_How the royal court of audience arrive in Mexico during Cortes'
stay in Spain, and what their first occupations were._
While Cortes was staying in Spain, and had already been created a
marquis, the royal court of audience appointed by his majesty arrived in
Mexico. This court consisted of a president, Nuno de Guzman, who was
previously governor of Panuco, and of four licentiates as auditors,
whose names were Matienzo of Biscay or Navarra, Delgadillo of Granada,
Maldonado of Salamanca, (not the licentiate Alonso Maldonado the Good,
who was governor of Guatimala,) and the licentiate Parada, who, up to
this moment, had lived at Cuba.
These gentlemen met with a most splendid reception in Mexico, and
commenced their operations about sixteen days after their arrival. None
of the subsequent viceroys or presidents possessed the extensive powers
granted to these men by his majesty. They had full power to distribute
the commendaries in perpetuity, and they were particularly desired to
reward the Conquistadores handsomely, and to give them the preference in
all matters.
These gentlemen made known their arrival in every town throughout New
Spain, and ordered the citizens to send their procuradores to them, each
provided with a list of the Indians in his province. Many days had not
elapsed before these procuradores and the Conquistadores made their
appearance in Mexico from all parts of New Spain. I myself repaired
thither as procurador syndic of the town of Guacasualco, but when I
found in what manner the auditors intended to treat the matter, I
hastened back to Guacasualco in order to elect the procuradores who were
to represent the interests of the latter place at the royal court of
audience, during the distribution of the commendaries in perpetuity.
Various disputes arose respecting this election, for every one was
desirous of choosing his particular friend; however, at length their
choice fell upon Luis Marin and myself; but when we arrived in Mexico
and the whole of us procuradores insisted upon a distribution in
perpetuity as his majesty had commanded, we found that a great change
had taken place. Nuno de Guzman, Matienzo, and Delgadillo were now quite
against this measure; and the two other auditors, Maldonado and Parada,
died of pleurisy shortly after their arrival in Mexico, and no doubt if
Cortes had been at that time in New Spain calumny would have accused him
of their death also. With respect to the distribution in perpetuity, I
have been assured by many credible persons that the factor was the only
man who stopped it from being carried into effect, for he had so far
gained the confidence of Guzman and Delgadillo, that they never did
anything without consulting him, and allowed themselves to be led
blindly by him in all matters. These gentlemen now opposed the
distribution in perpetuity, because they saw that the Conquistadores by
such a measure would become independent of them, and trouble themselves
no more about them. They consequently considered it more to their
interest to leave matters as they were, for then they could bestow and
take away Indians whenever they liked, by which they would always have
us at their mercy, and they themselves derive great power and riches.
The factor, Delgadillo, and Guzman likewise came to a secret
understanding with each other, that the first-mentioned gentleman should
repair to Spain in order to procure for Guzman the appointment of
governor of New Spain; for they had already learnt that Cortes did not
stand so high in his majesty's favour as at first, and that,
notwithstanding all his great interest at court, he had not been able to
obtain this appointment for himself. The factor accordingly embarked for
Spain, but he had not been many days at sea before he was overtaken by a
violent storm, and his vessel was wrecked off the coast of Guacasualco;
the factor narrowly escaped on shore in the boat, and here this project
ended.
The first thing which Nuno de Guzman and his colleagues did was to
institute an inquiry into the government of the treasurer Estrada, to
which he very patiently submitted. If this man had shown the determined
character we had expected of him, he would certainly have continued
governor of New Spain, for it was only a few months previously that his
majesty had conferred this appointment on him, with every approbation of
the conduct he had pursued in the government of the country; besides
which, Guzman had no further powers than those conferred upon him as
president of the royal court of audience, and even then he could not
make any distribution of lands or of Indians, unless it met with the
approbation of his colleagues. Every inhabitant of Mexico, and the whole
of the Conquistadores would have the more zealously supported Estrada if
he had shown any determination to maintain his authority, as he had
evinced the utmost impartiality in his government, and had scrupulously
acted up to the commands of his majesty; but the inquiry had scarcely
lasted a few days when he grew weary of offering any further resistance
to the court of audience, and he died shortly after of downright
vexation.
