17 EscLAvo
17
The Case of Javier, Esclavo, against His Master for
Cruel Punishment, San Juan, Argentina, 1795 1
Ana Teresa Fanchin
Document translation by Joseph P. Sanchez,
Angelica Sanchez-Clark, and Larry D. Miller
A Denunciation in San Juan de la Frontera
On Christmas Eve, 1795, a court in San Juan de la Frontera held hearings on a de-
nunciation of abuse made by an enslaved man named Javier. For four consecutive days,
Javier's master Don Juan de Echegaray had kept him imprisoned in stocks, unleash-
ing his rage against him with countless beatings.
The hearings took place in a city located to the east of the Andean range, in the
southern territories of the vast Spanish colonial empire, in what is today Argentina,
distant from the political centers of colonial domination. The region is characterized
by a mountainous landscape and arid plains and valleys irrigated by the rivers born in
the Andes. In 1562, Spanish colonizing forces had crossed the Andes from the King-
dom of Chile and founded the city of San Juan, at two thousand feet above sea level,
on the southern bank of the San Juan River, one of the largest rivers of the Tulum Val-
ley, which lies between the Andes to the west and the Sierra Pie de Palo to the east, in
San Juan Province. The designation of "Frontera," which was added to the city's name,
indicates its delimitation with the lands of the indigenous Chalchaquis to the north,
a people conquered by the Spanish forces who emanated southward out of Peru.
The city of San Juan together with Mendoza (1561) and San Luis (1594) fell under
the administration of the Reino de Chile and comprised one of its eleven corregi-
mientos, until the creation of the Viceroyalty of Rfo de la Plata in 1776, when the dis-
trict was transferred to the latter's governmental jurisdiction. From its beginnings in
the mid-sixteenth century, San Juan represented a colonial outpost and an essential
overland link between Rf o de la Plata and Chile.
It was across the dusty pampa trails and rugged mountainous paths of the San Juan
region that sanjuanino muleteers drove their mule trains transporting merchandise.
They departed the area carrying skins filled with wine, liquor, grape juice, and vine-
gars, and bags of locally produced dried fruit, together with goods acquired in Chile
and other neighboring areas, to return later with products that satisfied local demands
or that they resold in other markets.
A good portion of this stock was sold in public plazas, stores, and corner shops
and came and went as contraband supplied directly by troop captains and wagoners
(Fanchin, "Protagonistas," 69). Documentary evidence suggests that it was also through
1 See Maps 6 and 12.
302
THE CASE OF JAVIER, 303
contraband that most enslaved blacks were introduced into the region, and so it is dif-
ficult to quantify the number of people of color transported in this wretched traffic.2
What is certain _is tha~ the inhabitants of the region did not just watch as people of
color passed by 111 their caravans of horror and death but also acquired them, princi-
pally as status symbols to employ in domestic tasks.
Enslaved Blacks in San Juan and Their Legal Controls and Protections
In the 1777 census, 16 percent of the inhabitants of San Juan were registered as African
born or of African descent.3 It is likely that the percentage was actually higher because
a~out h~lf the population ~as either listed as mestiza, which might include people
with African ancestors, or without a particular ethnic identity.4 When the 1777 cen-
sus was carried out, Don Juan de Echegaray declared that he owned four male slaves,
one female slave married to an indio, and three minor children. Among the named
slaves, three are protagonists of the events related here: the same Javier, Manuel, and
Cayetano who testified before the judge. Don Juan de Echegaray was a prominent
hacendado and the son of a man who founded towns and villages in the area, as insti-
tuted by actio_n of_ the Junta de Poblaciones de Chile in the mid-eighteenth century.
Thus, along w1th his wealth, Don Juan de Echegaray had inherited prestige and honor.
