some parish churches.* This principle of preference in favour of the Creoles, was still carried further; so much so, that all foreigners, amongst whom are enumerated, such as are not naturalized in Castile, viz. Aragonese, Catalans, Valencians, &c. though allowed to go over to reside or traffic there, were not eligible to any ecclesiastical benefice in Spanish America, not even when named by the king himself. Thus it was, that to empower the Navarrans, naturalized in Castile, for the above purposes, an express law of the Indies became necessary. ‡ With regard to temporal dignities and offices, the laws are not less explicit. Many royal decrees contained amongst the laws of the Indies, expressly declare, “that in all cases of government, justice, administration of finance, commissions, encomiendas of Indians, &c. the first discoverers, then the pacificators, and lastly the settlers, and those born in the said provinces" (of America) "are to be preferred." Nor are these, and many others that might be named, vain and pompous privileges, granted at the instance of flattery, extorted in any undue manner, or obtained without the surrendry of good equivalents and consideration. On the contrary, they form the basis of the social compact, instituted between the kings of Spain and the first conquerors and settlers, on behalf of themselves and their posterity; who thus ceded up to the crown of Castile, those regions they had discovered by their enter prize, won by their blood, and settled with their own for. tunes, on condition that they, the said kings, kept the com◄ pacts and agreements contained in the laws of the Indies, * Ibid, ley 2, tit. 2, lib. 1. et alibi. + Ibid, ley 31, tit. 6, lib. 1. Ibid, ley 32, tit. 6, lib, 1 wherein they are termed privileges; the basis of which has been just quoted.* § Even the Indians, in accepting the dominion of Spain, came under certain stipulations, called in the laws, capitulations; by which their rights were defined, and their relative situation, as social beings, was established. Charles V. after the consultation held with Las Casas, at Valladolid, in 1545, declared, that the wars waged against them were unjust and tyrannical; and even prior to that period, in 1537, it had been decreed, that those of their laws and customs, which were not opposed to the spirit of the Christian religion, should be observed with equal force, as if they had been specially decreed by the king. An acknowledgment was made of their classes and nobility; these were exempted from tribute, as were also their caciques, lords, magistrates, and governors, who were, besides, allowed the right of addressing the king in person. The compacts formed with the Indians of Tlaxcala and others, in consideration of their auxiliary aid, are, also, seen in the respective accounts of the Mexican and Peruvian conquests. After the establishment of Spanish power, when any insurrections amongst the Indians occurred, the kings always ordered new privileges, grants, and exemptions to be offered to them, as a means of pacification; and every thing, in theory at least, tended to inspire them with confidence, in the solemn pledges and promises made to them.† Remesal observes, that the laws and compacts made in favour of the Indians, are, in substance, mere conclusions, drawn from the writings of Las Casas, in which, * Vide, La Revolucion de Mexico, tom. 2, lib. 14, lately printed in London, wherein this point is treated at full length and with great erudition. Ibid, ley 9, tit. 4, lib. 4. having proved the injustice and horrors of the conquests, he argued that the kings of Spain, as the protectors of the gospel (the only title by which the new world was at first held*)were rigorously bound in justice, not to injure them in their natural rights, property, or persons.† In numberless other royal orders and decrees, it is further commanded, to "treat the Indians well; as free men, and vassals of the crown of Castile, as in fact they are." Thus by the laws themselves, the legislative power over the Indians, is not left absolute and arbitrary in the hands of the monarch himself, much less so, in those of the self created governments of Spain. Even the social footing of the negroes in Spanish America, was established by a solemn compact, made between Bayano their king, and the Marquis de Cañete, viceroy of Peru, in 1557. According to Garcilasso,‡ they then agreed to lay down their arms, on condition that they were allowed to settle as natives of the country, and had the privilege of freeing