Viceroy of Peru

“ Of all the Viceroyalties in the world, that of Peru was undoubtedly the proudest during the earlier Spanish colonial period, for the holder of the high office governed not merely a country, but the greater half of a vast Continent. Seeing that the colonial policy of Spain invariably tended to pit one of her subordinate Powers against another in order to avoid the acquirement of too much authority on the part of any special person, it was only natural that the authority of the Viceroy, although great, was not supreme even in his own dominion. ”

“ For nearly three centuries afterward, Peru was governed by a Viceroy, who until 1740 had authority over the whole of Spanish South America. The Viceroy was assisted by a Real Audiencia, consisting of four oidores or judges who possessed extensive civil and criminal powers. Another Audiencia was also established at Chuquisaca, Sucre, in Alto Peru, now Bolivia. During the colonial days the Indians were greatly oppressed by the Spanish residents, who drew vast wealth from the mines and lived in luxury and splendor. ”

“ The cause of what happened in Peru on the coming of the Viceroy was the great sins committed by the settlers in that land. I myself knew some citizens who by their concubines had fifteen sons. Many leave their wives in Spain for fifteen and twenty years, living with an Indian girl: and so, as both Christians and Indians sinned greatly, the punishment was general.{52}
CHAPTER XX
How it was known at Lima that the Viceroy was near, and how the Bishop Don Jeronimo de Loaysa and the Governor Vaca de Castro, with other knights and citizens, went out to meet him. ”

“ Once in Quito, he received the alarming news from Perú, which province had been left by San Martín, that several serious defeats had been suffered by the independents. He immediately made ready to free the viceroyalty from Spain, realizing that while Perú remained under Spain the independence of Colombia would be in danger. The viceroy of Perú had 23,000 European soldiers and all the resources necessary to carry on war. ”

“ But the Viceroy, unmoved by these reports, replied that his single cloak and sword would suffice for all Peru. Many, hearing these boastings, foresaw what{5} they must be prepared for. As the ordinances were so severe against men who had lived so freely as those in Peru, and so heavy for them, it was evident that they would take up arms, for it was their custom to contend in war for very slight causes.
CHAPTER II
Of what other things happened at Panama, and what the Governor Rodrigo de Contreras and the Judges said to the Viceroy respecting the ordinances. ”

“ As soon as the Viceroy arrived at Nombre de Dios and Panama, he put an embargo on all the gold and silver coming from Peru, on the ground that it had been taken from the Indians, and respecting this he made public proclamation with heavy penalties. Owing to this many were forced to return to Lima, following the Viceroy, having to expend considerable sums on the voyage. This scandalized the country and disturbed men’s minds. ”

“ He was taking the residencia of Dr Villalobos and the Licentiate Paez, who had been Judges of the Court established in that kingdom. Presently the Viceroy took the royal seal, and placed it in a box with the veneration which was its due, with several chapters of the Ordinances [3] ,{3} intending to carry out the orders literally. They required that all the men and women of Peru should be sent to their native homes at the cost of those who possessed them, it being the will of the King that they should be free, as his subjects and vassals [5] . ”

“ Peru constituted in the first place the sole Viceroyalty, and subsequently the senior Viceroyalty, of Spanish South America. Lima, its capital and the seat of government, took care to dis [Pg 111] tinguish itself from any other colonial city of the Continent. Certainly no other town possessed such buildings and architectural decorations as those of which Lima could boast. The home of the Viceroy, it was a city of pomp, processions, and stately movements. ”

“ As Peru had always shown a spirit of insubordination, which required a more vigorous interposition of authority than was necessary in the other colonies, it was resolved to send a viceroy to that country, who should display a state, and be armed with powers, that might make him a more fitting representative of the sovereign. ”

“ As he approached this capital, he was met by a numerous body of the citizens, who came out to welcome him, making the air ring with their shouts, as they saluted him with the title of Procurator-General of Peru. The title was speedily confirmed by the municipality of the city, who invited him to head a deputation to Lima, in order to state their grievances to the viceroy, and solicit the present suspension of the ordinances.
But the spark of ambition was kindled in the bosom of Pizarro. He felt strong in the affections of the people ”

“ THERE was no less commotion in Tierra Firme than in Peru on hearing that the Viceroy intended to enforce the ordinances and to hold the kingdom under a rule of such right and justice that no one should live in licentiousness, as had hitherto been the case. Rodrigo de Contreras, who had been Governor of Nicaragua, was at that time in Panama. ”

“ The fight in Peru was won in the secret councils of the patriotic party before the opposing forces met on the battlefield. When the standard of the Liberating Army was unfurled on the plain of Ayacucho, it mattered little that the royalist strength doubled that of the patriots, and that the viceroy himself appeared in the field, his silver helmet glistening at the head of his troops; the spirit of the warrior prepared for glorious victory or sublime sacrifice which animated every soldier of the republican army was not apparent in the royalist ranks ”

“ While these preparations were going forward, the judges of the Audience arrived at Lima. They had shown, throughout their progress, no great respect either for the ordinances, or the will of the viceroy; for they had taxed the poor natives as freely and unscrupulously as any of the Conquerors. We have seen the entire want of cordiality subsisting between them and their principal in Panama. It became more apparent, on their landing at Lima. They disapproved of his proceedings in every particular ”

“ Certainly he would desire that the Viceroy could check the disturbances arising in all parts, from the time that he arrived in Peru, and even after the suspension of the ordinances. On the other hand the evil character of the people, and their bad faith, showed that, even if the ordinances had been suspended from the beginning, the disloyal movements would not have ceased, for so rich and prosperous a land could not remain at peace. These things and others Vela Nuñez said to me in the city of Cali, when I wished to inform myself respecting these events. ”

