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BooK
III.
Royal Commentaries.
After his Imperial Majefiy had duly heard af!d confidered all that the Frier had
to
offer he afiembled
his
great Council, to whICh he farther added feveral grave
and lea(ned perfoos both Prelates and La\vyers; and, having laid
before
them the
particular Laws and new EfiablHhments, they were approved ,
a~d
paffed
by
~he
.major
part of the A!fembly ;
not~ithfianding
!Dany being of a different
.op1mo~
diffented from the Majority , and declared their
V
ores to the
contr~ry
;
am~:mgfi
which
'ere rhe Cardinal aforementioned, Prefident of the Counc1], the Bifhop
of
Lugo, Don [ohn Suare.?:.
de
Carvaja~
(with whom
I
.was
on~e acqu~inted)
Francif–
co de Los Covo.r,
Secretary
to
his Ma1efiy,
Pon Sabajfian Rarmre.?:..
B1iliop
o~
Cuenc-a
and Prefident of
Valladolid,
who formerly had been Prefident
m
St.
Domingo
and
Mexico
;
D on GttrJia Manrique>
Cou~t
of
Ofarno
and Prefident of
Ordenes
'
W~O
( as
Gomara [;
ith ) had for a long .time
b~en
Supe.r-Intendent over
t~e Aff~us
of the Indies during the abfence of Cardmal
G
arwt
de
Loayfa;
all which havmg
been long cociverfant , and Men of experienc': in the
A~airs
of the
l?~ies,
did
dillike and difapprove the new Laws and Ordmances, which were
40
m number,
as difagreeable
co
the natural Con!Htutions
of
tho(e
Countries and People. ·How–
foever the fame were pa!fed and confirmed by the Emperour
in
.Barcelona,
on the
2
oth of
November,
I s-42.
as
Gomara,
in Chap.
1
p..
relates: and the
Batcel
of
Chu–
PM
was
fought between the Governour
Yacca
de
C~ftro,
and
Don Diego Almagro
}':1-
nior on the 15th of
September,
of che fame year, bemg two months and five days be–
fore'thefe Laws were figned and pa«ed: by which it may .plainly appear how
. much che Devil
was
concerned to dill:urb and hinder the propagation of the Gofpel
.fo
Peru :
for no foooer
was
one Fire extinguHhed, before another was in
a
Flame
more fierce and terrible than the former, oc:cafioned by thofe Difcontents which
arofe from the new Conflitutions; of
which
we
fhall
mention onely four, which
are laid down by the·aforefaid Authours, as rnofi pertinent
to
the prefent
HilliO:.
ry, and are thefe which follow.
The
full:
Law
wa
this, That afier the Death of the
~onquerours
and of thofe
'who had Plantations, and had built Cities, thofe who were
in
po!feffion thereof
lhould hold them of the King, for their Lives onely , without right of Inheri–
tance defcendiog to their Wives and Children; but that when any one died the
JGng
fuould fucceed, giving
to
the Children
Cuch a
proportion of che
fruits-
thereof
as
might fupport and maintain them.
That no
Indian
fr10uld be charged with any Tax
or
fmpofition
unlefs
in
thofe
Countries
\Vhere the
Indians
paid not the fame by bodily Labour; that no
Indian
iliould be forced to labour in the Mines or
fi{h
for Pearls; and that having paid a
Tribute or lmpofition on his Goods to the Lord of the Manour or Freehold,
he
iliould be difcharged from corporal fervices.
That the
Lands
and Plantations cultivated by
Indian1,
which
BHhops or Mona–
fieries, or Hofpitals held in their own right, fhoold be quitted by them, and vefied
in the.King; an9 that all Governours, Prefidems, Judges, Officers of
J
ufiice, and
their
Deputies under them ;
as
alfo all the Officers of nis Majellies revenue fhould
renounce and difclaim
all
Ticle and Interefi
to
fuch Lands and Plantations of
Jn~
.
dians;
and that no Officers of his Majell:y fhoujd be capable of keeping
Indian
Slaves, though they fhould renounce their Offices co be capacitated thereunto.
That all fuch a have Lands in
Peru,
(which is
to
be underfi:ood of thofe who.
have command over
Indians)
and have had any concernrnent,
or
been incerefied
:in
the late difi
rba~ce
benyeen
Don Francifco
.de.
Picarro
and
Don Diego
de
Almagro,
thall
lofe and forfeit
all
their
P0\1\
er and dom101on over the
Indians,
as well one
1
fide
as
the other: by which Law and Conftiturion (as
Diego
Fernande~
well
ob–
ferves)
all
eople were comprehen9ed, there not being one perfon in
all
Peru
who
was
capacitated either to hold Lands, or to enjoy an Efiate in all that Coun:.
try:
and
confequently
all
Perfons
of
QQality as well
in
new
Spain
as in
Peru
were
excluded not onely
by
this, but by the third Law ;
for all
or mofi of them had
been Governours, Jufiices, Deputies or Officers of the Royal reve
ue:
fo
chat
b~th
there two
~a,, ~
were as
Toile~
which ca?ght every
pe~fon,
being fo
cornpre~
h--nfive ,
as
to t 1ke
m
every perfon
m
the
Indres
and
by
vmue thereof excluded
them
from
all
t~eir.
Poffeffions:
but
for the
b~tter
underfianding of
thefe
Acts,
Law~
and Confi1tut1ons,
~nd
the grounds thereof,
we
fhall mention and declare the
Monves
a~d ~eafons
which the Legiflators produced and alledged for conllituting
and
~ftabldhmg
the fame. And
as
to the firfi
Act
or Ordinance
we
mufi know,
that m recompence and rev\ ard
to
the firfi Difcoverers and Conquerours of the
Oooo
h~~