Piratical Raids on Trujillo and Puerto de Caballos—Condition of the Settlements—Church Matters—Missionary Expedition to Tegucigalpa—Martyrdom of the Missionaries—Labors of the Franciscans in Honduras—Interference of the Bishop—Trujillo Destroyed by the Dutch—Fort San Fernando de Omoa Erected—Its Capture by the English—And Recovery by President Galvez—Roatan Several Times Occupied by Buccaneers—Their Final Expulsion.

In Honduras, and Higueras as the northern portion of this territory was termed, there were, it will be remembered, but seven Spanish colonies about the middle of the sixteenth century;[XXXIV-1] and of these, Trujillo, the largest, contained only fifty settlers. It is probable that the entire number of Spaniards in the province at this time did not exceed two hundred; and so slightly had the resources of the country been developed that the few who lived there were by no means wealthy.

But poor as the colonists were, their condition did not shield them from the depredations of freebooters, who during the latter portion of the century made several raids on the coast of Honduras. In 1576 Andrew Barker, a so-called merchant of Bristol, resolved to reimburse himself for loss of property confiscated by the Spaniards during a trading venture to the Canary Islands, and set forth on a piratical expedition. Fitting out two vessels, he sailed from Plymouth in June. After touching at various points 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 way a ship containing 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 were slain, himself among the number. A detachment from the ships was then sent in a pinnace 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, leaving on shore eight of their number, of whom no tidings were afterward heard. On the homeward voyage 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 without further adventure, and the proceeds of the expedition yielded but thirty pesos as the share of a common soldier. This was vengeance indeed!

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 night," says one who took part in the expedition,[XXXIV-2] "and the next day till towards night: where 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 foure rich ships laden from thence: but we spared it, because wee found other contentment."

In 1595 a raid was attempted on Puerto de Caballos by the French, but on this occasion the corsairs were defeated, many of them being killed or captured, and the remainder compelled to put to sea "blaspheming and averring that neither they nor the English had met with similar disaster in any part of the Indies."[XXXIV-3] During the next year Trujillo and Puerto de Caballos were again assailed by the English under Sherley and Parker, and the latter town was once more sacked; but, says the chronicler who described the expedition: "It was the most poore and miserable place of all India."[XXXIV-4]

Notwithstanding the depredations of freebooters, the colonies of Honduras appear to have been fairly prosperous at the close of the sixteenth century. The lands around Trujillo were then under cultivation, producing large crops of maize and fruit; grapes, oranges, and lemons being raised in abundance. On two sides of the town were rivers abounding in fish. Pasture was abundant, and the cattle introduced from Spain multiplied so rapidly that they were of little value except for their hides. The walls of the houses were of bushes interlaced, plastered within and without, and covered with palmetto-leaves. The cathedral and the convent of San Francisco, the latter being founded in 1589, were the most prominent buildings.

"This is a woody and mountainous Country," writes Thomas Gage, who journeyed through the western part of Honduras, on his way from Trujillo to Santiago in 1636; "very bad and inconvenient for Travellers, and besides very poor; there the commodities are hides, Canna fistula, and Zarzaparilla, and such want of bread, that about Truxillo they make use of 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 Á Dios, there are some rich farms of Cattle and 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 Guatemala 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 Valladolid—in comparison with other cities which Gage visited during 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 earthquake. In 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, archdeacon, rector, and doctor of common law.[XXXIV-5] In 1602 there were in Nueva Valladolid convents of the orders of La Merced, San Francisco, and Juan de Dios, and an endowed college under the patronage of the king.

The unseemly disputes which occurred among the ecclesiastics at an earlier period in the history of Honduras[XXXIV-6] were now at an end. On the death of Bishop Pedraza, whose high-handed measures had rendered him unpopular with the colonists, and driven nearly all the religious from the province, GerÓnimo de Corella, a Jeronimite, was appointed to the see. To Corella succeeded Alonso de la Cerda in 1572,[XXXIV-7] and in January 1588 the mitre was bestowed on Gaspar de Andrade, a Franciscan, who held office until his decease in 1612.[XXXIV-8]

The income of the bishopric at this date was three thousand pesos a year; there were five prebends; and within the diocese a hundred and forty-five Indian towns, with nearly four thousand heads of families.[XXXIV-9] In 1610 the metropolitan of the diocese, the archbishop of Santo Domingo, empowered the dean of the chapter in Honduras, to hear and determine appeals in order that the expense and delay incident to the journey to Santo Domingo might be avoided. In October 1613 Alonso Galdo was consecrated bishop, and during this and the following year visited all parts of the province, confirming more than seven thousand persons, some of whom were over ninety years of age. During his administration two synods were held, the last one in April 1631. Three years before that date Luis de CaÑizares was appointed coadjutor in the diocese at the request of the prelate, who was now aged and enfeebled by incessant toil. After the death of Galdo in 1645[XXXIV-10] the see remained vacant until 1647, when Juan Merlo de la Fuente accepted the bishopric of Honduras, after having refused 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.[XXXIV-11] In the principal Indian town, which was known by the same name, was founded in 1589 a convent of the Franciscans, and later one of the Merced order. Nevertheless the greater portion of this territory had never yet been visited by the ecclesiastics. In 1622 the missionaries CristÓbal Martinez de la Puerta and Juan Vaena, accompanied by five native interpreters, sailed from Trujillo, and landing at Cape Gracias Á 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 anticipated, 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.

