CHAPTER XXVII.

PANAMA, PORTOBELLO, AND PIRACY.

1601-1670.

AUDIENCIA AGAIN ESTABLISHED IN PANAMA ITS PRESIDENTS CAPTAIN

PARKER S RAID ON PORTOBELLO GROWTH OF PORTOBELLO AND DECA
DENCE OF PANAMA MALEFEASANCE OF OFFICIALS INTEROCEANIC COM
MUNICATION CONTRABAND TRADING CHURCH MATTERS IN PANAMA
DISPUTES BETWEEN THE BlSHOPS AND THE OlDORES TlIE ECCLESIASTICS
IN EVIL REPUTE DESTRUCTIVE CONFLAGRATION BAZAN S ADMINISTRA
TIONHIS DOWNFALL AND ITS CAUSE THE ANNUAL FAIR AT PANAMA.
I

DURING the first half of the seventeenth century

the province of Panamd was under the control of a
governor or president, and an audiencia real, which
was reestablished toward the close of the previous
century. The archives are meagre of information re
garding the governors, some of them being barely
mentioned, and their succession not always agreed
upon by the authorities. In 1601 Alonso de Soto-
mayor was governor; on the 9th of June 1604 the
licentiate Alonso de Coronado, an oidor of the audi
encia of Guatemala, was appointed president; and on
the 18th of September in the same year that office
was filled by Valverde de Mercado, each of the officials
1
receiving as salary six thousand ducats per annum.
We have also the personnel of the ayuntamiento of
2
Panama, and certain ordinances passed by that body,
one of which relates to the sale of a noxious liquor

Panamd, PeaksCtdulas, in Pacheco and Cdrdenas, Col Doc., xvii. 349-50.

1
2
In 1604 Andres Cortes was alcalde ordinurio, Francisco Terii alguacil
mayor, and Capt. Damian Mendez and others regidores. The names of the
members for 1605 are also mentioned. Id., 228-32.
(464)
 PARKER S

afi vin< de Aljai and

fliekiu-- in IK .

It was during tin- adminM rat imi of Y\

plain \Yilliani Park .

eked and \

He Bailed from
>dlo.
.Plymouth in
I with two ships, a pinn I t\\< ,nd
-t two huinhvil i
Aft*
\- in which In- lo>t his pin:
three. he eapt-mvd tin- town *
,h Y
tin 1
(
Jape Verde l>lainls. and at t r d
it-
up lr t<( ^ ^ ^ am< ^ ><iil -<l l "r

fiviiiLC
"in;
Arriving al the i-land of ( \\\>,

was a
pearl-fishery, h- wi tted
of soldi. TS, who i-. <! niani ully, hut l
lly
onir; srvi-ral harks and h
several jtrisoncrs lakcii, lor whos<- .in oin I \\

l-arls to tlnj v.-ilur of twenty-five huii

r
~os.
i1
-liapcd liis course tor (
aj la V
which h- niet with ;i line ] ortu. >

-liip of t

hundred and fifty tons, hound for nd

laden with negroes lor he min, t

s made, and anotlier v. t lniinlrMl ]

ansoin for the slav. I

( allin
inlands of ( a nd inieiit ]>a-t

which he |irocinvd nil

negro LTU I

hundred and lift y of his men in th

in t\\ mil pinn;: vrhich he had huilt <!

JK- cnt( red the mouth of the river on which

Mar kin.l of \vi: much in use at

./u.1, iu I achcco a

os for : 1 00 for a sec

and f..r i!f third

rs punishal.Ir
eooncl.
5
In

I with \. t() in owned that he left at lch

in c

Hi.-. II. SO
483 PANAMA, PORTOBELLO, AND PIRACY.

