_Of other advantages which arose from our glorious conquests._
Having shown how many advantages the Indians derived from our glorious
conquests, I must now speak about the gold, silver, precious stones, and
other valuable matters, as cochineal, wool, sarsaparilla and cow-hides,
which are annually exported to Spain; also of the monies arising from
the royal fifths, and of the valuable presents which we forwarded to his
majesty during the course of the conquest; in which, of course, are not
included the quantity of valuable goods which merchants and travellers
take with them. Certainly, since the time that the wise king Solomon
built the holy temple of Jerusalem with the gold and silver of the
islands of Tarshis, of Ophir and Saba, we find no mention made in any
old histories of so much gold, silver, and of other riches, as are
continually being exported from this country to Spain. Many thousands of
pounds weight of gold and silver have indeed been also sent from Peru;
but at the time we conquered New Spain the name of Peru was not even
known, nor was it discovered till ten years after. We forwarded to his
majesty presents of immense value from the very beginning, for which and
other reasons I place New Spain at the head; for we very well know with
regard to the affairs of Peru, that the captains, governors, and
soldiers continually carried on civil wars with each other, in which the
lives of many Spaniards were sacrificed. We, in New Spain, on the
contrary, were never for a moment forgetful of the profound respect
which was due to our emperor and master; nor will our fidelity ever be
questioned, and whenever his majesty requires our services we are ready
with our property and our lives to obey his commands.
Let the kind reader reflect but for one moment on the towns and villages
which the Spaniards have already founded in these countries. Their
number is so extensive, that I must pass them by in silence. Seven
bishoprics have already been erected in New Spain; the very celebrated
city of Mexico is the see of an archbishop, and there are three royal
courts of audience. The reader would be astonished to see the number of
cathedrals, and the monasteries of the Brothers of Charity, and of the
Franciscan, Dominican, and Augustin friars; the hospitals, with their
endowments, and the church of our dear lady of Guadaloupe, at
Tepeaquilla, where Sandoval was stationed during the siege of Mexico:
also the holy miracles which have taken place in the country, and those
which happen daily, are astonishing; and we cannot sufficiently thank
God and the blessed Virgin, who gave us the power to conquer this
country, where everything has already become so Christian. In Mexico
there is an universal college, where grammar, rhetoric, logic,
philosophy, theology, and other sciences and arts are taught. In this
city even books are printed both in the Latin and Spanish languages, and
here also licentiates and doctors graduate.
I could enumerate many other matters of great importance, and describe
the numerous silver mines which are worked in New Spain, and the new
ones that are daily being discovered, and from which Spain draws so much
wealth; but I have stated sufficient to prove that our heroic deeds were
never surpassed in any age, and that no men ever subdued so many
kingdoms as we, the true Conquistadores, conquered for our emperor and
master: and though there were many brave men among us, yet I was not the
least among them, and now I am the oldest alive. I repeat it, I, I, I am
the oldest, and I have always served his majesty like a good soldier.
And here I must relate something after the manner of a dialogue. When
illustrious Fame resounded from one end of the world to the other our
glorious deeds of arms, and the important services which we had rendered
to God, our emperor, and the whole of Christendom, she cried aloud, and
said, that we were more justly entitled to and deserving of lucrative
possessions than those who had neither rendered his majesty any services
here nor in any other place. Where, she asks, are your palaces, castles,
and escutcheons, to witness of your heroic deeds to posterity, like the
escutcheons of so many illustrious families do of the deeds of their
forefathers, but which have not surpassed yours? Where, inquired
illustrious Fame, where are the Conquistadores, who escaped alive from
all those battles; where are the tombs of those great heroes who fell in
battle; where are their escutcheons?
I can answer this with few words: O, excellent and illustrious Fame, who
art praised and desired by all good and virtuous men: the malice and
envy of those who have sought to cast our heroic deeds into the shade
are not desirous of seeing you, nor even to hear your illustrious name
mentioned, that you may not praise us according to our deserts. Know
then, O Fame, that of the five hundred and fifty warriors who sailed
with Cortes from Cuba, that there are now, in the year 1568, while I am
writing this, only five of us alive, and that all the others were either
captured by the Indians, and sacrified to their idols, or were killed in
battle, or have since died in their beds! And with respect to their
tombs, I say that the bellies of the Indians were their sepultures, and
those parts of their flesh which the Indians did not eat themselves were
thrown to the lions, tigers, and serpents, which were kept by the
Mexicans in strong cages. These cages were their monuments and their
escutcheons; and those who died so cruel a death, who rendered such
important services to God and to their emperor, and who gave light to
those who lived in darkness, ought to have had their names perpetuated
in letters of gold; but they were never remunerated! They did not even
obtain wealth, although this is the goal of all men!
Illustrious Fame then inquired after those who had arrived with Narvaez
and Garay, and I answered her as follows: Narvaez's troops, without
including the sailors, amounted to thirteen hundred men, of which only
ten or twelve are now living, the greater part of the rest having fallen
in the battles, or were captured by the Indians, and sacrificed. The
troops of Garay, including those three companies which landed in San
Juan de Ulua, previous to his own arrival, amounted, according to my
computation, to about twelve hundred men, most of whom were captured by
the Indians of Panuco, and their flesh devoured at their festive orgies.
