- I | Juan Alcalde y Gutiérrez | 1767-1780
- II | Juan Ignacio Alcalde Ribera | 1782-1798
- III | José Antonio Alcalde Ribera | 1799-1804
- IV | Juan Agustín Alcalde Bascuñán | 1804-1860
- Rehabilitación por Juan Carlos I
- V | Fernando Joaquín Molina Alcalde | 1995-actual
- VI Laura Alcalde Braunstein
- VII Phillip Jacques Braunstein Alcalde
- VIII Henry George Braunstein Alcalde
CHILEAN SOCIETY
OF THE 18TH CENTURY
ENTAILED ESTATES
*
CASTILE TITLES
*
HISTORICAL DISSERTATION
PRESENTED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHILE, IN KEEPING WITH ARTICLE 22 OF THE LAW OF JANUARY 9, 1879.
BY
DOMINGO AMUNÁTEGUI SOLAR
Member of the Philosophy and Humanities Faculty
VOLUME THREE
SANTIAGO, CHILE
PRINTED, LITHOGRAPHED AND BOUND IN BARCELONA
Moneda, between Estado and San Antonio
1904
1 Alcalde family papers.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
—
The Countship of Quinta Alegre. -The Spaniard don Juan de Alcalde y Gutiérrez takes up a career in business in Chile. -In 1763 he purchases the title of Count of Quinta Alegre. -His eldest son, don Juan Ignacio, enlists himself among the businessmen of Cadiz, and succeeds his father in the title. -In Chile he establishes an annexed binding to the countship. -Administrative services by don Jose Antonio de Alcalde, third Count of Quinta Alegre. -Acquisition of Chiñigüe, the hacienda and Indian village. -Don Juan Agustin de Alcalde, fourth and last Count of Quinta Alegre, Councilman of Santiago’s City Council in 1810. -He joins the cause for independence.
___
I
Don Juan de Alcalde settled in our country in the beginning of
the 18th century. He had been born in the village of Durón in New
Castile, and was the son of don Francisco Alcalde and doña Francisco Gutiérrez.
274 – 18TH CENTURY SOCIETY
As far as can be seen, this family did not come from great wealth, and don Juan came to America with the intention of setting himself up in business.
Half a century later, after he had accumulated a large fortune, don Juan considered his impoverished siblings on the Peninsula, and in his will, executed before the notary Pedro Gaona on January 15, 1780, he left significant bequests to doña Teresa, don Bernardo and don Antonio de Alcalde y Gutierrez.
Don Juan had been in Chile for only a few years when he decided to marry a Peruvian lady by the name of Isabel Margarita de Ribera y Cabrera, who lived in Santiago with her maternal aunt Adriana de Cabrera, who was married to the Catalan gentleman don Jose de Montt y Ribera[1].
The bride was an orphan of both father and mother and had no wealth.
Her father had been don Francisco Hernandez de Ribera, native of Barcelona, who had come to Lima at the end of the 17th century, with recommendations from Cardinal Portocarrero to his brother the Viceroy Count of Monclova.
The latter had assigned him as Artillery Captain at the Port of Callao.
Hernandez de Ribera was married in Lima, on May 15, 1701, to doña Juana Josefa de Cabrera y Paredes, native of Huaura, and daughter of
don Luis de Cabrera of Granada and the Peruvian doña Isabel de Paredes[1].
Doña Juana de Cabrera’s maternal grandparents, don Francisco Alguacil de Paredes of Extremadura and doña Juana Padilla, native of Huaura, had owned rich silver mines in Cailloma; but later, due to bad investments, they had fallen on hard times and dragged down with them their son-in-law don Luis de Cabrera and his large family.
Cabrera’s three daughters had been married in Lima to three Catalan gentlemen: doña Luisa, in 1695, to don Jose de Salas, native of Lerida; doña Juana, as we’ve already seen, in 1701, to Hernandez de Ribera; and doña Adriana, in 1703, to don Jose de Montt y Ribera, relative of her brother-in-law, doña Juana’s husband, native of the village of San Pedro Pescador.
Among doña Isabel de Paredes’ son-in-laws, the latter, meaning Montt y Ribera, was the most fortunate, since he entered into business in Chile and was quite successful.
In 1718, don Jose de Montt, who was blessed with a noble and generous spirit, brought some of doña Luisa’s, his sister-in-law’s, children from Peru, as well as doña Juana de Cabrera’s only daughter, after these two women, his wife’s sisters, had died.
The person charged with bringing these young children of varying sexes to Chile was their uncle, don Jose Damian de Cabrera, who would carry on the family name
in the viceroyalty, having married doña Adriana Alzugarai y Mendez in Lima in 1722.
The protection offered by don Jose de Montt and his wife provided for these two nieces to enter into marriage in Santiago: doña Luisa de Salas y Cabrera married don Pedro Gutiérrez de Espejo y Morillo; and doña Isabel de Rivera y Cabrera, as can be read, married don Juan de Alcalde[1].
Alcalde’s bride had been born in Lima on May 12, 1703[2]; and the marriage was celebrated in the capital of Chile on September 17, 1731[3].
This union was exceptionally blessed and lasted forty full years, doña Isabel de Ribera y Cabrera having died in Santiago on August 25, 1771[4].
They were always grateful to don Juan de Alcalde and his wife along with the Montt family, since much of their happiness was due to them.
On June 7, 1760, in a public document notarized in the presence of the notary Manuel Ignacio Alvarez de Hestrosa, they gifted doña Luisa de Montt y Cabrera, doña Isabel’s first cousin, and her husband don Lucas Ibarra, who had been poor and had many children, a house in Santiago, located on La Merced Street.
The future Counts of Quinta Alegre did splendidly thus demonstrate their nobility.
Don Juan de Alcalde and doña Isabel de Ribera had eight children:
1) Don Juan Ignacio, the eldest.
2) Don Jose Antonio.
3) Don Francisco Rejis, religious member of the Society of Jesus (a Jesuit). Having been exiled from his country in 1767, he died in Ravena, a city in the north of Italy, on June 11, 1789[1].
4) Doña Ana Maria, Capuchin nun.
5) Doña Teresa, religious member of the Santa Rosa Monastery.
6) Doña Mercedes, professed nun in the same monastery.
7) Doña Rosa.
8) Don Antonio, dead by 1780.
Doña Rosa was the only one of don Juan de Alcalde’s daughters who married, and had not just one but two fiancés who wished to share the joys and sorrows of life with her.
The first was don Juan Garland, an Irish officer in the service of the King of Spain, and a military engineer of merit.
In 1762, the president of Chile, Guill y Gonzaga, sent him to Valdivia for the purpose of drawing up a layout of the plaza and indicating reforms needed for its fortifications.
This same president served as intermediary to the king to grant him leave for his marriage, which was granted by royal order on August 26, 1764[1].
Unfortunately, this union did not take place, and Garland was again sent to Valdivia, where, due to the death of Don Felix de Berroeta, he served as governor of the city for five years.
Garland died in 1775 on his return trip to the Peninsula[2].
Doña Rosa de Alcalde y Ribera was then set to marry a young Chilean attorney who had just arrived from Spain, don Jose Antonio de Lecaros y Rojas, son of don Alonso de Lecaros y Ovalle[3].
The marriage was celebrated in Santiago on August 28, 1765; and the bride brought as dowry to her husband the amount of 29,000 pesos: 25,000 in silver, and 4,000 in jewelry and clothing[4].
This union has originated numerous families in Santiago’s society.
Don Juan de Alcalde enjoyed much prestige in the capital of Chile; his riches dazzled the multitudes and his honorable conduct was highly esteemed by cultured circles.
In 1762 the advisor to the Viceroy of Peru wrote of him in these terms: “Over and above his great wealth, he has all the qualifications of virtue and judgment that could be desired”[5].
1 Archives of the General Captaincy, volume 724.
2 BARROS ARANA, General History of Chile, 6th volume, page 226, note 36.
3 1st volume of same work, page 381, note 2.
4 Dowry contract of doña Rosa de Alcalde, notarized before Luis Luque Moreno on February 4, 1767.
5 DON JOSE PERFECTO DE SALAS, University Annals,1896.
So it came as no surprise to his contemporaries when he acquired, for the sum of 20,000 pesos, the title of Count of Quinta Alegre, which was the fourth and last of the nobility titles the king had authorized Ortiz de Rozas to sell in Chile, in order found new towns in the Bio-Bio frontier.
The president Guill y Gonzaga made the concession to him on November 8, 1763[1]; and it was confirmed by royal decree on October 22, 1767, wherein his majesty Charles III declared that this concession was exempt from the duties of lances and half-annata (Translator’s note: Amount paid for titles and for the honorific of some employments and other things.)[2].
Don Juan de Alcalde died in Santiago in 1780 and was buried in the La Merced Church, beneath a tombstone that bore the following inscription:
*
The nothingness of this brief urn is Maria’s everything; And, although a slight bitter touch may someday alter this figure, It shall always be Quinta Alegre[3].
Don Juan owned the house in Santiago where he lived, located on the north side of La Merced Street, a block and a half from the main plaza; and a country house on the Alameda Vieja, west of the current property of the Council Seminar.
1 The title’s background can be found in the archives of the Municipality of Santiago.
2 Archives of the General Captaincy, volume 90.
3 Don Jose Antonio de Alcalde y Ribera’s will, read before Agustin Diaz on July 17, 1804.
He also owned a great portion of the village of Melipilla, at the time called San Jose de Logroño, where he had built a store.
However the majority of his capital was invested in businesses.
The goods and merchandise in existence contained in his warehouse in Santiago at the time of his death were appraised by don Jose Santos Mascayano and don Bernardo Yaneti in the amount of 84,767 pesos.
The Alcalde family enjoyed all of the comforts money could buy at the time; in both the house on the La Merced Street and at the country house they had a great variety of luxurious furniture, much of it imported.
An inventory of the Count’s assets, including the gold jewelry and silver objects, was valued at 9,976 pesos; and the carriages and buggies at 1,595 pesos.
Among the domestic servants who had worked for him, there remained these eight slaves:
Juan Antonio, mulatto, white colored, over forty years old, coachman by trade, valued at 275 pesos.
Manuel, mulatto, brown colored, twenty-six years old, for manual labor, valued at 300 pesos.
Pedro Jose, mulatillo, white colored, four to five years old, sick, valued at 80 pesos.
Maria Mercedes, black, over forty years old, cook and washerwoman, valued at 250 pesos.
Francisca de Paula, black, of golden color, fifty years old, cook and washerwoman, valued at 240 pesos.
Francisca, black, dark colored, twenty-three years old, for common service, valued at 280 pesos.
Mercedes, black, of golden color, thirty years old, pregnant, for all service, valued at 300 pesos.
Ana Josefa, daughter of the aforementiond, same coloring, one year old, valued at 100 pesos.
Gold! Silver! Black flesh!
These were the most valuable items of a wealthy household of the past[1].
The first-born son of the Count of Quinta Alegre, don Juan Ignacio de Alcalde y Ribera, was in Spain at the time of his father’s death, where he had served as his father’s business agent for many years.
As such, he had registered himself among the merchants of Cadiz, for which he had to provide evidence of his nobility[2].
The son enjoyed as good a reputation at court as his father had enjoyed in the General Captaincy of Chile.
As manifested in this honorable communication:
“The King.
Don Juan Ignacio Alcalde, Count of Quinta Alegre, kin: I have come to learn by letter from don Jose de Toro Zambrano, your proxy, on the seventh of March last of this year, of the death of your father, don Juan Alcalde, Count of Quinta Alegre, and that through him you
1 Old Alcalde family papers.
2 Alcalde family papers.
have succeeded to his estate and this title; I am grieved by his death, and am grateful that you have succeeded him in his place, and I am certain that you will serve me with the love, zeal and loyalty that he did; and I thank you for the willingness with which you offer to continue to do so, and I will keep it in my memory to favor you and do you mercy. And I declare that for this concession you do not owe the right of lances and half-annata, for being perpetually relieved of it. From San Ildefonso, August 22 of the year 1782.
I, the King.
By order of the king, our lord, Juan Francisco Lastiri”[1].
Spain was then ruled by Charles III, the same sovereign who had expelled the Jesuits from all his dominions, and thus forced don Francisco Rejis Alcalde to live in Italy, far from his homeland and family.