This new court of audience was altogether opposed to Cortes and his
adherents, in which partisan-like spirit they instituted an inquiry into
the conduct of Jorge de Alvarado, in his government of Guatimala, and
for this purpose a certain Orduna, the elder, of Tordesillas, was
despatched thither; but I am totally ignorant of the result of his
investigation. In the same way they attacked the government of Cortes,
and specially appointed for this purpose the fiscal and the factor
Salazar. During this investigation, Cortes was accused in open court of
so many base actions, and was altogether so grossly calumniated, that
the licentiate Altamirano, to whom Cortes had intrusted the sole care of
his possessions in New Spain, with cap in hand, stepped up in front of
the president and the auditors, and respectfully begged of them to
bridle the slanderous tongue of the factor, and to forbid him henceforth
to utter his low abuse of the marquis, a cavalier of unblemished
character, and the faithful servant of his monarch. He then demanded
justice of the factor, but very little notice was taken of his
remonstrances, for the next day the factor produced even more infamous
accusations, and the auditors countenanced this in so far that very high
words arose between the licentiate Altamirano on one side, and the
factor and the auditors on the other. At length Altamirano lost all
patience, drew his dagger, and would certainly have killed the factor on
the spot if he had not flown for protection behind the auditors. The
whole city broke out into open insurrection at this circumstance.
Altamirano was thrown into prison, and the factor was confined in his
own house. The whole of us Conquistadores, however, went in a body to
the president and interceded for Altamirano, so effectually, indeed,
that three days after, he was set at liberty again, and a reconciliation
was brought about between him and the auditors.
After this affair had blown over, another of a more serious nature took
place; namely, there arrived about this time in Mexico a relation of
Pamfilo Narvaez, named Zavallos, who had been despatched from Cuba by
Maria de Valenzuela, Narvaez's wife, to gain some information respecting
her husband, who had been appointed governor of the country on the
river Palmas; but, as was currently reported, had perished on the
expedition thither. Maria de Valenzuela had also given Zavallos full
authority to take possession of her husband's property wherever he might
find it, for she imagined he had taken considerable property with him to
New Spain. This man was secretly advised by the auditors to bring
actions against all those of the Conquistadores who had accompanied
Cortes on the expedition against Narvaez, injured his person, burnt his
property, and killed so many of his men. Zavallos immediately lent a
willing ear to this, and forthwith commenced an action of
indemnification against the Conquistadores, who all happened at that
time to be staying in the metropolis. There were altogether 250 of us,
and the whole were condemned in the sum of a certain number of pesos,
and banished to the distance of twenty miles from Mexico. But this
sentence of banishment was instantly withdrawn, and several of us were
not even asked for the fine in which we had been condemned, for it was
very small. But this was not all, for now other enemies of Cortes began
to show themselves, and accused him of having kept to himself a quantity
of the gold, silver and jewels taken at the conquest of the city of
Mexico; that he had even concealed the treasure of Quauhtemoctzin, and
merely given the Conquistadores eighty pesos a piece; that he had only
sent a very small portion of this treasure to his majesty, and that in
such a manner as if the present had come from him alone. Though these
complainants very well knew that the present which Cortes sent on that
occasion to Spain fell into the hands of the French freebooter, Jean
Florin, yet they not only demanded that Cortes should repay the money
captured by this corsair, but also the other treasures which he had
secretly kept to himself.
Various other accusations were brought against Cortes, and in every case
judgment was given in favour of the complainants, so that his
possessions were sold in payment of all demands. The auditors even went
so far as to contrive that Cortes' own brother-in-law, Juan Suarez,
should accuse Cortes, in open court, of the murder of his late wife,
Dona Catalina Suarez, which he sought to prove by witnesses.