Portobello is situated about two o clock in the morn

6
ing of the 7th of February 1602.
The moonlight quickly revealed the boats to the
watch on duty at the fort of San Felipe, command
ing the entrance of the harbor. Being challenged as
to whence they came, they answered from Cartagena,
the reply being given in Spanish by men taken on
board at that town for the purpose. They were then
commanded to anchor, and did so at once, six leagues
from Portobello, "the Place where my Shippes roade,"
says Parker, "beinge the rock where Sir Francis
Drake his Coffin was throwne overboarde."
The captain was well aware that at San Felipe were
always thirty-five great pieces of brass ordnance,
ready mounted, to bid an enemy welcome, and fifty
soldiers to manage them. Nevertheless, as soon as
all was quiet, he proceeded up the river with thirty
men and two cannon in his shallops, ordering the re
mainder of his forces to follow him. Directly oppo
site the castle was. a smaller fort named Santiago,
mounting five pieces of ordnance and manned by
thirty soldiers, some of whom, seeing the boats, cried
out to them to stop, and ran along the shore in pur
suit. Heedless of their noise Parker proceeded to the
suburban town of Triana, landed there with his com
pany, and in a trice, though the alarm was promptly
given, set it on fire. Then, leaving it burning, he
marched on Portobello, capturing on his way a piece
of ordnance with the loss of only one man. The Eng-
6
In the appendix to Carranza just quoted Parker gives A Table made in
the manner of an Alphabett, for the easier findinge of the Streates, and chief -
est Places portraited in the Drafte of Portabell, beinge in the West-Indies,
standing in tenne Degrees, which was taken by Captaine William Parker, of
Plymouth, Gentleman, the seaventh Daye of Februarie 1001, etc. In Panama
Descrip., Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., x., the year 1602 is given on p.
105, and 1G01 on p. 108. The year 1601 is also given in CasttelVs Am., in Church
ill s Col. Voy,, viii. 762. The town was pillaged by the English under Cap
tain Parker, in the year 1601, says Heylyn, Cosmog., 1086. The date of sailing
from Plymouth, November 1601, is given in Harris* Col. Voy.., i. 747; in
West Indies, Geofj. and Hist., 79; in Purchaa* PH., iv. 1243, and in Holmes?
Annals Aid., i. 117. The landing at Portobello is placed on the 7th of Feb.
1602. The author of West Indies, Geog. and Hist., 79-80, gives both dates,
but in speaking generally of the expedition styles it of 1601, as on pp. 67, 78,
and elsewhere.
 h made directly kind s i

la!
tnspicUOUS huildhi
tli \vu, TVdro V
!i-- fore The il;

warning of the invad id I

f"imd bef ladron

up ive him, and
civilianswith two iield-pi.
lowed was sharp and Moody. ;,h
nin- wciv killed i- <r
wounded,
nior hr h-ad of M\IV x.ldi
usli thr ivsnnaiit of ih,-ir li;
"

l -r HM- j.i
Mis pii-ate, "God did -ur
]*! 3
ini^htt-lic. loi- th-

nt i roiii us shot M-d.-ndns thnm^li h

w-nt throii-l! -

In-tli his Ann-

lnnlrd Corporall of
tli- tht- Field
all ivlin-d to their Ii which they i 1 un-
till it was almost da;
uiwliilc 11 maindi r ol i
hi d

up, and a! ,t of .
1

WES <!veided
in favor the >f 1 . h. Ai;
tin-
prisoners taken were t i

ano and manv of the leadiii" ci in

_

rward re] I, Mel

:

thr j], 1 ;id lihci-alrd \\ ithollt ,

had been dressed.

Tli ity rapt uivd in the 1 1

i t !ioii>and <lu- li had tin- I

arrived hut seven da; Id h,

]>i-i.
hundrrd and I
ty thousand dn<

en C d away
or ( ai I la. Isewl
amount f ]>hindi
r wa ;nd in i

of plaie, inerchaiK: and in- which v.

in
:

in -, viii. 7
468 PANAMA, PORTOBELLO, AND PIPvACY.

divided among the men, the commander reserving for

himself the sum found in the treasury.
No further injury was done to the town, except
that a few negro huts were burned in order to intimi
date the inhabitants. Seizing two vessels that he
found in the port, and in one of which were three
mounted pieces of cannon, the English, as they
dropped down the river, opened fire on the forts, and
were warmly answered by the Spaniards, who ex
"But God so
pected to sink their vessels. wrought
for says the captain, "that we safely gott forthe
us,"

againe coritrarie to the Expectation of our Enemy es."