This distressing circumstance had not, however, as we have just read, disrupted the official dealings between the king and the counts of Quinta Alegre.
On the contrary, after the death of don Juan de Alcalde, his eldest son, who was to succeed to the title, had hastened to pay homage to the monarch.
A sign of the times and the inherent weaknesses of mankind!
In spite of everything, Don Juan Ignacio was not lacking in enlightenment: firstly, because the works of contemporary French philosophers were well known in Spain; and secondly, because the
1 Archives of the General Captaincy, volume 90.
nature of his profession brought him into contact with a considerable number of individuals of different schools of thought and learning.
For instance, he cultivated very close ties with his countryman don Jose Antonio de Rojas, who remained in the Peninsula for a few years, and was far from professing great loyalty to the king[1].
Don Juan Ignacio had been quite fortunate in the commerical businesses he had launched on his own account.
By the year 1775 he had a total of 110,000 pesos, all earned through his own personal efforts.
Additionally, he had received 6,000 pesos as his mother’s legitimate inheritance, and by inheritance from his father, he was to have received 44,000 pesos.
He received twelve thousand pesos from the estate of his brother, the former Jesuit don Francisco Rejis, who died in Italy, as we have read, in 1789.
Among the properties that his father left in Chile, he was awarded the country estate of Alameda, known by the name of Quinta Alegre, from which the name of the title of Castile was derived.
Don Juan Ignacio wished, however, to acquire further properties in his homeland, and sent instructions from Spain to his brother don Jose Antonio to buy two large estates: Naltahua, located on the south bank of the Maipo River, and San Juan, also called San Antonio de la Mar, which is located in the jurisdiction of Melipilla.
The first was acquired in 1783 for the amount of 61,058 pesos[2].
See letters written by Rojas to don Juan Ignacio, and published in the second volume of The Chronicle of 1810 by don Miguel Luis Amunátegui.
2 See my work about don Juan Jose de Santa Cruz. The year 1897. Special edition, page 50.
This latter hacienda measured 8,922 squared, and was purchased from the heirs of don Francisco Antonio Velasco y Navarro[1].
Despite the importance of these acquisitions, don Juan Ignacio decided against leaving the Peninsula, where in May 1775 he had married doña Maria O’Mullony, an Irishwoman, daughter of don Marcos O’Mullony and doña Ana Philipis, residents of the port of Santa Maria.
Unfortunately, there were no descendants from this union, which is the reason why, after the death of don Juan Ignacio, his brother don Jose Antonio succeeded to the title of Count.
The second Count of Quinta Alegre died in Cadiz at seven o’clock in the morning of January 20, 1798[2], after writing will a few days prior at the registrar of the notary public Ramon Garcia de Meneses[3].
Don Juan Ignacio left a net fortune amounting to 250,000 pesos, more or less; it consisted of his properties in Chile, and royal currency, promissory notes, documents in his favor, furniture, jewelry and other objects.
Less his wife’s half of the community property, which amounted to 39,000 pesos, the testator could draw on a sum of 211,000 pesos.
It should be noted that Mrs. O’Mullony had not contributed any dowry to the marriage, nor had she subsequently received any inheritance of any kind.
Don Juan Ignacio ordered that an entail be constituted on the haciendas of Naltahua and San Juan and on the farm he owned in
[1] Public deed granted before the notary Nicolas de Herrera.
[1] 22 years later, the fourth Count of Quinta Alegre, don Juan Agustin Alcalde, would marry, as will be discussed below, a granddaughter of the Spaniard Velasco y Navarro.
[1] Appendix, number 1. The information here about don Juan Ignacio has been taken from this will and from the attached account.
Santiago in favor of his brother don Jose Antonio and the other successors in the county, for which permission had to be requested from the king.
All three properties mentioned then had a value of 130,000 pesos.
The 80,000 pesos that remained available to him were distributed by don Juan Ignacio in pious and charitable foundations and bequests, in special bequests to his wife and relatives, both in Spain and in America, and in an important donation to his godson don Thomas Butler y Grenier, for whom he and doña Maria professed true parental affection.
Mrs. O’Mullony survived her husband by a few years[1].
Don Juan de Alcalde y Gutierrez was a very loving father, and in his will he honored his children doña Rosa and don Jose Antonio, in order to try to make them equal in fortune with his brother don Juan Ignacio.
1 This lady executed her last codicil in the port of Santa Maria, on August 19, 1806, before the
notary Carlos Hurtado Mauleón. Alcalde family papers.
To the first he bequeathed in trust the amount of 10,000 pesos; and to the latter, two of the same types of trusts: one for 16,000 and the other for 12,000[1].
Per the testator’s provision, these amounts were increased somewhat more, because the liquidation of the assets resulted in the third and remaining portion of the estate being of greater value than what had been supposed.
The first Count of Quinta Alegre wanted his second child, don Jose Antonio, to receive a complete and enlightened education, and when he decided his son had come to a mature enough age to handle himself, he sent him to Europe, to travel through the major countries of the old world.
Rest assured this was the first trip to Europe embarked upon by a Chilean with no other motive then to learn about the most advanced civilization on earth.
One can find the itinerary of this trip among the old family papers kept by the Alcalde family, written in don Jose Antonio’s own hand.
On the 25th of January of 1764 he set sail from Valparaiso to Peru, on the ship Las Mercedes; and, after 19 days of sailing landed in Callao on February 13th. -He stayed 61 days in Lima. -On April 14 he sailed from Callao to Cadiz, on the ship El Diamante. -The trip lasted 5 months and 11 days. -On October 29 he left Cadiz and arrived in Madrid on November 11. -He stayed in the capital of Spain for 7 months and 16 days. -He then visited Valencia and Barcelona. -He left Barcelona on July 21, 1765 and arrived in Marseilles on August 1st. –
He traveled through various cities in the south of France, and then left Antibes for Genoa, arriving on August 21st. -He visited Genoa, Modena, Bologna, Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Livorno, Sienna, Viterbo, Rome, Naples, Loreto, Ancona, Ravenna, Venice, Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Milan and Turin. -He stayed 20 days in Naples and more than two months in Rome. -He left Turin on March 4, 1766 and arrived in Lyon nine days later. -He stayed in this last city for a month and then departed for Paris on April 13th. -He arrived on the 17th and stayed in Paris for three months. -Later near the end of July he left for Holland. -After visiting Ghent, Brussels y Antwerp he went to the cities of Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam. – On August 20th he embarked for England where he stayed in London for more than 20 days. -On September 24th he set sail from Falmouth for Lisbon, and arrived on October 5th. -After visiting the city at length, he returned to Madrid, where he lived for a year and five and a half months. -From here he left for Seville, and, lastly, returned to Cadiz on May 6th, 1768. -On October 14, he set sail on the royal frigate Santa Catalina, and after 85 days of sailing arrived in Montevideo, on January 2, 1769. -On the 6th of that same month he found himself in Buenos Aires, where he stayed for 36 days; and from there he departed for Chile by overland route on February 12th. -On the way, he stayed 6 days in Mendoza, and arrived home on March 29th.
The trip had lasted 5 years, 2 months and 10 days, counting from January 19, 1764, the exact date of his departure from Santiago.
As a loyal subject of the King of Spain, don Jose Antonio had devoted more than two years to the capital city of the Peninsula; he had dedicated an entire year exclusively to trips by sea and land; and the rest of the time had visited all of the major Spanish cities, as well as those of France, Italy England, Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Peru and Rio de la Plata.
Upon his return to his own country, don Jose Antonio de Alcalde arrived prepared to perform well in any important public employ.
Around mid-1772 the president of Chile don Francisco Javier de Morales appointed him as the Treasurer and Comptroller of the Mint (Translator’s note: literally House of Coin), to carry out the functions entrusted by the king to the Marquis of Casa Real, who had suffered a great decline in his mental faculties[1].
Don Jose Antonio must have been quite competent in this challenging position, because don Agustin de Jauregui, Morales’ successor to the presidency, hastened to appoint him as interim treasurer on October 23, 1773, when Garcia de Huidobro died[2].
By royal decree on November 28, 1776, his majesty Charles III bestowed on Alcalde the position as his employ; and on October 16, 1785 he appointed him as comptroller of the same Mint, earning an annual salary of 2,050 pesos[3].
1 MEDINA, Chilean currencies, page 91.
2 Volume 52 of the Jesuits Archives
3 Archives of the General Captaincy, volume 849.
In 1795 don Jose Antonio received two grand honors from King Charles IV: on February 26th he was appointed as a member of the Consulate’s tribunal[1]; and by royal decree on March 12th he was authorized to use the title and preeminences as Honorary Commissioner of the Mint[2].
Don Jose Antonio held the position of comptroller for more than fifteen years and, when he felt he was going on in years, he asked for his retirement, which was granted on June 29, 1803[3].
On June 30, 1773, at age 34, don Jose Antonio de Alcalde married doña Rosa Bascuñan y Meneses, daughter of don Antonio de Bascuñan y Ovalle, military field master, and doña Ana Josefa de Meneses y Rojas[4].
The bride came from one of the most prestigious families in the country.
Her father was the grandson of don Francisco Nuñez de Pineda y Bascuñan, author of El Cautiverio Feliz (Translator’s note: “Blissful Captivity”), and on her mother’s side was a descendant of the Spanish captain don Francisco Rodriguez del Manzano y Ovalle, who, as is known, came to Chile in the autumn of 1600 and was the father of the historian Alonso de Ovalle y Pastene[5].
1 MEDINA, Hispanic-Chilean Library. Volume 3, page 228.
2 Volume 849, previously cited, of the General Captaincy.
3 Archive of the General Captaincy, volume 761, number 13,951.
4 Volume 849 of the General Captaincy.
5 See the article about the Bascuñan family published in Flores Chilenas, date July 20, 1901, by don
Luis Thayer Ojeda.
ENTAILED ESTATES. -V.III
Alcalde’s mother-in-law was the granddaughter of President Meneses, and through her maternal lineage descended from Santiago de Azocar, one of Pedro de Valdivia’s most valiant companions.
At the time of his nuptials, don Jose Antonio possessed a personal capital of 30,896 pesos[1]; and as his wife’s dowry he received more than 13,000 pesos in jewelry, clothes, cash, and a gift of ten thousand pesos from his father-in-law, which he was to receive only after the death of the donor[2].
Don Jose Antonio had started his fortune with his career in business; but when his bride’s father died, he decided to work the land.
On December 4, 1782, before Nicolas de Herrera, he was allocated the Chiñigüe hacienda, for the sum of 26,248 pesos; and by deed on July 15, 1788, before the same notary, he purchased the El Marco hacienda, for the amount of 17,529 pesos.
Later he acquired a third rustic property, El Paico, located in the Melipilla district like the previous ones, for 5,000 pesos, by deeds dated the 20th and 21st of May, 1795, before Francisco de Borja de la Torre.
Don Jose Antonio had inherited from his father the house on La Merced Street, where he lived until his death.
Additionally he had purchased a valuable farm in Santiago from the heirs of don Antonio Lopez, located west of Quinta Alegre, which had been entailed, as we’ve seen, by his brother don Juan Ignacio.
The same day he took ownership of Chiñigüe, don Jose Antonio petitioned Presidente Benavides to concede to him the administration
1 Public instrument dated December 24, 1773 before the notary Santiago de Santibañez.
2 Dowry contract from doña Rosa Bascuñan y Meneses, also written before Santibañez with the
same date as the previous instrument.
of the encomienda of Indians of the same name (Translator’s note: An encomienda was used to refer to a person who, by Royal Decree, had indigenous people entrusted to them in the Spanish territories of America and the Philippines); at that time it was made up of only six remaining families, who lived on some ranches near the farmhouse and recognized Domingo Tello as their chieftain.
Having received a report dated December 7 from the district protector of natives, don Joaquin Perez de Uriondo y Martierena, don Ambrosio de Benavides had no objection to entrust the Indians of the village of Chiñigüe to don Jose Antonio, pursuant the established term and pending confirmation from the king, to be presented by the incumbent custodian of the encomienda, don Fernando de Ustariz y Meneses, who was residing in Peru.[1].
The history of this encomienda can be told in few words, and presents the same display of excesses as others of its kind.
