Tovar And Ledesma Trial Summary

Document C revolves around a trial over a murder that occurred in La Plata on November 28, 1595. The Lord Licentiate Gaspar de Peralta, the judge of the Royal Audiencia, overheard that something had occurred at the home of the secretary Fernando de Medina. Upon inspection he found Beatriz Gonzalez, the wife of Medina, dead on the floor, possibly as a result of wounds inflicted to her body and throat (Abercrombie 61). The trial begins with Medina’s arrest after confessing to have murdered Beatriz Gonzalez for her adulterous affair with Tovar, and attempt at his murder through the use of powders used by witches. Afterwards, Alvarado and Ledesma, two residents of the city, describe how they witnessed, with their own eyes, the adulterous relationship

of the two in question (Abercrombie 64-7). Ledesma states, “On certain nights I saw Beatriz Gonzalez go out of her house to the prosecutor’s house, and I saw her go there at nine or ten at night, covered in a cape, shamelessness…and I hold it for certain that the prosecutor committed adultery with her against the secretary Fernando de Medina” (Abercrombie 67). Lastly, two slaves, Maria and Gracia, describe the events leading up to the murder in more detail, while also pointing out Beatriz Gonzalez’s alleged attempts to murder her husband through the use of the found powder (Abercrombie 67-9). Magdalena Maria said, “Fernando de Medina grabbed her by the hair and took out a dagger, and I saw him stab Beatriz Gonzalez, his wife, many times, while she cried out “kill me”” (Abercrombie 69). These testimonies, along with the proof of witchcraft, construct the foundation of Medina’s case to give reason for his actions.
The summary of the accounts and testimonies for this trial (1595), which was written by Lucas de Ribera, comes to historians from La Plata, or modern day Sucre, Bolivia. Not to long before then, the Spanish and the Portuguese had begun their rule over Latin America, one that would last for three centuries, forever changing the landscape of history in the region. Latin America would transition in a social, economic, cultural, and psychological manner, which would push its inhabitants to the brink (Chasteen 49). These Iberian invaders would be most successful in imposing their ideas of hierarchy and patriarchy over the indigenous people, as well as the African Americans they would come to import.
To start, their rule was hegemonic, meaning that the Europeans were able to come in and dominate the region through aspects of society, such as religion, yet at the same time there was some form of consent from the people. African Americans and Indigenous people alike began to accept their inferior place, something that would have both powerful and damaging consequences on them. Through this idea they could establish a multitude of other ideas, one of the most important being the importance of gender. Men were raised to a level far above women, who were relegated to an inferior state that simply involved maintaining honor and purity. Sor Juana, is just one of many individuals who would be hurt by this system. Although she was an intelligent woman with an incredible amount of potential, she could not succeed because of her status as a woman (Chasteen 56-60). She was subjected to the limits within the constructed system, unable to do much otherwise.
Any attempts by the Indigenous or African American people to cause legitimate change never truly worked, forcing them to submit to the established system (Shakow, “Colonialism”). A dramatic turn of events had preceded the time of Fernando de Medina, affecting the way that the events after the murder occurred. Fernando de Medina’s race, status, and gender would allow for his special treatment by Peralta; as a male secretary of Spaniard origin, Medina was in a position to be treated in high regard. He appears to have been given a fair trial, where although he has confessed to the crime of murder, and arrested for it, he has a chance to go free if the claims against his wife could be proven (Abercrombie 62-4). One can already see that because he is a male of high status in this society he could in fact get away with murder under the right conditions. If the murderer would have been African American, Indigenous, or a woman, it is almost certain that the system would be working against them from the start, most likely leading them to their own quick demise.
Ribera’s document intends to describe the murder of Beatriz Gonzalez from the point of view of Fernando de Medina. These testimonies almost seem to enforce the idea that Medina was in the right to have acted in the way that he did. Medina has absolutely no problem in stating that he murdered his wife, the point that he wants to make is that Tovar and Gonzalez should be charged with adultery. With his wife having already suffered the consequences of her affair, the next goal would be to find Tovar guilty and have him imprisoned (Abercrombie 62-3). Alonso de Caceres Alvarado and Simon de Ledesma, both of whom are of high status, support Medina’s testimony. They claim to have seen Tovar and Gonzalez together sneaking around behind Medina’s back (Abercrombie 64-7). Although there is no way of knowing if these individuals are telling the truth, they do have reason to hold up Medina’s testimony. Excluding the possibility that they were paid off, by helping Medina they are reinforcing the ability of male Spaniards of high status to do as they please and get away with murder. If Medina can get away with killing his wife, it will make it easier for individuals such as Alvarado and Ledesma to pass through the justice system if need be. Thus, any man of this status would come to agree that Medina was in the right, because in the end it would benefit them.
The other two individuals to testify, the slaves Gracia and Maria, stated to have walked in on, or heard, suspicious actions between Tovar and Gonzalez, while also describing the murder of Gonzalez by the hands of Medina to the best of their ability.