When he meted out his cruel punishment to Javier, beating him with four quince
rods, he did so with the backing of Spanish colonial law. The Consejo de lndias, reales
~ud~encias, cabildm~ viceroys, and governors were constantly engaged in creating leg-
1slat1on on the most varied aspects of the activities of black slaves in Spanish Amer-
~ca. The regulations regarding escaped slaves, which were sanctioned by the king and
mcorporated into the Recopilacion de !eyes de los reinos de las lndias (l 680), constituted
the definitive procedures to be employed in combating marronage. The number of
lashings to be given to an escaped slave varied according to the length of his or her ab-
sence, the slave's distance from home, and the place to which the slave had fled. For
a weeklong desertion, a slave was to receive one hundred lashings and was to wear an
iron shoe on one foot (Mellafe, La esclavitud, 83).5
Nevertheless, the law also protected_ slaves. The thirteenth-century Siete Partidas
P~rt 7: Title 8: Law 9) set penalties against the owner who inflicted mortal injury on
h1s slave. The real cedula (royal decree) of 1789 reiterated in chapter X that in the case
of mortal injuries, contusions, wounds, and mutilations, the owner should suffer "the
punishment corresponding to the crime committed if the injured were free" ("la pena
correspondiente al delito cometido como si fuese libre el injuriado"; Goldberg, 5).
2 The certificates of births, marriages, and deaths of blacks and mulattoes are recorded in the
parochial records (kept in the city from 1665 on) in the "Libras de 'no espafioles'" that mention
their origins-principally Ango/,a, Guinea, and the Portuguese colonies of Brazil-as well as those
born in this jurisdiction with the usual designation of "criollo." The Archivo Hist6rico de la
Provincia also preserves contracts of purchase and sale of slaves carried out between individuals.
3 See L6pez-Chavez, who examines slavery in the city's Jesuit haciendas.
4 For more information on the region's population, see Fanchin, "Los habitantes."
5 See also Lucena Salmoral.
304 PART IV CLAIMING AND DEFENDING RIGHTS 17 THE CASE OF JAVIER, ESCLAVO
305

In addition he should lose the slave through a change of ownership. If the cruelty In reading the testimonies in the case, it is important to keep in mind factors that
led to a permanent handicap, the slave could claim freedom. In other words, had it been shape the testimony. I will name just three. there is the question of mediation.
verified that Javier had been rendered "gravely ill and on the verge of dying" ("grave- Although there was no interpreter who translated the slaves' words, as Javier and his
mente enfirmo yen termino de fallecer"), as the doctor stated in his first testimony, his fellow slave,~ spoke ~panish, their testimony was a reelaboration of their words com-
owner would have been obliged to grant him a letter of manumission. But this possi- posed by a lettered Spanish court official, who would have modified the slaves' lan-
bility was lost when the doctor certified Javier's physical recovery. gu~ge according to his understanding and legal and linguistic training. Second, this
episode exposes a strategy commonly adopted by slaves, who used to their benefit a
The Case of Slave vs. Don subterfug~ offered~~ the j_udicial system. This formal system of justice gave slaves the
~pportun1ty to solicit their freedom or, as ~appened concretely in this case, to peti-
In his declaration, Javier testified that his master had given him a document of sale tlon a docu~ent of sal~ f~r th~ pur_pose of bemg transferred to a new owner and hope-
that allowed him to seek a new owner. But, as generally occurred in such cases, Don fully to an improved livmg situation. Thus, the testimonies open a window onto a
Juan de Echegaray had set the price too high to make the sale possible. Moreover, strategy by which e~slaved blacks sought to negotiate better circumstances through
Don Juan threatened Javier with a beating if he persisted in his request to be sold. the court system. Fmally, the case reaffirms the meanings that slavery gave and still
Javier must have known that his master would be true to his word, and he chose to gives to its human victims in the concept of the enslaved body: It is well-known that
flee. But ten days later, he presented himself voluntarily in the same court that had the African population and their descendants were perceived as body merchandise.
aided him in producing the document of sale. Thus it was the judicial authority who This combination of coordinates is still sustained in our own time in so many renewed
returned Javier to his owner and recommended a "moderate correction of this minor forms of slavery.
offense" (" moderada correccion a este corto delito").
This ambiguous wording does not specify what the appropriate punishment was,
nor does it name the exact offense for which Javier was to be punished. Of course, it
is important to remember that this wording was recorded by the scribe who took
Javier's declaration in the investigation of the circumstances that provoked the mas-
ter's rage. The only witnesses to the incident were the master's other slaves, and all of
them specified the number of lashings. Even Manuel knew what had happened, de-
spite having only witnessed the beatings on the last day, as he had been out working
in the fields. Finally, despite making determinations in favor of Javier, the judge was
benevolent toward the master, restoring his condition of honorable citizen (vecino
honorable).