Most of the shots fired from shore passed high over

head, though a few of the English were wounded,
among them the commander, who was hit in the
elbow with a musket ball which passed out at his
wrist. Reaching a neighboring island, Parker was
soon rejoined by his ships, and next day, the 9th of
9
February, put out to sea.
It has already been said that in 1585 Portobello
contained not more than ten dwellings, and that in
March 1597 the port of entry was removed there
from Nombre de Dios. During the five years that
elapsed between this change and Parker s raid the
town had developed into a thriving settlement, and
now contained two churches, a treasury, an exchange,
a hospital rich and large, a convent and several streets,
where for six wr eeks in the year, when the galleons
were merchants and artificers congregated.
in port,

Upon the arrival of the galleons, the treasurer,

contador, or factor, was ordered by the governor to
proceed there, taking with him the deputies of the
other two officials.
10
When the gold and silver had
9 On
hearing of the capture of Portobello, the governor of Cartagena is
said to have sworn to give a Mules lading of Silver to have a fight of Cap
tain Parker and his Company, and as Harris remarks: Had they been sure
he would have parted with what he had upon so easie terms as they at
Porto Belo did, tis very likely they might have sold him that favour, but his
strength being uncertain as well as his pay, they did not think fit to attempt
him. Col Vmj., i. 747.
10
Deputies were to receive 400 ducats yearly. In 1608, the bonds of
 m
on tin- ^;;];
]>ul
l.<:ir<l .
and
3 on board UK- mercha
Hi thattl
pt for valtiahle con>5d. n. Th
in- of ill- annual ll-

solicit ud vii, to ship;

ooi lanv a treasure-lad
or fell lur .

rival of a a nvoy was h<-rald-d with

joy, even royalty itsrlf not
;
<

announce such an event. to

15, ICO.l, the khiir in a atdi to the <1-| p:
audimeia iniornis them of the arri
Luis de ( onloha in January of that j

After thu de[)ariuiv ;], lleons, <! rortol-.

almost ahaiidoiird hy the S[>aiiiai <,d 1

and niulaKoes, the inh;i \

j livi:

hy renting their dwelliii;. .nt

The town \vas huilt in tin- shape n{
J ; iis harhur \\ as on.- of tin- D in the
]ndi and ship-building and tin-
[n

f reduced fi-niii JO, 000 <1

int.
In >t. 1 1, lillo.

:-y during tli-- B6MI

f Tin t!i -ir u.--u;il <luti s and make tli>

dO8 V ji;i-;i ]
!<>

ipii-
l":;rr)ii con li-

i
y otl; ..s
i>n>!ul>id;is
A las.-;
:i cllos y en 1 ls lldian. l;i.s
i
istan r
!
iil<ix,
in /
11
\\ lien I ,
-to-
:
to see i

iiat tlic longer 1

\ . who was tho K

v.ith me, ]irmiii-c<l
t 1 !

e:
liips
\\hich
! ..

. \\ ith :

ml they dt mandrd "f :

eh- i; thousaml ( m\s i.

arthat I wa.<

\v-hieh -r a ro

: al I
a-<

L
1,600 iaces, ami the average JTfathoiua. L*rg*
470 PANAMA, PORTOBELLO, AND PIRACY.

cedar lumber were its leading industries. The d>i~

mate of Portobello, like that of other towns on the

Isthmus, was unhealthy, as I have elsewhere stated,
though less so than that of Nombre de Dios or even
Panama. The hospital was crowded with invalid
soldiers, laborers, and slaves, and in 1608 an annual
grant of two thousand ducats was assigned by the
crown for its support.
In 1610 the city of Panama had not more than one
third of the population which it possessed in 1585, 13
although from the time of its establishment to the
latter date it had grown steadily in wealth and popu
lation. The best indication of its decline as a com
mercial centre is the fact that the revenues of the casa
de Cruces, 14 which at one time were farmed out for
ten thousand pesos a year, were rented in 1610 for
-only two thousand pesos. There were mines, but they
were not worked; 15 pearl-fisheries, but they lay idle; a
measure of trade, but it was in the hands of monopo
16
lists, who shared their profits with the king.

