CHAPTER XX.

FUTILE ATTEMPTS TOWARD DISCOVERY.

1530-1540.

AUTHORITY OF CORTES CURTAILED INDIAN CONSPIRACY SUPPRESSED DIS

TURBANCES IN OAJACA AN EMPTY TITLE CORTES AND THE COLONISTS
OF ANTEQUERA FURTHER DISPUTES WITH THE AUDIENCIA CORTES
PERSISTENT BAFFLED EFFORTS AT DISCOVERY HIGH HOPES AND A
LOWLY DWELLING MISFORTUNE FOLLOWS MISFORTUNE GUZMAN S
ANIMOSITY CORTES DEFIANT HE SAILS NORTHWARD FAILURE OF THE
ENTERPRISE RIVALRY OF MENDOZA CORTES DISGUSTED HE RETURNS
TO SPAIN.

UPON the arrival of the second audiencia Cortes

hastened to lay before that body his commission as
captain general. Though it was duly recognized by
them, the powers it conferred were greatly controlled
a
by royal order produced by the audiencia, requiring
that Cortes, in all his operations, should consult the
president and oidores and act only on their approval.
This we may well imagine was not pleasing to the
1
marquis, and soon he and the audiencia were engaged
in hot disputes. Jealous of their position, and proud
of the king s confidence, 2 the oidores were uncompro
mising in the exhibition of their authority, and car
ried out their instructions to the letter; while Cortes,

1
Cortes professes to have been at first satisfied with this order: fu6 <y

para mi muy gran merced, porque siempre querria tales testigos de mis
servicios. Cortes, Escritos Sueltos, 191.
2
When the audiencia attended mass on the arrival at the capital the
bishop of Tlascala in the prayer for the royal family, after the words, regem
nostrum cum prole regia, added, et ducem exercitus nostri, whereupon
Oidor Salmeron admonished him to observe the king s preeminence: yo le
e"

amoneste" que guardase al Rey su preeminencia Real en aquello. Salmeron, ii-

Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 192
 ENMITY OF THE AUDIENCIA. 411

accustomed to domineer, ill brooked opposition to his

views or interests, and pressed matters with a haughti
ness that offended the king s judges.
Thus it was that almost immediately an antagonism
.appeared, regarding questions of minor importance at
3
first, as those of etiquette and precedence, but later

affecting weightier matters both public and private.

Unfriendly relations being thus established, the
breach grew wider day by day, and their letters were
full of bitterness, marked by complaints of griev
ances on the one side and of obnoxious interference
on the other. Such being their respective attitudes,
it was with difficulty and delay that even the royal
orders were carried out in matters concerning Cortes.
Whether the question at issue related to the count
ing of his vassals, the assignment of towns and lands
granted him, or expeditions of discovery, it was in
every case attended by many loud and angry words.
The first business in connection with the marquis
to which it was necessary the audiencia should give
attention was the counting of the twenty-three thou
sand vassals assigned him by royal grant. Difficulties
4
at once arose which rendered the counting slow, and
there were also disagreements between the oidores and
Cortes with respect to the method. Moreover as
public interests were involved by the establishment
of a remarkable precedent, the action of the oidores
5
was closely watched and criticised. The discharge
3
Salmeron complainingly reports to the king the prominent position in
which Cortes caused his chair to be placed in the church, and the fact that he
took precedence in church ceremonies: y al ofrecer, nos porfiamos todos, y
41 ofrece el primero;y la paz saca un sacristan, y va primero a nosotros, y
tomala el primero. Id.
*The oidores reported to his Majesty that the Indians, at the instigation
of their chiefs, evaded the count. This they could readily do owing to the
facility with which they removed from place to place. The duties of the com
mission appointed to take the count were thus made irksome in the extreme,
and the result inaccurate. They were employed during the whole of lent in
determining the population of a single town in the district of Cuernavaca
without satisfactory result, and there were not less than 20 others in that
district. Relation, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 330; Audience,
Lettre, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., serie ii. torn. v. 151, 197-8.
5
Cortes maintained that the heads of families only should be counted,
while the oidores claimed that the individual members ought to be included.
 412 FUTILE ATTEMPTS TOWARD DISCOVERY.

of this unenviable duty was intrusted to six commis

sioners, three of whom were appointed by Corte s and
three by the audiencia. 6
The commission, however, after having labored for
many weeks in vain efforts to arrive at even an ap
proximate count, reported to the audiencia that the
difficulties were insurmountable and a correct numer
ation impossible, since not one fifth of the estimated
population presented itself. The attempt was conse
quently abandoned, and a compromise entered into
by which Cortes, pending instructions from the king,
was left in possession of Cuernavaca with its depend-
derit townships and the districts of Tehuantepec and
Cuetlachtlan. The valleys of Oajaca and Quilapan,
and various towns in the province of Mexico, were
also assigned him under the encomienda system, no
7
judicial authority being therewith conferred.
Yet the audiencia considered that the principle on
which the king s grants had been made was danger
ous, from the fact that the scattered positions of the
different districts would give Cortes too wide an influ-

