1588. · [Mexico]
by [Herrera, Martin de]
[Mexico], 1588.. 60pp. in a clear and legible hand. Folio. Folded sheets, stitched. Top 1 1/2 inches of each leaf lacking due to insect damage and dampness. Minor soiling. Else about very good. In a half morocco and cloth box. An interesting contemporary manuscript account written by Capt. Martin de Herrera describing the misdeeds and abuses of the Viceroy of New Spain, don Alvaro Manrique de Zuniga, Marquis de Villamanrique, as well as the exploits of Herrera and his family in the New World. The DICCIONARIO UNIVERSAL DE HISTORIA DE GEOGRAFIA states:
"This Viceroy, brother of the Duke of Bejar and a member of one of the most illustrious families of Spain, took up office on 17th October, 1585, and resigned in February 1590. He had bitter contentions with the Dominican, Franciscan and Augustinian Provincials over the question of compliance with the King's instructions with regard to the secularisation of the curacies which those orders administered....In 1587 Sir Francis Drake seized the ship Santa Ana off the coast of California, bearing merchandise from China and Japan. Drake had travelled the Pacific previously, causing damage to the provinces of Jalisco and Sinaloa. The Viceroy had ordered the ships at Acapulco to be in readiness and nominated Dr. Palacios as head of the expedition, but although these ships pursued the English, they were unable to find them.
"Grave questions arose between the Viceroy and the Audiencia at Guadalajara on judicial matters, which led to a rising of the troops on both sides. The news of these differences was probably exaggerated, but caused much uneasiness at the Court of Spain, which feared civil war, for which reason they hastened to remove the Marquis de Villamanrique from the supreme command, and appointed as Inspector (Visitador) the Bishop of Puebla, Don Diego Romano, who treated the Marques very harshly, ordering his property to be seized, even to the wearing apparel of the Marquesa; but although the Council for the Indies ordered the embargo to be removed, the Marquis died in Madrid without having recovered his property."
This report, which gives the other version of the matter, is methodically divided into 101 paragraphs and describes in minute detail all his trespasses: the indignities to which he subjected the high ecclesiastical and other officials; his high-handed attitude in dismissing certain members of the Treasury, replacing competent administrators with his own servants; and a full catalogue of his iniquities. The writer states that he is not prompted by malice, but rather by an honest desire to serve his king and country's interests in reporting these incidents. The Governor began his campaign of annoyance by issuing orders before he had been properly sworn in as Viceroy. He then proceeded to dismiss as many officials as he pleased, in defiance of the King's express wishes, and appointed his own friends in the vacated positions. He ordered that Don Diego Caballero, a priest who reported certain irregularities to the Visitador, should be arrested and sent to Acapulco for banishment to Peru; he subsequently rescinded the order, and, to the indignation of the people, had the priest conveyed back to San Juan de Ulloa in a wooden cage, in which he passed through the Indian encampments and infected areas "with no other object in view than that this honored and esteemed priest should die under such conditions."
Herrera was a particular bete-noir of the Viceroy, having been one of the principal informants against him. He states how he called on the Viceroy and told him he had been "a respected resident of that city for twenty-five years, and had in every way served His Majesty (Philip II), helping to guard the city of Mexico with his arms and horses..."; and how he was at the port of San Juan de Ulloa when the corsair Juan Aquines [Hawkins] took it; and how he was amongst those who defended the port of Acapulco "against the corsair, Francisco Draque [Drake] when he sailed the Pacific." He relates how his ancestor, Capt. Juan de Herrera, had died in the service of the King, at Castelnovo; how his uncle, Francisco de Herrera, had arrested Francis I of France; how his father's three brothers had died one day in the service of the Emperor (Charles V); and how he had been amongst the conquerors of the Philippines. When he attempted to obtain permission to travel, the Viceroy ordered him to be arrested, his house searched, and many of his papers seized. Herrera escaped, however, leaving behind his wife and children, and tried to board one of the ships of the Spanish fleet. Arriving at Tlaxcala, however, he sought sanctuary at the Franciscan monastery of Atiliqueza, where the Viceroy's men ran him to ground, with warrants to seize him whether he happened to be in a monastery or a church. He was therefore obliged to flee to a place where the Viceroy had no authority.