Firstly, and contrary to strict provisions, it had remained in the hands of a single family for more than a century; actually with the complicity of the king who had permitted it to remain so, by means of the system of contributions, that is, donations to the royal treasury.
Secondly, the Indians who in 1782 made up the village or farm of Chiñigüe had been originally uprooted from their previous settlement in Colina and taken by force to Melipilla.
The Colina encomienda had been conceded in
1625 by don Francisco de Alava y Norueña to doña Ana Maria de Azocar y Zumeta, great-granddaughter of Santiago de Azocar, who was the widow of the military field master don Diego de Carcamo y Valdes[1].
The second generation, Mrs. Azocar’s eldest daughter Isabel, who married don Antonio de Puebla y Rojas, corregidor of Santiago in 1676, had held the same encomienda[2].
By contributions to the royal treasury, this encomienda, still known as Colina despite these Indians having now lived over fifty years on the Chiñigüe hacienda, an Azocar property, had passed down into the hands of the third generation, don Francisco de Rojas y Azocar, twice Mayor of Santiago. He had obtained the concession from president Ustariz, also by means of contributions, of the fourth generation of these same Indians for his immediate succesor[3].
Doña Isabel de Rojas, don Francisco’s first born, married don Alonso de Meneses y Bravo de Saravia, son of Presidente don Francisco de Meneses, and had the following children with him:
1) Don Francisco, Prebendary of the Santiago Cathedral.
2) Friar Jose, religious member of the Order of Santo Domingo.
3) Doña Maria Josefa, wife of don Pedro de Ustariz y Ollo, son of President Ustariz[4].
1 Doña Ana Maria de Azocar was the daughter of Juan de Azocar Jr. and doña Isabel de Landa; and
granddaughter of Juan de Azocar Sr. and Beatriz de Abalos Jofre.
2 Volume I of this work, page 434.
3 Archive of the General Captaincy, volume 494, number 6,342.
4 Don Juan Andres de Ustariz, in his will written before Domingo de Oteiza on May 19, 1718,
declared as his children don Fermín Francisco, doña Petronila, don Martín, Captain don Pedro,
doña Antonia, don Jose Eugenio and don Jose Inocencio.
On his return to Arequipa, the place of his birth, don Francisco Pantaleon embraced the ecclesiastical order and became priest of the Tabernacle of the Cathedral of Arequipa[1].
Don Fernando de Ustariz, his father, never showed any interest in the encomienda of Chile, which was administered by don Antonio de Bascuñan until his death, and then, as has been said, by don Jose Antonio de Alcalde.
Four years after receiving in trust the Indians of Chiñigüe don Jose Antonio purchased the lands where those same Indians lived, which bore the pompous name of the village.
The aforementioned lands, where the natives of the encomienda were, had been surveyed in 1704 by Captain Gines de Lillo[2], in compliance with a Royal Decree of the previous year, which had ordered that all the Indians in the country be consigned to villages[3].
Fifty years later, the royal court again had these lands measured by the surveyor don Juan Francisco de Arrechea, on the occasion of a trial regarding boundaries between the Chiñigüe and San Antonio estates[4].
1 MEDINA, Hispanic-Chilean Library, Volume 3, page 377.
2 Appendix, number 2, document I.
3 AMUNÁTEGUI, The precursors of Chilean independence, volume 2, pages 418 and 419.
4 Alcalde family papers.
In 1704, in addition to the common lands, two blocks (cuadras) were to be granted to each widow, four to each Indian and eight to the chieftain, that is, one hundred and eighty-five blocks; but Captain Lillo measured two hundred, judging it convenient given the topography of the terrain.
In 1754, according to the regulations in effect, the chieftain was entitled to ten blocks, each Indian to five and each widow to three, and for every ten individuals twenty-four blocks of common land were to be reserved; and, consequently, the result was two hundred and twenty-eight blocks and two-fifths of a block[1].
This village was thusly nestled into the very center of don Jose Antonio de Alcalde’s estate; and it was certainly not the only one of its kind, as there were several others in the Santiago and Melipilla districts, all formed at about the same time.
It was extremely rare to find a genuine Indian village in the vicinity of the capital whose origins predated the Spanish conquest.
An example of this type would be Talagante, which was founded during the years of the Peruvian conquest.
The Spanish Bourbon kings resolved to practice in Chile the same system used by the Incas to civilize and subdue the natives; and throughout the eighteenth century they sent strict orders to our country’s governors to that end.
The accession to the throne of Philip V initiated this change of policy, and from then on the enjoining of populations, aimed not only at creating European centers, but especially indigenous ones, operated almost without interruption.
1 Alcalde family papers.
In the last days of his government the President of Chile, Ambrosio de Benavides, loyally inspired by the crown’s expressed intentions, tried to unite the small Indian villages scattered around Santiago and Melipilla into larger towns, which, as could be supposed, would be much easier to watch over and monitor.
This approach was to be taken for the villages of El Bajo, Pomaire, Chiñigüe, Gallardo and Llopeu, in the Melipilla district[1]; and to Talagante, Lampa, Carrizal or Curamapu, and Macul, in the Santiago district[2].
President Benavides began to carry out this play by auctioning off the lands of those villages that, in his opinion, ought to be eliminated; and later, on December 20, 1786, with a more favorable agreement, and after hearing the opinion of the Royal Prosecutor, Perez de Uriondo y Martierena, he decided that preference in the sale should be given to the owners of the neighboring haciendas, provided they pay the appraisal price and waive all rights to the same properties[3].
The lands of the indigenous village of Chiñigüe were then measured by the surveyor don Antonio Lozada, and its area of three hundred and seventy-three blocks (cuadras) were appraised by him at three thousand four hundred and thirty-eight pesos.
Don Jose Antonio de Alcalde offered and paid the selling price; and the deed of sale was signed before the notary
1 Appendix, number 2, document II.
2 Appendix, number 2, document V.
3 Appendix, number 2, document III.
Luis Luque Moreno on January 22, 1787[1].
The village of Carrizal, which consisted of 250 blocks (cuadras), was purchased for 3,000 pesos by the nearest land owner, don Francisco Javier Valdes y Carrera; the village of Llopeu, adjacent to the San Miguel hacienda, which consisted of 218 blocks, was purchased for 2,236 pesos by don Ignacio de Carrera y Cuevas; and the village of Lampa, with 130 blocks and a third of a block, was acquired by don Pedro Nolasco de Cereceda for the sum of 782 pesos[2].
Subsequent to these acquisitions, don Nicolás Gandarillas bought the village of Macul, whose Indians were transferred to Rancagua[3].
Unfortunately, the aforementioned sales, with the exception of those of Chiñigüe and Lampa, were objected to by a few of the wealthy landowners in the surrounding area.
For example, don Francisco de Borja de Larrain y Lecaros challenged the sale of the village of Carrizal; and don Francisco de la Peña, on behalf of the Spanish inhabitants of San Francisco del Monte, challenged the sale of the village of Llopeu.
At the same time, serious boundary disputes arose over the villages of Talagante and Pomaire[4].
These circumstances prevented the completion of the proposed indigenous villages.
In the meantime, the landowners like don Jose Antonio de Alcalde who had bought the lands occupied by the Indians without any opposition from anyone were left in a very unfavorable situation.
1 Appendix, number 2, document IV.
2 Deeds from January 18th, 20th and 30th of 1787, before the same notary Luis Luque Moreno.
3 This transfer is recorded in an older file pertaining to the village of Chiñigüe.
4 Appendix, number 2, document V.
Once the encomiendas were abolished by Royal Decree in 1791, Alcalde lost all jurisdiction over the Indians residing within his hacienda and just a short distance from his own home.
Although on October 23, 1797 the Board of Publications resolved, with aid from President Aviles, Bishop Maran, the senior Magistrates Rezabal y Ugarte, Gonzalez Perez, Urriola and Concha, and the Chief Accountant Oyarzábal, that the Indians of Chiñigüe and the other villages designated by Benavides should be concentrated in Pomaire and in the Bajo of Melipilla[1], Alcalde had to patiently endure for the rest of his days the excesses committed by the natives, one would say, before his very eyes.
The following children were born from the marriage of don Jose Antonio de Alcalde to doña Rosa Bascuñan y Meneses:
1) Doña Maria del Carmen, married to the first born son of the Marquis de la Pica, that is, don Miguel de Irarrazaval y Solar[2]; she brought with her a dowry of 24,000 pesos to the marriage[3].
1 Appendix, number 2, document V.
2 Volume 1 of this work, pages 344 and 345.
3 Dowry contract issued before Nicolas de Herrera on July 20, 1801.
2) Doña Maria Mercedes, married to her first cousin don Jose Manuel Lecaros y Alcalde, with a dowry of 16,700 pesos.[1]
3) Doña Maria Josefa, who from an early age lost the use of her reason.
4) Doña Maria Teresa, married to don Tomas de Vicuña y Madariaga[2], Mayor of Santiago in 1807, grandson of the Spaniard don Tomas de Vicuña Berroeta.
5) Doña Maria Ana, religious member of the Santa Rosa Monastery.
6) Doña Maria Antonia, married to don Manuel Jose Prado y Palacios.
This marriage produced only one child, a son, who died young.[3]
7) Don Juan Agustin, who would carry on the family name of Alcalde in Chile.
Don Jose Antonio de Alcalde was only able to enjoy the title of Count and the entail established by his brother don Juan Ignacio on Naltahua, San Juan and Quinta Alegre for a few years, because, as you will recall, don Juan Ignacio died at the beginning of 1798, and don Jose Antonio’s life ended on July 16, 1804[4].
As detailed in his will, the third count of
1 Document issued before the same notary Herrera on July 15, 1801.
2 Son of don Tomás de Vicuña Hidalgo and doña Carmen Madariaga y Prado. See Volume 2 of this work, page 328.
3 The father had a second marriage to his cousin doña Maria Dolores Prado y Montaner. See
volume 2 of this work, pages 334, note 5, and 348.
4 Appendix, number 3.
Quinta Alegre was buried in La Merced Church, next to his parents[1].
Pursuant to the laws in effect, the widow was granted a widow’s pension of 512 pesos and 4 reales per year, by a March 4, 1805 decree[2].
Don Jose Antonio left a personal fortune of more than one hundred thousand pesos; it consisted of real estate, livestock, slaves, furniture, jewelry, and objects of wrought silver.
He also had a collection of books estimated at a value of 259 pesos[3].
His only son, don Juan Agustin, was the last Count of Quinta Alegre and received an excellent education.
After a course of study of what today would be called the humanities, he enrolled in the University of San Felipe as a philosophy student on June 18, 1799; and at the end of that same year he sat for the exam on this subject[4].
He received honor and distinction, as was natural, while he was not yet in his prime.
On March 24, 1801, President Joaquin del Pino appointed him captain of a company of the Prince’s regiment[5].
His enthusiastic spirit was no doubt gratified by the privileges of his high birth and great wealth; but that same bountiful ardor of his early youth led him to enlist in the ranks of the patriots who were striving for the independence of their country.
1 Sagrario Parish Archives. Don Jose Antonio’s will, given before the notary Agustin Díaz on June 8, 1802, was unsealed before said notary on July 17, 1804, and can be found at the end of the record of the same year.
2 General Captaincy Archive, volume 849.
3 Inventory of don Jose Antonio de Alcalde’s assets. Family papers.
4 University Archive.
5 Alcalde family papers.
It is well-known that some of the most important secret meetings in the early days of the revolution took place at the Alcalde villa[1].
The most forward-looking opinions of the country were at that time reflected in the Santiago town council and don Juan Agustin wished to join it.
To this end, together with Jose Nicolas de la Cerda and Fernando Errazuriz y Aldunate, he made a bid for one of the Councilman seats that were vacant at the end of 1809[2]. And so he found himself with a front row seat when the major political events of the following glorious year broke out.
The Count of Quinta Alegre’s signature appears at the bottom of the most proceedings of the town council of 1810.
1 The 1810 Chronicle by MIGUEL LUIS AMUNÁTEGUI. Volume 2, page 320.
2 The Chilean Revolution by Friar MELCHOR MARÍNEZ, page 31.
given the aristocratic organization of our society, they understood that their efforts would be futile if they did not have the support, or at least the neutrality, of the landowners.
This clever tactic explains why the elderly Count of La Conquista was brought in to the presidency for the first governing assembly.
