Nicolás de Aguilar and the Jurisdiction of Salinas in tite Province of New Mexico, 1659-1662

21 Pages·2005·1.91 MB·English

Nicolás de Aguilar and the Jurisdiction
of Salinas in tite Province of New Mexico,
1659-1662
Joseph E SÁNCHEZ
UniversityofNew Mexico
On December7, 1664, at the Convento de Santo Domingo in Mexico
City,Nicolas deAguilar stood before theTribunal oftheHoly Office ofthe
Inquisition andheard bis sentence. On charges ofobstructing the mission-
ary program, infringing on ecciesiasticaljurisdiction and immunity, incit-
ing hostility toward Franciscan friarsand disrespectforthe church and its
teachings, undermining missiondiscipline, and encouragingnative Kachi-
na dances considered to be idolatrous by Franciscan missionaries, his trial
had run nineteen months. Although Aguilar had offered a bold and stub-
borndefense ofhis conductinNewMexico, hewasfound guiltyofalí char-
ges and sentenced to walk the auto público defe, suifer exile from New
Mexico forten years, and made ineligible to hoid adminístrative officefor
the rest ofhis life. Having abjured bis errors he was set free Despite his
~.
controversial sentencing in which one ofthe fourjudges dissented, Agui-
lar’s case had called attention to fundamental problems regardingprotec-
tionofIndiansagainstcolonial abuses. Furthermore, Aguilar’scase hadrai-
SentenciadeNico¡ásdeAgui¡ar inEl Fiscalde¡SantoOficiocontraNico¡asdeAgui¡ar,
¡
166¡-¡665,ArchivoGenera¡de¡aNación,Sección Inquisición5¡2,ff. ¡95.Alsosee,FranceV.
Scbo¡es.TroublousTimesinNewMexica, ¡659-1670,(A¡buquerque: Historica¡SocietyofNew
Mexico, 1942),p. 187.Theentirecaseagainst Nico¡ásdeAguiJarisfoundinE¡Fiscalde¡San-
toOficio contraNicolásdeAguilar, 166¡-¡665, ArchivoGeneral de¡aNación (AGN),México
City, secciónInquisición, 512. Giventhe natureofheinformationpresentedindocuments of
heSecciónInquisición. AGN, this paper,to adegree,fo¡¡ows asimi¡arstory lineasthatfound
inTroublous Times, butdiffers in he interpretation ofAgui¡ar by Scholes who followed that
madebyseventeenthcenturyFranciscans against Aguilar.Tbespellings inalí footnotes herein
areasthey appearorthographicallyinthedocuments.
RevistaComplutensedeHistoriadeAmérica,22.Servicio dePub¡icaciones, 11CM.Madrid. 1996.
140 JosephP. Sánchez
sed questions concerning inconsistencies in the execution of church and
state policiesand dxc maintenance ofbalance between the two institutions.
2 Aguilar, a
In spite of his Franciscan detractors, who called him Attila
tough, rustic, illiterate frontiersman, believed that bis implementation of
the pronounced policies and ordersof GovernorBernardo Lópezde Men-
dizábal offered alternatives, albeit contrary, to tite Franciscan dominated
mission fleid asregards the treatmentofIndiansin New Mexico.
Nicolas de Aguilar was boro sometime in 1623 ofmestizo parentage,
and was rearedat Yuriripundaro in Michoacan He saidhe hadlivedwith
~.
bis motber until be was eigbteen years oid, when he moved to Panal lii
southem Chihuahua.Aguilarfirstcameto the attentionofSpanish officials
in 1641 after claim jumpers had caved-in bis mine The teenaged fron-
‘~.
tiersman appealed to thejusticia mayor Juan Soltero Francisco, to bring
charges against four men: Sebastián de la Canal, Diego Jiménez, Alférez
Alonso García de Cárdenas, and Pedro Gonzáles. Apparently, these men
had entered Aguilar’s mine which was located on land owned by Juan
GutiérrezatReal de SanDiego and pulled down a supportingpillarcollap-
sing the mine iii tbe hope ofintimidating tite young miner to abandon bis
claims. Aguilarstated thathis minewas seventy-two feetdeep(sixestados)
andthat aniong otherminerais, hewas miningforiron. JusticiaMayorSol-
tero brought charges against the marauders and found in favor of Aguilar.
