Antonio Ruiz de Castañeda’s Trial in the Conspiracy of 1566 (Part 1)
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
My 13x-great-grandfather, Antonio Ruiz de Castañeda, son of the conquistador Juan Ruiz de Alanís and Leonor de Castañeda, was the first cousin of Leonor Bello, wife of Gil González de Ávila (one of the principal conspirators in the rebellion of 1566). Antonio was also a second-generation encomendero, having inherited his father’s encomienda of half of the pueblo of Tehuacán. These circumstances entangled Antonio in the investigation into the rebellion.
On 1 August 1566, the audiencia real summoned Antonio to testify on behalf of the defense in the criminal trial of Alonso de Ávila Alvarado and his brother Gil González de Ávila. His wife Antonia de Benavides had already testified the previous week. He stated that although his first cousin Leonor Bello, deceased, had been the wife of Gil González de Ávila, he would not fail to answer truthfully. The defense sought to exonerate the Ávila brothers by claiming their rivals—the former viceroy and the Cervantes clan—had brought false accusations driven by their enmity with don Martín Cortés, Marqués del Valle, and his allies. As evidence, Antonio related an incident (also later recounted by Gonzalo Gómez de Cervantes in his testimony during the trial of Antonio de Carvajal) that had occurred at the house of the marqués, stating:
“More than a year ago, an altercation took place at the main entrance of the marqués’ house between Juan de Valdivieso and don Luis Cortés, his brother-in-law. Many people congregated to the scene, including myself, who saw Juan de Sámano, alguacil mayor of this city, with his sword drawn in his hand. I did not linger there but ascended to the upper quarters of the house, where I encountered don Luis Cortés, who was making his way up the stairs of the second courtyard located within the house. There, I found don Luis de Velasco and don Martín Cortés, who were conversing. Standing beside them was Melchor Bravo, a former aide to the Most Excellent Viceroy don Luis de Velasco. There, amidst the aforementioned group and in my presence, hostile words were exchanged, escalating to the point where they sought to come to blows. To that end, they began moving toward a large terrace where there was a trellis; however, while this was transpiring, a crowd of people rushed in, and the fight did not materialize.”
Antonio then stated that because the Ávila brothers had rallied to the side of the marqués and his brothers, they had incurred the enmity of don Luis de Velasco, Juan de Sámano and their allies. From that point forward, both factions went about armed, constantly wary and on guard against one another.
He also provided a source for the enmity of another Velasco supporter, the licenciado Cristóbal de Ayala Espinosa, a priest, and Alonso de Ávila. The priest had been stationed in the pueblo of Zumpango, jurisdiction of Cuatitlán, which was Alonso de Ávila’s encomienda. A dispute arose between the natives and Alonso regarding some of his ranches infringing on the natives’ rights. When the priest took the side of the natives, Alonso maneuvered to have him removed from his post. Soon after the priest arrived in Mexico City, Antonio found him at the house of doctor Villalobos, oidor of the audiencia real, where he complained about Alonso and threatened to do something about it.
Antonio also testified about a confrontation on the street between the two factions, which Antonio de Carvajal later described in his testimony. Antonio Ruiz de Castañeda said that about a year ago, he saw Agustín de Villanueva and Baltazar de Aguilar and a group of others passing by the marqués and the Ávila brothers on the street. Antonio observed that the group had failed to doff their caps to the marqués in a sign of disrespect. When he arrived to where Alonso de Ávila was, he noted that he was visibly angry and asked him what had happened, to which Alonso responded, “nothing more than that those scoundrels wanted to persist in their villainy.”
Despite all the testimony in their defense, the Ávila brothers were the first to be sentenced to death for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy. All of the city’s residents were summoned to witness their execution in the plaza mayor on the third of August. Several Dominican priests accompanied the Ávila brothers as they were led up to the raised platform surrounded by throngs of spectators. When Gil was brought forward on his knees before a cross, one of the priests, fray Domingo de Salazar, tall, long faced with an aquiline nose and red beard, turned to the crowd and in a loud voice proclaimed, “this man dies innocently, and goes to rest with Our Lord. He pardons all those who have wronged him but cannot pardon the wrong against his children and his wife.” The crowd was scandalized by the unorthodox statement of the priest. When the executioner beheaded Gil, Antonio rose up in his stirrups, brought his hands to his beard in a sign of dismay and cried out, “I swear to God I will avenge your death even if it means spending all of my fortune.”
This emotional statement would come back to haunt Antonio. As the investigation into the conspiracy continued the following year, witnesses likely reported the outburst to the royal officials overseeing the criminal trials. Sometime prior to 6 December 1567, Antonio found himself imprisoned while standing trial for conspiracy.
A future blog post will continue with the trial of Antonio Ruiz de Castañeda. Subscribe to the blog to receive email updates.
Sources:
Archivo General de Indias
Proceso de Antonio Ruiz de Castañeda: rebelión Nueva España
Patronato, 219, R. 6
Proceso general Audiencia de México: rebelión Nueva España
Patronato, 219, R. 6
Antonio’s testimony starts on image 936/2184
Steve,
Great job on sharing this historical information on many of our ancestors. It puts a great deal of "meat" on the bones!