_Of the great festivities which took place in Mexico on account of
the peace which was concluded between our emperor and the king of
France; and of Cortes' second journey to Spain._
In the year 1538 intelligence arrived from Spain that our emperor, of
glorious memory, had repaired to France, and was most splendidly
received by the French monarch in the harbour of Aigues-Mortes. Here the
two monarchs met, embraced each other most affectionately, and concluded
a treaty of peace.[53] At this interview, which was celebrated by
various festivities, there was also present queen Eleanor, the mother of
the French king, and sister to our emperor.
In order to celebrate this happy event, the viceroy of New Spain,
Mendoza, the marquis del Valle, the royal auditors, and several of the
most distinguished Conquistadores gave splendid feasts. By this time
Cortes and the viceroy had become good friends again, after having been
for a length of time at variance with each other respecting the number
of Indians belonging to his marquisate, and on account of the favour
which the viceroy showed Nuno de Guzman. As far as I am able to judge,
such splendid tournaments, sham fights, masquerades, bull fights, and
public rejoicings, were never seen in Spain as took place in Mexico on
this occasion. Similar festivities were celebrated as in ancient Rome,
when a consul or a victorious general made a triumphal entry into the
city; and all these rejoicings were superintended by a Roman cavalier,
named Luis de Leon, who was said to be a descendant of some ancient
patrician family of Rome.
When all these festivities were ended, Cortes ordered the necessary
preparations to be made for his departure, and he invited me to
accompany him, promising to obtain for me from the council of the Indies
a grant of more lucrative townships than would be conferred upon me by
the royal court of audience in Mexico. I accordingly embarked for Spain,
and arrived there a couple of months before Cortes, who said he had been
detained by a bad leg, and because he had not so soon been able to
collect the quantity of gold he was desirous of taking with him on this
voyage. It was in the year 1540 that Cortes thus, for the second time,
arrived in Spain; and as the empress Isabella, of glorious memory, died
in the month of May of the preceding year, the whole of Spain was still
in deep mourning for her; and I, in my capacity of regidor of the town
of Guacasualco, and as the oldest of the Conquistadores, had likewise
put on deep mourning on arriving at the imperial court.
At this same time Hernando Pizarro, with his suite, consisting of above
forty persons, all in deep mourning, likewise arrived in Madrid, where
the court was then staying. Cortes and his suite arrived in the city
almost at the same moment, was splendidly received by order of the
council of the Indies, and took up his abode with the comendador Juan de
Castilla. Upon the whole he was treated with the utmost respect, for
whenever he went to attend the sittings of the council of the Indies,
one of the auditors was sent to meet him at the door, and a seat was
given him on the same bench with the president and the auditors.
Cortes never afterwards visited New Spain, for notwithstanding the
admiral of Castile, the duke of Bejar, the comendador-mayor of Leon, and
Dona Maria de Mendoza used all their influence with his majesty, he
never could obtain leave to repair thither again. Each time these
distinguished personages solicited the emperor, his majesty answered,
"That all the investigations against Cortes must first be brought to an
issue before he could grant him permission to return." Yet no one seemed
to stir in the matter, and the council of the Indies would not say
anything until his majesty should have returned from Flanders, whither
he was gone to punish the town of Ghent. Neither was Nuno de Guzman
allowed to return to New Spain, and though he was condemned in a heavy
fine, he was allowed to retain possession of his commendaries in the
province of Xalisco; and he likewise, with his suite, went about the
town of Madrid clad in deep mourning. And as Cortes, Pizarro, Guzman,
and several other personages of New Spain and Peru, were continually
before the eyes of the public, we were derisively dubbed the mourning
Indians of Peru. It was no joke, however, for Pizarro, for he was
shortly after imprisoned in the Mota of Medina.
I myself returned to New Spain, and the first thing I heard on my
arrival there was, that an insurrection had broken out among the
mountain tribes of Cochitlan, in the province of Xalisco, to quell which
the viceroy had despatched thither several officers, among whom was a
certain Christobal Onate. The Indians, however, defended themselves so
courageously that the civic authorities of Mexico applied for assistance
to Alvarado, who was at that time busily occupied in fitting out an
extensive armament in Guatimala, destined for China; yet Alvarado
readily consented to render the assistance required, and set out by
forced marches for Cochitlan with a large body of troops. In this
campaign he met with a fatal accident, which I will relate in a
following chapter. I have now to speak of two armaments which left New
Spain, one fitted out by the viceroy, the other by Alvarado.