1833. Borrador de carta de María Dolores Villaverde para su hermano fray Ramón Villaverde, religioso franciscano.

Letter from María Dolores Villaverde to her brother Fray Ramón Villaverde, a Franciscan religious.

The author thanks her brother for the letter he sent her, since it gave her a great comfort after their mother´s passing away.

On February 15th 1834 a tumult carried out by a group of 20 or 30 Franciscans broke out in Salamanca city. They gathered at noon in a part of the city known as La Pescanta and, according to the witnesses, they indulged in several excesses involving women, insults and seditious shouting against the Isabelline monarchy. They reacted violently against the neighbours who tried to reproach their attitude, chasing them and throwing them stones. At night, they gathered in the Plaza Mayor and kept committing excesses, reaching the point of hurting an artilleryman. When the authorities tried to apprehend them, some of them resisted and tried to escape. However, they were all arrested. Among those detained were Fray Ramón Villaverde, who denied many of the charges made against him, such as the scandalous dealings with women; or Fray Ramón Veloso, who helped the latter when he tried to escape. The convents where the friars lived were searched by the authorities; seizing knives, several letters and the rapier the artilleryman was hurt with. The letters were not used in the trial since their content, eminently familiar, did not help to clarify the criminal offences. Nevertheless, one of the investigating judges decided to make a bundle of letters and add it to the rest of the proceeding documentation. The friars were condemned to various sentences. In Fray Ramón Villaverde and Fray Ramón Veloso´s case, they were sentenced to four year´s imprisonment in Ceuta, where they should serve in the hospital.

The letter transcribed in here was sent to a preacher priest of Santo Domingo for him to review it.