In other colonial territories the manumission of slaves was more frequent, at least
in particular circumstances, as in Santiago de Cuba after the proclamation of the free
entry of slaves in 1789. Where large slave markets existed, owners could accede more
readily to grant freedom to slaves because they could more easily purchase replacements
(Belmonte Postigo, 8). In contrast, in San Juan de la Frontera, the social sector that had
sufficient material wealth to buy this type of merchandise had fewer opportunities to
do so and slaves constituted an important investment for commercial development.
The regulation of free trade occasioned very different effects in the interior to those
seen in and around large port cities. In the last quarter of the eighteenth century,
Buenos Aires saw a significant rise in manumissions by purchase as increased urban
development corresponded to an increase in the opportunity for slaves to earn income
with which to purchase their freedom Qohnson, "La manumision en el Buenos Aires,"
645). San Juan de la Frontera's response to the economic growth in Buenos Aires was
an intensification of its viticulture or wine-growing activity. Thus wine producers such
as Don Juan de Echegaray would have been motivated to keep their slave labor, even
more so if they had already recuperated-through the slave's work-the initial pur-
chase cost.
306 17 EL CASO DE JAV1ER, ESCLAVO
Testimonio sobre malos tratos de don Juan
de Echegaray a su esclavo Javier 1
[Auto de denuncia sobre castigo al mulato Javier,
esclavo de don Juan de Echegaray]
En la ciudad de San Juan de la Frontera a los 21 dias del mes de diciembre de 1795, don
Francisco Ortega y Ramos alcalde ordinario de segundo voto de esta ciudad y testigos a
falta de escribano ptiblico digo que ... ayer veinte del corriente han dado parte que
don Juan de Echegaray de esta ciudad ha hecho un cruel castigo de un novenario de
azotes en un mulato, su esclavo, nombrado Javier de cuyo castigo se halla el citada es-
clava gravemente enfermo y en termino de fallecer. Y coma esto es en afensa de Dias
yen contra de reales disposiciones que tratan de la correcci6n de criadoJ\ par tanta debfa
de mandar y manda que para el esclarecimiento del hecho que queda relacionado de
forma en este auto . .. se examinen los testigos sabedarcs del hecho .... Sea la primera
[declaraci6n] de don Jose Casamadrid, profesor de medicina ....
[Certificacion medica extendida por don Jose Brizuela y Casamadrid,
profesor de medicina de la dudad]
Don Jose Brizuela y Casamadrid, profesor de medicina en esta ciudad yen cumplim-
iento del auto que antecede;
Certifico en cuanto puedo y el derecho me permite, en cumplimiento del superior
auto del Senor alcalde [ordinario} de segundo voto, [que] pase a casa de don Juan de
Echegaray de esta ciudad, y en ella reconod a su esdavo que se hallaba enfermo ....
Segun lo que observe se encuentra con calentura inflamatoria, y magulladas las espal-
das y asentaderas, efecto de la convulsion atrafda por muy grave castigo que por su
amo en el se ha hecho.
[Dedaracion del esclavo Javier, mulato, treinta aiios de edad]
En la ciudad de San Juan de la Frontera a los 21 dfas del mes de diciembre 1795, para
el esclarecimiento del hecho que motiva el auto cabeza de proceso, yo don Francisco
Antonio de Ortega alcalde ordinario de segundo voto hice comparecer en mi juzgado
a un mulato esclavo de don Juan de Echegaray de esta vecindad que se llama Javier, a
quien por ante mi y testigos le recibo juramento que celebro en forma, por Dios, Nue-
stro Senor, y una sefial de cruz, bajo del cual ofreci6 decir verdad ....
Preguntado si se halla enfermo de que procede su enfermedad y par que lo tiene
su amo con lo precaria que se manifiesta, 2 responde que se siente enfermo principal-
mente de la espalda y las asentaderas y que la causa de esto es el castigo de cuatro dfas
1 Archivo General de la Provincia de San Juan, Argentina, Fondo Tribunales, caja 18, carpeta 75,
coc. 15, fols. 1-6v.
