C IIAITK I ! XXXIV.

HONDURAS.
1800.

iTiGAi I; 1
1 i.i.i >
AM- r
mi. 8 ( iiruc ii V TO
\ M \ ")M OF TIIK Ml
p Ti.
Dug BOTBJD J;v Till. 1 .
D
KK i;v Tin;
::s Til

IN Honduras, and Higuer; bhern :n

<>f this territory w, ted, there were, it will 1

membered, but seven Spanish coloi iboul mid

dle of the sixteenth aild nf thc-r. I l
lljill",

the contained only

I;ir_LT It is jri
st, ti

that, tlic entire nuniher of in

Spaniards
;it this time did not d hundred; and t\v>

slightly had the resources nf the eoimti-y

that the e\v \vlio
<ped
re were t live<l th< 1

alt
hy.
Hut poor as tlie eoloni>ts
were, tin ir condition did
shield them from the depi< ions nt (Ve, -I....

who din-in^ the 1,-itter jn.rt \\\ of tl. irv i

vei-;d raids on of H)ndura th< fc

Andrew Darker. .-called r of 1

solved imburse him-elf ot j.roj

i f.

hy the Sjianiai ds duriu

<1

to th Uland-. and :i a j.irati

<narv I
<n

Fitting oui two i

ni
pedition,
JMyinoiith in Jui. At trr touehin- at various \

p.
638 HONDURAS.

and capturing a small amount of treasure, he arrived

at the mouth of the Chagre, where men were sent
in search of friendly cimarrones who might act as
guides. As none could be found, the expedition sailed
for Honduras, captured on the \vay a ship contain
ing a little gold and a small quantity of arms, and
anchored off the island of San Francisco. Here, on
account of a quarrel with his chief officer, Barker was
forcibly sent on shore, where, with thirty of his men,
he was surprised by a party of Spaniards, and nine of
the English
O were slain, himself among O the number.
A detachment from the ships was then sent in a pin
t

nace to capture the town of Trujillo, where but slight

resistance was encountered, and a good store of wine
and oil was secured, but not an ounce of treasure. A
squadron of Spanish men-of-war now appeared in sight,
and the robbers were glad to regain their pinnace,
O on shore eight of their number, of whom no
leaving <D

tidings were afterward heard. On the homeward voy

age one of the vessels was capsized in a squall, and
fourteen of the men lost with most of the treasure.
The survivors arrived in England
o without further
adventure, and the proceeds of the expedition yielded
but thirty pesos as the share of a common soldier.
This was vengeance indeed 1

In 1592, when Puerto de Caballos and Trujillo

were attacked by pirates, affairs seem to have been
more prosperous, for considerable booty was found
at the former place. Wee remained in the towne
"

all says one who took part in the expedi

night,"
2
tion, the next day till towards night: where
"and

we found 5 or 6 tuns of quick silver, 16 tuns of old

sacke, sheepe, young kids, great store of poultrie, some
store of money, & good linnen, silkes, cotton-cloth,
and such like we also tooke three belles out of their
;

church, and destroyed their images. The towne is of

200 houses, and wealthy; and that yere there were

2
John Twitt, in HakluyVs Voy., iii. 568-9.
 REMARKS OF

rieli
shij leu from I

1 n !
595 laid \v; . I

npted on 1 n de (

llns !>y
the Fivneh, I. ut OD i
irs

re tl- d, man d or iir.-d.

and 111"- remaind* :iipell.-d to put hein-

iiiL:- and averring that neither they nor tin- I isli

had in ilh similar n.

Jndi iii-iii^ tli- ar Trujil: i

de Caballos \v. --am ,led tin- Mi

l>y
i uii.

Shcriry and l^irkcr, and tin- lati >\vn

in"
!; hiii, says tin- rlirmiirl.-r who descril
tin-
expedition :
"

It \ Mu
4
])lacc of all Judia."
Notwithstanding ihu daiinns of (]c\^r>
i

thr i-ilonics of Innduras app ly J I

prosperous at the close of the si: l i

y.
lands around Trujillo were then undrr cultivation,
producing lai-^r oro] i niai/.r and IV

nrair and Inno; . d in ahundan< ( hi

t\vn sides of the t-\vn \
indin^ in li>h.