Again, several families occupied the same dwelling, separated from each other
by partitions of bamboo. The oidores complain to the king that many of
these houses were found empty, although they were convinced that the inhab
itants had only temporarily removed. In other instances the partitions had
been taken down so that several families might appear to belong to one and
thn same head; and the audiencia considered that all houses ought to be
couated whether occupied or not. Id. Moreover strictness in count was
warmly discussed by the encomenderos who recognized that the decision on
this point materially affected themselves. Several witnesses testified that
the contador, Rodrigo de Albornoz, had asserted that the count ought not to-
be taken too strictly as the difference of 50 macehuales more or less was a
matter of slight importance. Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xvi. 548-54.
6
The audiencia appointed Crist6bal de Barrios, Ger6nimo Ruiz de la
Mota, and Ruiz Gonzalez; the representatives of Corte s were, Andre s de
Tapia, Juan de Salcedo, and Francisco de Terrazas. Ternaux-Compans, Voy.,
ii. torn. v. 197.
se"rie Cortes complains that two of his greatest enemies were
chosen by the audiencia. Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 22-3.
7
The marquis complained of this limitation of his jurisdiction, and also
protested against the appointment of corregidores of certain towns claimed
by him as pertaining to his grant. Id., 155, and Pacheco and Cardenas, Col.
Doc., xiv., 331-2. A description of the different districts and townships
included in the assignments will be found in Id., 333-7, and Ternaux-
Compans. Voy., ii. toin. v. 153-5.
se"rie A copy also of the agreement between
the audiencia and Corte s is contained in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xii.
514-20. Corte s engaged to surrender all claim to any districts which might
afterward be found outside of his grant.
 EFFORTS OF CORTES RESTRICTED. 413

ence, and the oidor Salmeron had already counselled

the king to centralize the authority of the marquis by
confining his possessions to one portion of the coun
8
try. The fact is his power over the natives was such
as to cause the oidores heartily to wish him back in
9
Spain.
Nor was the assignment of these grants the only
cause of dispute. The erection of his palace, the sale
of his houses in the city of Mexico to the audiencia,
and his claims to lands within the limits of the city
were alike productive of grievances and annoyance. 10

But the treatment of Cortes by the audiencia in

his public capacity as captain general
engendered yet
stronger feelings of indignation and wounded pride.
He could not shut his eyes to the fact that his high
office in name than in reality, and his
was one more
quick perception soon revealed to him that although
the crown had recognized his services it did not intend
to allow him much control in the guidance of affairs.

8
In March 1531, Pacheco and Cdrdenas, Col Doc., xiii. 203-4.
9
In August of the same year Salmeron remarks, il a untel pouvoir sur
les indigenes, que d un seul mot il pourrait tous les faire rdvolter, and later
adds: II dit. .qu il retournera en Espagne. Plut au ciel qu il le fit; cela
.

serait heureux pour la Nouvelle-Espagne. Ternaux-Compans, Voy., sdrie ii.

torn. v. 196. In the same letter he expresses the conviction that it would be
well not to include the township of Antequera Oajaca in the grant, while
Oidor Quiroga apprises the king that the assignment to Cortes of the town of
Tacubaya, so near the capital, would be greatly prejudicial to the city. Pacheco
and Cardenas, Col Doc., xiii. 427-8.
10
By a letter of the oidores, dated 14th of August 1531, already frequently
quoted, the king was informed that Cortes was building in the city a palace
more pretentious than any to be seen in Spain, and that the work had been
interrupted by the audiencia placing the towns from which the marquis drew
his laborers under the corregimiento system. He had, however, been allowed
to employ the Indians of Chales, on the condition that he paid them wages.
This lie had failed to do, and the oidores had stopped the work. With regard
to his houses in the city Cortds complains, in 1533, that the audiencia had
neither paid him for them, nor were willing to give up the property, not even
the traders buildings which, according to agreement, he was to retain; and
he requests the council to interfere in his behalf. Carta, in Pacheco and Car
denas, Col. Doc. xii. 550-1. Certain lands lying within the city commons,
were granted to Cortds by royal order of July 27, 15? 4, but he was dispos
sessed of them by the oidores of the first audiencia. In 1531 he claimed
restitution, which was resisted, and the audiencia decided to submit the
matter to the India Council. Id., xxix., passim. The queen, in April 1533,
empowers the audiencia to investigate the matter and decide according to
justice. Puga, Cedulario, 86.
414 FUTILE ATTEMPTS TOWARD DISCOVERY.

From the first the new administration avoided con

sultation with him, 11 and when in military matters he
offered suggestions, his views were not accepted, and
even his actions were interfered with, while at the
same time no means was omitted of impressing upon
the natives the fact that the great conqueror was sub
servient to the higher authority of the audiencia.
The very first attempt made by Cortes to exercise
his functions as captain general caused a rupture
between him and the audiencia. The inefficient con
dition of the available forces in New Spain was such
as to excite a fear of an uprising of the natives.
With the approval of the audiencia, Cortes therefore
proclaimed a general muster in all Spanish towns,
attaching certain penalties to those who failed to ap
pear with their arms and horses. The muster in the
capital was a failure, and when Cortes sought to en
force the fines upon the delinquents the oidores took
umbrage, considering that his action was an encroach
ment upon their authority. 12
The weakness displayed by this failure to muster
in force and the well known dissension that prevailed

among the Spaniards offered a strong temptation to the

Indians. They believed that an opportunity for throw
ing off the Spanish yoke had at last arrived, and they
entered into a conspiracy to destroy their oppressors.
Straggling Spaniards in the country were murdered,,
11
The audiencia informed the king that their policy was to avoid seeking
the advice of Cortes in matters affecting the government. Salmeron, Carta, in
Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc. xiii. 191. Cortes also complained to the king-
,

that he was not allowed to consult with the audiencia, but was simply required
to obey orders. Id. ,12. In his Relation de Servicios he states that the audiencia
construed the king s instructions relative to himself to suit themselves, and
that without voice or vote in their councils he was compelled simply to execute
their orders. Failures could thus be charged to his account, while the credit
of his successes could be appropriated by the president and oidores. Escritos
Sueltos, 217-18.
12
This question of prerogative was still unsettled in April 1532. Cort6s
writing to the king on the 20th remarks :
y asl se ha quedado hasta hoy
que ninguna 6rden ni concierto hay. Id., 191. A similar failure occurred at
Vera Cruz. Id. 220. The audiencia attributed this failure to the action of
,

the enemies of Corte"s who aimeraient mieux perdre tout ce qu ils poss6dent
que le reconnaitre pour leur superieur. Ternaux-Compans, Voy., serie ii. tonu
v. 155-6.
 REVOLT OF THE NATIVES. 415

and preparations made for a sudden rising in the city.