2 In this evidendy delicate state of health.
17 THE CASE OF JAVJER, EscLAvo 307
Proceedings Concerning the Physical Abuse Inflicted
by Don Juan de Echegaray on His Slave Javier
[Denunciation of the Corporal Punishment Given to
the Mulatto Javier, Slave of Don Juan de Echegaray]
In the city of San Juan de la Frontera on December 21, 1795, Don Francisco Ortega
y Ramos, alcalde ordinario de segundo voto of this city, and [other] witnesses, as there
is not a public scribe available, I say that ... yesterday, the twentieth of the present
[month and year], it has been reported that Don Juan de Echegaray of this city has,
with a novenario of lashes, 1 cruelly punished his slave named Javier, a mulatto. Due to
this punishment, the aforementioned slave is gravely ill and on the verge of dying.
And, as this is an offense against God and against royal decrees that deal with the pun-
ishment of servants, therefore, I should and do order that, for the clarification of the
incident recorded in the customary manner in these proceedings ... that the witnesses
knowledgeable about the incident be questioned .... Let the first [statement] be that
of Don Jose Casamadrid, doctor of medicine ... .
[Medical Certification Issued by Don Jose Brizuela
y Casamadrid, Doctor of Medicine of the City]
Don Jose Brizuela y Casamadrid, doctor of medicine in this city and in fulfillment of
the previous decree:
In fulfillment of the above decree of His Lordship, the alcalde [ordinario} de segundo
voto, I certify to the best of my ability, and as the law permits me, that I went to the
house of Don Juan de Echegaray of this city. There, I examined his slave who was
ill. ... According to what I observed, his back and buttocks are battered and bruised
and he is suffering from an inflammatory fever caused by the violence brought on by
the very serious punishment inflicted on him by his master....
[Statement of the Slave, Javier, Mulatto, Thirty Years of Age]
In the city of San Juan de la Frontera on December 21, 1795, for the clarification of
the incident that prompts the initial proceedings of criminal investigation, I, Don
Francisco Antonio de Ortega, alcalde ordinario de segundo voto, ordered to appear in
[this] tribunal a mulatto named Javier, a slave of Don Juan de Echegaray of this vicin-
ity. From him, before me and the witnesses, I received his oath made in the custom-
ary manner, in the name of God, Our Lord, and by the sign of the cross, by which he
swore to tell the truth ....
j Asked if he is ill, what caused his illness, and why his master has him in this evi-
dently precarious state, he answers that he is ill primarily because of his [injured] back
l and buttocks, caused by the four-day punishment ... the last one taking place on the
I
!
1
Although the expression novenario refers to a series of events over the course of nine days, the
witnesses recount that Javier's punishment was carried out over four days.
308 17 EL CASO DE JAVIER, ESCLAVO
... siendo el ultimo el de antes de ayer diez y nueve del corriente, ... verificado por
la mano propia de su amo. Que la disciplina con que le azotara eran cuatro varillas de
membrillo, y que del numero de los azotes llevados no se acuerda a punto fijo, 3 pero
solos{ sabe que la primera tarde de la disciplina foe seguida por un largo espacio de
tiempo. [Mientras que] las tres restantes, verificadas por la mafiana, han sido hechas
en cuatro pausas, pues, castigandolo un rato paraba su amo, se pitaba un cigarro y
volvfa a darle otro remeson otro tanto tiempo como el anterior, el que conduido, hacfa
su pausa de descanso y volvfa a continuar el castigo, el que de esta suerte efectu6 en
cuatro sesiones en cada uno de los tres dfas que deja dicho ... que las prisiones que
tiene se las [puso] su amo antes de emprender el castigo que ha experimentado [y] que
por esto se mantiene con ellas hasta ahora.