With regard to the demands against Cortes respecting the prize-money of
Mexico and the treasure of Quauhtemoctzin, we, the friends of Cortes,
after obtaining leave of the alcaldes, assembled in the house of Garcia
Holguin, and signed our names to a paper, in which we declared that we
would not accept of any share of the fines in which Cortes had been
condemned, and that we had altogether no demand whatever of that nature
against him, as we were perfectly satisfied that the gold, with the
other valuable matters in question, had been duly forwarded to his
majesty, and that this was done with unanimous consent to prove our
fidelity and loyalty to the emperor. When the auditors were informed of
what we had done, they were going to have us all seized, on the ground
that we were not authorized to call any meeting or sign any document of
such a nature without their sanction; but we showed them the permission
we had received from the alcaldes, yet the auditors again sentenced us
to be banished twenty miles from Mexico. This sentence was soon after
indeed withdrawn as on the former occasion, but it nevertheless caused
us a great deal of vexation and sorrow.
The next thing the auditors did was to announce to the public that all
those persons who either descended from the Moors or the Indians, whose
relations or forefathers in the fourth degree had been burnt by the holy
inquisition, or had even been dismissed with the San Benito, should
leave New Spain within the space of six months, or forfeit the half of
their property. Many persons were accordingly called up to vindicate
themselves on this point, and several found their respectability sadly
impugned; yet there were only two persons who were obliged to leave New
Spain on this account.
With regard to the distribution of commendaries, the auditors fully
acted up to his majesty's commands, and they richly remunerated the true
Conquistadores; but the real cause of their downfall was the
immoderateness with which they allowed the Spaniards to mark slaves.
This was carried to so great a length in the province of Panuco, that
the whole of this territory became at length quite depopulated. Nuno de
Guzman had, altogether, something noble and frank about him, and when he
gave, it was with an unsparing hand. For instance, by way of a
new-year's gift he presented the accountant Albornoz with the township
of Guazpaltepec. Albornoz had just returned from Spain, with his wife
Dona Catalina de Loaisa, whom he had recently married, having also
obtained permission from his majesty to erect a sugar refinery at
Sempoalla, which a few years after was completely destroyed. If the
president Guzman pursued a ruthless course in the marking of slaves, and
tried all he could to injure Cortes, the auditor Delgadillo was
certainly no better. It was even said of him that he made grants of
commendaries in consideration of a certain per centage on their annual
produce. Besides this, he appointed his own brother Berrio alcalde-mayor
of the town of Guaxaca, where he oppressed and ill-used the inhabitants
in every possible manner to obtain gold. This auditor likewise
despatched a person of his own name as commandant to the township of
the Zapotecs, whose conduct was equally infamous there as that of Berrio
in Guaxaca. The other auditor, Matienzo, was a man far advanced in
years, and the only one who had not abused his power; but against the
others so many bitter complaints were made, and these so well confirmed
by letters from the monks and prelates, that the emperor ordered the
council of the Indies immediately to recall all the members of the royal
audience, to severely punish them, and to appoint other men of integrity
and intelligence. His majesty also desired that an inquiry should be
made as to the number of slaves which had been marked in the province of
Panuco. Matienzo was commissioned to make the inquiry, as this aged
auditor had shown greater love of justice than his colleagues.
From this moment all the permits which had been given to mark slaves
were considered as invalid, and the marking-irons were destroyed
wherever they were found, and henceforth it was forbidden ever again to
mark slaves. It was even ordered that a census should be taken of all
the slaves in New Spain, in order to prevent their being sold out of the
country, or even from being sent from one province into another. In the
same way it was declared that every distribution of commendaries made by
Guzman and his colleagues to their friends, relations, and other persons
of no worth, should be considered as invalid, and the property these
persons had obtained in this manner was immediately to be delivered up
again.
These commands produced endless lawsuits, for those in possession
employed every artifice to retain what they had once got. Some
maintained they belonged to the body of the Conquistadores, though there
was not a word of truth in it; others asserted that they had been
settled in the country for many years. Some, who could offer no good
excuse, asserted, at least, that they never belonged to the household,
or to the table companions of the auditors; declaring that they had only
called upon these gentlemen from time to time, and appeared in their
suite, to pay them the respect which was due to them in their capacity
of royal auditors. In short, each person defended his property as well
as he could, and, upon the whole, so successfully, that there were only
a few persons who were obliged to relinquish their possessions. The
accountant Albornoz was of this number, and he was again deprived of the
township of Guazpaltepec, which Guzman had given him as a new-year's
gift. In the same way a certain Villa Roel was obliged to deliver up
possession of the township of Quauhnahuac. Villegas, Guzman's
mayor-domo, and other officials and relatives of the auditors, had to
quit their commendaries.
