History of Mexico (Bancroft)/Volume 2/Chapter 14

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

 

CHAPTER XIV.

THE FIRST AUDIENCIA AND ITS MISRULE.

1528-1529.

Oidores Appointed — Stringent Measures Proposed against Cortés — Guzman Made President — Power and Jurisdiction of the Audiencia — Its Instructions — Laws of Alfonso the Wise — Reception of the New Rulers — Their Avarice Excited — Intrigue against Cortés — Robbery and Extortion — Abuse of Friars and Clergy — Residencia of Cortés — The Bishop's Anathema — Shameless Conduct of Oidores — Guzman's Palliative Schemes of Conquest — Smuggling Despatches.

The friends of Velazquez and of Narvaez, together with those gratuitous enemies whom the deeds of the conqueror brought into being among the needy and envious, continued to vex the ears of the emperor and his advisers with complaints of Cortés. An important accession to their ranks was Albornoz, who just at this time arrived at Seville with treasure for the crown,^[1] and whose ill-will toward Cortés readily induced him to lend aid to their projects. Since Salazar and Peralmindez were his creatures, favorable reports concerning them imposed upon the good-nature of Cobos, and lent a tinge of color, unconsciously to the secretary, to the representations made by him to the emperor, who, while little apt to take unquestioned the statements of any man, well knew the tried worth of this faithful servant. Doubts of the fealty of a powerful vassal beyond the seas were certainly not out of place, as precedents to justify them were not wanting; while the disturbed condition of New Spain formed a base sufficient for the suggestions which now came to Charles, from the colony itself as well as from the wiser among his advisers, that no man unassisted was able to bring order out of the chaos. Aided by the deliberations of the India Council, the emperor determined to send to Mexico an audiencia such as had been established at Santo Domingo,^[2] which should hear and determine the affairs of the settlers in New Spain; which should put an end to quarrels among Spaniards and protect the long-suffering natives; which should submit Cortés to the residencia he demanded, and the royal officials to an examination of their accounts and conduct. At the time the crown was unable to fix upon a capable man for the presidency, but the oidores were appointed. These were four licentiates: Francisco Maldonado, a native of Salamanca; Alonso de Parada, who had lived in Cuba for several years; Diego Delgadillo of Granada; and Juan Ortiz de Matienzo, a Biscayan.^[3] They were ordered to embark at once, and in order that they might be treated with greater respect on the voyage they were given command of the vessels which conveyed them. Since in the city of Mexico there was no public building suitable for their reception, the emperor wrote to Cortés requesting him to give them accommodation in his palace.

Soon after the arrival of Albornoz, tidings came to court that Fray Diego Altamirano and Pedro de Salazar, sent by Cortés with gold for his father, intended to land in Portugal that they might smuggle the treasure, and any letters they might bring, into Medellin.^[4] Orders were issued at once to watch for and seize the vessel, and the Portuguese authorities were requested to receive the treasure for account of the Spanish crown.^[5] This added rumor served to fan the smouldering embers of suspicion against Cortés and to whet the eager envy of his foes. Narvaez and his friends presented a lengthy memorial to the emperor, insisting that he should be punished;^[6] the sudden taking-off of so many persons who having thwarted his interests gave color to the charge, now renewed by Albornoz, that he had poisoned them; his agents defrauded the crown in Spain, while across the Atlantic he himself plotted treason. Even the puissant nobles who ever stood steadfast for the absent one were powerless now. Such an effect did this combined attack have upon the emperor and council that, shortly after orders had been despatched for Aguilar to rule alone, the matter of providing a president for the new audiencia was held in abeyance, while preparations were making to send Pedro de la Cueva to Mexico with power to deal summarily with Cortés and his confederates, if guilty, bestowing his pueblos upon deserving conquerors.^[7]