Preguntado que delito o injuria hizo contra su amo de que le ha resultado esta
correcci6n y quienes son sabedores del castigo: responde que el deli toque ha cometido
para haber sufrido el castigo de que deja hecha relacion es el de haber estado huido
como diez dfas. Y que la causa de su fuga foe porque en la noche del dfa de ella supo
que su amo lo querfa castigar por solo haberle pedido papel de venta y no haber en-
contrado amo, siendo la causa el exorbitante precio que en el habfa puesto [y] que
todo esto debe constarle al juzgado. Que igualmente en el ultimo dfa de la foga ...
se present6 al mismo juzgado para que este lo entregase a su amo, lo que inmediata-
mente verific6 diciendole [que] diese una moderada correcci6n a este corto delito. Que
los que son sabedores del castigo que en el se ha hecho por haberse hallado presentes
son los demas esdavos del citado su amo, los cuales se Haman Pascual, Eusebio,
Cayetano, Manuel, [y] Damian; que esta es la verdad de cuanto en este particular tiene
sucedido ....
[Declaracion de Cayetano, cuare:nta a.nos,
esclavo de don Juan de Echegaray]
En la ciudad de San Juan de la Frontera a los 22 dfas del mes de diciembre de 1795,
para la sumaria informaci6n ... en el esclarecimiento del delito que motiva el auto de
cabeza de proceso, yo don Francisco Antonio de Ortega, alcalde ordinario de segundo voto,
hice comparecer en mi juzgado a Cayetano, esclavo de don Juan de Echegaray, a quien
por testigos, a falta de escribano, le recibf el juramento, que lo hizo por Dios, Nuestro
Sefior, y una sen.al de la cruz bajo el cual ofreci6 decir verdad de lo que dijese ....
En lo concerniente al mencionado auto responde que sabe, por haberlo vista, que
su amo don Juan de Echegaray ha castigado a uno de sus esclavos llamado Javier ...
por su mano propia en cuatro dfas, el primero a la tarde y los demas por la mafiana. Y
en cada uno de ellos le ha dado cuatro remesones de a veinte y cinco azotes con cuatro
varillas de membrillo. Y que esta es toda la verdad de lo que sabe ....
3 He does not recall exactly the number of lashings.
17 THE CASE oF JAVIER, EscLAvo 309
day before yesterday, the nineteenth of the present [month], ... carried out by his
master's own hand. [He says] that the device used to whip him was a switch made of
four quince sticks and that he does not remember exactly how many lashes he was given
but only knows that the first afternoon of the punishment was followed by a long
period of time, [whereas] the other three, carried out during the morning, were done
with four breaks. After punishing him for a while, his master stopped, smoked a cig-
arette, and again gave him another beating lasting as long as the previous one. Once
finished, he took a break and [then] again continued the punishment. He carried it
out in this manner in four sessions on each of the three days, as has been stated ....
His shackles were [put] on him by his master before he began the punishment he ex-
perienced. That is why he is still wearing them, today.
Asked what crime or injury he committed against his master that resulted in this
punishment and who is knowledgeable about the punishment, he responds that the
crime he committed, for which he has suffered the punishment that has been reported,
[was that he] had run away for ten days. The reason for his flight was that, on the night
that he ran away, he knew that his master wanted to punish him simply because he
had asked for a document of sale [but] had not yet found a [new] master, the reason
being the exorbitant price [his master] had put on him. All this should be evident to
the tribunal. 2 Similarly, on the last day of the flight ... he turned himself in to the same
tribunal so that it would return him to his master, which was immediately carried out.
[The tribunal] told [Echegaray] [that] he should impose a moderate punishment for
this minor offense. Those who have knowledge about the punishment inflicted on
him are the rest of his master's slaves who happened to be present and whose names
are Pascual, Eusebio, Cayetano, Manuel, [and] Damian. This is the truth about what
has occurred in this matter....
[Statement of Cayetano, Forty Years of Age,
Slave of Don Juan de Echegaray]
In the city of San Juan de la Frontera on December 22, 1795, in preparation of the
proceedings ... regarding the clarification of the crime that prompts the initial crim-
inal investigation, I, Don Francisco Antonio de Ortega, alcalde ordinario de segundo
voto, ordered Cayetano, a slave of Don Juan de Echegaray, to appear in [this] tribunal,
from whom, before witnesses, lacking a scribe, I received the oath that he made be-
fore God, Our Lord, and a sign of the cross, under which he swore to tell the truth
about what he would say and be asked ....