Pasture was abundant, and th btleinl

Spain multiplied BO i-apidly that they were <>f 11;

vain.- >

j>t
ior their lii<l Th 11s <f t he h
WLTC of hushes inti i-Jaccd, ])la-; ivd within and \vitli-
nut,andco, with palmejbto-] s. T\. ral I

and the convent of San Yanei the 1,-itt r I i

iounded in L589, 6 ino-t prominent huildin \

"Thi
-dy ami mountainous on: \\ r; (.

Thomas (
i,
wh<
joun d thi-ou-h thi

|>art
<f
Honduras, " his wav from Trujillo to San-
tia- o in 1 (i. Jfi:
"very
had and ineoin
ell j nid hesid ry pooj-; there h t ninodii
an- hides, Cane and Zarzaparili u-h
nt of hread, that about Truxillo they m; of
i

4
//<///,///

;iil.) u \ ;ui H -rn.

;iu acciilciital lii. ,
l>y
640 HONDURAS.

what they call Cassave, which is a dry root, that

being
eaten dry doth choak, and therefore is soaked in broth,
water, wine, or Chocolatte, that so it may go down.
Within the country, and especially about the city of
Comayagua (which is a Bishop s seat, though a small
place of some five hundred inhabitants at the most),
there is more store of Maiz by reason of some Indians,
which are gathered to Towns, few and small. I found
this Country one of the poorest in all America. The
chief place in it for health and good living is the
valley which is called Gracias a Dios, there are some
rich farms of Cattle arid Wheat; but because it lieth
as near to the Country of Guatemala as to Comayagua,
and on this side the ways are better than on that,
therefore more of that Wheat is transported to Gua
temala and to the Towns about it, than to Comayagua
or Truxillo. From Truxillo to Guatemala (Santiago)
there are between four score and a hundred leagues,
which we travelled by land, not wanting in a barren
Country neither guides nor provision, for the poor
Indians thought neither their personal attendance,
nor any thing that they enjoyed too good for us."
Small as may have been Comayagua or as it was
now termed by the Spaniards Nueva Vallaclolid- -in
comparison with other which Gage visited dur
cities

ing his travels in the New

World, it was the most
flourishing settlement in the province, and continued
to prosper until 1774, when it was destroyed by earth
quake. Jii 1557 it was declared a city, and in 1561
its church was raised to cathedral rank. The seat of
the bishop s diocese was soon afterward transferred
there from Trujillo, the chapter including a dean,
5
archdeacon, rector, and doctor of common law. In
1602 there were in Nueva Valladolid convents of the
orders of La Merced, San Francisco, and Juan de

5
The date of this transfer is variously given as 1558, in Pacheco and Cdr*
denas, Col. Doc., xv. 468; 1561, Juarros, Hist. Guat., 333, and Calle, Mem.
y Not., 127; 1562, in Gonzalez Ddvila, Teatro Ecks, i. 306; and 15S8 in Oyilby s
Amer., 230.
 ECCL; iis.

i- id an
the khiLr .

-
ill!
dy disputes whi<-h occurr
1 ill tin: li:

] [onduras were n\v ..1. On tli

Bishop IV<1: whose high-handed i d

! liim unpopular with 1 1. I dr
nearly the r roia tiir
all
province,
(

Coivlia, a .1
:imitr, wa to th I

To Corella succeeded Alonso de la Cerda in !

and in January 1588 the mitr

par de Andrad ;n, whu held oilux- until
8
his d in K>12.

The income of the l)ishopric at this date was t

llior ;
ar; T d
with::i liundred and
the dio. ! ;ii

towns, witli nearly four id h \ nnili

In 1G10 tile nielroj n of the diix
of Santo Domingo,
l)ish<i[
<>ftl

rliapt -r in Honduras, to hear and detonnine apj

in order that t id <l

journey to Santo Domingo mi^ht 1.