The expenses of the general government of Panama

were met by annual appropriations allowed by the
ships ride at anchor opposite Castle Santiago, while frigates can move nearer
the mole. There is room for 300 galleons and 1,000 smaller vessels within,
while 2,000 ships may anchor with tolerable safety without the forts. Pa
nama, Descrip., in .Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., ix. 118-19.
13
Panamd contained in 1G10, eleven streets, three squares, a cathedral,
five convents, a hospital, seven royal houses, a casa de cabildo, two hermit
ages, court-house with jail, 332 houses covered with tiles, 40 small houses,
112 Indian huts, a meat market and slaughter-house. All but eight of the
houses were made of stone. Panamd, Descrip., in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col.
Doc., ix. 80. The statement that all but eight were of stone seems improb
able. It is certain that they were nearly all of wood about the middle of the
IGtli century, and that most of them were of cedar when Panamd vieja was
destroyed during Morgan s raid in 1671.
14
It will be remembered that Cruces was the town at which treasure from
Panama was shipped in barges for the mouth of the Chagre. The casa de
Cruces was established in 1536.
15
In response to frequent addresses, the king, on the 14th of August 1610,
directed Governor Mercedo by all means in his po^er to develop mining
operations in Panamd and Veragua. Para que los que tienen quadrillas do
negros las refuerzen y acrecierten, y los que no las tienen las procuran. Pa
nama, Rcales Ccaulas, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 211-12.
16
The office of corredor de lonja was farmed out for 1,000 pesos, those of cor-
redor devinos and auctioneer for Vo pesos each per annum. Panama, Descrip.,
lu Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., ix. 90. In fact the king prohibited
 ml if v

>f lli

of M
informs t t that ): has 1-

while ial i

:m -d ike u illi th- ir ui

alv .
ided fur at tin- tov.
him to forhid tin-in tin
ion ami to insist that t

and servants 1>^ redm-ed to tin- small :inm-

!. (
rovernor Yal\ in his r-

lowii ;t
many of tin- ii

Tii not ;d .1 l.\

many \ Mid that th

11 vi.Mted dl. To i

m>r orders fche oi it all

\

d [!;,
ill

qi
-n of interoceanic commn
\vhich allusion h ii cadv he. n
:-vals during tin- lalt.-r half of th
lid further >i:r\

h. "It is 1 ru writ.-s ( ,

that mountain- oltnn-t th if th-

utains then- I hand

I to make tin- |
id it can
the :;i>t of 1 >ecemcx r L6H
])i Fernandez <! Vel . who
-nmr of ( lla d-l (

I th inion of t i

tto. On t

iliat a> ll< iir i

..so >vi

-rwwv

peace c;i

.
, iu I . vL D
472 PANAMA, PORTOBELLO, AND PIRACY.

world on this .project. They believed that communi

cation might be easily established between the oceans
by constructing a canal connecting the rivers Dacil
and DamaquieT, about thirty leagues from Cartagena,
and that such a work would enable the king to pro
vide better for the defence of the provinces. 18
The governor was directed to report on the feasi
bility of the project, and to despatch a few small ves
sels for the purpose of
making a similar investigation
at the gulf of San Miguel and the Rio Darien. The
conclusions arrived at by the officers employed on
these surveys is not recorded in the chronicles of the
age, but we learn that his Majesty was very explicit
in his directions that all such explorations and sur
veys should be made at the expense of those who
were interested, and not charged to the royal treas
19
ury.

When Felipe IV. ascended the throne of Spain he

assured his subjects in the New World that no forced
loans should be required during his reign. He even
reimbursed, with interest, the money seized by his pre
decessor, who a year before his death appropriated to
his own use an eighth of the treasure on board the fleet
from the Isthmus. 20 Nevertheless the fourth Philip
was often in sore need of funds. About this time
Kodrigo de Vivero was governor of Castilla del Oro,
21
having been appointed the successor of Velasco, and
those in charge of the bullion fleet had made a practice
18
Por camino se podrd poner freno d la entrada de los enemigos.
este
Panama, Reahs Ccdulas, inPacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 214.
19
Advirtiendo que todo este se a de hacer sin que dello se siga ninguna
costa a mi hacienda. Id., xvii. 213-14.
20
Forced loans were frequently extorted by Felipe III. , and merchants
resorted to all sorts of devices to conceal their specie. Commerce suffered
great depression, and on April 10, 1G43, Felipe IV., in a letter to the gov
ernor, says that under no circumstances would any further exaction be made,
but that he would be satisfied with the stipulated dues. Panama, Reales
Cedulas, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 249-52.
21
Id., xvii. 249-52. Alcedo, who is by no means reliable either as to
names or dates, says that Don Rodrigo de \ ivera y Velasco, a native of Lima,
succeeded Don Diego de Orozco. He adds that during Velasco s administra
tion the subjugation and spiritual conquest of the Guaimi Indians in Vera-
 if
thej.Mit of Peric
tandise from Spain. Claimin-_
und T the jurisdiction <>f
i

:ieia !
I ;i

!;iy
in the arrival of t!