But these measures were of no effect, for while they were still unperfected there came a letter from Cortés,^[8] together with the certificates of the physicians who attended Ponce, and the project was abandoned. Orders were given, however, that any relations sent by Cortés should not be published, and that all ships about to sail for the Indies should be detained, that he might not learn what was going on till some definite action had been taken. But when Altamirano and Salazar without delay came on from Lisbon, the emperor was still further mollified, although the letters and treasures brought by them were seized. Just then, too, Pedro de Alvarado arrived at Seville, and was ordered to court post-haste, and Charles, well pleased at the coming of a person so competent to give an account of affairs in New Spain, as well as desirous of knowing what had taken place in Guatemala, further postponed definite action.^[9] The narrations of Altamirano and Salazar, supplemented by the account of Alvarado, who declared that Cortés would come to Spain at the least intimation of the emperor's wish, caused the tide to turn in his favor. It was shown that he had conducted himself obediently and modestly during the government of Ponce, as well as since that time, and that he had suffered many indignities at the hand of Estrada. This was additional cause for action, and the appointment of a president for the new audiencia now engrossed the emperor's attention.

The case was urgent, and the man to be appointed was to hold office only until such time as it should be determined what was to be done with Cortés. Owing to these considerations the choice was not made with very great care, the post being given to Nuño de Guzman, governor of Pánuco. Since his arrival in America Guzman had been busy trying to enlarge his jurisdiction, for to his insatiate mind his petty government seemed far too small. Thwarted in New Spain, he formed the bold resolve of appealing to the emperor to decide a quarrel in which he was clearly in the wrong; and ignorant of the good fortune that had befallen him, he despatched Caniego as procurador to Spain. The emissary came to court at the very time when the hounds were in full cry after their quarry, and he forthwith joined the pack. He not only supported the accusations made by the others, but alleged that Cortés was smelting gold secretly in his palace, and that he had ships in readiness at a port in the South Sea for the purpose of making his escape with the treasure. Salazar and Peralmindez, he averred, were upright officials, but Estrada was as great a tyrant as Cortés, and there was sore need of a governor and a juez de residencia m New Spain where the emperor and his orders were ignored. Caniego's assertions had a certain weight in hastening the resolution of the monarch. The powerful friends of the appointee had not failed to present in the best light his qualifications for the post of president, notably his standing as an able and even brilliant lawyer, a man above all needed to guide the deliberations of an audiencia; and his energy and firmness, which were indispensable qualities for one destined to cope with a person of the wily and aggressive nature of Cortés. Indeed, the disordered condition of affairs in New Spain, bandied as they were by irresponsible factions which found security in the remoteness of the only feared authority, demanded the supervision of a sagacious mind with a firm hand. On their part the friends of Cortés made light of his story, and as Guzman's evil deeds were not yet known in Spain, no great efforts were made to prevent his appointment to the presidency, for it was generally considered that as he was to have no vote, the oidores could control him easily were he viciously inclined. That it should fall to the lot of such a wretch to become the first purely civil magistrate sent by the crown to New Spain, was an unfortunate circumstance. He was possessed of bravery as are all great villains; cowards were rare in those days. His avarice was of that quality which knew no pity, exceeding that of Pedrarias Dávila himself, who was at the time holding sway in the south. Luckless land! with two such rulers as representatives of European civilization and the church of Christ! Guzman was ordered to appoint a deputy to govern Pánuco during his absence, and to await the coming of his associates before going to Mexico.

And now the oidores were hurried off to New Spain, for it was the middle of the year, and necessary that without further delay the reins should be taken from the nerveless grasp of Estrada.^[10] The cédula appointing them was dated at Burgos December 13, 1527, and gave jurisdiction over the country lying between the capes of Honduras and Higueras, and the cape of Florida, including the provinces round these capes, and those extending to the South Sea, all of which were embraced under the general term of New Spain.^[11] They were invested with greater authority than was permitted to the kindred tribunal at Santo Domingo,^[12] the instructions being in amplification of those given to Ponce de Leon. They were to retain the staffs of justice to be taken from present holders, and determine all causes, civil and criminal, with appellate as well as original jurisdiction.^[13] The residencia of the existing officials must be proclaimed, and the pertinent features thereof embodied in an exhaustive report to the India Council, accompanied by the opinion of the audiencia.

