of the Indies;
Ambrosio Cerdán, knight of the royal order of the Immaculate
Concepcion; Manuel Castillo Negrete, and José Bernardo
Asteguieta y Sarralde. _Juarros_, _Compendio_, 356. According
to Gomez, _Diario_, 151, the second regent was Orihuela,
actual oidor of the audiencia of Mexico when appointed to this
office.

[XXXVII‑45] In 1767 the salaries of the various officials
were: governor, captain-general, and president of the
audiencia, 5,000 ducats; the four oidores, and the fiscal of
the audiencia, each 750,000 maravedís; the royal accountant
and treasurer, each 300,000 maravedís.

[XXXVII‑46] 'De èstas, quatro tenian titulo de Gobíerno,
que eran: Comayagua, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Soconusco;
Alcaldías Mayores, San Salvador, Ciudad Real, Tegucigalpa,
Zonzonate, Verapaz, Suchiltepeques, Nicoya, Amatique, y las
Minas de San Andrés de Zaragoza; Corregimientos, Totonicapán,
Quezaltenango, Atitán, Tecpanatitán ó Sololá, Escuintla,
Guazacapán, Chiquimula, Acasaguastlan, el Realejo, Matagalpa,
Moninbo, Chontales, Quesalguaque, Tencoa, Quepo, Chirripo,
Pacaca y Ujarraz, y el Valle de Guatemala.' The governors, and
the alcaldes of the first six alcaldías mayores named, were
appointed by the crown; the president of the audiencia making
the appointments for two years, to the remaining districts,
except that of the Valley of Guatemala, which was conferred
by the Ayuntamiento of Santiago on their common alcaldes,
who with the title of corregidores exercised the office
alternately for six months each. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 37-8.

[XXXVII‑47] The corregimientos of Quepo, Chirripo, Ujarráz,
and Pacaca, owing to the decreasing population of Costa Rica,
were incorporated into that government; the corregimiento of
Tencoa was absorbed by the government of Comayagua; and to
the government of Nicaragua were united the corregimientos of
Moninbo, Chontales, and Quesalguaque. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii.
38.

[XXXVII‑48] In the beginning of the century the alcaldías
mayores of Amatique and San Andrés de la Nueva Zaragoza
were suppressed; a few years later the corregimientos of
Escuintla and Guazacapan were consolidated to form the
alcaldía mayor of Escuintla; and that of Sololá was formed
of the corregimientos of Atitlan and Tecpanatitlan; in 1753
the alcaldías mayores of Chimaltenango and Sacatepeques
were formed of the corregimiento of the valley of Mexico;
in 1760 the corregimiento of Acasaguastlan was annexed to
that of Chiquimula; and in 1764 the provinces of Chiapa and
Zoques was separated from the alcaldía mayor of Ciudad Real
and formed into that of Tuxtla. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 38.
About the middle of the century, according to _Nueva España,
Breve Resúmen_, MS., ii. 349, there were nineteen governments
in nine provinces and ten districts; and Cadena, _Breve
Descrip._, 9, writing in 1774, says there were twenty-four
governments and alcaldías mayores.

[XXXVII‑49] As intendencias were first established in Mexico
their functions are described in the history of that country.

[XXXVII‑50] _Guat._, _Apunt._, 106. According to Juarros,
_Guat._, ii. 38-9, the districts of Realejo, Matagalpa,
and Nicoya were united to the government of Nicaragua to
form the intendencia of that name; the alcaldía mayor of
Tegucigalpa was united to the government of Comayagua to
form the intendencia of Honduras; and to the government of
Soconusco were united the alcaldías mayores of Ciudad Real
and Tuxtla to form the intendencia of Chiapas. The fourth
intendencia was San Salvador. Forty subdelegaciones are by
this author assigned to the four intendencias, as follows: To
the intendencia of Nicaragua six: Granada, Realejo, Subtiava,
Segovia, Matagalpa, Nicaragua; to the intendencia of Chiapas
eleven: Ocozingo, Simojovel, Palenque, Tonalá, Soconusco,
Tila, Istacomitán, Tuxtla, Guista, Comitán, and San Andrés;
to the intendencia of Honduras nine: Gracias á Dios, Olancho,
Olanchito, San Pedro Sula, Yoro, Santa Bárbara, Trujillo,
Tegucigalpa, Choluteca; and to the intendencia of San
Salvador fourteen: San Miguel, San Vicente, Santa Ana Grande,
Chalatenango, Olocuilta, Cojutepeque, Texutla, Opico, Metapas,
Usulutan, Gotera, San Alexo, Sacatecoluca, Sensuntepeque.
Under this former system in later times all appointments were
made by the crown, the president of the audiencia having the
power to make temporary appointments only. Usually, however,
the presidents were authorized to fill all the offices under
the government and in the city, some ad interim, others
permanently. After the establishment of the intendencias the
president had the privilege of appointing as subdelegado, one
of three persons proposed to him by the intendente, whenever
a subdelegacion became vacant.