According to Oviedo more than two hundred Spaniards
were soon found to be missing, and the alarm became
general. The oidores in the emergency recognized
that the only man capable of dealing with the excited
Indians was the captain general, and him they now
called upon to come to their assistance. With a large
force he marched into the capital, and by his decisive
measures quiet was restored. Great numbers were
made prisoners and the horrors of fire and blood
hounds implanted a wholesome fear upon the natives,
who were once more taught that their patriotic strug
13
gles only tightened the conqueror s grasp.
The revolt seems to have extended far southward,
for during the early part of 1531 the Zapotecs in Oajaca
and Impilcingo were in rebellion, and a number of
Spaniards who had entered the district in search of gold
had been slaughtered. 14
The ayuntamiento ofAntequera despatched all avail
able force against the insurgents, but as this left the
town without defenders it was necessary to send as
sistance from Mexico. But even under these circum
stances, in which the experience and military ability
of Cortes ought to have been respected, his views met
with opposition, and the conqueror of New Spain
deemed prudent to yield in all points to the opinions
it
of the oidores on the ground that his would be the
blame in case of mishap. The revolt was suppressed,
but the expeditions sent out by the captain general
encountered unnecessary difficulties, owing to the in
terference of the audiencia. 15

13
Oviedo, iii. 521.A false alarm was raised one night in the capital which
caused general consternation. The originator of it was not discovered, but it
afforded an additional motive for suppressing the conspiracy. Torquemada,
i. 605; Cavo, Tres
Siglos, i. 99-100. Consult also Herrera, dec. iv. lib. ix.
cap. iv.
14
One Alonso Tabera and several companions were killed, and shortly after
ward six other Spaniards with a large number of slaves were put to death.
Carta del Ayunt., in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 182-3.
Cortes, Escritos Sueltos, 191-3, 218-19. Even the punishment of insubor
15

dination in his ranks was not allowed him by the audiencia. Ternaux-Com-
pans, Voy., serie ii. torn. v. 156; and when on one occasion an officer exceeded
416 FUTILE ATTEMPTS TOWARD DISCOVERY.

Thus thwarted every public and private measure,

in
Cortes the humiliations to which he was
felt bitterly

subjected. Accustomed to command so long without

restriction, his position became distasteful. His great
achievements merited, he thought, a higher appreci
ation than that which made of him but a mere figure
head of power; and with wounded heart, and in dis
gust at his empty title of captain general, he begged
the king, since his ability was held in so poor esteem,
to appoint a more competent person to take his
16
place.
But after all the misery was not wholly on one side.
Cortes was to the audiencia as a thorn in the flesh.
His friends were numerous, and their ranks were re-
enforced by discontented encomenderos who saw their
interests attacked by the audiencia, which endeavored
to suppress repartimientos. In July 1532 President
Fuenleal suggested the recall of Cortes to Spain, with
four or five others who were causing trouble. 17
Meantime Cortes had left the city and retired in
disgust to Cuernavaca, where he had caused a palace
to be built on the outskirts of the town. Here he
his instructions and reduced to slavery some prisoners captured in the Impil-
cingo campaign, the marquis was reprimanded for not having given sufficiently
definite orders to his lieutenant, and the officer was arrested. Quiroga, in
Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 424-6. The king in March 1532
instructs the audiencia not to proceed against cither the captain, Vasco Por-
callo, or the marquis in this matter. Puga, Cedulario, 79. Nor could Cortds
obtain any redress from the audiencia when Captain Luis de Castilla, whom
he had sent with an expedition to colonize part of the country previously
pacified, was seized by Guzman and kept prisoner till his followers disbanded.
Escritos, Sueltos, 192-3.
16
His letter is dated April 20, 1532,and he remarks: Porque pues hasta
aqul no he errado, no querria errar de aqui adelante: yo, como un vecino,
seguire lo que me mandaren. Escritos Sueltos, 193. On the 20th of March
preceding, the queen issued the following somewhat indefinite instructions to
the audiencia regarding the duties of the captain general: El Marques ha de
vsar el oficio de capitan general en la nueva Espana en las cosas, q por noa
especialmete le fueren mandadas, o alia por vosotros en nuestro nombre se
le mandaren, y no en otra cosa, mirareys bien siempre lo que les encomendays
y mandays, porque se escusen diferencias, teniendo siempre respecto a la per
sona del marques. Puga, Cedulario, 79.
17
Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc. xiii. 226. This advice was again given
,

by the audiencia in November following. Ternaux-Compans, Voy., serie ii.

torn. v. 208-9. Herrera is alone with respect to the relations between Cortds
and Fuenleal. He describes them as amicable, and asserts that the president
continually consulted Cortes, dec. iv. lib. ix. cap. xiv.
 FEUDS IN OAJACA.^ 417

occupied himself with agriculture and stock-raising,

entertaining meanwhile various projects of discovery.
On taking possession of the domains of his mar-
quisate, in the valley of Oajaca, the inhabitants of the
town refused to accept him as their feudal lord. 18 This
action of the Indians was doubtless owing to the town
having been included in the limits of the Spanish
19
set
tlement of Antequera which adjoined it; and from
this time forward the people of Antequera and Cortes
were involved in frequent and violent disputes. The
marquis justly regarded the founding of the city as an
encroachment upon his domain, a hostile intrusion.
His people were always in trouble with the Spanish
residents, who in their turn appropriated portions of
the best ground, seized upon his water privileges, and
20
treated his agents with indignity.
The central and advantageous position of the town
had induced Cortes to begin building a palace in
Oajaca, but he now discontinued the work, and erected
a house a quarter of a league distant. This removal
of his seat and the narrow confines to which Ante
quera was limited effectually checked the prosperity
of the city, 21 and instead of a flourishing settlement,