()ct<lor 1613 Alonso Gal as c<

p,
and during this and the t <

;r vi 11

the jirovincc, confirming

]>;,
<( nioi-r than
thousand perso. of whom
re. During ! lion t\vo
held, the last one in April L631.
Ixioiv that date Luis do (
r in the dioee the re<|:iu>t
<

-03 et serj. tlr

7
( 1 to Los CharcAs in l."77. Gonzalez ro

admin il M-;i^

est liiiu -ini to U

-hii>,
\\lnc\\ was !";

9 those In. Huns is stated at 8,000

1 i

KNT. Asc., VOL. II. 41

642 HONDURAS.

who was now aged and enfeebled by incessant toil.

After the death of Galdo in 1645 10 the see remained
vacant until 1647, when Juan Merle- de la Fuente
accepted the bishopric of Honduras, after having re
fused that of Nueva Segovia,
Between Honduras and Nicaragua lay the district
of Tegucigalpa, of which mention has before been
made in connection with missionary labors. 11 In the
principal Indian town, which was known by the same
name, was founded in 1589 a convent of the Fran
ciscans, and later one of the Merced order. Neverthe
less the greater portion of this territory had never yet
been visited by the ecclesiastics. In 1622 the mis
sionaries Cristobal Martinez de la Puerta and Juan
Vaena, accompanied by five native interpreters, sailed
from Trujillo, and landing at Cape Gracias d Dios
journeyed toward this region. On their way they
several times came in sight of bands of natives, but all
fled at their approach. The interpreters could not.
obtain a hearing, and in vain the missionaries held
forth the cross and beckoned peaceful overtures to
the timid savages. Puerta and his colleague were
becoming discouraged, when one day they beheld a
vast multitude of Indians approaching them, and in
their midst a venerable chieftain with long white
hair, who advanced to welcome the missionaries. He
told them that their coming had been eagerly antici
pated, as it had been foretold in a vision by the
most beautiful child he had ever seen, with melting
tenderness of glance and speech, that he should not
end his days before being a Christian, and that men
would come for the purpose of teaching him. The
natives at once erected a dwelling and church for the
missionaries, and the baptism of the aged leader and
all his family speedily followed.

10
In 1629 Galdo solicited the padre-general of the Jesuits to send a few of
his order to Honduras; but the experience of the Jesuits in Granada and
Kealejo a few years before led to a refusal. Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, ii. 176.
11
See p. 446 et seq., this vol.
 then ]
(lua-
tidi M
theirservi .-ml tV>m tin-in Benito L
accompanying 1 -n lii urn in .1

Meanwhile seven hundr> I !

l>apii/ed.
and vil! ;
unded ly tin- di
The
1

of the
1

Iri
country. chief ditlicul
missionaries v, the noma
UK- natives, who would depart for
mountains when 1 and withoui
1

J
hiring 1! he t ted ?

intry of tin- (
Juahas, where tl, : k-
ahle success,
baptizing
some thoi, <iv-

AVliile the missionaries were tlm- bherii !di

]iar\ ->t of Souls, tln-y aiul tlieir coir
and overpowered a IK
\>y
t r51>. nain- d ;

S, and tlie iorin.-r were put to d<-ath \vitli .

tortu A large force wa at to punish the i

and the remains .{ tlir iuis>i.n

tlieir inurd
l>ut had tied to tin- mountain
in-ss. The bodies of the martyivd nn-ii w-
Trujillo, wln-i-f t li iiii-d until i

was ea]itui\-d hy }ii wln-n the ^ua^ i tln;

tvenl had them r.-iuovrd t :d they W(
tin-re intei-red with ( uiony in th of
in Francisco.

About the year the Xicaques, wl i .<

1

d
T.-_;-!i.-!-alj)a
on the noilh, made fr -[M
j-aids on the Olaneho A all- ):
principal (

MltTe! ( iart- iii d, -

liy t .

aptain 1 l 1 .

cota. lvi-d on tin uppr n. and capturing

lar--e nUmber gathered them intoe :n H
dura A
-e^iapanied hy th: 1 .- in-as h
de(l to ruatemala in search of a priest
( i

them. The president ur-4 ed the Fran- to un

dertake the ta.-k, as tliev ha<l been the i
in
the work, and i, oundant liars- :noj to
644 HONDURAS.

