Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/354

334 made himself conspicuous by his harsh treatment of the natives, forcing them as soon as converted, or even before, into the congregas, or congregations, established by Montemayor. The laws regarding the formation of encomiendas were now so stringently enforced that of necessity some means had to be devised to elude them in order to retain the benefits derived from compulsory Indian labor. The difference between the congrega and encomienda existed only in name, but under the former system the law was evaded, while an attempt was thus made to delude the natives by the abolition of the obnoxious appellation formerly in use.

The immediate result of Zavala's policy was a general uprising of the natives, which it required more than eight years to master. A decisive battle in 1637 restored peace to the country for a time; but a great number of natives had taken refuge in the sierras of Tamaulipas whence at intervals they continued to harass the Spanish settlers. During two centuries Nuevo Leon was seldom free from alarm. The missionaries in vain exerted themselves to restore peace; in vain did the viceroys send troops, settlers, and money; in vain did the venerable Margil de Jesus labor to check the outrages of the Spaniards and to bring the Indians into subjection. The strife continued; and though the natives were the greatest sufferers, in course of time, especially during the second half of the seventeenth and the early part of the eighteenth century, many of the Spanish settlements were destroyed by the natives or abandoned by the colonists.