!
that ;ill (.Hi. ,-md i

H- i Ti rra Firme >h< uld 1..-

j
l un .

tin- iin ate jurisdiction <>f th<

Til--
king was con- lj defra of !
!

ly contraband trading \vhi<-h

prevailed tlu-i >ut

tin- Vhices, lut llowher,]

! t
:t OS 111

I ::.: In t! -in- [<\-2 ( i

!n<.ir

<li> ! us j.;issin;_r throuuh the casn .

I . ! i
, Wllilr nf
7.. -is wuiv reported bi .ctor
dc ]>n! )
liavi- IM <-n
snniu -l. d tli; i. \. pun-
i>lniu-nt was inllictcd for 1 iV;r 9
i his
]\1
y thus suffered a loss <>f

1,370,656 i

tlic matter was compounded l>y

tin-
payn f
-00,000
3 into tin* t .

:ry, tlir factor bavin 1 a

bri .000 ]>-(-.
Smuggling was pr
an ;it that it tli;

coinnRT. ..r tl !nliti<n l- <>t ; Tin

1m ^-li to Maine. Tin- inrivh;: Sf\il
\vh< ill
enjoyed a monopoly of the t-
>i \\ith t

]r(vine,->, despatched on! ,;dl

MJI:
11- to sujij.ly the \vai.
d IK less the >uj)|.-ly
<f 1 in
i-iea than <>f Ameri
lat hotli should he Chipped in <j
ities so
iall ; -ure -n<nnous
jn
ofit All kim!
1 to hy c< ham! hoth
nd l : the

at hisi ! in K ,-_M. /

ikes no n icr of the

it \v;n ! Jis though li st

several
:ce WM
to s

collu.-iou 1 iiiitl 1 ibaudisU was for au 1

474 PANAMA, PORTOBELLO, AND PIRACY.

rich traffic of the Isthmus, and the government find

ing revenues constantly decreasing, finally declared
its

smuggling to be a mortal sin, and made those who

engaged in it liable to be tried by the inquisition.

It is now
in place to allude briefly to the progress of
ecclesiastical affairs in Panamd, for here, as elsewhere,
they figure largely in the history of the province.
With regard to moral and spiritual matters, the peo
ple of Panama", as we have seen,, were low enough.
Reforms \vere needed, but reformers were few. On
the 26th of November 1572 Pedro Castro de Vedeales,
provoked by the flagrant abuses of the time, addressed
the licenciado Juan de Ovando, his Majesty s coun
sellor of the holy inquisition and visitador of the
council of the Indies, upon reforms needed in church
matters. The communication is elaborate and reviews
the errors and misdoings of the Spaniards, particularly
23
in their intercourse with the natives.
When Francisco de Toledo, the new viceroy, arrived
at Panama" on his way to Peru in 1569, he restored
the royal prerogative of church patronage, which in
this diocese, and throughout his viceroyalty, had fallen
by disuse into the hands of the archbishop and bishops.
In the same year, probably, Francisco Abrego, a secu
had been elevated to the bishopric of Pan-
lar priest,
amd, and continued to hold that office till his decease
24
in 1574. During his administration the chapter
vessel to coast off Portobello until visited from the shore by those prepared
to trade. Having marked selections of goods the latter returned with their
money when ready to purchase, often under the disguise of peasants. Umr.
Col. Voy., ii. 373-4. The king on Sept. 23, 1652, says that frauds were com
mitted in 1651, in deducting from the schedule of Callao, lots and parcels,
under pretence that they were for residents of Panama and Portobello; and
that there was a dispensation to the merchants in el mero que hauian de
hazer, supliendos por imaginaria en el registro los 600,000 pesos que.se obli-
garon a mi Virrey del Peru. He also demands a report of the reasons why
no hicesters enterar la suma que el cinsutacto, y cornerico de Lima so obligo
a suplir por imaginaria, a lo epetwo del registro que salid de aquella ciudad.
Panama, Real Cedula, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 194-5.
23
Provinda del Sto Evangdio MS., No. 16. See also Torquemada, iii. 280;
and Mendkta, IJit. Ecles., iv. 32.
Gonzalez Davila, Teatro Ecles., ii. 58, states that he held office for 15
24

