1720. Carta de Juan Bautista Fernández Saravia y Francisco Benito para Francisco Antonio de Torres.

Letter from Juan Bautista Fernández Saravia and Francisco Benito to Francisco Antonio de Torres.

The authors warn Francisco Antonio de Torres of Juan Vallejo´s determination to act against them due to the litigation they have initiated.

In 1720, Juan Bautista Fernández Saravia, an ordinary mayor of the village of Soto, acting on a representation by the Council of Castille, proceeded to an inquiry into Juan Vallejo´s lifestyle and customs, also a resident of the village. There were several accusations on him for ruffling his neighbours´ lives. Apparently, in 1694 he tried to contest the military draw arguing that some of the participants were exempt because of their lineage, creating a great uproar in the village. As a consequence of these alleged facts, he had slandered and sued Diego Lázaro, the mayor at the time. Likewise, he had falsely accused the presbyter José Martínez before the bishop Alonso de Mena. During his father-in-law´s time as a mayor, he had supplanted his duties and was dedicated to issue sentences without the presence of law officials. In 1718 he intervened again in the soldier´s draw damaging his neighbours´ interests. He was also accused of theft of documentation, aggressions, insults and abuse of his power as captain of militias. On this last point, he tried to benefit from a military jurisdiction which was not his. For all the aforementioned, he was imprisoned and while he was in jail, he threatened the judge and all the witnesses. Some of the testimonies confirmed the charges against him and on February the 24th 1721 he was sentenced to banishment from Soto, Valladolid and Madrid for eight years. On the same day, the defendant presented an appeal and built a detailed defence against each and every charge he was accused of. However, which he underlined was Francisco Benito and Juan Bautista Fernández Saravia´s enmity towards him. The former had sued him before the Royal Chancery of Valladolid and the trial had become an exchange of reproaches between both parties regarding their excesses in Soto. He won this lawsuit in the Chancery´s courtroom. He also argued that in the 1720 litigation against him the witnesses had not been impartial and they were following orders from the mayor Saravia and from Francisco Benito, about whom he proved they were relatives. He provided witnesses to support his version, he presented several letters showing the excesses he had undergone during the proceeding. Some of those letters are not in their original format in the proceeding documentation, however, there are copies throughout the memorials of the litigation. Among the originals, there are the letters addressed to Francisco Antonio de Torres from Francisco Benito and Juan Bautista Fernández Saravia, in which their malice towards Juan Vallejo is manifested and the Royal Chancery of Valladolid´s jurisdiction is disregarded. These letters were provided to him by Pedro de Valderrama. The case is incomplete and therefore the result of Juan Vallejo´s appeal to the 1721 sentence remains unknown.