Maria, specifically, also went into the idea that Beatriz Gonzalez attempted to poison her husband; the powder in question having already been examined by the judge. It may be of some importance to point out that Gracia was a full slave, while Maria was a multata slave, meaning that she was part white and black (Abercrombie 64, 67-9). Skin color and race was of enormous importance to the Spaniards, so it is most likely that Maria’s testimony was seen as having more valuable. Also, because they were slaves from the city, they most likely saw themselves as superior in general to other slaves, thus making them more likely to speak their mind (Shakow, “African Slavery”). Nonetheless, one must remember that bias is always present, meaning that because Medina owned Gracia and Maria, he could easily force them to say as he wished. If this is true this could possibly explain as to why Maria was also given the portion about the attempted murder of Medina, as Medina would recognize that this coming from her would hold more weight then if it came from Gracia. On the other hand, because they feared disobeying their master, it is also possible that they made up what they saw in order to be in the good graces of their master. Even so, if

true, their testimonies would be of immense value because they had the ability to be present for the events in question by means of their inferior status.
While many Spaniard men of high status would certainly hope for an outcome in favor of Medina, women are most likely to disagree with such an outcome. Although there is no evidence to legitimately hold up Medina’s testimony, it is obvious that for one reason or another he wished to get rid of his wife and ruin her good name. He not only accused her of adultery, which would consequently bring Tovar down, but also accused her of witchcraft and attempted murder (Abercrombie 63). This divide between men and women was a product of the Spaniard implemented system of patriarchy. By forcing this system onto Latin America, Spaniards would hope to take the mantle of the masculine role, damaging the relationship between men and women beyond repair. Women were meant to be submissive to men, honorable, confined to the home, and legal property of men. Those who did otherwise, such as commit sexual services or practice sorcery, were seen poorly by society (Shakow, “Gender”). Because they were seen as less then men, as well as their property, this explains as to why the investigation seems to focus on why Gonzalez died more then the fact that she did die. However, it makes sense that women would stand for ideals in complete contrast to men, as they were naturally pinned against one another. If Medina were to win this case it would come to demonstrate that women were truly in fact property, and thus had far less rights then their male counterparts. Without justice for Gonzalez, most women would probably become hopeless that they would receive otherwise.
With all this said, this document is also able to help us answer the question of witchcraft and its relation to women.

Medina states, “Moreover, Beatriz Gonzalez, bending to the will of the prosecutor, went about dealing with Indian witches, striving to kill me or make me lose my mind…To this effect, about ten days ago Joana de Tapia…brought some powders to my wife” (Abercrombie 63). Along with being an adulterous woman, Gonzalez is also accused of attempting to use witchcraft to kill her husband. The story is that she was planning on using a certain white powder to kill Medina, as testified by Maria as well (Abercrombie 69). Some women in Latin America took up the art of witchcraft, which to many of them was simply a way of helping people through the use of certain herbs. Women, such as Ana Maria who felt she was deeply religious, practiced such arts yet lived normal lives and participated in regular society (Silverblatt 167-74). But because witchcraft was out of the norm, thus disrupting order, and being used to unite women, the Church demonized their acts (Silverblatt 179). Sorcery was then added to the list of many things that were not appropriate for women to do. If Medina wanted to make Gonzalez appear more threatening, adding witchcraft to the mix would be perfect to create a monster out of who Beatriz Gonzalez was. A sexual affair along with accusations of attempted use of witchcraft would eliminate any likelihood of her being a truly good woman in the eyes of the

judge.
All in all, this document is by far a product of its time, fitting well into the historical time frame. The piece of literature demonstrates the idea that men were superior to women, the existence of the hierarchy, and the involvement of witchcraft in Latin America. Each individual, whether an influential Spaniard, or a black slave, plays their part, whether willingly or unwillingly, to help Fernando de Medina. Although historians may never learn the truth of what happened on November 28, 1595, the document still contains a wealth of knowledge that brings us a step closer to truly understanding colonial Latin America.