The towns of Oajaca and Antequera may be considered as one. The

18

first audiencia founded the Spanish town of Antequera close to the Indian
village of Oajaca on land belonging to the marquis. Cortes maintained that
this was done to injure him, and presented a petition to the second audiencia
regarding the matter. Ternaux-Compans, Voy., serie ii. torn. v. 146-7. Flo-
rencia states that the king granted Cortes four villas in exchange for the city,
Camp, de Jesvs, 231.
19
In March 1531 the oider Salmeron informs the India Council that the
settlers in Antequera wished to have the villa removed elsewhere, before they
had erected many buildings; or have the town of Oajaca given to them.
Salmeron advises that the latter proposition be adopted. Pacheco and Car-
Col Doc., xiii. 203.
</<

H<I#,

20
On one occasion the alcaldes imprisoned his agent, Diego del Castillo,
and submitted him to outrageous treatment. Id., xii. 551^4.
21
Charles gave it the name and privileges of a city April 25, 1532. Medi
na, Chron. San Dkyp, 246. Villa Senor names April 25, 1531, as the date,
Tlu atro, ii. 112, which is probably incorrect, as Cortez, writing on the 25th
of January, 1533, to the Council of the
Indies, represents that a proctor had
been despatched to Spain by the Spaniards of Antequera for the purpose of
petitioning that their villa be elevated to the rank of a city, and opposes the
request by bringing forward his own claims. Paclteco and Cardenas, Col. Doc.,
xii. 545-6.
According to Herrera, exemption was granted the city for 30
years, del seruicio ordinario. dec. v. lib. ii.
cap. viii.
HIST. HEX., VOL. II. 27
418 FUTILE ATTEMPTS TOWARD DISCOVERY.
in a few years its residents were reduced to actual
22
distress.

Other matters during this period became grounds

of contention between him and the
ruling powers r
such as the payment of tithes, 23 forest, pasture, and
water rights, to which he laid exclusive claim in the
district of Cuernavaca, 24 and complaints made
by his
vassals of the excessive tribute imposed upon them. 25
Moreover, the much vexed question of the number of
his vassals was again brought forward, the
proceed
ings in the matter being marked by want of liberality
in the actions of the audiencia, and by petulant com
26
plaints on the part of Cortes. Yet no adjustment
could be arrived at. The marquis, though deprived of
22
Antequera was raised to the rank of a cathedral town in 1534, but the-
description of it given by Bishop Zarate in 1544 indicates the
victory of Cor-
t^s. The city, he writes, was in such a condition that its abandonment would
be no loss. The distress of the inhabitants was owing to the city possessing
no lands, all the surrounding country being owned by Cortes. Provisions
consequently commanded exorbitant prices. The town had been founded out
of malice to the marquis, but the scheme only worked to the injury of the
settlers, who had not even commons for pasturage. A change, however,
might be effected by a proper arrangement with Cortes, which would make
Antequera one of the most important places in the country. Ternaux-Com-
pans, Voy., se rie i. torn. x. 295-8.
23
Cortes had obtained from the pope a bull granting to him immunity from
tithes on the domains granted to him by the king. The audiencia report his
consequent refusal to pay them. In 1533 royal orders were issued to the
effect that he was not to be exempt from the payment, since such exemption
would be prejudicial to the royal patronato, which it was not the pope s
intention to injure. Montemayor, Svmarios, 49; Puga, Cedulario, 84.
24
The queen by cedula of April 20, 1533, ordered that these forests, waters,
and pastures be common property of the Spaniards. Id. , 85.
25
The natives of the Cuernavaca district presented to Pedro Garcia^
the interpreter of the audiencia, eight paintings descriptive of the tributes
they had paid to the marquis, and stated that they were treated by his un
derlings more like slaves than vassals. Garcia, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col.
Doc., xiv. 142-7. The king in September 1533, directed the audiencia to
determine the tribute to be paid by the vassals not only of Cuernavaca but of
all his domains. Puga, Cedulario, 87.
26
In April 1532 the audiencia informs the crown that in order to arrive
at some knowledge of the number, Indians in the guise of traders had been
secretly sent into the district of Cuernavaca. These had made drawings of
the towns and villages in the valley, from which it appeared that in that dis
trict only there were more than 20,000 houses each containing several families.
The audiencia believed that Cortes had received more than his right. Ter-
naux-Compans, Voy., se rie ii. torn. v. 204-5. The queen in April 1533
approved the suggestion made by the audiencia that President Fue.Jileal and
two oidores should proceed to Cuernavaca and verify the paintings, tak-
iicg with them the natives that had drawn them. Puga, Cedulario, 83-4.
 SHIPS FOR THE MOLUCCAS. 419

some portion of his grant, adhered to his claims and

defended his rights as tenaciously as the audiencia
assailed them, filing protests and making appeals to
the crown whenever loss was threatened. 27
Again, in 1537 and 1538, under the administration
of Viceroy Mendoza, an attempt was made to bring
affairs toa satisfactory adjustment. 23 Again the mar
quis in a letter to the India Council, dated 20th of
September 1538, enters at length into the troubles
and expenses attending the count, and having been
deprived of many townships, impoverished by the heavy
expenses of unremunerative expeditions, in reduced
circumstances, and oppressed with debt, he asks relief
in order that he may live. Poor conqueror 29 !