The treasurer, factor, and veedor were to be sent to Spain, but only after a satisfactory examination of their accounts. The audiencia, conjointly with Albornoz, whose accounts were also to be investigated, were to appoint deputies to serve during the absence of their principals, and neither the contador, treasurer, nor veedor was to engage in business or to hold Indians in encomienda. A full statement of all accounts must be sent immediately to Spain; no one was to be in arrears, and all fines imposed up to this time were to be collected. The best method of administering justice must be considered, and offences punished without fail, judges guilty of malfeasance having to pay the cost of remedies. No oidor or judge could sit in judgment of a matter in which a relative within the second degree of kinship was interested.^[14] Lawyers were to be allowed in the colony, that the wheels of justice might aot be entirely blocked by ignorance of forms on the part of suitors, provided they undertook no unjust causes nor sought to interpose delays in the determination of suits.^[15]

A full report was to be sent to Spain on the condition and resources of the country; the number, character, and treatment of the natives; the names, standing, and services of the conquerors and settlers, with the extent and nature of the encomiendas held. A score of inland towns and the seaports were designated as political centres, and a memorial should be sent in concerning the number of regidores, and the like, needed in these and in other cities and villas, together with a list of meritorious persons fit to hold these offices, conquerors being preferred. After reserving for the crown such lands and natives as might seem proper, and a further sufficient reservation being made for future settlers, the land and Indians remaining were to be apportioned equitably in encomiendas to deserving persons, subject to royal confirmation. The first preference must be given to conquerors, especially to married men, for they would be more likely to remain in the colony, and accord better treatment to the natives. As extravagance was a leading cause for oppressing the natives, the sumptuary laws must be enforced^[16] and gambling restricted.^[17]

The just amount of tribute to be paid by crown tenants and by natives belonging to the crown was to be fixed, and provinces where the precious metals and stones existed must be especially noted, the silver hill said to exist in Michoacan being reserved for the crown. The advisability of establishing a mint at Mexico must be considered.

Many of these and other matters connected with administration, notably the conversion and protection of the natives, were to be discussed and determined in a council assisted by religious and secular prelates, and prepared for its important task by a solemn invocation of dive guidance during the deliberations, As for the audiencia and its officers, special ordinances were issued for their government. This body was to sit daily, except on a dies non, beginning at an hour varying with the seasons, any oidor tardy or absent without good cause being fined. In all matters of more than trival import there must be at least three votes in accord. Only the members of the tribunal were to be present at the time of voting, and in all matters their votes, which were to be kept inviolably secret, were to be recorded by the secretary, in a book kept for the purpose, before the decision was made public.^[18] Armed with these extraordinary powers, the oidores arrived at Vera Cruz the 6th of December, 1528. It would seem that from the beginning they resolved to stretch to its utmost limit the authority given them. Determining not to await the arrival of their president they sent him word of their intention,^[19] and went on at once to the capital, accompanied by the three regidores of that city sent by the ayuntamiento to do them honor. At Mexico that body had been busied for several days preparing for their reception, and they made their entry with great pomp, under triumphal arches bearing inscriptions hailing their coming as blessed since it was in God's service that they came.^[20] Although Matienzo was the oldest and most infirm of the four, Maldonado and Parada had fallen victims to the hardships of the voyage and the treachery of the climate shortly after their arrival in the country,^[21] leaving their two associates in undisputed possession of power. The president did not arrive until the end of the month, entering upon his duties for the first time on the 1st of January, 1529, at a joint meeting of the audiencia and the cabildo held for the election of municipal officers, as was customary at the beginning of the year.