Don Juan Agustin Alcalde, who had actively participated in the election of this board, received from it the appointment of Colonel of the cavalry militia regiment of the Andes party on December 20th[1].
Although he had received military posts on several other occasions, the Count of Quinta Alegre did not, however, feel inclined towards a career at arms. Instead, he rendered important services as a member of the legislative bodies of the revolution.
On March 6, 1811, he was elected representative of Santiago to the Congress that was inaugurated on July 4th of the same year.
An honorable circumstance for don Juan Agustin was that, with the exception of Don Joaquin de Echevarria, who was then the Mayor of the town council, he obtained a greater number of votes than the other representatives from the capital, despite the fact that their names were don Agustin Eizaguirre, don Francisco Javier Errazuriz, don Jose Miguel Infante, don Jose Santiago Portales, don Jose Nicolas de la Cerda, don Juan Antonio de Ovalle, Friar Manuel Chaparro, don Juan Jose Goicolea,
1 Alcalde family papers.
don Gabriel Tocornal and don Domingo Díaz Muñoz[1].
The Count of Quinta Alegre managed to secure from the patriotic government the transfer of the Indians from the old pueblo of Chiñigüe to the village of Llopeu, where he himself had them build ranches equivalent to the ones they had left behind.
This was of great benefit to the count; for, as previously stated, the Indians were committing all kinds of excesses, which the hacienda owners had no means of preventing.
In addition, it should be noted that in the so-called “native villages” there not only lived pure Indians, but also, very often, Spaniards, mestizos and mulattoes mixed with them, who, because of their quarrelsome character, constituted a real danger for the workers in the fields.
Some of the Chiñigüe Indians preferred to remain as tenants in the hacienda; but most of them, after a stubborn resistance, moved their penates (Translator’s note: household gods) to Llopeu’s ranches.
During the Garcia Carrasco administration, Don Juan Agustin had not been able to get the authorities to give him the village lands, despite the fact that, as we have seen, his father had bought them in 1787.
By contrast, Dr. Juan Jose del Campo, a favorite of Garcia Carrasco, who in 1808 held the position of protector of natives, had
1 Legislative Bodies Sessions (1811-1845). Volume 1 page 22.
supported the Chiñigüe chieftain in the possession of his alleged territories.
That same year, the chieftain, Andres Tello, had received his title duly issued by royal audience in Santiago, to which the Indians were ordered to respect and comply with his orders[1].
At the Count of Quinta Alegre’s request, García Carrasco had given strict instructions to the deputy delegate of Melipilla to expel all the families illegally living in the village; but, at the same time, he declared that the Indians of the old encomienda had full authority to continue their agricultural work, until the government ordered their transfer to another region.
On July 3, 1811, on the eve, consequently, of the day on which it was to cease its functions, the first national assembly ordered that the Chiñigüe natives be transferred to the neighboring indigenous villages.
This decisive resolution could not, however, be put into effect, as the Indians stubbornly refused to leave the hacienda.
In their desperation, they went so far as to set fire to four of the huts that don Juan Agustin de Alcalde had built for them in Llopeu; and when the deputy delegate of Melipilla went in person to notify them the time had come to leave, and the wagons were ready to transport them, they replied as one, all of the men and women barricaded in a stockyard together, that they would rather die than leave their village.
On September 30, 1813, following these violent actions, the governing assembly led by don Jose Miguel Infante authorized the use
1 Appendix, number 2, document VI.
of military force to compel them to comply[1]. And so at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Indians of the old encomienda were forced to abandon their ranches in Chiñigüe for those of Llopeu, just as their ancestors in the seventeenth century had been uprooted from Colina and transplanted in Melipilla.
The poor Indians suffered under the law of the conquerors!
The barbarism in the Americas left the field open to European civilization!
However, the chieftain Andres Tello made a last effort after the defeat of the patriot army in Rancagua and presented himself to Osorio with the request that he and his followers be allowed to return to their old farm.
The deed was already done. Doctor don Jose Joaquin Rodriguez Zorilla, Osorio’s counselor[2], and old colleague of Alcalde’s from the Santiago Council, went as far as to show evidence that justice was not on the side of the natives of Chiñigüe[3].
Don Juan Agustin de Alcalde married the very respectable doña Maria del Carmen Velasco y Oruna in 1812.
The Velasco family had been founded in Chile by don Francisco Antonio Velasco y Navarro, born in the province of Rioja, in Old Castile; in 1757 he married doña Ana Maria Cañas in Santiago,
1 Appendix, number 2. Documents inserted under number VII. I have copied parts from the
original files, which are in the possession of the Alcalde family.
2 BARROS ARANA, General History of Chile, volume 10, page 18.
3 Original file belonging to the Alcalde family.
ENTAILED ESTATES. -V. III
daughter of Colonel don Pedro Jose Cañas y Trujillo and doña Maria de Loreto del Portillo.
Among the children of this marriage, there are three that bear mentioning:
1) Doña Margarita, wife of the wealthy Guatemalan businessman don Jose Ramirez Saldaña, head of the Consular Court[1]; who, at the end of the eighteenth century, as is known, built one of the finest homes in Santiago, according to the architect Toesca’s blueprints, on La Merced Street, one block from the Plaza Mayor[2].
2) Friar Domingo, a religious member of the Dominican order, representative of his order during the first years of the revolution and quite devoted to the king’s cause[3].
3) Don Jose Casimiro, married to doña Francisca de Paula Oruna y Landa, parents of Alcalde’s bride[4].
The Count of Quinta Alegre’s marriage was celebrated on April 26, with the nuptial blessing given by Friar Domingo Velasco[5].
It’s probable that the protection offered by this religious member had an influence on Coronel Osorio, victor at Rancagua, who gave don Juan Agustin de Alcalde a wide berth and caused him no suffering during this leader’s rule.
On the other hand, Marco del Pont tried to persecute the ex-Councilman of the 1810 city council and ex-deputy to the Congress of 1811; but, either because the same people who had defended him in
1 The will being witnessed on April 13, 1799 before Antonio Tadeo of The Alamos.
2 Today, the Portal Alcalde stands on the same site.
3 BARROS ARANA, General History of Chile, volume 8, page 398, note 17.
4 Don Francisco Antonio Velasco y Navarro issued his wil before Nicolas de Herrera on September
20, 1794.
5 Sagrario Parish Archives.
previous years intervened in his favor, or because of the ardent protests with which Alcalde hastened to demonstrate his loyalty to the Spanish monarch, he was once again left free and undisturbed[1].
In the act of allegiance to Ferdinand VII published in the February 11, 1817 issue of the Gaceta del Gobierno, the Count of Quinta Alegre’s signature appears third on the list, immediately after those of the Marquises of Casa Real and Montepio.
This Royalist position did not harm don Juan Agustin in his dealings with the victors of Chacabuco.
On December 18, 1817, don Luis de la Cruz, who two days earlier had taken government control with the title of Supreme Delegate Director, appointed Alcalde as Company Commander of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata.[2].
This was a national guard corps made up of the numerous Argentine citizens, mostly merchants, then residing in Santiago, who had chosen don Luis de la Cruz as their leader[3].
1 Original documents belonging to Mrs. Pereira, don Arsenio Alcalde’s widow.
2 Original decree in possession of the aforementioned lady.
3 BARROS ARANA, General History of Chile, volume II, page 298.
O’Higgins conferred other honors and distinctions on don Juan Agustin in exchange for the title of Count that he’d removed when he declared the titles of nobility abolished in 1817.
On November 2, 1818, he was appointed member of the Legion of Merit; and on February 10, 1821, deputy officer of same[1].
Finally, don Juan Agustin was one of those appointed by the Supreme Director, on August 10, 1818, as a full member of the Conservative Senate.
Alcalde’s wife, who had earned a high standing in society for her intelligence and virtue, also received public honors.
By decree of September 18, 1822, issued in Lima, San Martín declared that doña Maria del Carmen Velasco de Alcalde, for her dedication to the cause of Peruvian independence, had earned the distinction granted to patriots by the decree of January 11th of that same year[2].
This honor comprised a double-colored silk sash, white and red, to be worn from the left shoulder to the right hip, where it was fastened with a small gold tassel. A gold medal bearing the arms of the State hung in the middle of the band, bearing the following inscription on the back: For the patriotism of those most responsive[3].
Don Juan Agustin de Alcalde was a member of the Conservative Senate, as previously established, from October 22, 1819 to February 22, 1820; and then again from June 22, 1821 to the beginning of October of the same year.
[1] Mrs. Pereira’s papers.
[2] Original document can be found in the possession of Mrs. Pereira de Alcalde.
[3] Gaceta del Gobierno of Perú, number 12, January 1822.
1 Mrs. Pereira’s papers.
2 Original document can be found in the possession of Mrs. Pereira de Alcalde.
3 Gaceta del Gobierno of Perú, number 12, January 1822.
He did not finish his term, however, having resigned as a member of the Senate, but his resignation was not accepted[1].
After O’Higgins dissolved the Senate, Alcalde withdrew for some time from public life, and did not take part in the Preparatory Convention of 1822.
Don Juan Agustin’s abstention was all the stranger because at that time the government councils were dominated by Minister Rodriguez Aldea, who in 1820 had married one of Mrs. Velasco de Alcalde’s sisters; and one can only explain it by the fact that the former Count of Quinta Alegre disapproved, as did many other members of the aristocracy of the time, of the victor of Chacabuco’s policies.
Don Juan Agustin was among the ten people proposed by don Mariano Egaña on January 28, 1823 to meet with Don Bernardo O’Higgins to discuss the need for his abdication[2].
It was a great honor when General Pinto appointed Alcalde in July 1828 to serve as Mayor of Colchagua, at a time of great public turmoil, when the next storm was already brewing.
This act of trust in a citizen who did not belong to the governing party, demonstrates the prestige that Don Juan Agustin enjoyed for the moderation and rectitude of his character[3].
1 Legislative Bodies Sessions. Volume 5, page 360.
2 BARROS ARANA, General History. Volume 13, page 829, note 46.
3 BARROS ARANA, General History , volume 15, page 263, note 26.
Given his family background and his place in society, Alcalde could not but sympathize with the revolution that triumphed in Lircai; and from then on he again took an active role in political affairs.
His signature can be found at the bottom of the Constitution of 1833.
Don Juan Agustin occupied a seat in the Senate of the Republic until 1837, when he was excluded by lot from that body.
For nine years he remained out of the Senate, and only returned to it during the rule of General Bulnes.
On September 22, 1852, don Manuel Montt appointed him State Advisor.
Alcalde died in Santiago in November 1860, and the government ordered that he be accorded the honors corresponding to his position as Senator[1].
Pursuant to the law, on August 28, 1855, Don Juan Agustin had un-entailed the properties of San Juan, Naltahua and Quinta Alegre, and had established a bond of 314,567 pesos, at an interest rate of four percent per year, on secured haciendas.
His family home had grown to include numerous children of both sexes and was one of the first popular social gathering centers in the capital.
Don Juan Agustin had purchased the house built by Don Jose Ramirez Saldaña and he lived there until his death.
1 In the December 11th publication of El Ferrocarril you can read the letter of condolences that the
Minister of the Interior, Mr. Antonio Varas, addressed to the Alcalde family on this occasion.
For thirty years, Alcalde’s salons were frequented night after night by the most distinguished families of society and the most important political figures.
At that time, before there were any clubs, a house like don Juan Agustin’s rendered an invaluable service, and, it can almost be said, represented a hub of an official nature.
Often in attendance were General Blanco, don Felipe and don Jose Pardo, General Cortes, don Manuel Montt, don Pedro Lira, don Jose Antonio Argomedo, don Jose Antonio Rodriguez Aldea, Ruiz Tagle, don Mariano Egaña, don Ramon Luis Irarrazaval, General Prieto, don Jose Maria de Rozas, don Vicente Izquierdo, don Manuel Cifuentes, don Bartolome Grez, don Manuel Lizardi, don Francisco Vergara.
The host, always proper and friendly, and accompanied by his wife and children, attended to his friends with exquisite civility, thusly serving as a powerful tie between the men of the colonial period, to whom he belonged, and the citizens of the Republic, of whose institutions he had been one of the first to embrace.
One of his children, don Manuel Alcalde y Velasco, was the head of the first ministry organized by don Jose Joaquin Perez.