Forthenextthirteen yearsnothing washeardaboutAguilaruntilafateful
nightinmid-February1654. On theeveofAshWednesdayofthatyear, Alon-
so García de Cárdenas, one of the perpetrators against Aguilar in 1641 and
nowcaptain andalcalde mayoroftheReal deMinasde SanDiego,was awa-
kenedby aloudknocking on bis door Itwaslateatnight, aboutteno’clock,
~.
andGarcia’s servants scurriedaround inthedark, fumblingforiheirlantems.
Outsidecouldbeheardthesoundofmen’svoices.«Comeanddo thebusiness
importantto theserviceoftheking», shoutedoneofthemen toGarcía.When
Garcíaopenedbis door,hewas greetedby anangryHernando deVillagómez,
Dec¡araci6ndel Capitán Miguel deNoriega, México, October3, ¡661,anO Descargode
2
Acusaciones hecho por Nicolásde Aguilar, Capftu¡o 42, ElFisca¡ contraNicolásde Aguhar,
AGN, Inquisition512,fi. ¡¡3.
Causade denunciaciónpor querella que dioNico¡ás deAguilar contraSebastián de ¡a
Cana¡ y otras personassobre aver¡o derrumbado un pilar de su toma, 1¡ de marzo de 164¡,
ArchivoHistóricodeParral,CiudadChihuahua, SecciónCausasCriminales, año 164¡.
~ Ibid.
Causacrimina¡contraNicolás deAguilar porhomicidiocometidoen¡apersonadeGer-
mando de Villagámez en San Diego de Minas Nuevas, ArchivoHistórico de Parral, Sección
CausasCriminales, alIo 1654.
NicolásdeAguilar antltheJurisdictionofSalinas... 14¡
mayordomoof tite mines and uncle toNicolas deAguilar, Villagómezcom-
plainedthat Aguilarhad forcibly takenbis daughter, his daughter-in-law,and
the wife ofNicolas Aroche to a hideout in nearby hilís. Without hesitation,
Captain Garcíaorganized the men into a posseof eightSpaniards and eigbt
Indians,and followeda trailto titeplace where Aguilarheld tite women.
From his hideout, Aguilar could seethe orange-yellow light oftorches
usedby tbepossemen astheycameupthehill, someon horseback,otherson
foot.Suddenly, frombehindalarge boulder,heappearedbeforethem.Heavi-
ly armed,he pointed an harquebus attite men. In the faint light, theycould
seethat hecarried twootherharquebuses, one slung and the otiterinbis left
band. He shouted somewordsat CaptainGarcía. Titeintrepid Garcíashout-
ed backthat Aguilarwas a thieving dog (perm ladrón) and orderedhim to
«give himself up to the Iaw.» Wordswere excitanged between Aguilar and
bis uncle. Aguilarfired bis weapon and withdrew into thedarkness. Before
anyonehadrealizedit, Hernando deVillagómezlay dying from a woundto
his forehead. From atopa largeboulder,Aguilar heldtheposseat bayas the
man’s lifeebbedfromhim.Realizing somethingterrible hadhappened,two
ofthecapturedwomen came frombeitind a boulder. Upon seeingher father
dying, one ofthe women begged Aguilarto let someone get apriest, but he
refused. Villagómezdied that night in southern Chihuahua. Tite lastany of
them knew of Aguilar was tbe sound ofbis horse galloping into tite night.
The nextday Captain Garcíaand bis men tried to find his trail but failed6~
Yearslaterin 1663, Aguilartold bis version ofthe shooting. He said bis
uncle had gone «with the men to kill him.» Accordingto Aguilar, Villagó-
mez firedfirstwitita musket,buthis weaponmisfired; tite sparkbittbepan
(cazoleta) but did not ignite the powder. At that instant, Aguilar returned
tireand killedhim.He saidheescapedwith onlytheshirtandapairofwhi-
tetrousersheworethat nigbt. Aguilarexplained thatafterhe hadservedthe
king foreigbt often years, be had been personally pardoned by tite gover-
norofNuevaVizcaya ‘. Actually, he was confused abouttite chronology of
tbe pardon, for Govemor Bernardo Lópezde Mendizábal ofNew Mexico
stated thatAguilarhadtaken advantage ofacédulade indultoissued by tbe
king on the occasion ofaprincebeing born to tite royalfamily. Tbe cédula
de indulto granted ageneral amnesty througitoutthe Empire As Aguilar
~.