Of the fifteen men who survived the expedition of Vasquez de Aillon to
Florida, and joined our army, not a single man is now remaining!
I repeat, O illustrious Fame, that of Cortes' veteran troops there are
only five of us alive, all of us far advanced in years, sickly, and very
poor, with numbers of grown-up sons and daughters, and we are obliged to
drag on a life of misery and toil, with scarcely enough to support our
families! And now, O Fame, since I have told you everything you wished
to know respecting our palaces, our escutcheons, and our tombs, lift up
your excellent and honest voice, and resound our deeds of valour
throughout the whole world, that malice and envy may no longer obscure
their glory! This, Fame answered she would do with the greatest delight;
but added, she was surprised that the best commendaries had not been
presented to us, particularly as his majesty had issued commands to that
effect. Illustrious Fame then went on to say, that the deeds of the
courageous and spirited Cortes would always be considered inestimable,
and might be compared to those of the most renowned generals; but that
the historians Gomara, doctor Illescas, and others, make all our
discoveries and conquests redound to the honour of Cortes alone, and
never so much as mention any of our names with praise; but at present
she was delighted to find that I had written a faithful account of the
conquest, without exaggeration or fulsome flattery, and not, as Gomara,
in the praise of one officer alone. Fame then promised, in the goodness
of her heart, that she would announce all this to the world; adding,
that wherever my book was published persons would everywhere recognize
in it impartiality and the naked truth.
A certain doctor, who is one of the members of the royal court of
audience, once asked me, how it came that Cortes, in his despatches and
during his personal interviews with his majesty, never strove to obtain
anything for us, the true Conquistadores, though it was with our
assistance he obtained the distinguished appointment of governor of New
Spain? To this I answered, and must still answer, that when Cortes
received the appointment of governor he immediately took the best
commendaries to himself, and imagined that he would remain uncontrolled
master of New Spain for life, and that the distribution of the
commendaries would continue in his hands. He therefore considered that
it would be superfluous to solicit anything for us, as he would have it
in his own power to do what he liked; but after his majesty had given
him a marquisate, his majesty refused to reappoint him governor: and so
it happened that Cortes, in soliciting honours for himself, allowed the
best opportunity to pass by of making some provision for us. It was
certainly not his majesty's fault that our services were never rewarded;
for when he was informed by several cavaliers of Mexico that Cortes had
taken the best townships and districts of New Spain to himself, and had
presented others to his relations and friends recently arrived from
Spain, his majesty issued commands that Cortes' companions in arms
should likewise be handsomely rewarded. Soon after this his majesty
left, for Flanders, where he most probably lost sight of the matter
altogether. If Cortes immediately after the conquest had divided the
whole country into five equal parts, and had set one of these with the
most lucrative townships apart for the crown, he would have done much
better. Then he would have had one fifth and a half for the churches and
cloisters, and for those cavaliers who had served in his majesty's
armies in the campaigns of Italy, and those against the Moors and Turks;
and the other two fifths and a half ought to have been distributed among
the Conquistadores in perpetuity. This division would certainly have met
with his majesty's approbation, particularly as the whole conquest never
put the crown to any expense.
In the first times, moreover, we did not know before what tribunal we
were to lay our complaints and petitions, and we accordingly put our
whole trust in Cortes, as our general. It was not until we found that
Montejo, by applying personally to his majesty in Spain, procured for
himself the appointment of governor and chief justice of Yucatan,
besides other rewards; and that Ordas, in a similar manner, obtained
honours and lucrative commendaries for himself; and that Alvarado, after
throwing himself at his majesty's feet, obtained the appointment of
governor and chief justice of Guatimala and Chiapa, besides a gift of
extensive lands; and that, lastly, Cortes was created a marquis, with
the appointment of captain-general of New Spain and of the South Sea: it
was not, I say, until we were taught experience by these facts, that we,
the large body of the Conquistadores, likewise despatched agents to
Spain, to obtain for us in perpetuity the commendaries that should
become vacant. Our claims were then gone into, and pronounced to be
just, and his majesty instructed the royal auditors, whom he despatched
to Mexico, to consider the whole of the Indians of New Spain as if they
had not yet been distributed, and they were to deprive all those of
their possessions whom Cortes had so richly remunerated; that the most
lucrative commendaries were to be distributed among the veteran
Conquistadores, and all the remainder to be retained in the patronage of
the crown. But all this ended in smoke, as the very men whom his majesty
intrusted to carry out his commands either died too soon, or were averse
to the distribution of the commendaries in perpetuity; for they readily
perceived how soon their power and influence in the country would be at
an end if they carried out this measure. I must, however, do Nuno de
Guzman and the other auditors the justice to say, that whenever there
were any commendaries vacant, they always first remembered the
Conquistadores, though their conduct was rather harsh towards the Indian
population. However, these auditors were very soon deprived of all
power, by the disputes in which they became involved with Cortes, and
the abuse they made in the marking of slaves.
In the following chapter I will give some further account of the
question respecting a distribution of the Indians in perpetuity.