await the gathering. Fernando de Espano, at the

time a member of the convent of Almolonga, was a
native of Nueva Segovia, a town bordering on the
lands of the Xicaques, and was familiar with the
Lenca language and people. Pie undertook the work
and associated with himself Pedro de Ovalle. They
started from Guatemala in May 1667, and met with
moderate success. In 1668 Espino was recalled, and
Ovalle, with additional assistants, carried on the work
despite multiplying difficulties, through many years.
In 1679 seven small villages contained upward of a
thousand christianized natives and the number was
continually increasing. Lopez paid a visit to this
district in 1695, and became so enthusiastic in the
work that he spent the remainder of his life there,
dying in 1698 in the midst of work accomplished or
projected for the good of the people.
The Franciscans were greatly impeded, in their
12
labors by the opposition of the bishop of Honduras,
who caused a portion of their buildings to be de
stroyed, and placed them and their converts under
the ban of excommunication. According to Vasquez
these proceedings caused him to be suspended from
13
office. The prelate lived to repent of his error, and
during his last sickness was waited upon by mem
bers of the order which he had sought to injure.

12
The name of the prelate who was in charge at the time is a matter of
doubt. In 1651 Doctor Juan cle Merlo was consecrated bishop of Honduras
in Mexico, but did not proceed to his diocese until December of the following
year. Guijo, Diario, in Doc. Hist. Me.x., seriei. torn. i. 190, 228. How long he
held office is not known. In 1671 the see was offered to Pedro de Angulo,
who declined the mitre. Bobles, Diario, in Id., s6rie i. toni. ii. 114. The next
appointment mentioned is that of Martin de Espinosa, who died suddenly in
1675, while in the act of dispensing alms after mass. He was a centenarian,
but apparently in good health. Id., 210. According to Vasquez, he foretold
his death eight days before; its approach being revealed to him in a vision.
Chron. deGuat., 215-16. No other reference is made to the episcopate of
Honduras until the close of the century, when it is stated that Angel Maldo-
iiaclo, who had received the mitre, was transferred to Oajaca. Itobles, Diario,
in Doc. Hist. Mcx., s&rie i. torn. iii. 256-7.
Y
13
auque se libraron despachos, para que remitiesse lo actuado el Senor
Obispo, . .110 los remitio, porque quizas podian reconocerse falidos. .y post
. .

tot discrimina rerum, fu6 declarado el Seiior

Obispo por estrafio. Chron. de
Guat., 215.
 us <

min <>f i londuras until i

C]M

]M>:
.1 Industrial condition o
icli will 1
(1 il: iltur-
cln eily I-) th raids of .ml 1. ith

j)o\\
Jn I
djillo v. nre more caj.fmvd .

]>il-

wi\ U-i

although protected ly a tort mount iu;^

lii-Hvy i^mis and a numl>er of smaller jii
ted v niards i

the ]>laee
was al)au<lonrd and ! in ruin ^
u;

17>
s(., Avliun it was rrhuilt ;iud d liy
<

tlic kii In 1 7D7 if \\ ain ; an 1

lisli
s({Uadi-on: luit al tr-r a ii
ti^ht tl,
[

S.
ivp

Jn olx-dicncc d A
17 l . a fort named San Fernando <l
i
Hm Imilt
on a harbor of th<
oame, near Pu< al;di
a i uillicr ]n ! ion tor t I
-ndii!

to serve as ;i tor tli

calling-place
ployed in those parl Thework ;n in 17

by Va/. jM. do Sotomayor, jn-.^idj-nt of GUI /.

da,
id completed tln-ee r.
Although \ tli.

was very unhealthy, a town v d)li>ht-<l tl.

Avliieh soon contained a considerable popuL ml

l.ecaine t!te oiltl t for the eomm<
!

mala. On tli- ptember 779, S[ain 1

Britain being
irt-at then ir. the irt \ l

( i
^3

by four English men-* u-. It \\

llantlydefei
l.\ laudant, )rsnaux, witli liundn-d 1

and tin; J)riti>li, nol b in

t retii

14
Tl:> -^ of the |

(
]>.
GIG HONDURAS.