6 ¡bid.
DescargodeAcusaciones hechopor Nico¡ásdeAguilar,Capítulos 42and44, E¡Fiscal
contraNico¡ásdeAguilar,AGN, Inquisicién 5¡2.
8 Capitulaciones,Capitu¡o75, PrimeraAudienciadedonBernardo LópezdeMendizábal,
¡663,AGN, Inquisición594.
142 Joseph P.Sánchez
had entered New Mexico during the administration of Govemor Juan de
Samaniegoy Jaca(1653-1656), GovemorLópezvouched thathehad satis-
factorily provenhimself as an ableandloyal soldier andcitizen. Duringthe
late 1 650s, Aguilar served as a soldier, actually like most frontiersmen in
the category called men-at-arms. As sargento and adjutant in tite Villa de
SantaFe, probably underGovernorSamaniego, andlateras inspector(visi-
tador) ofthe trade carretacaravans of Andrés de Gracia, who lived at tite
bend oftite Rio Grande nearpresent El Paso, Aguilar earnedhis way into
titegraces ofNewMexican administrators.Sometimeduringtitisperiod, he
married CatalinaMárquez granddaugitterofGerónimo Márquez, one of
~,
titeconquistadors whohadcometo NewMexico withJuan deOñate(1598-
1609). Nicolas and Catalina raised a family of four children ¡O. In 1659,
Governor López upon tite recommendation ofGovernor Juan Manso and
the former govemor, Juan de Samaniego, appointed Aguilar as alcalde
mayor oftiteJurisdiction ofLas Salinas.
As alcalde mayor, Nicolas de Aguilar playedan important role in tite
developmentofGovemor López’ Indianpolicy. Titeofficeofalcalde mayor
whichhadbeen created inthe mid-1640s inNew Mexico, was introduced to
administer Indian districts called jurisdictions As alcalde mayor of the
~.
Jurisdiction ofLas Salinas, Aguilarwas expected to live within tite district.
His duties includedinforming Indiansoftheirlegal status. Todoso, hefamí-
liarizedhimself withissuesbetweenSpaniardsandIndiansinhisjurisdiction.
In particular, he was expected to report alí offenses against Indians. Like
other alcaldes mayores, he served unsalaried. That aspect of the officeof
alcaldemayor; itowever,resultedintite useofIndian laborfor titeirowninte-
rests 12• Perhapsitwas the statusof tite officethatintrigued Aguilar. Gover-
nors expected loyalty from theiralcaldes mayores. In titat way, Aguilarwas
well suitedto carryout López’ policies.Resides his loyalty todonBernardo,
he was aruggedfrontiersman andhad proven himselfto be a good man in a
fight. Aguilarwould notwait long to demonstrate his worthto itis governor
~Ibid.
LO Genealogíade Nico¡ás de Aguilar,May 8, 1663, E¡ Fiscal contra Nicolás deAguilar,
AGN, Inquisición512.
Informaciónhechaen lasProvinciasdei Nueho Méxicoenvirtud dePatentedel Reve-
rendísimoPadre,fray JuandePrada,ComisarioGeneralde¡asProvinciasdeNuebaEspaña,por
el PadrePredicador,fray TomásManso,Custodio, sobreagravios hechosa ¡osre¡igiosos deSan
Francisco queestánendichoNueboMéxicoporelGovernadord.LuisRosas, Año ¡644,Archi-
voGeneraldeIndias,Sevilla,SecciónPatronato 244,ramo7.
2 Scho¡es, «CivilGovernment», New Mexico Historical Review (April ¡935), Vol. X,
No. 2,p.93. Scholes, TroublousTimes, p.40.
NicolásdeAguilar andIheJurisdictionofSalinas... 143
As required by law, each govemor made a visita or inspection of tite
province he governed Tite lawsoftite Indies specified titat aninspection
~
andareport on the Indian pueblos and Spanish settlements in the province
be made early in each govemor’s administration. During itis inspection of
the pueblos, tite governormust explain to the Indians bis role asjudge and
defenderoftheirlegal rights. Forexample, Lópezwas required to listen to
Indiancomplaints ami submitthem to titejuezes ordinarios (ordinaryjud-
ges) intiteVilladeSantaFeforinvestigation, andifnecessary, prosecution.