As soon as the news arrived in Mexico that the auditors were to be
cashiered, Guzman and his colleagues determined to despatch a procurador
to Spain, to testify that they had faithfully fulfilled the duties of
their office, and acted up to his majesty's commands. For this purpose,
all the procuradores of the different towns of New Spain then staying at
Mexico, and the most distinguished of the Conquistadores, were desired
to assemble in the principal church, to elect the factor Salazar, when
it would be made to appear as if this man was chosen by our unanimous
consent to repair to Spain, and there to white-wash Guzman and his
colleagues. The auditors had fully expected we should have elected
Salazar, particularly as they had been so liberal in their grants of
commendaries to the Conquistadores.
This meeting actually took place, but so many persons forced their way
into the church who had no voice at all, creating so much disturbance
and noise, that it was impossible to restore order. We therefore
declared to the auditors that it was impossible to proceed with the
business of the day, and that we would assemble in their private
dwelling on the following morning. But as we plainly saw that their main
object was that we should select some one entirely devoted to their
interests, we determined also that a second agent should be chosen in
Cortes' interest. We then proceeded to the election, and our choice fell
upon Bernardino Vazquez de Tapia, in the latter's interest, and Antonio
de Carvajal, who commanded a brigantine during the siege of Mexico, was
chosen to represent the interest of the auditors; however, both these
gentlemen were more inclined to favour the cause of Nuno de Guzman than
that of Cortes: nor could we indeed blame them for this, the royal
auditors having been more bountiful towards us than Cortes. They had, at
least, in some measure acted up to his majesty's commands, by bestowing
commendaries upon us; whereas Cortes, at the time when he had full power
to reward us according to our deserts, totally neglected us. But as
Spaniards are ever loyal, and we could not forget that he had been our
captain, we still felt a great affection for him, more indeed than he
had shown us when it was in his power to have remembered us, according
to his majesty's express desire.
After we had thus selected our two procuradores, a lengthened discussion
took place as to the particular points that were to be impressed on his
majesty's mind. The president and his colleagues, on their part,
maintained that it was imperative on all the procuradores to declare
that it would be both injurious to the cause of religion and the true
interests of the crown if Cortes returned to New Spain, for his presence
would only create factions and disturbances among the inhabitants, and
a good government would be totally impracticable; that moreover it was
not unlikely he would seize the first opportunity of taking forcible
possession of the country, and declare his independence of the Spanish
crown. These assertions most of us Conquistadores positively denied, and
we maintained that his majesty had not a more devoted and faithful
servant than Cortes.
About this time also Alvarado returned from Spain, as governor and chief
justice of Guatimala, and comendador of Santiago. He was accompanied by
his newly-married wife, Dona Francisca de la Cueva, who, however, died
soon after her arrival at Vera Cruz, so that Alvarado and his suite
arrived in Mexico clad in the deepest mourning. As soon as he learnt the
nature of the petition which the auditors were going to despatch to his
majesty, he managed that we should draw up a joint address to the
emperor, in which we fully explained to his majesty the real object the
president and his colleagues had in view. When therefore the two
above-mentioned procuradores laid their papers before the council of the
Indies, the members of this body readily perceived that they contained
nothing but a rancorous feeling against Cortes. Not the slightest notice
therefore was taken of these representations, and the imperial decree
for the cashiering of the auditors was confirmed. Cortes was at that
time still in Spain, and it may naturally be supposed that all these
attempts to injure him turned out to his advantage, and added to his
honour.
Nuno de Guzman in the meantime sent out an expedition to Xalisco for the
colonization of this province, in which, it will be seen, he was more
fortunate than Cortes, who had previously made a similar attempt.