On the 16th of October, the English returned with

twelve line-of-battle ships, a large body of troops, and
a horde of Mosquito Indians. As on the previous
occasion they at once opened fire; but the guns of
the fort replied so vigorously that one of the vessels
was disabled; and another having run aground, the
attack was suspended. By this time, or soon after,
a body of auxiliaries from Puerto de Caballos had
gained the heights opposite the town, after setting fire
to all rancherias which interfered with siege operations.
The besieged, being surrounded, and attacked on all
sides, were soon forced to surrender. better fate A
might have attended them had not some of the negro
artillerymen and a company of regulars, dismayed by
the odds against them, turned recreant and broken
down with their axes the gates of the fortress. 16 Four
hundred prisoners and an immense booty, said to have
exceeded three millions of pesos, wr ere captured, be
sides several vessels ready freighted for Europe. 17 The
conquerors destroyed the tow^n; but no sooner had
they secured their plunder than a violent storm came
on, and the ship on which the treasure w as placed r

foundered, the rest of the fleet having a narrow

escape.
At this Don Matias de Galvez ruled in
time
Guatemala, and no sooner did he hear of the disas
ter than he despatched messengers to the governors
of Cuba and Yucatan, and to Viceroy Mayorga, of
Mexico, calling for contributions of men and material.
lG
Carta de Galvez, in Soc. Mex. Geog. Bol., 2da
,
Very different accounts
e"p.

of this affair are given by Pelaez and Cavo. The first in Mem. Hist. Gnat.,
iii. 107, says that the commander and the rest of his officers made no resistance,

but left as hostages the second in command and two chaplains; the soldiers
and many of the inhabitants were banished. Cavo, Tres. Siglos, iii. 35-G, says
that on the last day of the defence, when the drums were about to beat to
quarters in the castle, the British scaled the walls, and before the guards had
recovered from their surprise over 100 Englishmen had already mounted the
battlements; at the sight the negroes fled, leaving the English masters of the
fortress. He adds that the castellan forseeing such a disaster had carried off
40,000 pesos and other valuables by a road unknown to the enemy, and would
have saved all else had he been permitted to do so.
17
The three merchant ships taken had on board 3,000,000 pesos, belonging
to merchants of Guatemala. Zamacois, Hist. Mejico, v. G28.
 OF Tin G17

The vi

merits lv \\

<

i/ -d militia of I

inents, and Collecting Jill tli> ;ld in

iidvanerd .MISan ! ] ;

iber he had <-o ,,f iL

in Frui
i.l, and ou the la.-t day <>f the in inidiii- li!

attack made on the English, who 1

dly
Mirpri><-d slowly ivtr u th-- 1 ori
the inins, and BUCC I in ^liiiin^ t!i.-ir
>hij.

ini; oil the l-

adini;- nn-ii am r
ii\
thT with considerable h
<

)f tho nuiiK -roiis i>IaiK .at studded tl of

]foinlui-a-. more or less thick!, I when di
oluinhu- at the ( l""Jnnii:

criitury, but three \. -

an\ inlia
liundred years la? Tl. R i, (iuanaja, and
Utila, remained <{uirtly
sul rule
until 1/ili , when they w ikm witlidit
iVoni tho nati. uid ^arri- i
,!i>h
}>ii

The became critical IV Spanish

-it nation in
tin- rs could dart out from tl hav.
and pounce upon the coimn of tl d;c

uiir\j)i main.
A h-w y i- tho j

1 lahana, Santo )oinin-o m. an<l 1

ior the recovery of th- -lan!

under the connnand of iaiici-eo dt- Yilhr l-

^ht to surprise the English, and ai-rivt-il

I
,

IM .k. They we discos

sentiiK ind the I.

Sjaiiia all their amnninit i. -n.

eniharked and sailed i

<

Tom
in ii i re>h
siipj
nd await
i

. v. i :

*-.
atly ezpeoaed 600^000 pent <
648 HONDURAS.

In 1650 a second expedition consisting of 450 men

was despatched for the same purpose, and after a

sharp resistance the English were compelled to betake

themselves to their ships. From that date Roatan
was left undisturbed by the British until 1742, when
they again took possession of the place and fortified it
with materials obtained at Trujillo. There they re
mained until 1780, when they were again driven out
by the governor of Guatemala. In 1796 the English
once more gained possession of the island and sta
tioned there a guard of two thousand negroes; but
in the following year Jose Rossi y Rubia, being or
dered by the governor of Honduras to attempt its
reoon quest, induced the garrison to capitulate without
resistance.