But it is time to consider the efforts made by Cortes

to extend discoveries in the South Sea, and mark how
his exertions were cramped and his prospects of suc
cess marred by the same watchful opponents.
The reader is already aware that previous to his
departure to Spain, Corteshad despatched a fleet to
the Moluccas, and that the commerce he wished to
establish there might be permanent, he began the
construction of other vessels at Tehuantepec with the
intention of sending them to support the first expe
dition. Four vessels were already built when he left
27
Cortes, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col Doc., xii. 541-9, 554-63. Oix
account of the enmity displayed by the audiencia he petitioned the king to
send a special commissioner to make the count and deliver him his vassals, or
to empower a commission of prelates and friars in New Spain to do so, other
wise a settlement would never be accomplished. Id., xiii. 24-5.
28
Viceroy Mendoza and Vasco de Quiroga, bishop elect of Michoacan,
were empowered, November 30, 1537, to count the vassals. Id., xii. 314-18.
29
Cortes, Carta, Col. Doc. Incd., iv. 194-201. His expenses in fitting out
armaments had been enormous, besides other calls upon his purse, which was
ever an open one. He thus describes his straitened circumstances : Con
las ayudas de costa que dese Real Consejo se me han hecho. .yo tengo harto
.

que hacer in mantenerme en un aldea, donde tengo mi muger, sin osar residir
en esta cibdad ni venir a ella, por no tener que comer en ella. And he
entreats the council, dar . 6rden como en mis dias tenga de comer y despues
. .

dellos se conozca en mis hijos que su padre meresci6 algo. Pacheco and Car
denas, Col. Doc., iii. 539. But no final settlement of his claims was made in
his lifetime, and it was only after his death that the latter wish obtained
it-cognition, when the original grant was confirmed to his son, with a slight
i-eyefvation and without limitation as to the number of vassals, by Philip II.
420 FUTILE ATTEMPTS TOWARD DISCOVERY.

New Spain, and a fifth was completed later. The fleet

was almost ready to sail, when the oidores of the first
audiencia interfered. They seized and sent prisoner
to Mexico the officer in charge, dismissed the Indians
employed, and suspended work. The ship tackle and
stores were stolen, and the vessels were left to rot.
On the return of Cortes they were almost ruined, and
the loss which he sustained amounted to more than
30
twenty thousand castellanos.
Nor did Cortes meet with that cooperation from
the second audiencia which he had expected. Not
disheartened by the discouraging result of his former
attempt, shortly after his return to New Spain he
hastened to carry out his contracts with the king. He
began the construction of four new vessels, two at
Tehuantepec and two at Acapuico, and succeeded in
etting them launched about the beginning of 1532.
ut the audiencia, which at first had encouraged him
to proceed with the execution of his schemes, 31 now,
to the marquis cost, and notwithstanding a decree
32
forbidding its interference, caused him much trouble.
33
Acapuico was inaccessible to carts and pack animals,
and Cortes found it necessary to employ native car
riers to transport tackle and stores for his ships. The
opening policy of the new audiencia with respect to
the treatment of the natives was that of strictly

30
As a
further injustice the oidores, according to the representation of
to the king, condemned the officer in charge to pay 3,000 castellanos,
Corte"s

claimed by the carpenters as compensation for the loss of work for nearly a
year. Property belonging to Corte"s was sold to meet this demand. Carta, in
Col. Doc. Ined., i. 39-40. The amount of loss is stated by the attorney of
Cort6s at a later date to have exceeded 30,000 castellanos. Cortes, Escritos
Sudtos, 217.
^Gomara, Hist. Mex.,2S7-8.
32
Aunque yo he visto una provision, en que se manda al presidente y
oidores que no se entremetan en cosa deste descubrimiento, sino que libremente
me dejen hacer. Cortes, Escritos Sueltov, 194.
33
Acapuico was the capital town of the Cohuixcas under the Aztec empire.
It had been visited at an early date by explorers of the south coast sent by
Cortes- The port was recognized by Cortes as affording facilities for ship
building, and vessels were constructed and despatched here at an early date.
It is mentioned by the audiencia in 1532, Ternaux-Compans, Voy., serie ii.
torn, v., but can hardly be considered as a recognized Spanish settlement till
1550. Philip II. elevated it to the rank of a city.
 MORE VESSELS DESPATCHED. 421

enforcing the laws of protection. Accordingly, his

Indians were taken away, his operations ordered dis
continued, and a fine of forty thousand pesos im
34
posed.
Thwarted at every turn, Cortes gave way to de
spair. obeyed their order," he writes, "and ceased
"I

my preparations, so that neither by sea nor land can

I do your Majesty any service," and in his heart
doubted whether the exploration of the South Sea
was a matter of any interest to the crown. Such is the
version given by the marquis, but the audiencia tell a
somewhat different tale, and inform the queen that
Cortes paid no heed to the alguaciles whom they had
sent to release the natives from their servitude, but
defiantly ordered the carriers to continue their labors.
Whereupon the audiencia instituted proceedings
35
against him. There was undoubtedly truth in what
the oidores said.
Notwithstanding all the machinations of the evil
ones, Cortes despatched from Acapulco in May 1532
two ships, the San Marcos and the San Miguel, 58
under Hurtado de Mendoza, the details of which ex
pedition, as well as those of the subsequent maritime
efforts of the marquis, may be found in my History

of the North Mexican States.

With this beginning Cortes next determined to
superintend in person the completion of his ships at
Tehuantepec, and repairing thither hastened his prep-
34
Cortds in his account to the king of this interruption explains that the
natives employed were those of his own encomienda; that he paid them for
their labor, and that the ordinance prohibiting the employment of Indian car-
Tiers had been violated with impunity by others. Carta, in Pacheco and Car
denas, Col. Doc., xii. 548; Col. Doc. Intd., iv. 175-7. Alonso de Zurita,
writing in the last half of the IGth century, oydor que fuede la real audien
cia, represents that the construction of fleets by Cortds cost the lives of thou
sands of Indians. Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., ii. 113-14.
35
Ternaux-Compans, Voy., seYie ii. torn. v. 203-4.
36
Pacheco and Cardenas, xii. 541. These vessels were built under contract
by Juan Rodriguez de Villafuerte, for 1,500 castellanos, to be delivered before
Christmas, 1531. Cortes, in Col. Doc. Incd., ii. 416-19. The ill-fated vessels
were both lost, and nearly every one of the crews, weakened by sickness and
famine, massacred by the natives. Cortds attributed the failure of this ex
pedition to the enmity of Guzman, who prevented his captains landing for sup
plies and repairs. Real Provision, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 35.
422 FUTILE ATTEMPTS TOWARD DISCOVERY.