One restriction was placed on inspection tours. Tite law stipulated that tite
governorwas required to maketite visita onlyonce duringhis termofoffi-
ce. Thatdid not mean that hecould notlater visit certain pueblosor consi-
der any other complaints from Indians; the law merely limited tite obliga-
tion to ensure that for eacit administration, the entire province would at
leastbe seen once, andtitat eachgovernorwould becomefamiliarwithpla-
ces andsituations withinbis jurisdiction.
In October 1659, López and a retinue of alcaldes mayores undertook
theinspectionofthe province Quicklytitefriarspointed outthattite visi-
~
ta was made to investigate them,not the items required by law. Everywite-
re Lópezwent tite Franciscans were defensive.Aftertite occurrenceat tite
puebloofAlamillonearSocorro,tite friarsfeltjustifiedin titeirconcern. At
Alamillo, Lópezmadeclearbis intentiontoput theadministration ofIndian
policy under bis control and take it away from tite missionaries. Taking
advantage ofanti-missionary sentiment at Alamillo, López demonstrated
support forIndiancauses.
Sitting ata tablewhicit he had placedin the plaza, titebald-iteaded, be-
spectacled Governor López gatitered bis soldiers and the Indians around
blm. In a series ofleadingquestions, he askedthe nativesifthey«supported
tite missions.» 15 Furthermore, he wanted to know about concubinage
amongthemand punishments theyreceived forit. Lópezspecifiedthat cer-
tain crimes not be punisited by tite friars. Phitosophically, López feltthat
tite friars would distinguish between sins against God and crimes against
the state. In drawingtite linebetweenoffenses punishablebyfriarsand tito-
sepunisitable by thecivil authority, titegovemororderedtitatIndianscould
RecopilacióndelasLeyes delosReynosdelasIndias, ¡681,Tomo¡1, LibroV,TituloII,
‘~
Ley X.Recopilación, TomoII, LibroV.TítuloII, LeyXVand LibroV,Titu¡oII, LeyXXI.
Titulol,FrayGarcíadeSanFranciscodebedadde59anosfaltóeljuramientoenlarati-
‘~
ficación sehaceyenel numero 9deesta declaración sedicehizoeljuramiento,El Fiscaldel
Santo Officio contraBernardo López de Mendizábal,México, Ano ¡662,AGN, Inq. 593and
PrimeraAudienciadedonBernardo Lópezde Mendizábal,ítem67,AON, Inquisición594.
“ Capitulaciones,Capítulo3.32 and33.AGN, Inquisición594.
144 JosephP.Sánchez
neititer be placed in stocks or jails wititout his permission. Titat, he said,
liad already been determined by tite King 6
Tite friars presentedanotiter version. Titey claimedLópezdeliberately
entreated tite Indians to testify against titeir minister «titeninety year oid»
Fatiter Francisco Acevedo One woman stood up and said the friar had
17
«deflowered»her.Withouífurtiterdiscussion,GovemorLópez,tlxeyreponed,
orderedone ofhis men to FatherAcevedo’s celíto take a manta (blanket)
fromhim as indemnity to the woman. Acevedo’s fellow missionaries were
outraged, fortitejudgement againsttite oídpriestassumed guilt on his pafl
and the public humiliation discredited his reputation as a clergyman. The
missionaries maintained that only their prelate, as tite juez eccíesióstico
(eccíesiastie judge) had the right to judge them —not the governor. Al-
titough López’ expedient way ofmeting outjustice haddefamed Acevedo,
he explained that he was obligated to make tite case public in orderto dis-
charge his duty Already Lópezcould see the intricate relationsitip bet-
~.
ween Indian civil rights, eccíesiastical immunities and gubernatorialjuris-
diction.
As the blanket was handed to the aggrieved wornan, the pueblo broke
into agreatburst oflaughter, as ifin mockery oftheirminister. One oftite
friarsran into Acevedo’s celí and asked him to go out anddefend himself;
buttheoídpriest kneelinginprayerrepliedthat his defensewas hisoíd age,
itis ilí itealth, andbis reputationas asimple and holy man witohadworked
among lndiansformorethantwenty-eightyears. Besides, hesaid, giventite
false accusation made against him, he did not wish to make more of it
I9~
Years later, the Franciscan citronicler Fray Agustín Vetancurt wrote that
Acevedo died at Abó and was buriedtitere20 Ifso, it is likely that tite oíd
priest moved from Alamillo to Abó after tite incident because he was no
longerwelcomed titere.
