(CURAÇAO) Philip V King Order to arrest an influential pries

Sale 2486 - Lot 431

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(CURAÇAO.) Philip V, King. Order to arrest an influential priest who conversed with Jews. Document Signed by Diego de Morales Velasco, a member of the Council of the Indies, and with inked "Yo el Rey" stamp of King Philip V. [5] manuscript pages, 12 x 8 1/4 inches, on 2 folding sheets; heavy dampstaining, minor worming, paper clip stain in upper margin. Madrid, 11 March 1714

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A royal order for the arrest of Agustín de Caicedo, a Spanish Augustinian missionary to indigenous people and slaves on the Dutch island of Curaçao, who was accused of a daunting range of crimes including possessing and distributing heretical books, associating with Jews, misleading the king's subjects, and emboldening Spain's enemies. He had first served as a parish priest among the Indians of Combita, now in Colombia, before heading off to Curaçao in 1712, where he boasted of having baptized 4,803 slaves in one year. However, he was reported to be distributing heretical Jansenist tracts along with his own seditious writings professing a liking for Spain's enemies, some of which reached Caracas. He was said to have "conversed" with Curaçao's substantial Jewish population, and performed religious services irreverently in a house of infamy. Although Spain had no authority over Curaçao, authorities were ordered to seize him if he should venture back to New Spain or Peru. Although Caicedo was later indeed arrested and returned to Spain for trial, he not only survived, but was later appointed as prefect of Curaçao and served until his death in 1738.