resided over by Olivares.

This proposition, however just it seemed, produced serious disturbances.
The commission favoring the government monopoly had ordered by decree on
April 17, 1717, that there should be established in Havana a general
agency for the purchase of tobacco with branch offices in Trinidad,
Santiago and Bayamo. This decree in reality was of great advantage to
the laborers who were thus certain of selling their crops and with
advance payments could extend and improve their sembrados (tobacco
fields). On the other hand it was opposed by the speculators, who had up
to this time lived on the fat commissions which their operations had
brought them. These men spread all sorts of rumors detrimental to the
newly appointed commission and its work among the producers of tobacco.
Deluded by this insidious propaganda, the men rebelled. Five hundred
vegueros or stewards of the tobacco fields armed themselves and captured
Jesus del Monte. Even in the capital there were public demonstrations
against the commission and the municipal authorities so weakly supported
the governor in his defense of the employees of the estance (monopoly)
established by the royal government, that he resigned his office in
favor of the royal tenente Maraveo (according to the historian Valdes he
was expelled) and sailed for Spain in company of D. Olivares. The
earnest exhortations of Bishop Valdes and the archbishop of Santo
Domingo induced the rebels to cease their hostile activities and to
withdraw to their homes and temporarily quiet was restored.

So much confusion had been created by frequent changes of governorship
and the interim rule of provisional authorities, that the royal
government at Madrid took steps to establish greater stability and
insure an uninterrupted function of the administrative machine of Cuba.
After the affair of Casa-Torres it became imperative to provide for the
cases of absence or suspension from office. A royal decree dated
December, 1715, ordered that in future, whenever the office of the
Governor and Captain-General should become vacant, by default, absence
or sickness, the political and military power should be held by the
Tenente-Rey (or Royal Lieutenant), or in his default by the Castellan
(warden or governor) of el Morro.

Upon the return of Vicente de Raja to Spain, Lieutenant-Colonel D. Gomez
de Maraveo Ponce de Leon temporarily exercised the functions of
governorship. Cuba was at that time in a pecul