As to what concerns the proceedings mentioned, he answers that he knows, because
he saw it, that his master Don Juan de Echegaray has punished, with his own hand,
one of his slaves named Javier ... for four days, the first day in the afternoon and the
rest in the morning. On each of these days, he has given him four sessions of twenty-
five lashes in each one with four quince sticks, and this is all the truth about which
he knows ....
2 This
is the same court in which Javier entered his petition for his master to grant him the doc-
ument of sale.
 310 17 EL CASO DE JAVIER, ESCLAVo
[Declaracion de Damian, treinta afios,
esdavo de don Juan de Echegaray]
En el propio dfa [continua el sumario] hice comparecer a Damian, esdavo, [quien]
responde lo siguiente: que sabe por haberlo visto, que su amo don Juan de Echegaray
por su propia mano ha castigado en cuatro dfas consecutivos a un mulato, su esclavo
nombrado Javier, al cual lo ha dado en cada uno de los dichos dfas una porci6n de
azotes crecida hasta que se cansaba, y con unas varillas de membrillos. Que esta es
la verdad que declara en fuerza del juramento ... en que se afirma y ratifica....
[Declaracion de Eusebio, veinte afios,
esdavo de don Juan de Echegaray]
El propio dia, yo el precitado juez, hice comparecer a Eusebio esclavo de don Juan de
Echegaray, de quien por ante mi y testigos, le hice tomar juramento ... ofreci6 decir
verdad de lo que supiese y le fuere preguntado. Y siendo al tenor del auto cabeza de
proceso, responde lo siguiente: Que sabe por haberlo visto, que su amo don Juan de
Echegaray ha castigado por su propia mano a otro mulato tambien su esclavo nom-
brado Javier, [a quien] ha azotado en cuatro dfas, el primero por la tarde en que le dio
muchfsimos azotes con unas varillas de membrillos y despues en tres dias por la mafiana
en que no ha sido el castigo tan cruel como el primero pero siempre con las varillas.
Que esta es la verdad que declara en fuerza del juramento que hecho tiene.
[Declaracion de Manuel, veinte a.nos,
esdavo de don Juan de Echegaray.]
En la ciudad de San Juan de la Frontera a los 22 dfas del mes de diciembre de 1795,
yo don Francisco Antonio de Ortega y Ramos, alcalde de segundo voto de esta ciudad,
en continuaci6n de la sumaria que antecede hace comparecer en su juzgado a Manuel,
esclavo de don Juan de Echegaray, a quien por ante mi y testigos le recibi juramento
... por el cual ofreda decir verdad de lo que supiese y se le fuese preguntado ....
Responde que le consta por haberlo visto, que su amo castig6 un dfa ante su pre-
sencia al dicho esdavo nombrado Javier 4 ... lo azot6 con varillas de membrillo y clan-
dole a su parecer cosa de veinte y cinco azotes. Y que por ser [Manuel] el que cuida
la vifi.a de su amo no se hallaba presente al castigo, que igualmente tiene oido decir a
los demas esclavos, sus compafi.eros, hizo su amo en tres dfas anteriores de que pre-
senci6 ....
[Veredicto del juez, condena al amo]
San Juan, Diciembre 24 de 1795
[AUTOS Y Vis TO]
Resultando de la [exposici6n] sumaria el exceso del castigo hecho por don Juan
Echegaray a su esclavo Xaviel Uavier], y estando al propio tiempo informado el juzgado
4 In the manuscript this is Xaviel.
17 THE CASE OF JAVIER, EscLAvo 311
[Statement of Damian, Thirty Years of Age,
Slave of Don Juan de Echegaray]
On the same day [the proceedings continue], I had Damian, a slave, appear, [who] re-
sponds as follows: that he knows, because he saw it, that his master Don Juan de
Echegaray punished his slave named Javier, a mulatto, with his own hand for four con-
secutive days. On each of the said days, he gave him a large number of lashes with
some quince sticks until he got tired. He states that this is the truth, under oath ...
in which it is affirmed and ratified ....