This lengthy report also includes a most interesting relation of the vicissitudes of Martin de Herrera and his brother, Diego, and their efforts to enlist the sympathy of the Consejo de Indias. A fascinating contemporary accounting of political, religious and administrative onfilct in 16th- century Spanish America. MAGGS, BIBLIOTECA AMERICANA IV:2652 (1925) (this manuscript, then offered for the equivalent of $255). (Inventory #: WRCAM47687)
"This Viceroy, brother of the Duke of Bejar and a member of one of the most illustrious families of Spain, took up office on 17th October, 1585, and resigned in February 1590. He had bitter contentions with the Dominican, Franciscan and Augustinian Provincials over the question of compliance with the King's instructions with regard to the secularisation of the curacies which those orders administered....In 1587 Sir Francis Drake seized the ship Santa Ana off the coast of California, bearing merchandise from China and Japan. Drake had travelled the Pacific previously, causing damage to the provinces of Jalisco and Sinaloa. The Viceroy had ordered the ships at Acapulco to be in readiness and nominated Dr. Palacios as head of the expedition, but although these ships pursued the English, they were unable to find them.
"Grave questions arose between the Viceroy and the Audiencia at Guadalajara on judicial matters, which led to a rising of the troops on both sides. The news of these differences was probably exaggerated, but caused much uneasiness at the Court of Spain, which feared civil war, for which reason they hastened to remove the Marquis de Villamanrique from the supreme command, and appointed as Inspector (Visitador) the Bishop of Puebla, Don Diego Romano, who treated the Marques very harshly, ordering his property to be seized, even to the wearing apparel of the Marquesa; but although the Council for the Indies ordered the embargo to be removed, the Marquis died in Madrid without having recovered his property."
This report, which gives the other version of the matter, is methodically divided into 101 paragraphs and describes in minute detail all his trespasses: the indignities to which he subjected the high ecclesiastical and other officials; his high-handed attitude in dismissing certain members of the Treasury, replacing competent administrators with his own servants; and a full catalogue of his iniquities. The writer states that he is not prompted by malice, but rather by an honest desire to serve his king and country's interests in reporting these incidents. The Governor began his campaign of annoyance by issuing orders before he had been properly sworn in as Viceroy. He then proceeded to dismiss as many officials as he pleased, in defiance of the King's express wishes, and appointed his own friends in the vacated positions. He ordered that Don Diego Caballero, a priest who reported certain irregularities to the Visitador, should be arrested and sent to Acapulco for banishment to Peru; he subsequently rescinded the order, and, to the indignation of the people, had the priest conveyed back to San Juan de Ulloa in a wooden cage, in which he passed through the Indian encampments and infected areas "with no other object in view than that this honored and esteemed priest should die under such conditions."
Herrera was a particular bete-noir of the Viceroy, having been one of the principal informants against him. He states how he called on the Viceroy and told him he had been "a respected resident of that city for twenty-five years, and had in every way served His Majesty (Philip II), helping to guard the city of Mexico with his arms and horses..."; and how he was at the port of San Juan de Ulloa when the corsair Juan Aquines [Hawkins] took it; and how he was amongst those who defended the port of Acapulco "against the corsair, Francisco Draque [Drake] when he sailed the Pacific." He relates how his ancestor, Capt. Juan de Herrera, had died in the service of the King, at Castelnovo; how his uncle, Francisco de Herrera, had arrested Francis I of France; how his father's three brothers had died one day in the service of the Emperor (Charles V); and how he had been amongst the conquerors of the Philippines. When he attempted to obtain permission to travel, the Viceroy ordered him to be arrested, his house searched, and many of his papers seized. Herrera escaped, however, leaving behind his wife and children, and tried to board one of the ships of the Spanish fleet. Arriving at Tlaxcala, however, he sought sanctuary at the Franciscan monastery of Atiliqueza, where the Viceroy's men ran him to ground, with warrants to seize him whether he happened to be in a monastery or a church. He was therefore obliged to flee to a place where the Viceroy had no authority.
This lengthy report also includes a most interesting relation of the vicissitudes of Martin de Herrera and his brother, Diego, and their efforts to enlist the sympathy of the Consejo de Indias. A fascinating contemporary accounting of political, religious and administrative onfilct in 16th- century Spanish America. MAGGS, BIBLIOTECA AMERICANA IV:2652 (1925) (this manuscript, then offered for the equivalent of $255). (Inventory #: WRCAM47687)