Vaena then proceeded to Guatemala, where his tidings caused great excitement. Many volunteered their services, and from them Benito Lopez was chosen, accompanying the former on his return in January 1623. Meanwhile seven hundred adults had been baptized, and seven villages founded by the different tribes of the country. The chief difficulty of the missionaries was to overcome the nomadic instinct of the natives, who would depart for the woods or the mountains when least expected and without apparent cause.

During the year the three ecclesiastics visited the country of the Guabas, where they met with remarkable success, baptizing some five thousand persons. While the missionaries were thus gathering a rich harvest of souls, they and their converts were attacked and overpowered by a hostile tribe named the Albatumas, and the former were put to death with cruel tortures. A large force was sent to punish the natives, and the remains of the missionaries were recovered but their murderers had fled to the mountain fastnesses. The bodies of the martyred men were conveyed to Trujillo, where they remained until the city was captured by pirates, when the guardian of the convent had them removed to Santiago, and they were there interred with great ceremony in the church of San Francisco.

About the year 1661 the Xicaques, whose territory bordered Tegucigalpa on the north, made frequent raids on the Olancho Valley. One of the principal sufferers by these forays, Captain BartolomÉ de Escota, resolved on their suppression, and capturing a large number gathered them into settlements in Honduras. Accompanied by three Lencas he then proceeded to Guatemala in search of a priest to instruct them. The president urged the Franciscans to undertake the task, as they had been the pioneers in the work, and now an abundant harvest seemed to await the gathering. Fernando de Espino, 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. He 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 labors by the opposition of the bishop of Honduras,[XXXIV-12] who caused a portion of their buildings to be destroyed, and placed them and their converts under the ban of excommunication. According to Vasquez these proceedings caused him to be suspended from office.[XXXIV-13] The prelate lived to repent of his error, and during his last sickness was waited upon by members of the order which he had sought to injure.

The few remaining records that have come down to us concerning the history of Honduras until the close of the eighteenth century, apart from the social, political, and industrial condition of the province, which will be mentioned in a future volume, relate chiefly to the raids of freebooters and hostilities with foreign powers.[XXXIV-14]

In 1643 Trujillo was once more captured and pillaged, the town being almost destroyed by the Dutch, although protected by a fort mounting seventeen heavy guns and a number of smaller pieces. So disheartened were the Spaniards by this disaster that the place was abandoned and remained in ruins until 1789, when it was rebuilt and fortified by order of the king. In 1797 it was again attacked by an English squadron; but after a sharp fight the assailants were repulsed with loss.

In obedience to a royal cÉdula dated August 30, 1740, a fort named San Fernando de Omoa was built on a harbor of the same name, near Puerto de Caballos, as a further protection for the coast of Honduras, and to serve as a calling-place for the guardas costas employed in those parts. The works were begun in 1752 by Vazquez de Sotomayor, president of Guatemala, and completed three years later. Although the site was very unhealthy, a town was established there which soon contained a considerable population, and became the outlet for the commerce of eastern Guatemala. On the 25th of September 1779, Spain and Great Britain being then at war, the fort was attacked by four English men-of-war. It was gallantly defended by its commandant, Desnaux, with five hundred men, and the British, not being in sufficient force, were compelled to retire.[XXXIV-15]

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 rancherÍas which interfered with siege operations. The besieged, being surrounded, and attacked on all sides, were soon forced to surrender. A better fate 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.[XXXIV-16] Four hundred prisoners and an immense booty, said to have exceeded three millions of pesos, were captured, besides several vessels ready freighted for Europe.[XXXIV-17] The conquerors destroyed the town; but no sooner had they secured their plunder than a violent storm came on, and the ship on which the treasure was placed foundered, the rest of the fleet having a narrow escape.

At this time Don MatÍas de Galvez ruled in Guatemala, and no sooner did he hear of the disaster than he despatched messengers to the governors of Cuba and Yucatan, and to Viceroy Mayorga, of Mexico, calling for contributions of men and material. The viceroy responded at once, sending reËnforcements by way of Oajaca.[XXXIV-18]

Galvez soon organized the militia of the settlements, and collecting all the regulars he could muster advanced on San Fernando de Omoa. By the 26th of November he had constructed six lines of intrenchments before the castle. Fruitless negotiations were held, and on the last day of the month a midnight attack was made on the English, who being partially surprised slowly retreated from the fort after spiking the guns, and succeeded in gaining their ships, carrying off the leading men among their prisoners, together with considerable booty.

Of the numerous islands that studded the bay of Honduras, more or less thickly peopled when discovered by Columbus at the beginning of the sixteenth century, but three were to any extent inhabited a hundred years later. These, Roatan, Guanaja, and Utila, remained quietly subject to the Spanish rule until 1642, when they were taken without resistance from the natives, and garrisoned by English pirates. The situation became critical for Spanish interests, as the robbers could dart out from the islands like hawks and pounce upon the commerce of the seas, or make unexpected descents upon the main.

A few years later the governors of Guatemala, Habana, and Santo Domingo united in an expedition for the recovery of these islands. Four ships of war under the command of Francisco de Villava y Toledo sought to surprise the English, and arrived at Roatan before daybreak. They were discovered by the sentinels, and the assault successfully resisted. The Spaniards, after expending all their ammunition, re-embarked and sailed for Santo TomÁs de Castilla to obtain a fresh supply and await reËnforcements.

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 remained 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 stationed there a guard of two thousand negroes; but in the following year JosÉ Rossi y Rubia, being ordered by the governor of Honduras to attempt its reconquest, induced the garrison to capitulate without resistance.