The History of Cuba, vol. 1Johnson, Willis Fletcher
History
The History of Cuba, vol. 1
Johnson, Willis Fletcher
Cuba -- Economic conditions; Cuba -- History
In dealing thus with Osorio, however, Zayas sealed his own fate. Nothing
that he could do thereafter pleased Menendez, while he was called upon
by the latter to do or to sanction things which offended his sense of
right. By the beginning of May, 1569, relations between them reached the
breaking point. Menendez caused the city council to protest that Zayas
had never filed the bond which was required of a lieutenant governor,
and to characterize this as a grave offence, indicating criminal intent.
Zayas thereupon resigned his office. Suits were instituted against him
and his wife in Spain, by Menendez, and he returned to the country to
meet them. He appears to have been successful in his defence, since the
King subsequently appointed him to be a judge in the Canary Islands.
Menendez appointed in place of Zayas as lieutenant governor Diego de
Cabrera, who had filled that place under Osorio. His term of service was
short, however, and no fewer than five others succeeded him, one after
another, during the administration of Menendez. They were Diego de
Ribera; Pedro Menendez Marquez, a nephew of Menendez; Juan de
Ynestrosa; Juan Alfonso de Nabia; and Sancho Pardo Osorio.
Diego de Ribera, who served for a brief space under Menendez as
lieutenant-governor, was captain of the galleons, and was presently
commissioned for an expedition to Florida. He was succeeded by Pedro
Menendez Marquez, a nephew of Menendez. He was an accomplished navigator
and on that account was directed by his uncle to sound and chart the Old
Bahama Channel, a much-frequented route of commerce and approach to Cuba
from the north and east. To this undertaking he devoted only a few
weeks, but his observations were so exact, thorough and comprehensive
that the Council for the Indies, on receiving his charts, immediately
approved them and ordered them to be regarded as the authority for
navigation of those waters.
The administration of Sancho Pardo Osorio was marked with much energy in
advancing the defences of Havana and in caring for the commerce which
frequented or touched at Cuban ports. The former work proceeded slowly,
because of the necessity of depending almost exclusively upon the local
community for aid. At this time also was effected the immensely
important reform of codifying the municipal ordinances. This work was
done under a commission of the Supreme Court by Dr. Alfonso Casares, of
Havana, who on January 14, 1577, presented the results of his labors to
a council consisting of Sancho Pardo, the Alcaldes Geronimo de Rojas
Avellaneda, and Alfonso Velasquez de Cuellar, and the Regidores Diego
Lopez Duran, Juan Bautista de Rojas, Baltasar de Barreda, Antonio Recio,
and Rodrigo Carreno. The code was unanimously approved by them, and it
remained in force and active practice until the War of Independence in
1898.
CHAPTER XVII
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