themselves, when ever they were possessed of the requisite funds. Their free descendants of colour, are consequently entitled to the rights of their forefathers, yet, as will hereafter be seen, the Cortes themselves have not only deprived them of the right of citizenship, but have even excluded them from the general census. § Thus does it appear, that from the time of queen Isa * Vide Alonzo de jedas address to the Indians, in Robertson's History of America, vol. 1, note 23, page 269; also Pope Alexander sixth's Grant, and queen Isabella's will. + Revolucion de Mexico, tom. 2, lib. 14. Cement del Peru, part 2, lib. 3, cap. 3. The price for freeing a prime negro, fixed by law, is 300 dollars, which not being left to the will of the master, as in our colonies and those of the French, greatly promotes emancipation. bella, the Spanish settlements were inseparably united and incorporated with the crown of Castile; and as before noticed, Charles V. took a solemn oath, for himself and his successors, never to alienate or disunite them. They were united, even on more favourable terms than Andalusia and Galicia had been, for they retained their own rights and privileges, whereas the constitutions of the latter, were absorbed in that of Castile. Aragon, Portugal, Italy, and Flanders, were, at one period of the Spanish monarchy, on a similar footing with the Indies, and had in Spain their respective supreme councils, similar to that destined to govern the American provinces.* It was ordered also to erase from the laws of the Indies, all title, name, or idea of conquest; and as before stated, the Indians were not only declared free, but also subjects of the king, the same as the Castilians.† § The kings themselves, never addressed their American provinces, by the name of colonies, but always gave them the title of kingdoms; nor is the former denomination to be met with in the laws of the Indies. The appellation of kingdoms was even enacted by an express law. Charles V. was, at that time, also emperor of Flanders and of Italy, but on his coins was alone engraved, Emperor of Spain and of the Indies, and in some of the Royal decrees of Philip II. he styles himself Emperor of the Indies, only. As the governing system of the American provinces improved, viceroys, not factories, were sent over to govern them, with the full representation of alter * Revolucion de Mexico, tom. 2, lib. 14. + The incorporation of Spanish America was decreed by Charles V. in Barcelona, 14th of Sept. 1519, confirmed by Donna Juana in Valladolid, 9th of July, 1520; in Pamplona, 22nd of Oct. 1523; in Monzon, 7th of Dec. 1547, by Philip II.; in Madrid, July 18, 1563, and Charles II.-- ego, a denomination not even given to some of the viceroys of provinces, in the Peninsula itself.* Chanceries and Audiencias, or high courts of justice, were established, with the same privileges and pre-eminence as those of Spain; also, universities, on the same footing as that of Salamanca, and municipalities, as in the Peninsula. The archbishops and bishops were made independent of Spain, and of even each other. The Spanish American provinces, were, moreover, allowed to hold their Cortes of the deputies of the cities and towns; and in New Spain, the capital of Mexico held the first place, as Burgos did in the Cortes of Castile. In the Cortes of the south division of America, Cusco, from being the ancient seat of the Incas of Peru, was entitled to the first place.† Nor ought it be forgotten,'this is a privilege which even the province of Galicia in Spain, never obtained. This right, was, indeed, never exercised in America, but it never was revoked. It was decreed, by Charles V, in 1530, and the privilege of Tlaxcala having the second seat, immediately after Mexico, in the Cortes of New Spain, was granted by Charles I. on March 13, 1535, and confirmed by Phillip II. on July 16, 1563. Even in Spain, during the reign of Charles V, the usage of assembling Cortes ceased; for the regent Cisneros, overturning the barriers which had been placed by the people, to check the arbitrary conduct of their sovereigns, by means *The viceroy of Navarre alone, had a similar denomination, because this kingdom, like those of America, was dependent only ou the king; nor was any law promulgated in Spain, binding therein, unless accepted by its own Cortes. Vide Revolucion de Mexico, tom. 2, lib. 14, et alibi. + Vide, Recop. Leyes Ind. by 2, tit. 8, lib. 4; also, Real Cedula de #25 de Marzo, 1535; also Ibid, lib. 4, tit. 8, lib. 4, et alibi. |