His three daughters, who were equal in grace and beauty, married as follows: doña Maria Mercedes to don Jose Maria Hurtado y Peña, doña Maria del Carmen to the Consul General and Chargé d’Affaires of France don Enrique de Cazotte, and doña Carolina to don Patricio Larrain Gandarillas – and have created numerous distinguished families.
The surname of Alcalde has also been perpetuated among us through the male line, and the descendants of the Count of Quinta Alegre today form a veritable colony in the city of Santiago.
APPENDIX
Number I
Provisions contained in the will of don Juan Ignacio de Alcalde, second Count of Quinta Alegre
Will
In the name of the Father, almighty God, and by His Divine Grace, Amen. I, don Juan Ignacio Alcalde de Ribera, Count of Quinta Alegre, resident and merchant of this city of Cadiz, native of the city of Santiago in the kingdom of Chile, legitimate son of the legitimate marriage of don Juan Alcalde Gutierrez, Count of the same title, and doña Isabel Hernandez de Ribera y Cabrera, deceased, residents of the city of Santiago, and married to doña Maria O’Mullony; finding myself gravely ill,………………
Hereby make and decree my last will and testament in the following form and manner. -I.st First, I commend my soul to God our Lord, who created and redeemed it with the eternal price of his most precious blood, passion and death; and I commit my body to the earth, from which it was formed. And, when his divine holiness shall be so disposed to take my soul from this present life to the eternal one, I order that my corpse, shrouded or clothed in the vestments which I leave provided for in a memorandum to be found among my papers, dated the first of December of the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, written and signed by my own hand, comprising five sheets of paper, be buried and entombed in the church, vault, chapel or place, with the form of burial and funeral pomp required therein, with prayers for my soul to be recited and the intended number of masses to be given left arranged in said memorandum; and providing for the obligatory charitable alms foreseen therein, the cost of all this being paid out of my assets, and promptly complying with what is contained in said memorandum, with the instruction that it is my will to maintain the tenor of the same, not only with regard to the execution of this event, but also in what could subsequently be foreseen, although not written by my hand, as long as it is signed, and not in any other form.
-2.nd I hereby affirm that I entered into a legitimate marriage in this city in the month of May of the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five with the named doña María O’Mullony, to which the aforementioned did not bring a dowry; and the capital that I contributed is specifically recorded in the aforementioned memorandum. And during its duration we did not have any children, which I hereby state for the record. -3rd. I also declare that the state of my estate, businesses, dependencies, debts and credits are individually recorded in my books, papers and in the aforementioned memorandum, to which my executors and trustees will be bound to manifest and comply with all that is in accordance with my will and in which I leave provisions. -4.th I also declare that I have been serving as the executor of the most excellent Marquis of Casares, head of the Royal Navy squadron, elected Viceroy of the New Kingdom of Granada, and that his communications, provisions, and everything concerning the security of his conscience and the benefit of his soul, I have fulfilled and carried out with the accuracy required by his trust and Christianity, which will be evidenced by the papers and documents related to this matter. And I order that my executors deliver these, as well as the accounts and others that may come into my possession belonging to said estate, to the persons who will represent it, subject to the appropriate documentation for the safeguarding of mine. -5th And I appoint as my executors, of this my last will and testament, with respect to this said city and kingdom of Europe, the aforementioned doña María O’Mullony, my spouse, don Antonio Guerrero y Aranda, dean of the holy cathedral church of this city, and don Miguel de Iribarren, resident and merchant of this same city; and, as regards America and its dominions, don Joseph Antonio Alcalde, my brother, resident of Santiago, Chile, accountant for His Majesty at the Royal Mint, and honorary superintendent of the same…. -6th And in the same manner I appoint as my trustee heirs (for their not having direct ascendancy as heirs, ascendants, nor descendants whom according to law would inherit from me), respective to this said city and dominions of Europe, the aforementioned doña María O’Mullony, my wife, don Antonio Guerrero y Aranda, dean of this holy church, and don Miguel de Iribarren, resident and merchant of this said city; and for America the aforementioned don Joseph Antonio Alcalde, my brother, resident of the city of Santiago, Chile, accountant for His Royal Majesty of the Royal Mint and honorary
superintendent of same, all of them together, and each one in solidum, with equal power, so that as such they may comply exactly with what I have left provided for in the aforementioned memorandum (of which this is my desire and shall be understood to be an essential part of this, my will) and other communications that I may make to you, relieving all of you from providing an account to any court, prelates or ecclesiastical or secular judge, concerning the complete satisfaction and confidence that I have in the individuals whom I have chosen for this responsibility, and it being thus my determined will. -7th And I hereby revoke, annul, declare as null and void, dissolved and without value or effect all and any wills, codicils, testamentary powers and other last provisions that I have previously made and granted, in writing, by word of mouth or in any other form, so that none of them shall be enforceable, nor be valid in court, nor out of it, save this will which I now formalize, and the above memorandum, both of which I wish to be followed, preserved, fulfilled and executed by my last and definite will, in the way and form that is most suitable by law. In witness whereof I hereby declare in the city of Cadiz, on the eighth day of January of the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight. And the undersigned (whom I, the notary public, attest and know) hereby signed into my record, witnessed by don Agustin Ortuño, don Francisco Ignacio Arregui and don Joseph Maria Laure, residents of Cadiz. –The Count of Quinta Alegre. -Before me, Ramon Garcia de Meneses, Notary Public.
—
TESTAMENTARY MEMORANDUM
……..2nd I declare that I am currently married, according to the order of our Holy Mother Church, wed to doña Maria O’Mullony, legitimate daughter of the lawful marriage between don Marcos O’Mullony and doña Ana Philipis, both deceased, noble residents of the city of the port of Santa Maria; and that from said marriage, celebrated in May of the year seven hundred and seventy-five, God has not seen fit to provide us any heirs. -3rd I also declare that, according to the balance sheet I drew up of my assets when I married, on that occasion I found to possess one hundred and sixteen thousand pesos between my capital and entire possessions and dominions,
according to the accounting I made of my assets and calculating for possible maritime risks and pending obligations; and also that, according to the testamentary account of my deceased father, and distributions made by his executors, I received a little more than forty-four thousand pesos, which, with the six thousand allotted to me before my marriage, make up my paternal and maternal inheritance. -4th También declaro que, por fallecimiento de mi hermano don Francisco Réjis Alcalde, acaecido en Italia el año de setecientos ochenta y nueve, me pertenecen por herencia como unos doce mil y más pesos, según las cuentas y cartas de mi hermano don Joseph Antonio, residente en Santiago de Chile; de modo que, del caudal que actualmente poseo me perteI also declare that, upon the death of my brother don Francisco Rejis Alcalde, which occurred in Italy in the year seven hundred and eighty-nine, I have inherited a little more than twelve thousand pesos, according to the accounts and letters of my brother don Joseph Antonio, resident of Santiago, Chile; Therefore, of the estate that I presently possess, one hundred and seventy-two thousand pesos belong to me in full, comprised of the one hundred and sixteen thousand that I made as capital when I married, of the forty-four thousand that I inherited from my deceased father after my marriage, and the twelve thousand that I inherited from my brother don Francisco Rejis, as described in the preceding clause. -5th I also declare that, according to the calculations I have made, I find myself, thanks be to God, at present in possession of two hundred and fifty thousand pesos in wealth, more or less, which consists of the estate I own in the kingdom of Chile named Naltahua, entirely free of taxes, which I estimate to have a value of sixty-five to sixty-six thousand pesos; of the estate named Quinta Alegre, in the same kingdom and contiguous to the city of Santiago, which is worth about nineteen to twenty thousand pesos; of the other hacienda that I have just purchased, called San Juan, also known as San Antonio de la Mar, in the town of Melipilla, in the same kingdom, which I appraise at forty-five thousand pesos, which is nearly its purchase cost to me, which carries a tax of eleven thousand pesos, principal of census, more or less; and the rest, up to the said amount of two hundred and fifty thousand pesos, consisting of royal notes, bonds, promissory notes, deeds, accounts and other documents to my favor, which will be recorded in my books and entries; and of the silver, jewelry, furniture, utensils, books, cattle, cars and other items I have and possess….. -10. I appoint my
brother don Joseph Antonio, currently the accountant of the Royal Mint of Santiago, Chile, as my heir to the three aforementioned estates, namely, Naltahua, San Juan and Quinta Alegre, for my title will pass to him (God not having given me successors), as ordered by my deceased father in his will, executed in the city of Santiago, Chile, on the fifteenth of January of the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty, before don Pedro Gaona, notary public; and I declare it to be my will and last provision that these three estates pass (the king permitting) successively in perpetual succession to all those who inherit this Castilian title which I enjoy, in accordance with the instructions of my deceased father in his aforementioned will, so that with the revenues generated by these estates whoever obtains it may be provided for with the corresponding decency and honor, and thus preserve this Catholic family, to honor and serve God, the king, and the state. And, notwithstanding that his Majesty, in the decree of April twenty-eighth, seven hundred and eighty-nine, forbids the establishment of these entails and has commanded that, even in cases where they are established, the greater part of the assets must be based on villas, bank shares, bonds and the like, with everything, the reasons for which His Majesty was moved to impose this prohibition no longer existing in the kingdom of Chile, rather, perhaps, the opposite reasons have ceased to exist, and since in that kingdom the civil assets are scarce, it is to be hoped that he will grant his royal permission for its establishment and I hereby beseech his royal mercy, and of whose grace I humbly beg so that this family may remain in this kingdom, serving as a model of fidelity and love to the sovereign, and as a benefit to our country. -11. I direct that he who possesses this entailment perpetually allocate from the revenues two hundred pesos annually to be distributed during Holy Week, or Lent, in the form of twenty pieces of clothing for the poor, at ten pesos each, giving a preference to the orphans and widows of Santiago and its environs, and in consultation with the oldest parish so these alms may be provided with Christianity and prudence, and with no other motive than charity being involved for the selection; I ask the poor to commend me to God. And I leave the choice of wardrobe to the discretion of the holder. But this provision shall not take effect until the death of my wife, according to the following clause. -12. I order that the possessor of this entailment remit to my said wife four hundred pesos annually, the amount of which
will be received by her without any expense and duties, in order to receive her aid free and clear, and she should receive this aid during her lifetime and widowhood; once she has died or changed her status this aid will end, and then the alms stated in the previous clause may begin. -13. I order that eight thousand pesos be invested in secure estates for an ecclesiastical chaplaincy, under the patronage of the successor to the title of Quinta Alegre, who will have the right to propose to the Most Illustrious Bishop the chaplain for his parishioners; and I name the children and descendants of my brother don Joseph Antonio, and in their absence the children and descendants of my sister doña María Rosa, and failing one or the other, whomsoever is proposed by the holder of the title. But, as I desire this institution to be for the good of the chaplain and of the faithful, and not to be a mere means of temporary accommodation, I oblige him, in addition to the twenty-four Masses a year for my soul and that of my successors, to give a doctrinal or moral lecture every month in the parish, by which he will live devoted to his ministry, study and edify the faithful, and thereby sanctifying himself. -14. I order that five thousand pesos be distributed to don Bernardo Alcalde, priest and a native of the town of Durón, bishopric of Osma, to the priest of said town and to the oldest priest, so that by their hands and in agreement it may be distributed in equal parts among the cousins and first cousins through the paternal line, and that none other who is not a relation shall have any right to this legacy. -15. I leave to my sister doña María Rosa Alcalde, resident of Santiago, Chile, twelve thousand pesos, should she be able to receive them here, for her comfort, as proof of the love and tenderness that I profess for her, as I do for all her children, my nephews and nieces. And, if receiving them in the Indies, they will have to be in the currency of said country. -16. I also leave for my nieces, daughters of my brother don Joseph Antonio, ten thousand current currency pesos, in the same manner, so that my brother may distribute them in equal parts among the six daughters with whom he is presently living, when it is his will and he deems it convenient; and if God should be pleased to take one or more of them before inheriting, that share shall be re-distributed among the remaining daughters.… -30. I order that two thousand pesos be given to my brother don Joseph Antonio, or that it be set aside from my assets, to be distributed among the poor of Santiago, Chile, with preference given to the Ibarra and Montes families, our relatives, if, as I believe,
there is great need among these families.[1]….And I hereby sign this, my last deliberate will, which is all written by my own hand on ten pages, this being the eleventh page, initialed with my customary initials in the margin, in this city of Cadiz, on the first day of December of this year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one. –The Count of Quinta Alegre.