arations as rapidly as possible, living in a hut on the

37
beach, and even laboring with his own hands.
Yet with all his eagerness the work went slowly on.
For a year and a half he lived in his cabin on the sand,
and though in January 1533 he reported to the king
his expectation to be ready in March, it was not till
the 29th of October following that his vessels, the
San Ldzaro and the Conception, left port. 38
The enterprise, which led to the discovery of lower
California, was attended with disaster. About the
middle of 1534 the Conception was brought into the
39
port of Chiametla by six or seven sailors, the sole
survivors of her crew, who had much to tell of mutiny
and murder. 40 She had become separated from the
San Ldzaro, which afterward found her way to Te-
huantepec. The reports of lands discovered brought
by these men excited in Nuno de Guzman a desire to
continue the adventure on his own account. So he
seized the vessel and held the sailors, that the news
might not reach Cortes. But the marquis heard of
41
it, and appealed to the audiencia, only to enter upon
fresh complications. That body, though it issued an
order in the king s name commanding Guzman to
surrender the ship, and prohibiting him from pros
ecuting the discovery, ordered Cortes also to42 desist
from further exploration in that direction. The
marquis appealed to the crown, maintaining that Guz-
37
Id., 35-6, The port of Tehuantepec was called Port of Santiago. Romay,
Cuenta, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. J)oc., xii. 298.
38
Cortes, Ecritos Sueltos, 250. The cost of the two vessels amounted to 9,000
pesos de oro de minas. Romay, Cuenta, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc.,
xii. 298-313. Zamacois, Hist. Mej., iv. 564, 574, erroneously regards the two
expeditions as one, and has confused the events of the latter with those of
the
former.
39
Con hasta siete hombres. Cortes, Escritos Sueltos, 263.
40
See Hist. North Mex. States, i. this series.
,

41
Writing on this matter Cortes says: Supe casi por milagro, segund la
diligencia que Nuiio de Guzman puso en guardar el secreto,
etc. Escritos

Sueltos, 263.
42
The reason given by the oidores was that they had heard that Guzman
had already despatched an expedition to the discovered land, and that escan-
dalos, muertes de hombres e otros incovenientes would be the consequence
if the two should meet. The order sent to Guzman is dated August 19th,
that to Cortex the 2d of September, 1534. Real Provision, in fcazbaketa, Col.
Doc., ii. 31-40, and in Paclwco and Cardenas, Col Doc.,, xii. 418-29.
 ON THE PENINSULA. 423

man had neither sent nor could send an expedition,

since he had no vessel of his own, and the Conception
was stranded. At the opening of his protest he sig
nificantly calls attention to the fact that he was acting
in conformity with his Majesty s commands and with
the contract which he held.
The action taken by the audiencia after this pro
test was no more favorable to the efforts of the mar
quis than had been its previous course. The truth
is that the oidores were secretly supported by the

throne, a course at once cowardly and base on the

part of Charles, who through very shame could not
cast off one to whom he owed so much, and yet he
feared to permit him to prosper. Gonzalo Ruiz was
commissioned on the 22d of August to proceed to
Nueva Galicia and investigate the matter; but noth
ing was done in favor of Cortes, whose repeated
appeals to the audiencia were responded to with
such lukewarmness that he rightly concluded that
their neglect was intentional. 43 He therefore deter
mined to take matters into his own hands, despatch a
third expedition, and command it in person. At the
same time he would call to account his adversary
of New Galicia. About midwinter 1534-5 he de
spatched from Tehuantepec for Chiametla three ves
sels, the San Ldzaro, the Santa Agueda, and the Santo
Tomds, thoroughly equipped and well supplied with
stores. About the same time he started by land for
Chiametla at the head of a considerable force. 44 But
Guzman, too weak to contend with him, avoided hos
tilities, and, during the time Cortes was in Jalisco,

preferred to be absent, occupying himself with the

suppression of an Indian outbreak in the valley of
Banderas. 45 The land and sea expeditions were thus
^Comision, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col, Doc., xii., 429-39.
44
A witness in a subsequent lawsuit testified that there were 400 Spaniards
and 300 negroes. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 233-4, says the expedition
consisted of 320 persons, including 34 married couples.
45
Guzman, writing in June 1535, claims that the bad policy of Cortes
while passing through Jalisco was the cause of these Indian troubles. Pacheco
and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 414-17.
424 FUTILE ATTEMPTS TOWARD DISCOVERY.

reunited at Chiametla without molestation, and Cor

tes, afterinspecting the Conception which he found in
an unserviceable condition, proceeded to make an
attempt to found a colony on the eastern shore of the
Californian peninsula.
The failure of the scheme, unless additional vessels
and supplies were provided for the colony, soon be
came apparent to Cortes, and he returned with the
Santa Agueda and Santo Tomds to Acapulco with the
intention of fitting out a new fleet for that purpose.
Moreover news of the arrival of Mendoza as vicerov
had been brought to him by a vessel under the com
mand of Francisco de Ulloa, and this, together with
an earnest request from his wife, was an additional
motive for his return. 46Though little is known of his
operations during the following two or three years he
did not give up the hope of attaining some brilliant
success, and with his customary activity made prepa
rations for another expedition. In September 1538
he informed the India Council that he had nine good
ships already built, but not yet launched, owing to the
want of navigators, 47 and in 1539 his enthusiasm was-
raised by the marvellous reports brought by Marcos
de Niza of the cities of Cibola.
Whatever had been the captain general s hopes of
assistance on the arrival of a viceroy in Spain, New
the change in the form of government only brought
new and powerful competitor. Men
into the field a
doza himself would like to be a great explorer, and in
1537 he asked of the king permission to participate
48
in enterprises of discovery.
46 fleet and all other particulars, see Hist. Uorih
Respecting the returning
Mex. this series.
States, vol. i.

