The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-06-10

scor0usscal Welfare az their wards In
America" yet underneath this they con-
nivcd az ard even permitted the r,ost
fszxhtfui abuses.
20 satisfy the complaints CT bishops and
Eood man OF influence who rad been scan
dalxei by the stories which had c0me
from the West Indies, not from a6ventnr-
ers or merchants. bat from the monks
themselves, they passed a series or laws
forbid6ing the enslavemert Of The Indians.
and making such action felony: and yet,
after the passage OF that law the records
show that nearly every Spanish official.
from the ytceroy Francisco de Toledo IN
fsSS. down 60 the smallest judges and mill
tzvy commanders, actually confirmed tie
tile q the slave owners 70 the wreEchsd
Indians WHOM, they held as their chasteis.
The records also show thar these officials.
In spite Of the law and their oaths 20 obey
1T, wsnt slave hunting themselves and
made handsome fortunes stealing natives
IN one island 10 sell shenl In another.
Thus the records also show THAI the Ba-
hama islands. about Lee. A. d.. had 800
90 population. In 15se there were not 3
Cards left They Rad all been slain BY
Spanish soldiers and slave hunters. or been
taken and sold in the slave markets OF
the New World Las Casas says that in
the lrSt part OF the century thirty islands
were entirely depcpulaied In this manner.
r Friar Aark de xzlscfz. OF the Order Of
Sc. FraneIs. general Of all the monks of
tbs said order In Peru. writes. among
other things. that the Spauiards were in
the habit OF feeding their hounds upon the
babes OF the natives"
The Crowa was Gutity.
Sometimes the Spanish monarch would
issue decree directing the yiceroy or
governor 10 INTRODUCES reforms. or TO pun
ish persons guilty or described misdeeds.
These. when received were simply in
scribed. respected but act executed" and
Their put into pigeon-hole. This is told
by conservative and loyal Spanish his
torian. Antonio Ferrer del Rio, in his
History OF the Reign Of Charles ILL.,
The number of laws passed for the gov
. eminent OF the Indies would, Il put to-
gether, I'LL eight or ten volumes. Each
was entitled a decree 90 improve the con-
dition at one tine Of Carabs, at another
time Of negroes, at another time OF their
Own people. and each is IN itself an indict-
ment OF practices which it purporied TO
end and 10 punish. II should be said In
Justice that the Spanish people knew lit
tie or nothing OF these shocking episodes.
They were then, as now. the most ignor-
ant people IN Europe. and had little or no
means OF learning anything outside of
their own village 3n the country; or their
ward or district In the city, but every thing
down TO the smallest detail was known 70
the court, from the king and prime min
lister down TO the smallest politician
They Were aecompliceS and abettors in
ali these wrongs They realized from them
enormous fortunes. In the sixteenth. sew
enteenth and eighteenth centuries they
had what may be called. regular tariff
for appointments. The position OF captain
general, or governor general. or secretary.
or judge. was valued at so many thousand
ounces OF gold, or other sums. and these
were usually paid before The commission
was issued. When an Office holder made
more money by greater cruelty or corrup-
tion than the Office was supposed 10 yield
he was notified that the government was
displeased with his actions
II then. as was generally the case he
RENTED a handsome percentage OF his
ii-gotten extra gains, he was allowed 10
remain undisturbed but IL he did not he
was promptly removed and a new man,
equally hungry for gold, was sent TO III
his place.
1t was in this century that the Cuban
bloodhound appeared, snd. under the
training Of his Spanish masters. was de-
veoped into so bloodthirsry a beast that
his name became a synonym OF cruelty
and ferocity In nearly every European
language.
That there was no change for the better
through the long years. appears from the
report Of two Spanish gentlemen, Don
Jorge Juan and Don Antonio UllSa, writ
ten In las, and translated into English
and published in Boston in 1851. They
specify the abuses la great detail and call
up some which only Spaniard could de-
wise. In many cases they state that idiots.
deforincd persons, other unfortunate crea-
lures and Indian women were obliged TO
pay tribute. and also 10 work the whole
year round under the lash in order TO meet
the unjust demands OF the corregidores.
al IN Na4 trxr
compelled, to labor all day in the hot sun,
and when. through their condition, they
Yaltered or rested they weresbeaten with
powerful cavalry whips or the more terri
bic Spanish riding whip until they tainted,
In some districts they went so far as TO
convert the churches into factories.
Yet this very system was bringing about
it's own cure Under even Turkish gov
eminent the Spanish lands in the new
world would have been prosperous and the
people happy, so fertile Is the soil and so
inexhaustibIe the natural resources: but
the Spanish system made every human
being a pauper except the ofhcial classes,
and these sent their wealth home as fast
as they could put ii in portable form.
This condition of affairs had a deep at
traction for the sea rosers and buccaneers.
who soon began 10 prey upon the richly
laden argosIes that piled the Spanish
main II also gave a false opinion OF the
wealth Of the lands TO other nations. To
nearly every European the West Indies
were almost masses of precious metal and
thus grew the desire among other conn
tries TO deprive Spain OF these possessions.
TIE islands were lost by Spain slowly.
but nevertheless surely. Jamaica was dis
covered by Columbus in May. 1894 who
called IL St. Jago: in IS55 il was captured
under orders from Oliver Cromwell. The
bahamas were settled by Englishmen af-
ter the SpaniarGs had depopulated them.
Antigua and Bsrbada were taken and set
tied by the English In is52 Montserrat
has had an eventful history. having be
longsd to Spain. been taken by England.
conquered by France, and finally rtga.ned
by England In 17s4.
The Virgin isles. now the property or
Grea. Britain and Denmark. were taken
in issa Trinidad was captured by the
British In 1877: Tobago was taken by tire
English under Spanish protest. captured
by the French and regained by England
in I7S. Barbados belonged 20 Spain,
which took from II all SIS natives but
never settled Il. SO Great Britain colon
sz@G II in IsZ5. and has held IL ever since.
St Vincent was taken by Great Britain
in IsSs Grenada was discovered By Col