years, and Alcedo, Die., iv. 34, repeats the statement;

and yet both are
 idered and -i-mal I

roimri] of Tivnt. and i

ith [fa I,

or ini .
rior
All.-r an int. rval of four ,
,1,.

10 Wa8 plarrd ill rl;

in;;

i -an convent, and <.nc l.d :

M io was BUCC( in 158*!

5
ulin.vv who liad i ormrrl
;

of Lima, and
tli of Panamd I I

t<>
(In- i

pivlary of Granada, but tli-d

;.-

Tlu- >u- T of Martinez was P >,dnq

a, a ]<
>inmrnt .Icsuii d in I .V.)
J,
\\

Bor m reaching (
r

n in
3 Antonio ( ald.TMM v,

of 1 \
in ih<
l)i^lin])i-ic nd in IfiO. I v,

IT of Sant nz [ to 1 i
( i (] la :

111 592 tlir rliaptiT Ivx.K cd oil

1 t
!

nunnery at Panama, and an ,-

.1 in
t iiM-t with
prompt and
n alone providi v luiildii,
and a considerable mdnwn ,^

nt \ d to ( )ur La<ly
of tin- (
j>-

\vith an as>uivd revenu ;ir thousand p

.Four nuns and 1 \\ -i.

mis Aiders
.i;i in .

th. 1

of lii .hi.-in \

of ti

i until n]>|

his full
iitniciit th. i l IK :

Io.

tlfv,

a Of
476 PANAMA, PORTOBELLO, AND PIRACY.

sent by the archbishop of Lima, whose cooperation

had been heartily given.
Thus the spiritual welfare of the inhabitants of
Panamd \vas fully provided for; but the ecclesiastics
were by no means single-minded in their labors on
behalf of the church. Not content with receiving
maintenance, service, and tithes, as provided by law,
they extorted, with the connivance of their bishops,
salaries of three hundred pesos each from the Indians
under their charge, 29 and justly aroused against them
the indignation of the king, who instructed the audi-
encia forthwith to banish from the province many
irregular friars of whose disgraceful conduct he had
heard.
After the promotion of Bishop Calderon the see
of Panamd, remained vacant until 1605, when Fray
Agustin de Carabajal was appointed prior, and assist
30
ant-general of the provinces of Spain and America.
Meanwhile the long struggle for supremacy between
the authorities of the state and the church, which
had now subsided into an unseemly question of pre
cedence in the various religious ceremonials, was
disposed of by a royal decree assigning the place of
lay and clerical dignitaries in all such pageants. In
all processions the bishop led, followed by the offi

ciating presbyter and the clergy. Behind them came

the president and audiencia. At the sprinkling with
holy water before high mass, the ecclesiastics were
to be first sprinkled, and then the president and the

Panamd offered to erect the buildings if a suitable site were provided, and
expendedfor that purpose some 24,000 pesos. He further added an annual
endowment of 2,000 pesos, reserving founder s rights (patronazgo) for himself.
Panamd, Descrip., Pacheco and Cardenas, CoL Doc., ix. 107; Figueroa, Vin-
dicias, MS., 74.
29
A ceilula of July 1, 1580, stigmatizes this conduct as an abuse that must
be stopped. Pacheco and Cardenas, CoL Doc., xvii. 488.
"While still a friar, Carabajal went to Spain and became prior of the royal
30

convent of Valladolid, and during his attendance at court he was chosen assist
ant-general of all the provinces of Spain and the Indies, and reformador of the
provinces of Bolotiia and Romania by authority of Pope Clement VIII. Dice.
Univ., Mist. Geog., viii. 522. According to this authority he was a native of
the city of Mexico, but Davila, in Teatro Ecles. ii. 59, says he was a native
,

of Caceres in Estremadura.
 MAT. M.