16 FrayMigueldeGuevara, corroboratingtestirnonyagainst CristóbaldeAnaya,and testi-
monyofFrancisco GornezinPrimeraAudienciadedonBernardo LópezdeMendizábal, 1662.
AGN, Inquisición593.
7 Capitu¡aciones, capítulo31,El Fiscal contraLópezdeMendizábal, ¡663,AGN, lnqui-
sición 594, and corroboratingtestimony ofFrancisco Gomez, ElFiscal contraLópez deMen-
dizábal, AGN, Inquisición593.
~ Capitulaciones,Capítulo32and33, ElFiscalcontraLópezdeMendizábal, 1663,AGN,
Inquisición594.
Capitulaciones,Capítulo31,El FiscalcontraLópezdeMendizába¡, 1663, AGN, lnqui-
‘~
sición594.
20 Fray Agustín Vetancur¡.Menológio, p. 260, in TeatroMexicano: Descripción brevede
los sucessos exenzpíares de la Nueva-España en el nuevo nuindo occidental de las Indias,
(¡698),4volumes,Madrid, JoséPorruaTuranzas, 1960-1961.
Nicolás deAguilarand rheJurisdiction ofSalinas... 145
AfterAlamillo,Lópezcontinuedhis visitaintotheManzano mountain
Range. Everywherehe wenthe was received wititdisdain by thefriars and
with curiosity by tite Indians. López visited Abó, Quarai, Tajique, and
Chilili before pusiting nortitward to Galistao and Santa Fe. At eacit place
he visited, he informed tite Indians of bis policy to administer Indian
affairs.
The visitaof1659totheRioAbajo wasrevealing intwoways. First,tite
friars were unwilling to accept any tampering witit their mission program
by the govemor no matter what legalities he migitt present regardingtite
appropriateness ofbis actions. Second, GovemorLópezhadannounced tite
basic premiseofitis Indian policy as itconcerned the Pueblo Indians.
Among otiterelements ofLópez’ PuebloIndianpolicy was titefact that
he would attend only to matters of civil disobedience, but he would not
cooperate with the friars in any punishments which were based on «sins
committed» byIndiansin contrasttocivil offenses. Furtitermore, heencou-
raged the natives to go directly to him and make titeir complaints. López
stipulated that Indians wereno longerto do any workforthe priestsunless
the friars paid titem according to tite law; and that, as in otber parts oftite
empire, Indianscould participate innative ceremonies as long as they were
not idolatrous. Finally, Lópezpronounced that lndians were not obligated
to attend the doctrina ormass becausebothfunctions adverselyinfluenced
titem to workforthe missionaries wititout pay and under conditions offor-
21.
ced labor
As alcalde mayor ofLas Salinas, Nicolas de Aguilarwasted little time
in acting on bis instructions ftom thegovernor. At each pueblohe visited,
Aguilarusedacriertoproclaimthe «nopay-nowork» Indian policy. AtLas
Humanas, however, Fray Diego de Santandertold his superiors titat «from
my window in the rear room (of tite convent) near the plaza»22 he could
hear Aguilar himself make the announcement. Aguilar, said Fray Diego,
spoke first in Spanish, titen in Tompiro. At Quarai Aguilar made asimilar
announcementand wenta step furtiter. He told tite Indians that they would
21 Thesestatenientsofpo¡icyandothers formed heconteations ofthe prosecution inhe
caseagainst Lópezde Mendizábal presentedpassiminAGN, Inquisición593 and594. Howe-
ver,atleast oneperson LestifiedheLiadheardtharthepriest«ofhepueblodeAbohadrenoun-
cedbis officebecause hehadpermittedthe said NicolasdeAguilar to announcethatno gover-
nor, alcaldeorfiscal, wou¡dpunish anyIndians, maleorfemale,for anysin,orfault ¡bey may
commit,, Testigo ¡2,Capitulo6,AAGN, Inquisición 512,ff. 154.
22 Declaración de Fray Nicolas de Freitas, El Fiscal contra Nicolas de Aguilar, AGN,
Inquisición512,ff. 29. Aguilarwas quick o respondthat—«queelPadre Freitas mentia»—,
hepriest lied—Testigo ¡2,Capitulo5,AGN, Inquisición512,ff. 154s.