He had sent to Panama and Nicaragua for sailors, but without success.
47

He therefore despatched at this time Juan Galvano to Spain in order to

procure them. Cortes, Carta, in Col. Doc. Incd., iv. 193-4. See also Pachec.o
and Cardenas, Col. Doc., iii. 535-43, and Escritos Sueltos, 281. Motolinia,
Hist. Ind., 171, followed by Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 398, makes mention of an
expedition sent out by Cortes some time during this year, and accompanied
by three Franciscan friars; but I do not find the assertion of these author*
supported by any other authority.
48
And for the same favors granted to others in like cases. Pacheco and
Cardenas, Col. Doc., ii. 211.
 ATTITUDE OF THE VICEROY. 425

At first the relations between Mendoza and Cortes

were not of an unfriendly nature, but the extreme
punctiliousness which presently arose indicated a
49
growing jealousy, and the regulations defining cer
tain formalities which for the sake of harmony they
agreed to observe, were ineffective to prevent a rupture ;
and now when men became wild over the rich realms-
to be found in the north, each wished the other in the
foul pit. Cortes, determined that the exclusive right
of northern exploration to which he laid claim should
not be wrested from him, hastened his preparations,
and in spite of the viceroy s attempts to prevent him,
succeeded in despatching a portion of his fleet from
50
Acapulco, under the command of Francisco de Ulloa.
But Mendoza threw every possible obstacle in the
way, seizing upon the captain-general s remaining
vessels at Tehuantepec, forbidding any one to leave
New Spain without his permission, and sending a
strong force up the coast to prevent the entrance of
Ulloa s ships into any of the ports. messenger A
despatched to Cortes from Santiago in Colima was
seized and tortured, that information might be ob
tained from him; and shortly afterward, one of the
51
vessels putting into Guatulco under stress of weather,
the pilot and sailors were made prisoners. 52
All future efforts of the marquis to Drosecute dis-
49
They agreed to address each other by the title of seiioria; that the
viceroy when entertained at the house of the marquis should take the head
of the table, y a ambos se sirviese con sal va y maestresalas, that at the
viceroy s table no chair was to be placed at the head when Cortes was being
entertained, but that they should occupy the respective sides, the viceroy
being seated on the right. When together the viceroy was also to occupy the
right position. The arrangement of their seats in the church was, moreover,
decided upon, and the first rupture between them arose from an attempt of
the servant of Cortes to advance his master s chair to the line of the viceroy s.
PC HI If a, Not. Hist., 141-2.
00
Mendoza, however, though too late to prevent the departure of Ulloa,
detained six or seven vessels of the marquis, and ordered them not to go on
the expedition. Cortes, Descub., in Col. Doc. Ined., iv. 218.
51
Guatulco, a port on the western shore of the gulf of Tehuantepec.
Ogilby, 1671, writes A<juattdco, the next name west being Murili, Ai/init.ulco
Ctrpalifa; Dampier, 1699, Port Guatulco: Laet, 1633, Aguatulco; Wc&Ind.
Spieghel, 1624, Guatulco; Colom, 1663, Ayuatuko; Jefferys, Guatulco; Kiepert,
Huatuko. Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., ii. 348.
52
Y se perdid el navio. Cortes, Eacritos Sueltos, 303-4.
426 FUTILE ATTEMPT TOWARDS DISCOVERY.

coveries or obtain redress for his grievances were

futile. His prestige was lost, his power in the coun
53
try gone, and his petitions to the king unnoticed.
Thus harassed by his enemies and neglected by his
sovereign, the great conqueror thought once more to
plead his cause in person before the throne, and early
in 1540 he left forever the shores of Spain, which, New
after having been the scene of his grand achievements,
had now become the witness of his failures and deep
humiliation. 54
53
As early as February 1535 he complained that he did not receive
replies to letters addressed by him to the India Council. Escritos Sueltos,
260-1.
54
The exact date of his departure to Spain is not known, but he addressed
a letter from Habana to Oviedo, dated February 5, 1540. Oviedo, iv. 19.
I may mention as additional authorities on the preceding chapters the fol
lowing: Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, i. 5, 13-139; ii. 199-361; Calle, Mem.
y Not., 71-6; Ddvila Padilla, Hist. Fvnd. Mex., 105-583, passim; Ddvila,
Continuation, MS., 185-98, 284; Diezmos delndias, iv. 1-3; Fernandez, Hist.
Edes., 58-60; Florencia, Hist. Comp. deJesvs, 231-2; Cortes, Corresp. 366-72; ,