[XXXVII‑51] José Vazquez Prego Montados y Sotomayor, of the
order of Santiago, lieutenant-general of the royal armies,
and commander-general of the forces before Gibraltar, assumed
office January 17, 1752. He died at Guatemala June 24, 1753,
from the effects of a cold contracted during an official
visit to Omoa, whose fortress he had ordered built. From
the date of his death the senior oidor, Juan de Velarde y
Cienfuegos, governed until October 17th of the following
year, when his successor, Alonso de Arcos y Moreno, arrived.
He was a knight of the order of Santiago, mariscal de campo,
and subsequently lieutenant-general of the royal armies. This
latter appointment, however, did not arrive until after his
death, which occurred October 27, 1760. The oidor Velarde
again assumed charge of the presidency, and when relieved
in the following year was transferred to the audiencia of
Mexico, subsequently to that of Granada, and eventually
became a member of the council of the Indies. On the 14th
of June 1761 Alonso Fernandez de Heredia, mariscal de campo,
took possession of the presidency. He had already served as
governor in the provinces of Nicaragua, Honduras, Florida,
and Yucatan. Joaquin de Aguirre y Oquendo was appointed to
succeed him, but the latter dying at Guatemala April 9, 1764,
when about to take possession of office, Heredia continued
in charge till Dec. 3, 1765, when he was relieved by Pedro de
Salazar y Herrera, Natera y Mendoza. He remained in Guatemala,
where he died March 19, 1772, while undergoing his residencia.
President Salazar was a knight of the order of Monteza,
commander of Vinaroz and Benicarlo, captain of grenadiers
of the royal Spanish guards, and mariscal de campo of the
royal armies. Like President Sotomayor, he, too, experienced
the fatal effects of the climate of Omoa, for he died May
10, 1771, from a disease contracted while on a visit to that
port. His successor, President Mayorga, did not arrive till
June 1773, the government in the interim being administered
by the senior oidor, Juan Gonzales Bustillo y Villaseñor.
This officer was subsequently transferred to the audiencia
of Mexico, thence to the India House at Cádiz, and finally
to the supreme council of the Indies. _Juarros_, _Guat._,
i. 270-1; _Arévalo_, _Col. Doc. Antig._, 157-9; _Escamilla_,
_Not. Cur._, 7; _Cadena_, _Breve Descrip._, 26.

[XXXVII‑52] 'It stood under a cupola, supported by 16 columns,
faced with tortoise-shell, and adorned with medallions in
bronze of exquisite workmanship; on the cornices were statues
of the virgin and the 12 apostles.' _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 86.

[XXXVII‑53] In 1795 it was 23,434. _Juarros_, _Guat._ (ed.
Lond., 1823), 497.

[XXXVII‑54] _Cadena_, _Breve Descrip._, 4-9; _Juarros_,
_Guat._, i. 85-7.

[XXXVII‑55] The Jesuit church suffered most. _Alegre_, _Hist.
Comp. Jesus_, iii. 295-6. See also _Juarros_, _Guat._ (ed.
Lond., 1823), 154; _Escamilla_, _Not. Cur._, 17; _Cadena_,
_Breve Descrip._, 7, 11.

[XXXVII‑56] _Juarros_, _Guat._ (ed. Lond., 1823), 154.
According to Cadena, _Breve Descrip._, 11, the two shocks in
1765 occurred on June 21st and October 24th, respectively.

[XXXVII‑57] _Arévalo_, _Col. Doc. Antig._, 157-9.

[XXXVII‑58] During the alarm caused by the threatened
outbreak the authorities of Santiago armed a force, and the
royal officials had their valuables removed to one of the
churches for safety. Before this excitement had subsided a
Jesuit priest was cruelly murdered in the jail by three negro
criminals whom he was confessing. The jailer gave the alarm
by ringing the bell of the jail, and thereupon the people,
in the belief that a riot had broken out, seized their arms
and hastened to the principal square, even the women flocking
thither with stones. The three negroes were captured after
a determined resistance, and one of them having been killed
in the scuffle the other two were hanged the same afternoon.
A few days later a Dominican was found murdered in his cell.
_Escamilla_, _Not. Cur. Guat._, MS., 18-19.