146 Joseph1’. Sánchez
no longer be permittedto serve the priests without pay,nor would theybe
23
allowedto serveas choirmembers or acolytes
Tite question ofIndian labor at the missions did not have a solution in
tite contextoftite seventeenthcenturymissionregime ofNew Mexico. The
practice ofemploying Indians to workin tite fields, care for tite iterds, and
servetite priestsas houseservants was long standing. Furthermore, titepre-
mise that it was done for tite good oftite mission was, as far as the friars
were concerned, irrefutable. López, nevertiteless, demanded that the mIs-
sionariespaytheIndiansonereal adayfortheirservices. Hispointwasthat
Indians ought not be obligated to work for the priests, nor should they be
madeto feel morally guilty ifthey didnot, unless anative voluntarilydesi-
redto serve the friars in witich case an exception would be made. Titecn-
sis over Indian labor in tite missions was one ofjurisdiction and López
attempted to define it. Tite friarsargued titatLópez’ policy was calculated
todebilitate tite poweroftite Church in NewMexico24,
López’ mandates, whichhadbeenputintopracticebytitevariousalcal-
des mayores, resulted in a series of altercations at tite missions, which
demonstrated the intensityoftite strugglebetween tite friarsandthe gover-
nor. IfLópezmeanttohalt Indianservitudeattite missions, titefriars would
sitow itim itow ludicrous was bis proposition. Fatiter Antonio Aguado
reponedtitatonce witenAguilarpassedbySan GregoriodeAbóonbis way
to Las Humanas, he noticed a largegate to tite pueblo had been left open
andwas indisrepair25• As itwas aCitristianitolyday, titeTompiros werein
their puebloenjoying aday ofrest. It was around 3 p.m., andAguilaresti-
mateditwould take aboutan hour to repairand shuttite gate. Heordered a
few men andwomen to mix somemudformortarto make titerepair.
Informed by one of tite mission Indians, Fray Aguado went from tite
convento to the gate and reproached Aguilar for having made tite natives
work on a feast day. Tite alcalde mayor responded that it was such little
work fortitepueblo’s protection. Resides, he said hewas onitis waytoLas
Humanas and it was more efficient to have tite work done witile he was at
Abó titanto have toreturn to do it later.
For a moment tite confrontation between Aguilar and Aguado flared.
DeclaracióndeJosephJirón, 1662, testimonio 47, El Fiscalcontra LópezdeMendizá-
23
bal, AGN, Inquisición593. Also see Descargo deAcusaciones hecho porNicolás de Aguilar.
capítulos5and 52, ElFiscalcontraNicolásAguilar,AGN, Inquisición512.
Descargo de Acusaciones hecho por Nicolás de Aguilar, Capítulo 4, El Fiscal contra
24
Aguilar,AGN, Inquisición512,ff 171.
ElFiscalcontraAguilar,AGN, Inquisición512,ff118.
25
NicolásdeAguilarand theJurisdictionofSalinas... 147
Agitated by Aguilar’s breach of protocol, Aguado argued that he should
itavegoneto theconventandaskedpermission for thelaborers.Aguilarres-
ponded that he would have done so except that in tite past tite friar had
always denieditim Indian workers. Tite argument between tite two moun-
ted, as tite lndians looked on. Suddenly, tite priest feil to bis knees, made
tite sign ofthecross, claspedbis handsin prayer, anduponrising, turnedon
his heel, andwalked backto tite conventas quickly as he hadcome26~
The priests hadfound away tode tite governor’sIndian laborpolicy to
a church issue. If the civil authoritycould stifle tite use ofservitude at tite
missions, tite friars would find ways to turn to tite governor’s policy intoa
religious issue. The Aguado-Aguilar confrontation clearly demonstrated
tite pitfalls ofLópez’ Indian policy. Afteralí, everyone knew that a Chis-
tian holy daywas a dayofrest.