AVith
ia. i

]! it, the kin -| it ,1,1 n ,,t l,

it lM in _r an honor to I

Ti. iin v in ,

iy, even though the i

re j
i
. l)iit o e servani dd 1

HTY it. When tin-

bishop went fcoth .al h<

]\\^ traiD was IM; t<> rani. d as 1

pivsid. room and tlidi (lrojj).-l.

nfs in were he mmm-:
di>j)iit<-
t

tin- I
ishop \ o place hia diaii- <>n
I

lii-^li alt;ii- iii HP- cnlh -lral wlirn th.: oid

wliutlicr tin- ])n-l)cin!
:in<l

r
I- side him. J1io kin-- decided i hese n.
<>t

cliurdi, and
tli- tlic 4th of Jim..; <>n 1

isultation \vith the hi-hop. a decree o i I

that tin- regulations in fonv in t ! .f<

v

ould lu- observed

larabajal was appointed
In K) ( i I

liavin^ inimdcd
j o, ]ii- 1
ii <lnri;i-- .-id

nania the college of San A in and <-nd<\\

^ ith six
scholarships, according to tin- dir
council of Tr nt.
:; -

1 i

<! la ( ;iniara y 1
Laya, ^ho .

I
UpOD in
I
juvl-cy was c
M 1. During l;is
1

r lidd in the diocese Di: <-f I .

tdministration four mo: ic ord-r ^ "f

Juan d(j in that city, j-i J.)i< I

"Panami t, i:<ni * in Pacheco and ias, Col. Doc

-

pes.
!il 11 Mercenaries ha<l 13 and tho
1 1. Tin- nuniK
-ml Sa:

s ami monasteries :

01.
:

it-d i: i<l;i in
loll
I in tluir .-i*-
478 PANAMA, PORTOBELLO, AND PIRACY.

in the hospitals established there or elsewhere on the

Isthmus. Their admission was bitterly opposed by
the aucliencia, and by the prelate, who was a Domini
can, and it was not until June 26, 1620, and in obe
dience to a provision received, that Captain Ordono
de Salazar, the alguacil mayor, enabled them to take
34
possession of the hospital of Panama. The order
was permanently established in Panama by Fray
Fabian Diaz, who came from Spain with Fray Fran
35
cisco Lopez in 1604, became celebrated as a physician,
36
and grew rapidly in importance.
In 1625 Fray Cristobal Martinez, formerly abbot
of Segovia, was appointed to the see of Panama. 37
During o his administration serious disturbances oc-
curred among the Augustinian Recollets of the con
vent of San Jose, the prime mover, Fray Francisco
de la Resurreccion, and his disorderly followers being
arrested and sent to Spain by Enrique de Sotomayor,
35
then governor of the province.
The reputation of the ecclesiastics in Panama about
this period appears to have been somewhat unsavory.
In 1634 Felipe IV. issued a decree ordering the
members of the aucliencia to see that the reputation
of cloistered nuns be protected. On the 14th of July
1536 the monarch writes to the bishop ordering that
he enforce the provisions of a decree addressed to the
hierarchy of the Indies in the previous February, by
which no mestee, illegitimate son, or person of moral or
physical defect was to be ordained. Immoral or scan-
3i
Camara founded scholarships in the college of San Agustin and left an
annuity of three hundred pesos to the Jesuit college, a sum for the mainte
nance of two chaplains in the choir, and 4,000 pesos for the church building
fund. Gonzalez Ddvila, Teatro Edes., ii. 59, and Alcedo, Die., iv. 35.
35
The former lived to an advanced age, dying in 1649. He was a great
ascetic, and refused a bishopric. His funeral was attended by the audiencia
and all the noble families of the province. Santos, Chron. Hist., i. 303.
36
In 163G they refused to deliver up the bodies of some persons who had
died in the hospital, and prevented their interment in the chapel of La Con-
cepcion. Reales Cedillas, in Parheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 243.
37
On the 17th of January 1626 he was consecrated at Valladolid in the
Dominican convent of San Pablo. Gonzalez Ddvila, Teatro Edes. ii. 59-60; ,

Alcedo, Die., iv. 35-6.