[1] Don Juan Ignacio is referring to the descendants of don José de Montt y Ribera, husband of his great aunt doña Adriana de Cabrera y Paredes.
—
Number 2
Documents regarding the Indian village of Chiñigüe
I
SURVEY DONE BY JINES DE LILLO IN 1704
On the thirtieth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and four, Captain Jines de Lillo was in the new town called Penvin el Nuevo, of the encomienda of Juan de Azoca, neighbor of the city of Santiago, seven leagues from it, a little more or less. Captain Jinés de Lillo was the judge general visitor of lands in the terms of the said city by the king our lord. The captain said that, inasmuch as his mercy has come to this town to visit its lands and to give the Indians enough of what they would have needed for themselves and their community, and to make amends to them for any harm and damage done to them. For which purpose, he made Rodrigo Hernández, administrator of the said town, appear before him, to whom his mercy told him that he was aware of what he was coming, and that, as such administrator, he should deal with the said Indians and make them understand the will of the lord governor, and what his mercy has instructed, which is to give each Indian four blocks of land, and the cacique two blocks, and the widows two blocks, and that this is to be carried out; Which the said administrator discussed with the said Indians, who said they had been given to understand, in the presence of your mercy, up to six or seven that there were in the said town. And they said, “From where they pointed out there was enough land for them. And so he directed them to point out to him, and they did so. His lordship, having
[1] Don Juan Ignacio is referring to the descendants of don José de Montt y Ribera, husband of his great aunt doña Adriana de Cabrera y Paredes.
observed this to be the best and most comfortable that there was in the said town, he drew up a list of the Indians therein, and found there to be twenty-four tributary Indians and one cacique and three widows, and a resulting distribution to them and their community to be one hundred and eighty-five blocks; and using this format his lordship gave them two hundred. He ordered Blas Pereira to measure from a boundary marker that his worship ordered to be placed at the top of the Maipo River ravine, which is the starting point and marking where the said Indians pointed out, from which he ordered to measure, at the trailhead of the royal road for carts that goes to the sea, until it reached the old irrigation ditch called Pilliyaima, where there were twelve blocks, and a boundary marker was placed, leaving this portion of the land divided and bounded with six boundary markers; and, returning to the first boundary marker, he measured it down the ravine, using it as a boundary, and measured fifteen blocks long, and there he seta boundary marker, from which he measured the width, up to the estuary called Danguelpaico and tip of the hill called Cultegue, up to sixteen blocks, leaving all of this side demarcated at that point, dividing this land by the said ditch of Pilliyaima, which divides these said lands, and those of doña Beatriz de Abalos, widow Juan de Azoca, the elder; said term and boundaries were included and placed within the said two hundred blocks of land. And, since there is some land from the first boundary marker of this land at the headwaters of the Maipo River, and being convenient to it, for the benefit of the said Indians’ livestock, it was allocated, up to the first boundary markers until reaching the edge of the accountant Antonio de Azoca; Whereupon this survey was concluded and Rodrigo Hernandez was ordered to set the boundary markers upon the land to be made of stone, under penalty of incurring the punishment of law. And he charged him to bear witness, and he signed his name to it. –Jines de Lillo. Before me, Melchor Hernández, Notary Public.
II
president benavides orders the public sale of the village
Deputy Delegate of the Melipilla district.
I have resolved to sell at public auction the lands that under the name of villages are occupied by some Indians of that district, in order to assemble them with more convenience and proportion; And, summoning the neighboring inhabitants of said villages, which are the villages of Bajo, Pomaire, Chiñigüe, Gallardo, Llopeu, I request that you, either through
yourself or your lieutenants, conduct this proceeding, with respective separation for each piece of land, as a result of the witness of this order, which must literally include them,
so that those who wish to bid at the auction may do so. And, having completed this formality and classification, within a specified term, you will forward the original actions, so they may be joined correlatively to your records. May God keep you for many years to come. Santiago, August twenty-ninth, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-six. Ambrosio de Benavides.
III
A new decree on the same matter.
Santiago, December twentieth, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-six. Let it be done as proposed by His Majesty’s Attorney General; and, consequently, proceed with the auction or sale of the lands known to be called Indian villages located in this district of Santiago and Melipilla by placing the order of the day on which it shall take place in their respective files, according to their status. And it is decreed that, upon the appearance and offer by the interested parties claiming rights to said lands, being contiguous or contained in their respective estates, of the price of the appraisal, the sale will be granted to each one in their favor, without admitting any other third party, bids, or offers, under the condition that in the same exchange they renounce any action and rights that they are entitled to or may infer from now and in the future regarding possession or ownership of the lands inhabited by said Indians; and for those in which there are no interested parties of the aforementioned types, who must be qualified by reputation or by legitimate or incontrovertible title, the sale will be made to whoever first covers the fair price of the appraisals, in order to obviate the inconveniences that the aforementioned public prosecutor is thinking about, and so that the useful project of assembling the aforementioned Indians, which depends mainly on the prior divestment of their current holders, will not be delayed any longer. –Ambrosio de Benavides. –Don Juan Jeronimo de Ugarte.
IV
deed for the sale of the village of Chiñigüe.
In the city of Santiago, Chile, on the twenty-second day of January of the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven. Appearing before me, His Majesty’s notary public, and witnesses, Dr. Joaquin Perez de Uriondo y Martierena, of His Majesty’s council, prosecutor for this royal audience and protector of the natural Indians of this kingdom, does hereby declare, as decreed and resolved by the illustrious Mr. Ambrosio de Benavides, president, governor, superintendent and captain of this same kingdom, to be ready to proceed immediately with the formal disposition and sale of the lands owned and possessed by the Indians of the village of Chiñigue. These lands consist of three hundred seventy-three blocks in area, the very same that were surveyed, appraised and valued by Captain Antonio Lozada, general surveyor of this bishopric, at a cost and value of three thousand four hundred thirty-eight pesos, as appears on the record of page one of the dossier prepared for the auction of said lands of the aforementioned village of Chiñigüe. The aforementioned amount has been deposited by the purchaser, who is don José Antonio de Alcalde, in this Treasury General of the Army and Royal Treasury, according to the certification that he has presented from the ministers of the Treasury; whose lands, which comprise the aforementioned village, are not only immediate and contiguous, for the most part, to the Chiñigüe hacienda owned by the individual named don José Antonio de Alcalde, but are contained in the center of it; And, in consequence the offer was made by the aforementioned before the most illustrious president, governor and captain general of this kingdom, and was accepted in a writ dated the fifteenth of the current month, which can be found on page ten of the aforementioned file. The aforementioned sale is made and executed by said Attorney General of His Majesty by virtue of the foundations derived by his lordship in the representation of December seventh of last year, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-six, which can be found on page fifty-two of the writs of the proceedings to assemble the dispersed Indian villages into one, in accordance with the high government; and in accordance with the resolution and determination declared by said president in the decree issued on the twentieth day of the same month and year; And, in consideration of the fact that the aforementioned lands of said village are, as stated, contiguous to the Chiñigüe hacienda owned by the purchaser, and being resolved and determined that the sale of said lands be made to the most immediate neighbor who will pay the price of its appraisal, and being thus verified by said don José Antonio de Alcalde
with the payment made to the Treasury General for the same value and amount of the aforementioned lands; in accordance with which, placing in execution his lordship, as prosecutor of His Majesty and Protector of the natives of the kingdom, and by virtue of the foundations inferred in his aforementioned representation herein, and of those resolved by the most illustrious President, Governor and Captain of this kingdom in the providence of the twentieth of next month and year, and in the name of His Majesty (may God preserve him), and as Protector General of the said natives; hereby grants and acknowledges by the tenor of this letter that he sells and gives in real sale, from now and forever, to said don José Antonio de Alcalde, accountant of the Royal Mint, and resident of this city, for the aforementioned, his heirs and successors, or for whoever of the aforementioned, his heirs and successors is a legitimate party and his right represents, let it be known, the village of Chiñigüe, in the jurisdiction of Melipilla, contiguous to the hacienda of the same name belonging to the purchaser, which said Indian village is composed of three hundred and seventy-three blocks of land in area, according to the measurements executed by Captain Antonio Lozada, Surveyor General of this bishopric, appraised and valued by the aforementioned in the amount of three thousand four hundred and thirty-eight pesos; The said lands are sold, as stated, for the same aforementioned amount at which they were appraised, the same that the purchaser has deposited and consigned in actual silver in the Treasury General, as evidenced Ministers of Armies and Royal Treasury certification of it, which appears on page twelve of this matter’s dossier; And by virtue of this, these lands are clearly sold to the aforementioned gentleman which comprise all the said lands of the aforementioned Indian village named Chiñigüe, with all its mountains, pastures, watering places, hills and easements, all that said Indians may have possessed and should have possessed, both de facto and de jure, without any limitation, by titles, donations or grants, or by any other means of immemorial possession or prescription, without reservation of anything, and under the limits of the proceedings carried out by the aforementioned Captain don Antonio Lozada; And the aforementioned gentleman commits and pledges to the Indian community, as Protector General, that now and at all times this sale will be certain and secure…. And, that the said don José Antonio de Alcalde being present, whom I as the notary attest to know, accepts it in his favor, according to and as it is contained therein, and receives the aforementioned lands purchased of which the said village of Chiñigüe is composed, and in the said three thousand four hundred and thirty-eight pesos in which they were appraised and appreciated, and has delivered and consigned to the ministers of the Royal Treasury, as he has made evident by presenting the certification from said ministers;
and relinquishes, and did renounce, from now on, any claim and right that he may have or may infer at present or in the future, of possession or belonging to the land inhabited by the said Indians, as he has presented and executed in the presence of the Most Illustrious President, Governor and Captain of this kingdom; as evidenced by the original document which can be found on page ten of the aforementioned record, and is hereby attested to in this deed, and moreover declared once more, so as not to be able to use any remedy by reason of said rights and actions…. And so it was executed, and signed by said Attorney General, and the purchaser, with Marian Gomez Pardo, Pedro Jose Carrion and Jose Luque present as witnesses. –Doctor don Joaquin Perez de Uriondo y Martierena. -Jose Antonio de Alcalde. –Before me, Luis Luque Moreno, Royal and Public Notary.
V
Town Council Agreements concerning the Indian villages of Santiago and Melipilla.