Before 1659 was out, the friars met in council at Santo Domingo Pue-
blo and drewup a repon against López’ policies. They complained to tite
viceroythat tite requirementtopay tite Indianswastoo much ofan imposi-
tionplacedon titealready meagerearningsoftitefriars 27• «Tite religiousof
titiskingdom, sire»,titey wrote, «witolivebytitemselves inaconventwitit-
out tite enjoymentofcompany fromhis brothers,countrymen andrelatives
have no otiter conveniences. They live daily at great risk from enemies
and even tite Citristian Indiansl, who for one wordofreprehensionabout
their viewstake titeir lives.»~ Tite isolationtitey suifered was exemplified
by the factthat theywalked «ten, twenty,and thirty leagues oneway to tite
next convent and more for tite retum trip.»29 Titeir only «stipend, alms,
subvention or collection money at tite altar, witicit they received, carne to
one hundred and flfty pesos, whicit the king gives every year to eacit
30 Tite money from the royalpatronage was often stretched to buy
priest.»
necessities for the church. «And the govemordoes not wantthe Indians to
serve unless we paythem onerealeach day... as ifweitad it...»~ wrotetite
friars. Tite brothers explained titat tite mission fields were used to giving
food to tite Indians, to needySpaniards, andto travelers witocame bytiteir
convents. Furtitennore, they complained that the governor’s order to tite
Indians notto serve tite priests wititout pay, had been extended to include
26 Ibid.
27 Declaraciónsigned byFrancisco Monte,EscribanoReal,Mexicano,February26, 1660,
ElFiscalcontraLópezdeMendizábal, AGN, Inquisición593,ff. 254.
28 Ibid.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
~‘ Ibid.
148 Joseph1’.Sánchez
the stipulation that thenatives should not assist the ministers in anything.
Tite friars reiterated that the Indians «do not want to help the church and
doctrina in anything because of this orden we here do not have anything
wititwiticit to pay themother thanthefood whicitthey cultivatedforus.»32
In theirrepon witich they issued to Mexico City ofticials at tbe start of
1660,tite missionaries demonstrated titeirneed forIndian labor at the mis-
sions, their pecuniary straits in affording payment forIndian services, and
afirm resolve to fightagainst GovemorLópez’ Indianpolicy which would
eliminate the time-honoredpractice ofIndian servitude attite missions.
AlthoughLópezconsideredAguilartobetitebestofitis alcaldesmayo-
res to implement itis policies, the friars saw him as a trouble maker. Tite
incidentat QuaraionJune 14, 1660wasacaseinpoint~ AfterAguilarhad
assembled the Indians in the pueblo and itis crier had announced titat they
were not to serve the priests without pay, the ruflian from Yuriripundaro
explainedtothem that theywerenoteventoserve titepriests in titechoiror
as acolytes in tite mass. Iii announcing rhat Indians ougbt be paid fortiteir
work, Aguilarmade itclearthat neithercould they serve tite friarsvolunta-
rily To allay titeir guilt feelingson the matter, tite alcalde mayor furtiter
~
announcedto tite pueblotitat ah mission Indianswould bepermitted«free-
domofconscience», and practically guaranteed titat under no circumstan-
ces would anyone be witippedor punished in any way for «any sin or any
offense» at tite missions by civil authorities. The priests were shocked at
such a statement and sought to combat the damaging announcements by
teacitingtheIndianstiteerrorofanIndianpolicy whichled to imnoral rule.
Father Nicolas de Freitas led tite attack against Aguilar’s pronounce-
ments at Quarai. The next morning witen mass was f¡nisited, Freitas, still
wearing his chasuble, began «to teach titese poor Indians», who he said,
hadremained in the citurcit to hear him. Aguilar, who had attended mass,
35.
alsoremained to hear whattite priesthad tosay
Ibid.
32
~ Acusaciones Capftulo 6, El Fiscal contra Nicolás Aguilar, AGN, Inquisición 512,
ff. 108.
~ Ibid. According totestiniony, Aguilar’sparaphrased wordswere «les mando nosolo
que nosirviesen ael conhento de suobligacion, masque ni aun voluntariamente quenadicho
senorGobernadorque sirviesen», in Letterfrom FrayNicolasdeFreitas ¡oFrayGarcíadeSan
Francisco, vicecustodio del Nuevo Mexico. June 15, ¡660, Quarac, El Fiscal contra Aguilar,
AGN, Inquisición 512, ff. 13,Testigo5,capítulo 1;andProposiciones y Hechosquesehande
calificar,tercera proposición,signedby Dr. donJuanSaenzdeManozca, July29. ¡66!, El Fis-
calcontraAguilar,AGN, Inquisición512.
~ Acusaciones capítulos5and6.El FiscalcontraAguilar,AGN, Inquisición512,ff. ¡08.