[XXXVII‑59] _Iturriaga_, _El Dolor del Rey_.

[XXXVII‑60] _Batres_, _Relacion de las Fiestas_.

[XXXVII‑61] _Juarros_, _Guat._ (ed. Lond., 1823), 153-4.

[XXXVII‑62] From the incidents narrated by old residents,
eye-witnesses of the event, and the appearance of the city in
his time, Juarros, _Guat._, ii. 266-8, concludes that even
the official reports of the effect of this earthquake were
grossly exaggerated, probably owing to the interested reports
of engineers, architects, and notaries. He quotes from two
pamphlets published at Mexico in 1574, to show instances of
exaggeration in the details of this calamity. In one that
appears in Cadena, _Breve Descrip._, 40, the statement is made
that trustworthy persons affirmed that during the earthquake
they saw the mighty Volcan de Agua opened from cone to base
by the first shocks, and again united by those that succeeded.
This and other vagaries equally absurd, the effects only of a
terrified imagination, form part of every description of this
disaster, but do not necessarily impair the truthfulness of
the account as a whole. The work of Cadena here quoted has
been used as the base of the present account, and from the
fact that its author was a prominent churchman, an eye-witness
of the events related, and that his book, which received the
sanction of superior authority, was published within a year
of the occurrence, its trustworthiness can hardly be doubted.
The work, a reprint of the original made in Guatemala in
1858, is a small 12mo of 56 pages, and describes the events
of the period extending from June 11, 1773, to March 10, 1774,
including a detailed description of the city of Guatemala, its
destruction, and the measures for its removal up to the last
date. It is written in the usual inflated religious style.
The author, Fray Felipe Cadena, was a Dominican, professor of
theology in the university of San Cárlos, synodal examiner of
the archbishopric, and secretary of his order in Guatemala.
There are other accounts, however, whose exaggerations are
gross, and whose narrative could not have been obtained from
any reliable source. According to _Russell's Hist. Amer._, i.
390, the city of Guatemala, with 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants,
and nearly 15,000,000 pesos in treasure and merchandise, was
so completely swallowed up in April 1773 that not even a trace
was left of it. _Flint's Hist. and Geog._ gives the date of
the earthquake as 1779, and says that it was accompanied by
terrific and destructive phenomena; the sea rose from its bed;
one volcano poured out boiling water, another waves of blazing
lava; and 8,000 families were swallowed up in a moment.

[XXXVII‑63] According to Escamilla, _Not. Cur._, MS., 25-7,
the soldiery were guilty of pillaging the convents. _Succecion
chronologica de los Presidentes que han governado este
Reyno de Goatha. Obispos de Goathemala y Noticias Curiosas
Cronologicas destas Indias_ is the title of a manuscript
volume in folio of 78 pages, usually attributed to José María
Escamilla. It was begun in 1777. It opens with a list of the
governors up to that date, taken from the cabildo records of
the city of Guatemala. This is followed by a list of bishops
and archbishops, though from what source is not stated.
Beginning with the dates of the discoveries of America and
the South Sea and with the conquests of Mexico, Guatemala,
and Peru, a brief chronological list is given of the more
important events in Guatemala and its dependent provinces
from 1525 to 1762. From the latter date until 1779 the events
are described with more fulness, especially the account of
the destructive earthquake in 1773, the consequent removal of
the city, and the bitter controversy to which it gave rise.
It is uncertain whether the author was in Guatemala previous
to 1777, as the minuteness with which he describes the
events of the preceding four years may have been the result
of information obtained from the residents of the city. Nor
is there anything to indicate the name of the compiler. The
manuscript was presented to the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg
in 1856 by Escamilla, according to notes in the handwriting
of the abbé on the title-page, and at the end of the volume,
and in his _Bibliothèque Mexico-Guatemalienne_, p. 60. Its
chief value is the account of the destruction and rebuilding
of Guatemala City.

[XXXVII‑64] _Juarros_, _Guat._ (ed. Lond., 1823), 157.

[XXXVII‑65] _Arévalo_, _Col. Doc. Antig._, 160-71.

[XXXVII‑66] _Escamilla_, _Not. Cur._, MS., 24-65; _Juarros_,
_Guat._, i. 85-9; ii. 266-72; _Cadena_, _Breve Descrip._,
10-53.

[XXXVII‑67] _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 353-4; _Squier's States
Cent. Am._, 493-4.

[XXXVII‑68] _Juarros_, _Guat._ (ed. Lond., 1823), 157-8.

[XXXVII‑69] _Escamilla_, _Not. Cur._, MS., 4.