Santiago, October twenty-third, 1797. -All of the gentlemen who comprise the board, mandated by His Majesty have unanimously stated, having witnessed the proceedings and files concerning the assembly of the nine Indian villages of the Melipilla district, and as per and as a consequence of the royal decree dated the eighth of August of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, as well as the additional two dated the twenty-ninth of July of one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, one addressed to His Excellency don Jose Manso, viceroy of Lima, and the other of the same date to the town council of this kingdom, approving the latter’s order agreed to on May twelfth, one thousand seven hundred and forty-five, also provided later on September twentieth, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, that: The soverign’s will, and as has been provided by law, should be facilitated by all possible means,
and to proceed as ordered to organize the Indians scattered in various ranches into towns formed with a sufficient number of neighbors and families, so that they may lead a civil and Christian life and maintain themselves in good order and subordination, as required, so as to avoid the idleness, drunkenness and other vices to which they have been abandoned, as well as to make them by this means useful and profitable citizens to the republic, (to wit can ben found on page 42, book 1), to assemble them in towns, distributing to them the lands according to regulations, and the tools of labor and other necessary equipment specified therein, so that they may cultivate the lands and be able to pay for the subsistence of their families and the payment of taxes, the collection of which has become extremely embarrassing, and has even become almost impossible for the aforementioned reasons; that, in order to carry out these operations with all the exact and clear knowledge that is necessary in such a serious and important matter, allowing that the board considers it will be possible to implement the transfer of the Indians from the villages of Talagante, Lampa, Carrizal (also known as Curamapu), Llopeu, Macul, Gallardo and Chiñigüe to the two villages of Pomaire and Bajo de Melipilla (adjacent to the village of San Jose de Logroño), not including under this designation the pure Spaniards, mulattoes or other castes, as they are not mixed with the Indians, and consequently subject and bound to the payment of taxes, however, it confers the necessary legal commission to the subdelegate of this district, In order that, given the surveys and enumerations carried out in these two towns, and citing all the residents, he may rectify them, in collaboration with the Protector of Natives, by the surveyor of the district, or in his absence by another expert and intelligent person, who must personally attend to the execution of these proceedings, reporting personally how many families of pure or mixed Indians are present in these towns and how many more will be able to fit in their respective districts, leaving them their corresponding lands and common lands, and including at the same time a new and more detailed budget than the one previously prepared on page 165, book 1 (of which said testimony will be forwarded) indicating the cost that each ranch may have as projected and the buildings that must be constructed for the Town Hall, specifying whether some elements and equipment from the villages of Talagante and Lampa may be used, and those that may have been left in Pomaire, of which a separate report will be given, so that, through his Excellency the President,
this commissioner give an accounting of the whereabouts of anything missing and also submit a report, less the investment of the three thousand pesos entrusted to him for the planning of the new town; that, under these conditions, for the sake of clarity and distinction, the board should make the following representations on all other outstanding points: 1.a. That, taking into consideration that, notwithstanding the fact that the lands of the aforementioned villages were put up for public auction by the aforementioned decree of December twenty of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five, this order was subsequently altered for the reasons expressed in the hearing on page 52, book 1, and as contained in the consecutive order issued by this superior government on December twenty of one thousand seven hundred eighty-six, and declared to be sold and awarded to the owners of the farms in which they were respectively located or adjacent to their properties, for the price of their appraisal, without admitting more bids or positions, nor there having been presented for a long period of time any contradiction to the sale of the land of the village of Chiñigüe sold in this way to don Jose Antonio Alcalde, nor in the sale of the land of Lampa, which was made to don Pedro Nolasco Cereceda,and having renounced these rights that they claimed to have to the land occupied by the Indians with their ranches and cultivated areas, since they allege that it belonged to their respective estates, the aforementioned sales shall be considered valid and in force, and they shall not be disturbed or disrupted in their domain or possession for any reason or pretext, returning to the aforementioned Alcalde the title that he has presented under his receipt, which shall be added to these proceedings.. -2. That, being there are four thousand or so pesos are in the royal coffers from the amount of the aforementioned sales, this amount and those yielded by the auctions of the three remaining villages, the board considers that the ordered unification of villages could be financed, if necessary by the respective tax branch, so that in accordance with the law whatever is lacking for its perfect conclusion can be supplemented from it. -3.a. That, regarding the town of Carrizal or Curamapu, with respect to the opposition made by don Francisco Borja Larrain to the sale of his land to don Francisco Javier Valdes, and elevating his complaint to His Majesty, and giving in part merit to the issuance of the aforementioned royal decree, the respective file for its auction be delivered to him, together with the labeled number 6 which deals with the same subject matter,
and the added proceedings that were followed by doña Catalina Silva with the Protector of Natives regarding the right to the Carrizal ranch, separating, to the same effect, from books 1. and 2. whatever was relevant to the dispute pertaining to what both litigants have, or, in the event that some other proceedings were mixed in, the corresponding testimony of whatever was found relative to this controversy, so that in view of everything, within a period of six days, they may present what is appropriate to their rights, and, after being substantiated by his Excellency the President, with the purchaser’s hearing and that of the public prosecutor, passing it to this board, so that it may make a definitive resolution that is more in accord with justice, having previously separated the proceedings subsequent to the presentation of the royal writ from this book 2., as do correspond to the general record, leaving in it testimony of it, and of this order, so that it may continue duly separate, of which said operation the respective notes will be placed in both files for the record. -4. That the same will be done regarding the objection made by don Francisco de la Peña, on behalf of the Spanish residents of the town of El Monte, regarding his claim to the right to first refusal on the land of Llopeu, which the Indians occupied, and not knowing that the sale made to don Ignacio de la Carrera, owner of the San Miguel ranch, will stand, also separating the proceedings that are relative to this litigation from book 1. , and giving testimony of those that are mixed and connected with others of a different nature. -5. That, once the joining of the Indian villages has been resolved and the village of Carrizal is to be included in this number, the request submitted by the Protector of Natives and by Josefa Millacura (the chieftess of that village) be considered as concluded and decided and that testimony of this declaration be placed in the 3rd and 4th books. that were prepared regarding the petitions containing testimony of this declaration, but with the condition that both books shall include the claims filed by the aforementioned don Francisco Borja de Larrain and don Francisco Javier Valdes, due to their intimate connection and ties; and this board reserves the right to make the declarations that were of justice in order to the satisfaction of the amount of the rent of the paddock and other actions filed by the Indians, maintaining in the meantime that the principal instance be determined as set forth in the decree of September twenty-second of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, which is found on page 91, book 1.
-6. That, however, should it appear that Don Nicolas Gandarillas bought the hacienda of Macul with the encumbrance of maintaining therein the Indians who inhabited the ranches and small farms, the corresponding file should be delivered to him as well as to the other bidders, to the same effect as the previous ones, placing in it (as must be executed in the others) testimony of this order, and requesting from his excellency, if necessary, those that are said to be found in the royal audience on the existence and location of this village, so that they may be present at the time of the ruling of the judgment. -7. That, with respect to the town of Gallardo, in view of the fact that its land has been reduced due to the lawsuit filed by doña Aña Maria Cañas, owner of the San Antonio estate, a new survey and appraisal of the same be made, summoning the surrounding residents, establishing fixed boundaries and that the deputy delegate carry out this procedure in the same manner as the preceding ones for which the various records and proceedings will need to be in hand, in order to achieve its most perfect execution, and the same operation must be carried out in Talagante (whose records have not appeared up to now), and for this village, as well as in that of Gallardo, another six public notices must be made for the auction, admitting bids made by the interested parties. -8.a. That his Excellency the President return book 2., containing the survey and demarcation of the haciendas Peñaflor and San Vicente and of the village of Talagante, to the royal audience, so that it may continue to issue the corresponding provisions according to its status and communicate the definitive decision pronounced in due time, so that these proceedings may have the necessary effects.
-9. That the proceedings brought by the natives of the village of Pomaire, regarding the demarcation with the Pico hacienda, be substantiated in the same manner by his Excellency the President, as well as the petition brought by don Antonio Lozada regarding the payment of his rights, and that they be referred to the board, in order for them to be determined. -10. That, with regard to the records added on the assembly of some villages of the subdelegations of Itata, Cauquenes and Chillán, with respect to having limited the function of this board by His Majesty to the villages in question, placing into each of the records a testimony of the title of this order, including declarations made therein, as well as this first declaration, they shall pass to his Excellency the President, so that in accordance with his state, he may take the corresponding measures by virtue of the powers granted to him, both by the laws and by the royal decrees that deal with the towns of this kingdom.
-11. That, since it is necessary to build a chapel of suitable size in Pomaire to serve as a vice-parish, where the Indians can hear mass, receive the holy sacraments and receive the corresponding spiritual sustenance, the deputy delegate, the priest of San Jose de Logroño, the surveyor and the Protector should proceed to identify the site where it should be built, drawing up a plan and making an estimate of its cost, it being the duty of the priest to place a fixed and permanent representative, with whom he can make arrangements, with the approval of the bishop, regarding the collection of fees and bonuses to be charged according to the tariff, advising him that for its proper and decent sustenance, the royal treasury will help him by way of a synod of one hundred and twenty pesos per year, to be paid from the branch of Vacancies, destined among other purposes for this pious purpose, whose disposition will be communicated to the aforementioned priest for his understanding and administration. -12. That, since the records of Pomaire, which have been added, lack the requested records of its survey and registration of its natives, these as well as those of Talagante (which are also missing) be searched for with the greatest efficiency and activity, examining the books of records that should be in the possession of the Government Secretary, and issuing, in case they are not found, a clearer and more individual certification than the one that is set out in page 63, notebook 2, and returning all the files and records to his Excellency the President, so that he may issue the orders corresponding to the most exact compliance with this order. And, for all other requests henceforth made by the parties, it is so ordered that His Excellency give an account to His Majesty, with testimony in duplicate of the adjusted memorandum made by the recorder, of the fiscal hearings of page 1 and page 52, of the commissioner’s report on page 30, book 1. of the writs dated July twenty-ninth, one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, of the orders issued by the Towns Board on May twelfth, one thousand seven hundred and forty-five and December twentieth, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, and of the decisive and principal orders previously issued by the superior government and by this board, so that in Their consideration They may deign to resolve whatever is to Their Royal pleasure, having first taken note of this order by the Ministers of the Royal Treasury and by the Accountant General’s Office. And so it was disposed and signed by the said gentlemen, of which I duly attest. –Aviles. -The Bishop. -Rezabal. -Gonzalez. -Urriola. -Concha. -Oyarzabal. -Ugarte.
VI
the Santiago Audience acknowledges Andres Tello as the chieftain of Chiñigüe.
Royal decree and title of chieftain of the village of Chiñigüe, issued in favor of don Andres Tello, as legitimate son of the late chieftain don Carlos Tello, subject to its execution and compliance with the deputy delegate and other judges and justices of the Melipilla district, so that they maintain, comply and execute, and are enforced to maintain, comply and execute what is contained therein.
Don Carlos, by the grace of God, King of Castile, of Leon, Aragon, of the two Sicilies, Jerusalem, Navarre, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, Majorca, Menora, Seville, Sardinia, Cordoba, Murcia, Jaen, the Algarves, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, the East and West Indies, and of the islands and mainlands of the sea, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Brabant and Milan, the Canary Islands, the East and West Indies, the islands and mainlands of the sea, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, of Brabant and Milan, Count of Auspurg, of Flanders, Tyrol, Roussillon and Barcelona, Lord of Vizcaya and Molina, and so on. Inasmuch as in the Audience and Royal Chancery that by our order is and resides in the city of Santiago of the provinces of the kingdom of Chile, and before our president, regent and judges of it, a proceeding has been pursued by my prosecutor, as Protector of Natives, on behalf of the defense of Andres Tello, as legitimate son of Carlos Tello and Josefa Hernandez, initially being named as interim head of the village of Chiñigue, due to the advanced age of his father, upon which my said prosecutor did so present a petition, accompanied by a document, whose tenor, decree and order are as follows:
I, the undersigned, priest and vicar of the parish of Melipilla, certify that in the parish books in which the burial records of all castes are recorded, there is one that reads as follows: -In the parish church of San Jose de Logroño, on March thirty-first, eight hundred and eighty, I buried, under the cross, the body of Carlos Tello, chieftain of the village of Chiñigüe, aged eighty years, who had been married to Josefa Hernandez. He did not receive the holy sacraments because he died suddenly. I do so attest. –Jose Antonio Briseño.
-That which is faithfully translated from the parish books, to which I refer. And, for the record, I sign it in this town, on the twentieth day of the month of April, eight hundred and eight. –Jose Antonio Briseño.
petition.
Most powerful sir: His Majesty’s prosecutor, as General Protector, for the defense of Andres Tello, legitimate son of Carlos Tello and Josefa Hernandez, according to the document that is manifest in the record regarding the disposition of the chieftainship of the village of Chiñigüe, states that, while said Carlos Tello was living, they had submitted a request that, due to his advanced age, his son Andres be named as interim head of the village. The aforementioned Carlos is now deceased, according to the death certificate that is also submitted, and since in this case the succession of the position corresponds to his firstborn son, Your Highness will be pleased to order the corresponding title to be issued in his favor, or to resolve whatever is just. In Santiago, April twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight. –Royal Juries.
decree.
In the city of Santiago, Chile, on the twenty-ninth day of the month of April of the year one thousand eight hundred and eight. This petition was presented before the presidents, regent and judges of this royal audience, which was acknowledged as presented, and they ordered the records to be brought in relation to it, to which I attest. –Román.
writ.
In Santiago, twenty-ninth of April of one thousand eight hundred and eight. Hearings, as presented before the Prosecutor. (There being four headings). The above decree was issued by the president, regent and judges of this royal audience; and it was initialed by same in the margins on the day of its date, April twenty-ninth, the year eighteen hundred and eight, to which I bear witness. –Román. On said date I notified the Indian Andres Tello of the above decree, I do so attest. –Román.