“ After a personal interview with the Indians he proceeded energetically with preparations for an expedition to the shores of the Middle Amazon. Drafts were made upon the royal treasury for this object. The disorderly elements in the country seized the occasion with not less eagerness than the viceroy to secure for themselves an unmolested withdrawal; and thus the dorado, which had provoked the conquest of New Granada and had brought the colony of Venezuela to the verge of destruction, was this time the beneficent messenger of rest to Peru.
A campaign of this kind required a strong leader. ”

“ The progress of the nation within the past half a century shows that the race is strong, full of purpose, and capable of working out a noble destiny. During the first twenty years of the republic, the social life of Lima did not change greatly from what it had been in the pleasure-loving court of the viceroyalty. Visitors to Peru in those early times tell us that the propensity for card playing was one of the greatest evils the new government had to combat, and that ministers, envoys, and officers of all ranks fell under its spell. ”

“ The ultimate aim of its institutions was domestic quiet. But it seemed as if this were to be obtained only by foreign war. Tranquillity in the heart of the monarchy, and war on its borders, was the condition of Peru. By this war it gave occupation to a part of its people, and, by the reduction and civilization of its barbarous neighbours, gave security to all. Every Inca sovereign, however mild and benevolent in his domestic rule, was a warrior, and led his armies in person. Each successive reign extended still wider the boundaries of the empire. ”

“ The constant drain put on the resources of Peru by the Spanish kings during the entire period of the viceroyalty could have been supported only by a country of inexhaustible wealth and a people of long-suffering loyalty. ”

“ The present Peruvian Government sought all over Lima for complete copies of his works to send to Philadelphia, but it allows those whom he has left behind him, and who bear his name, to languish in obscurity and in want; and Don Manuel Pardo and his ministers, good in many things though they may be, are in others nothing better than cracked musical instruments. Peru is only a Republic in name, liberty does not exist, its people are not free, and the country remains at the mercy of men who at any moment, and in the most unexpected manner, can turn it into a hotbed of what is called revolution. ”

“ It was fitting that the capital of the Inca empire which had been subjugated by Spain three hundred years before, should be the first city to receive the patriots who had won its independence, and that the children of the new Peru should link their destiny with the descendants of its oldest civilization on this historic ground, both of them proud to claim the title of Peruvians. ”

“ Peruvians from thirty-five to fifty years of age form the national guard. By the well-regulated system of conscription in force, Peru will have in a few years, in addition to its well-drilled army, a host of instructed reserves, requiring only a few drills to transform them into able soldiers. The republic is divided into four military zones, the capitals being Piura in the northern, Lima in the central, Arequipa in the southern, and Iquitos in the eastern zone. ”

“ Yet the ordinances received the sanction of the emperor that same year, and in November, 1543, were published at Madrid.14
No sooner was their import known than it was conveyed by numerous letters to the colonists, from their friends in Spain. The tidings flew like wildfire over the land, from Mexico to Chili. Men were astounded at the prospect of the ruin that awaited them. In Peru, particularly, there was scarcely one that could hope to escape the operation of the law. Few there were who had not taken part, at some time or other, in the civil feuds of Almagro and Pizarro ”

“ Under these circumstances your followers were necessarily impelled to adhere to your party in the defence of their own lives and properties. But as both are now secured, by the revocation of the obnoxious regulations, and the amnesty granted by his majesty, the Spanish inhabitants of Peru have now their legitimate sovereign as their friend and protector, to whom we all owe the most entire loyalty and obedience. ”

“ It was on the collapse of the narrow, repressive policy of Spain, and the erection of Buenos Ayres into a Viceroyalty, that the history of that city and province may be said to commence. Notwithstanding its natural resources and its geographical importance, it was until that date, like Tucuman, merely the seat of a local government, one amongst several, dependent on the Viceroyalty of Peru. In the last quarter of a century, however, of its colonial existence it made colossal strides. The new prospects of commercial wealth absorbed the interests and thoughts of all ”

“ It is as well known to you as it is to me that it is the will of his Majesty that the ordinances shall be complied with and enforced in all these kingdoms. If you should make any changes, or order anything contrary to the wish of your prince, no doubt you will be looked upon as well informed and wise men by those of Peru who have armed themselves to defend their properties. But it is his Majesty the Emperor who, in this case, must be served, and without fear. We should take up arms and be ready to march against the rebels. Do not think that it is not seen what these people desire. ”

“ As Peru was the last to answer the cry of independence, and to shake off the yoke of Spanish domination, so she adheres with most tenacity to the customs of the mother country; for she has not the energy requisite for developing a nationality of her own. Even here is apparent that want of independence of character for which the Peruvians are remarkable. The faults of the Spaniards in them become vices, because, in imitating without reflecting, they push everything to an extreme. Thus, if bull-fights are cruel in Spain, they are barbarous in Lima. ”

“ I Arequipa was en fête; the entire population of the city and its campina (suburbs) was packed in the main square and the adjacent streets to witness the triumphal return of the victor of the Cuzco—brave General Garcia, who had already been christened “the good Dictator,” and who had promised his partizans that within a fortnight he would sweep out of the country President Veintemilla, the two Chambers, and the whole parliamentary system which, he declared, had ruined Peru. ”

“ The viceroyalty of Peru is far from being the largest, or the richest of the Spanish American governments, as since the dismemberment of several of its most important provinces it has become of very little comparative importance ”