[Statement of Eusebio, 1\venty Years of Age,
Slave of Don Juan de Echegaray]
On the same day, I, the presiding judge, had Eusebio, a slave of Don Juan de Echegaray,
appear before me and witnesses, [and] had him take an oath ... he swore to tell the
truth about what he might know and be asked. Doing so, in accordance with the pro-
ceeding and initial criminal investigation, he answered the following: that he knows,
because he saw it, that his master, Don Juan de Echegaray, has punished with his own
hand another mulatto, also his slave, named Javier, [whom] he beat for four days, the
first day in the afternoon on which he gave him a great many lashes with some quince
sticks, and then for three days in the morning. The punishment was not as cruel as
the first day, but always [inflicted] with the sticks. He states that this is the truth, under
the oath he has made ....
[Statement of Manuel, Twenty Years of Age,
Slave of Don Juan de Echegaray]
In the city of San Juan de la Frontera on December 22, 1795, I, Don Francisco An-
tonio de Ortega y Ramos, alcalde de segundo voto of this city, in continuance of the
above proceedings, had Manuel, a slave of Don Juan de Echegaray, appear in [this]
tribunal. Before me and witnesses, I received his oath ... by which he swore to tell the
truth about what he might know and be asked ....
He responds that it is evident to h1m, because he had seen his master punish the
said slave named Xaviel [Javier], in his presence that one day ... he beat him with
quince sticks, giving him, it seems, twenty~five lashes. As [Manuel] is the one who
takes cares of his master's vineyard, he was not present for the punishment that he also
heard the other slaves, his companions, say that his master meted out on the three
days before the one [day] he witnessed ....
[Judge's Verdict, Sentencing of the Master]
San Juan, December 24, 1795
[JUDICIAL DECREE AND FINDINGS]
Based on the [evidence presented in the] proceedings, the excessive punishment meted
out by Don Juan de Echegaray to his slave, Xaviel [Javier], and the tribunal having
312 17 EL CASO DE JAVIER, ESCLAVO
por el medico Casamadrid, encargado en la curaci6n del citado mulato, ... se le con-
dena por ahora a don Juan de Echegaray a queen el preciso termino de tres dfas, que
el designe al dicho esclavo para que buscase amo con el papel de venta que le dio, sea
con los que el dicho Echegaray haiga de buscar sujeto a quien venderlo, teniendo en-
tendido que de no verificarse por su morosidad se procedera de oficio y se le dara la
correcci6n que corresponda [a la] inobediencia, sacandole inmediatamente de la no-
tificaci6n de este auto las prisiones con que tiene al dicho esclavo, como asi mismo se
le condena a la satisfaccion de asistencia y medicina hasta la entera curaci6n. Que por
ella se adeude al profesor Casamadrid, y de las costas de este expediente y de las que en
sus incidencias se hallan originado con apercibimiento para en lo sucesivo. De exce-
derse en las correcciones del castigo se le aplicara toda la pena de la ley que ahora por
primera ocasi6n se le dispensa con atenci6n a las circunstancias de ser uno de los prin-
cipales vecinos honrado y de honor....
17 THE CASE OF JAVIER, EscLAVO 313
been properly informed by Doctor Casamadrid, in charge of treating the aforemen-
tioned mulatto, ... Don Juan de Echegaray is hereby sentenced to a specific deadline
of three days in which to assign the said slave to find a master with the document of
sale he gave him, among [the candidates] the said Echegaray must select a person to
whom he will sell him.3 Let it be understood that if this is not carried out because of
procrastination on his part, official proceedings will be initiated and he will be given
the punishment that corresponds to disobedience. Upon receipt of this order, the
shackles will be removed immediately from the said slave. Also, [Echegaray] is sen-
tenced to pay for the slave's care and medicine until he is completely healed, for this
he owes Doctor Casamadrid. [He must also pay] the costs of these proceedings and
other related consequences that have arisen. He is also warned that i£ henceforth, [he]
goes too far in his punishments, the full force of the law will be applied against him.
At present, it is waived, given that this is the first incident [and] taking into consid-
eration that he is one of the principal citizens, honored and honorable ....
3 The wording in the original is confusing and might also mean that Don Juan de Echegaray is
to find the purchaser within the same three-day time limit that he had originally given Javier to
do the same.