[XXXVII‑70] _Pelaez_, _Mem. Hist. Guat._, iii. 86-94.

[XXXVII‑71] _Pelaez_, _Mem. Hist. Guat._, iii. 106-29.

[XXXVII‑72] _Arévalo_, _Col. Doc. Antig._, 171-6.

[XXXVII‑73] _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 272-3.

[XXXVII‑74] He was a native of Granada, precentor, and bishop
of Popayan, to which he was raised in 1740. His appointment
to the archbishopric of Guatemala was dated 1751; his bulls
issued January 23, 1752. On the 10th of May 1753 Doctor
Agustin de la Caxiga, chancellor of the cathedral, took
possession in his name, and on the 13th following inducted
him into office. _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 292-3.

[XXXVII‑75] The manner of proceeding was somewhat summary.
The clergyman who was assigned to the curacy without previous
notice suddenly appeared, accompanied by the alcalde mayor of
the district, who gave him possession, and the friar in charge
was compelled to transfer everything to his successors under
inventory. _Escamilla_, _Not. Cur._, MS., 20.

[XXXVII‑76] _Escamilla_, _Not. Cur._, MS., 20; _Juarros_,
_Guat._, i. 293.

[XXXVII‑77] _Guat._, _Constit. Coleg. Xpto_, i. 292.

[XXXVII‑78] _Pineda_, in _Soc. Mex. Geog._, _Boletin_, iii.
348-9.

[XXXVII‑79] _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 292-3; 1776 is given as
the date of his death by _Concilios Prov., 1555, 1565_, 298;
and _Alcedo_, _Dic._, ii. 315.

[XXXVII‑80] A native of Belchite in the kingdom of Aragon,
professor of sciences in the university, and subsequently
canon in the cathedral of the city of Saragossa. He was
appointed to the archbishopric of Guatemala in 1767.
_Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 294.

[XXXVII‑81] The motives and nature of this measure are fully
treated in my _History of Mexico_, this series.

[XXXVII‑82] _Escamilla_, _Not. Cur._, MS., 19-20; _Jesuits_,
_Colec. Gen._, 24, and _Pelaez_, _Mem. Guat._, iii. 66-8, give
a somewhat different version. According to these authorities
the decree was given to the alcalde mayor, who notified
the friars at two o'clock in the morning. The statements of
Escamilla, who was present in Guatemala at this time, are to
be preferred.

[XXXVII‑83] _Escamilla_, _Not. Cur._, MS., 65-74; _Juarros_,
_Guat._, i. 294-5; Id., _Compend._, 292-4.

[XXXVII‑84] Francos was a native of the Villa of Villavicencio
de los Caballeros, and was canon of the cathedral of Plasencia
when appointed to the archbishopric of Guatemala. He died on
the 17th of July 1792. His successors were Don Juan Felix de
Villegas, who ruled from May 8, 1794, to February 3, 1800;
and Don Luis Peñalver y Cárdenas who entered office on June
3, 1802. _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 295-7. Although Juarros
is justly regarded as the chief historian of the Central
American provinces for the conquest and colonial period, he
has failed to describe in a connected form the political,
social, and moral development of those countries during
that period. This omission has, in part, been filled by the
assiduous labors of the presbyter Francisco de Paula García
Pelaez. Residing for many years, as parish priest, at the
old city of Guatemala, known as the Antigua, he devoted his
leisure time, from 1833 to 1841, in examining as opportunity
permitted the public and private archives of the province,
and in studying the principal ancient and modern writers on
that territory. The result of this research was a work of
three volumes in small quarto, entitled _Memorias para la
Historia del Antiguo Reyno de Guatemala_, which was published
in Guatemala in 1851. It is divided into the aboriginal and
the colonial epochs. The former treats of the origin of the
natives and the degree of civilization they had attained
at the time of the conquest, and consists of a brief and
systematically arranged compilation of facts, with the
corresponding references to the authorities from which they
were obtained, each chapter being devoted to a separate topic.
This occupies but 32 pages of the first volume, the remainder
of the work being taken up with the political history of
the country to the beginning of the nineteenth century, and
with the general condition and progress of the people and
their institutions from the conquest to 1821. The manner of
treatment, though more connected, is similar to that of the
first epoch. The style is terse and clear, though somewhat
dry, as few comments are made, and those of an impartial
nature. It contains a multitude of valuable facts not found
elsewhere; yet Pelaez deplores the incompleteness of his work;
for, though he examined many of the original documents in the
public archives of Guatemala, the want of an assistant to aid
him in extracting notes compelled him to leave the bulk of
them untouched. The author subsequently became archbishop of
Guatemala.