Gomara, Hist. Mex., 292; Gonzalez Ddvila, Teatro Edes., i. 19-28, 107-13,
222-3; Grijalva, Cron. S. August., 34; Mendieta, Hist. Edes., 222-736,
passim; Oviedo, iii. 521, 544; Ordenes de la Corona, MS., i. 10-11; Puga, Ced-
tdario, 21-118, passim, 167; Recop. de Ind., i. 543; ii. 25; Reales Ccdulas,
MS., i. 105; Torquemada, i. 605-13; iii. 35-9, 302-580, passim; Vctancvrt,
Menolog., 61-259, passim, 425-35; Id., Trat. Mex., 6-9, 17-18; Id., Chron.,
127-8; Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., ii. 179-362; iii. 83-4; xii. 133-562,
passim; xiii. 25-6, 213-50, 427-50; xiv. 142-7, 329^7; xxiii. 423-67; xxix.
326-577; Alaman, Disert., i. 203, 261, 267-8, 270, app. i. 28; ii. 33-6, 127-78,
passim; 206-318, passim; iii. 94-100, app. 9-11; Beaumont, Cron. Mich., ii.
479-80; iii. 138-553, passim; iv. 1-602, passim; v. 238-41; Id., MS., 122,
925; Alaman, in Prescott s Mex., i. 60; Bercerra Tanco, Felic. Mex., 1-109;
Concilios Prov., 1555-65, 213-335; Cavo, Tres Siglos, i. 71-151; Cabrera,
Escudo de Armas, 6-475, passim; Figueroa, Vindicias, MS., 106-9, 112;
Figueroa, Becerro, MS., 35, 41; Pap. Francis., MS., i. ser. i. No. 1; Fvnd.
Prov. Santiago, MS., 2-6; Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 147, 173-4; ii. 41-61,
190-7, 552; Monumen. Dom. Esp., MS., 61, 69, 76-9, No. ii. 240-1; No. v.
7-8; No. vi. 320-1, 352-4; Moreno, Fragment, de Quiroga, 1-202; Medina,
Chron. S. Diego Mex., 122-3, 236-46; Pizarro, Varones Ilustres, 120-1;
Ramirez, Doc., MS., 5-6, 216-63; Romero, Not. Mich., 9-25; Remesal, Hist.
Chyapa, 56-8, 106-52, 458, 465, 525-38; Rivera, Hist. Jal, i. 53-9; Centra
America, Extractos Sueltos, MS., 22; Salazar, Mex. in 1554, 53-4, 164-5;
Siguenza y Gongora, Anot. Crit., MS., 2-6, 28-35; Ternaux-Compans, Voy.,
se"rie i. torn. x. 287-8; ii. torn. v. 155-278, passim; Salazar, Conq. Mex.,
se"rie

441-57; Florida, Col. Doc., 119-39; Veitia, Linage, MS., 3-26; Doc. Edes.
de Mex., MS., i. No. v.; Arevalo, Compend., 98-100, 251; Arroniz, Hist, y
Cron., 57-62; Antinez, Mem. Hist. 132-4; Bartolache, Manif. Guad., 3-105,
and app.; Bustamante, Aparic. Guad., 5-75; Id., Manifest., 16, 22; Id.,
Inform., 1-26; Guadalupe, Col. Ob. y Opusc,, 1-815, passim; Heredia, Serm.
y Desert., Guad., iii. 1-29; iv. 1-55; v. 1-201; Hernandez, Comp. Geog.
Mich., 8; Iglesias y Conventos, 230-3, 268-73; Lorenzana, Hist. N. Esp.,
13-14, 35-6; Lacunza, Discurs. Hist., 458, 460-2; Lebron, Apolog. Jurid.,
1-124; Papeles en Derecho, pt. iv. ; Montemayor, Svmarios, 49, 150-2;
Morelli, Fasti Novi Orbis, 103-14; Nouvdles An. des Voy., xcix. 192; cxxxL
 AUTHORITIES. 427

245; Marcou, Notes, 5; Mich. Prov. S. Nic., 32-5, 101-2; S. Miguel, Mex. t
ii. 3-4, 13, 68-81; Hex. Not. Ciud. Mex., 400-5; Peralta, Not. Hist., 140-3,

162-3, 279-80; Conejares, Maravil. Aparic., 1-214; Cuatro Imdgencs, Milag ,

MS., 1-43; Doc. Holes. Mex., MS., i. No. v.; Conde y Oquendo, Disert. Ap.
Guad., i.-ii. Guridi, Aparic, Guad., 1-210; Gomara, Hist. Mex., ii. 87,
;

169-75; Beltrami, Mex., ii. 219-29; Crepo, Mem. Ajust., 5-6; Carriedo,
Estud. Hist., i. 104-5, 112-13; Episcopado Mex. 7; Frejes, Hist. Breve, 203,
,

Guadalupe, Inform., 1-26; Michuacan, Anal. Estad., 5; N. Esp. Brev. Res.,

i. 120-39; Mayer s Mex. Aztec., i. 139-42; Ribera, Gob. de Mex., i. 23, 57-60;

Repertorio Gen., 35-7; Id., Literat., i. 241-3; Prov. de Santo Evangelio, No.
iii.; Silicio, Foment. Col. Ind., ix. 32-47; Sardo, Relac. de Chalma, 1-142;
Parras, Conq. Jal, MS., 84-5, 222-65; Jalisco, Mem. Hist., 175-6; Viagero,
Univ., xxvii. 87; Touron, Hist. Gen. Am., vi. 34-6; Zamacois, Hist. M6j.,
iv. 470-715; v. 19-20, 105-26; Ribadeneyra, Man. Patronato, 400-8; Fricius,
Indianischer Relig., 22-44; Corral, Serm. Hist., pp. vii. 24; Cartas ^e Indias,
56-61, 684-870, passim; Aim. Calend., 1856, No. vi. 56; Brasseur de Bour-
bourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 732-3, 762-87; Bussiere, L Empire Mex>, 355-86;
Barros, Serm., 14-19; Cortes, Diario, 1820, iii. 155; Die. Univ.. passim;
El Liceo Mex., i. 163-73; Granados, Tardes Am., 332-9; Gordon s Hist. Geog.
Mem., 29; La Cruz, i. 201-8; La Estrella de el Norte, 3-29; Museo Mex., i.
165-197, passim, 447-51; Mosaico Mex., ii. 342, 461; Robertson s Hist. Am.,
ii. 141-5; Villa Senor, Teatro Am., i. 14-16, 28; Soc. Mex. Geog., Boltlin, i.
153-230; vii. 162-237; viii. 167-610; ix. 1-82, 2a 6p. iv. 639-42; Pap. Far,,
Y. No. ii. 58-6; cxliii. No. xi.