Therefore, and in order that the contents of the order and decree herein inserted may take effect, by our said President, Regent and Judges;
Considering this, it was agreed that We should order to give and dispatch this Our act and Royal Disposition, regarding the aforementioned account, with which We were pleased and by which We declare you don Andres Tello as chieftain of the village of Chiñigüe, so that as such you may exercise and carry out the said office, according to and as your predecessors have done, could have done and should have done,and We order our deputy delegate and other political and military justices of the Melipilla district to give you the possession of said chieftainship, receiving from you the oath that in such case you must make, to use well and faithfully, and having done so they will protect and defend you in it, not allowing you to be stripped or dispossessed without first being heard, and by law overcome, and all shall keep you, or cause you to keep, the honors, graces, mercies, grants, franchises, prerogatives and immunities that you should have and enjoy, and that should be kept for you, by reason of said chieftainship, well and completely, without lack, and We command the Indians of said town to have you and to consider you as their principal chieftain, and to obey you and respect, keep and comply with your orders and mandates, and in particular those that you will give them concerning Our Royal Service, good use of their persons and families, so that they may live in a Christian manner, under the penalties that you will impose on them. All of which you shall fulfill and execute, each party for the part that is yours, without in any way going or contravening against it, under penalty of Our Mercy, and of all others that We reserve for Ourselves. And We order Our notary of said city, or any Spanish persons in default thereof, to notify it to you. Dated in the city of Santiago, Chile, on the nineteenth day of May of the year one thousand eight hundred and eight. -I, the current Chamber Scribe, did hereby cause to be written with the agreement and by order of the presidents, regent and judges. (There being one header). –(There being one stamp) -Recorded. –The Marquis of Casa Real. Chancellor. –The Marquis of Casa Real. –Juan Rodríguez Ballesteros. –Jose de Santiago Concha. –Manuel de Irigoyen. -Chamber Secretary, don Melchor Jose Román.
obeyance.
In Mr. San Jose’s town of Logroño, on the eighth day of the month of June of one thousand eight hundred and eight. I, don Miguel Fernandez de Valdivieso, with witnesses, because there was no notary, presented the above royal decree before the deputy delegate of said town and district, who, upon receiving it, took it in his hands, kissed it and placed it on his head, as a letter from his king and natural lord, saying that he would obey it with due respect, to be observed, complied with and executed, as it is ordered therein.
I hereby sign, before my witnesses, who were don Juan Manual Piñeiro and don Julian Yecora. –Juan de Herrera y Rodado. -By me and before witnesses, Miguel Fernandez de Valdivieso.
On said day, month and year, having before me Don Andres Tello, legitimate son of the chieftain don Carlos Tello, I, the deputy delegate don Juan de Herrera y Rodado, and witnesses, because there was no notary, received his oath that he swore by God our Lord and a sign of the cross, according to law, under which he promised to faithfully and legally exercise the office of chieftain, in the terms that are provided for in the above mentioned royal provision. And, for the record, I signed this document before witnesses, who were present, don Francisco Vargas and don Jose Santos Zuloaga. –Juan de Herrera y Rodado.
VII
decrees regarding the Indians of Chiñigüe.
which for the term of twenty-four years was purchased by the late gentleman, his father, according to the deed executed on the twenty-second day of January of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven years, it is declared, in accordance with what was stated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in its hearings on pages…and pages…, that the natives who until the present day have been in possession of them should be transferred to the vacant lands in the villages of Pomaire and el Bajo, leaving the lands they now occupy in Chiñigüe vacant and unencumbered to the said count, for which the necessary commission is conferred to the deputy delegate of Melipilla, who will allot to each Indian in the villages to which they are being transferred the land that by regulation corresponds to them, taking care to protect them from the slightest extortion or damage, and that the huts they need for their habitation are built for them, of which he will give an account to this authority, having verified their compliance, issuing the corresponding dispatch to that effect. –Rosales. –Fuenzalida y Villela. –Echeverría. -Cerda –Infante. –Doctor Tocornal. –Doctor Bohorquez.
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Santiago on March 4, 1813. -May it please the public prosecutor’s office; and, in accordance with it, instruct the deputy of Melipilla, in collaboration with the partisan protector and a resident of that town who is knowledgeable of the native villages of the of that district under his command, to find in them sufficient lands where those of Chiñigüe can be located, together or separately, and order their transfer, after building the ranches for their habitation, which will be paid for at the expense of the Count of Quinta Alegre, as offered by the Count. And, so as not to hinder this proceeding, the deputy will request, if necessary, the assistance he needs from the colonel of the district. –Portales. –Prado. –Astorga. –Díaz.
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Logroño de San Jose, July 30, 1813. -The partisan protector will visit the villages of Llopeu and El Bajo with the chieftain of Chiñigüe, and will indicate to him and the natives of his village the lands where they must move, where the Count of Quinta Alegre must build the respective ranches; forewarning the said chieftain to avoid doing anything new in the lands of Chiñigüe as far as sowings and other projects are concerned:
all by virtue of this decree, for which he is given the necessary commission in law. –Vargas.
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Santiago on August 25, 1813. -Being concluded and determined the lands and ranches to which the natives of the village of Chiñigüe must be transferred, as the Count of Quinta Alegre represents, the commission in charge of their transfer will so execute it and undertake as soon as possible, by virtue of this higher decree that will serve as a sufficient dispatch, which will be delivered to the concerned Count. –Infante. –Astorga. –Díaz.
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Most Excellent Sir:
The deputy of Logroño, accompanied by the partisan protector, for the execution of the transfer of the Indians of the village of Chiñigüe, in fulfillment of what was provided by the higher decree of August 25, report that, the carriages, people and other necessities being at the ready by the steward of the Count of Quinta Alegre for the verification of this removal of the Indians to the villages where they have their designated lands, they were informed by the deputy don Pedro Celada that today, the thirty-first, the operation would get underway, so that my surprise would not be noted; and, by their answer that I include from the aforementioned deputy, Your Excellency will see how different the Indians of Chiñigüe think from what this authority has disposed., well, not only are they opposed, they impugned and disregarded these provisions, but in order to thwart them they have gone to the greatest excesses, such as having set fire to four of the possessions designated to them in the village of Llopeu, paid for by the aforementioned gentleman of Quinta Alegre, and this on the same day that I ordered them to make this preparation for the move. And they would have burned them all except perhaps they were mindful of the neighboring residents.
This truth is so clear that its vehemence is more than presumption; for, although I was informed of the burning of the possessions, I went with him and other residents to the chieftain’s house, where, with all the Indians of both sexes barricaded inside a wood corral, I again requested them what had been ordered by Your Excellency, and I was told, both by the chieftain’s wife and by the other individuals, that as long as he was not in the village there would be no question of moving.
Some of the Indians asked to remain in the Chiñigüe hacienda as tenants; and, being questioned about this, they gave the same answer: that they awaited the resolution of their chieftain, who (prudently judging) has imbued them to maintain themselves in their estranged village, only stating that they will first lose their lives rather than leave it. And, to validate this protest, the chieftain does not seem to be here. Based on this understanding, might Your Excellency be able to decide what is convenient, and put a stop to such impugned means as this chieftain appears to be plotting at every moment, both dishonoring what has been provided by this authority and in costs and damages to the interested party; and, what is more, the commissioners are being exposed, with their lives in manifest danger, in addition to the repeated inconveniences they are suffering.
May God keep Your Excellency for many years to come. -Chiñigüe, August 31, 1813. –Francisco Vargas. –Jose Antonio Ugalde.
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Santiago on September 20, 1813. -Let it be known to the head of Chiñigue, or chieftan, who is in this capital, that within the precise period of two days he must return to his village, so that he may inform the natives of his understanding to move to the places that have been designated for them, in which they have finished ranches that the Count of Quinta Alegre insisted on building for them, and, at the same time, let the commission in charge be notified that, resisting the transfer, they should request the help they need from the colonel of the district for its punctual fulfillment, as this government established in its higher decree of the fourth of March of last year. –Infante. –Astorga. –Díaz.
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Number 3
Letter of succession to the title of Count of Quinta Alegre, for don Jose Antonio de Alcalde, resident of the city of Santiago, Chile.
The King. Inasmuch as is contained in the royal decree of the sixth of September of one thousand seven hundred and seventy-three whereby the obligation was ordered, among other things, that whomsoever possesses titles of Castile must obtain My Royal letter of succession for the benefit of Our grace and the continuation of honors be published by proclamation in My kingdoms of the Indies, for which purpose they were to give notice by the hands of My viceroys, presidents, regents or governors, who should take
the possible precautions so that this just diligence would not be burdensome for them, allowing, as for the time being, that they be allowed to present themselves to the viceroy or chief of the respective district, to notify them of the event of succession, and request the continuation of honors and preeminence, of which they may be interim provided, prior to the payment of the half annata, and enter into possession, without demanding rights from them, even under the pretext of voluntary gifts, and communicate through my council of the Chamber of the Indies the representation of the new possessor, so that upon its hearing the consequent letter of succession may be ordered to be issued to him; to this end, the president of My Royal audience of Chile, in a letter dated May eleventh, accompanied by testimony that don Jose Antonio de Alcalde, a native and resident of the city of Santiago, honorary superintendent and proprietary accountant of the Royal Mint of Santiago appeared before him declaring to be the legitimate son of don Juan de Alcalde, Count of Quinta Alegre, and that upon his death the countship passed to his firstborn son don Juan Ignacio de Alcalde, resident of the city of Cadiz, to whom the royal letter of succession was issued by the Chamber of Castile on August twenty-second of the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two, and that, the aforesaid brother having died without leaving offspring, and there being no son left of the aforesaid father, he was in a position to inform Me through the same president, and to ask him, as he did, to grant him interim possession of the aforesaid vacancy; the president adding that, although he had not certified it with the death certificate of the last possessor, he offered to present it through his proxy to My Council of the Chamber of the Indies for the issuance of said grace and the continuation of their respective honors, which came by decree of April third of this year, by the consent of the public prosecutor’s office, in deferring to his request, declaring, with respect to what results from the documents presented by said don Jose Antonio de Alcalde, that he could and should be received interim to the use of the grace and continuation of the honors of Count of Quinta Alegre, in which he has succeeded after the death of his brother don Juan Ignacio, with liberty of the right of the half annata, which was granted to the first grantee don Juan de Alcalde, for himself, his heirs, and successors, in royal deed of October twenty-second, seventeen hundred and sixty-seven, and so that he may obtain the royal letter of succession to which he is obliged, according to the provisions of royal decrees of September sixth, seventy-three and March twenty-eighth, ninety-four, and that an account be given to Me. My Council of the Chamber of the Indies, having considered the aforementioned, along with the burial certificate of said don Juan Ignacio de Alcalde, who was the Count of Quinta Alegre, presented by the proxy his brother, the aforementioned don Jose Antonio de Alcalde, and what has been stated by my prosecutor, I have resolved
to issue to said don Jose Antonio de Alcalde the corresponding Royal letter of succession for the use of the aforementioned grace and continuation of his honors. Therefore, I hereby grant by Royal warrant, and it is My will, that said don Jose Antonio de Alcalde may enter into the enjoyment and succession of the title of Castile, and may be titled and sign as Count of Quinta Alegre, in writing and in word, as did its last possessor, enjoying the honors and privileges enjoyed by the other titles of Castile; and consequently I beg and charge the most serene Prince of Asturias, my most dear and beloved son, and command the infantes, prelates, dukes, marquises, counts, noblemen, priors of the orders, commanders and subcommanders, commanders of the castles, fortified and plain houses, the governor and those of my Council of the Indies, presidents, regents and judges of my royal audiences, governors, corregidores, aldermen, knights, squires, officers and good men, of all the cities, towns and places of these and those of my kingdoms that now are, and hereafter shall be, to make and hold as such Count of Quinta Alegre the aforementioned don Jose Antonio de Alcalde, keeping and causing to be kept for him all the honors, graces, preeminence, distinctions and prerogatives that the other titles of his class enjoy and must enjoy without any difference, according to and as more extensively expressed in the precedent issued to its first originator. And this letter of succession must be acknowledged in the general records of valuations and distribution of My Royal Treasury, and of My enunciated Council of the Indies. -Dated in San Lorenzo, on the eighteenth of November of one thousand seven hundred and nine. I, The King. -By order of the King, Our Lord. –Silvestre Collar.