38 In
a letter dated March 26, 1638, Felipe IV. approves of this measure.
Panama, Jleales Cedulas, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Z>oc.,xvii. 241.
 R&

e."

t
1
during
US, Which l];i,l l,itl).

lnuiM, in
Ii mm! day!
f conversion wenl !
-ur
nmnlxT <{
,1 in
i thirl, ii I
hoiia

111 1644, during th<-

]>r
of Fi
the su< Marti >ut

in i anama \vliich miiMiinrd nil

.jiitl all

hedral. Tin- latter <

ii;

.<{
dedicated in 1 655 ly his -

;-<l<> (!
[zaguii il oi the iii<|ii

Jts mi
1 1 1

>y

itv. Italians writes Juan <lr \

f ilic provinc in ;i i
I
V.j "has now h ml
ing more ,-MH! nn.
Is lu-iii iillcil \vith \ Tli
,n unju-f >ii-]
i-i(n be I

;1
. ordered "-

, l I urtuh. llo to a

W 108

11 1 1 \ 1
*

111 til.

87 hut \vaa sp*

*8 t but i! ?
480 PANAMA, PORTOBELLO, AND PIRACY.

into the interior, and instructed Bazan to extort from

them as much money as possible before sending them
into banishment; but to the credit of that official it
is related that he gave no heed to the mandate. For
this neglect, and for the nepotism which he displayed
during his administration, he was severely censured
42
by his sovereign.
In 1647 Bazan was again censured by the crown
for a proceeding which, afterdue investigation by the
fiscal of the audiencia. caused his downfall. Actino*o
under the advice of the licentiate Pedro Chacon, he
had caused to be driven from their homes eighteen
friars of the order of San Jose, appointing in their

places others of bad repute. The ecclesiastics took

refuge in the San Cristobal hills, but were soon after
ward reinstated, and at the close of the following
} ear the governor was superseded by Juan Bitrian
T

de Biamonte y Navarra. 43 The latter died in 1651

while superintending the despatch of a fleet from
Portobello, and in the parish church of that city a
marble monument was erected to his memory.
Panarnd appears to have recovered quickly from
the prostration caused by the fire of 1644. An
annual fair was held there until the year 1671, at
which date the city was destroyed during the raid of
Morgan and his buccaneers, as will be presently re
lated. In 1655 the value of merchandise that changed
hands during the fair is officially reported at five mill
ions of -pesos, and this sum probably represents but a
small portion of the business actually done, for, as we
Ctdulas (published 14th of May 1645), in Pacheco and Cdrdenas, Col. Doc,,
xvii. 273.
42
On May 13, 1645, the king says that in the face of royal orders Bazan
had appointed Este"van Gallejos, his wife s nephew, warden of the castle of
San Felipe, Portobello; and on the 5th of August 1647 that other relatives
and dependents had been appointed to lucrative places. One nephew was
alcalde mayor of Nasa; another, warden of the castle of Chagre; one servant
was captain of the companies of the garrison, and another was factor. He
was censured, and again commanded to obey, porqne deinas que bos se ara
la demonstracion que conbeuga, series castigado con toda seberidad. Pana
ma, Beetles Ccdidas, in Pachcto and Cardenas, Col. Doe., xvii. 275-81.
/d, 269-71. Alcedo styles him Don Juan de Bitribeante y Navarra,
i3

knight of the order of Calatrava. Die., iv. 42.

 UIBLIOi;i:.\riII AL. ; !

lia IK-
<|uantity
of
into the jiroviur. s thnui^li contr
or lour fold
duty was
and valuaMo manuscript MC indispensable to the In*
story of
.riot of Daricn is the report of its j; >r,
Don s de An/.
:1 .">, 1771 1 to the titled
>a de el Darien. The o:

.injian: >ts in the

py was made for the author. Tim tt

rt; a 1the generally ru

. and proposed remedies; a detailed description of the towns, military
jid inh -ibitants, and a condensed account of the actual c

ivinoe, ite inhabitants, *, and .sedoci.

i .iew
: the history of t vinco for t. is sixty-two yean, de*
illy the latest Indian n iie manu>>
ript forina one volume
:ulio of forty closely written \

HIBT. CEKT. AM., VOL. II. 31