The valley of Mexico, with its numerous towns, teeming with a busy population, and rich in products of the soil and workshop; its stately capital, wherein concentrated the wealth of the whole country — it must have seemed a paradise to the not opulent oidores, and to Guzman, fresh from the wilderness of Pánuco. From the beginning of their rule they were seized by an insatiable avarice to which all things were made subservient. Knowing that his hold on office was provisional at the best, the president above all determined to take advantage of opportunities which at any time might cease, and no persuasion was needed on his part to gain the active coëperation of his colleagues. They had already been persuaded by the wily factor Salazar, who found more than one powerful reason to prompt him in dancing attendance on those in power. Having won their appreciation with liberal gifts, he continued to point the way to extortion and opposition, wherein he shared to a great extent, and he figured indeed as the leading adviser in nearly every evil transaction. Under his experience and advice the audiencia cast aside all duty to the emperor, to justice, and to humanity.^[22] They strengthened their hands for evil by usurping the functions of the ordinary ministers of justice, while the suppression of all letters directed to persons in Spain which contained complaints of their conduct shielded, if but temporarily, their iniquities.^[23]

They kept themselves fully apprised of all occurrences and when tidings came to Mexico of the reception of Cortés at court and the high favor he enjoyed there, they feared lest he might come back clothed with an authority greater than he had enjoyed previously, and decided upon a measure which seemed to them best calculated to prevent this. They summoned the procuradores of the cities and towns to Mexico, ostensibly to treat of matters of general public importance, but in reality to sign a petition to the emperor that Cortés should not be allowed to return to New Spain. The delegates brought with them the lists of natives called for by the instructions to the audiencia, and demanded that the repartimientos should be allotted as had been ordered. This, however, did not suit the purpose of the triumvirate, and the demand was refused. In this Guzman was guided by Salazar, who suggested that by giving and taking away Indians at its will the audiencia would be more powerful and more feared.^[24] In taking away repartimientos — and they now took them from Jorge de Alvarado, Gonzalo Mejía, and others — it was asserted that they were to be reserved for the crown, but they were given to men more pliable than their late holders.

At length, thinking that in this way and by the use of other questionable means the convention had been sufficiently well packed, Guzman broached his design against Cortés. But many of the procuradores were conquerors, and with few exceptions refused to sanction any action prejudicial to their old commander. The wily president saw that he had gone too far, and now proposed, with apparent good faith, that a commission should be sent to Spain to represent the real wants of the colony. The proposition was accepted, but when it came to a choice of commissioners and the partisans of the audiencia put in nomination Antonio de Carvajal and Bernardino Vazquez de Tapia,^[25] declared enemies of Cortés, the veterans, whose trust in him had come to be part of their being, refused to take further part in the proceedings. For this refusal, the sturdy delegates, to the number of one hundred, were banished from the city, and the candidates were elected. They were well furnished with gold wherewith to buy favor at court, and instructed to say that, had not Estrada thwarted it, Cortés would have succeeded in his treasonable design, that he went to Spain only because of this discovery, and that the well-being of the colony demanded that he should not return. The privilege of a vote was to be asked for on the part of Guzman, and in order to ward off the blow which the audiencia knew would come, the bishops were to be accused of meddling in secular matters under pretence of protecting the Indians, while against the friars it was to be alleged that a blind deference to Cortés, if unreproved, would bring ruin on New Spain. At this time Pedro de Alvarado arrived from Spain, and busied himself in drawing up a representation in favor of Cortés, which was signed by all who had refused Guzman's request, besides others whom he had cajoled or forced into the support of his plan. Alvarado was on this occasion a stanch supporter of his old commander. Foiled in their endeavor to warp the popular will, the partisans of the audiencia redoubled their efforts to defame Cortés. Later, Salazar ata social gathering made a remark derogatory to the emperor as well as calumniatory of the captain-general.^[26] The circumstance came to the knowledge of Alvarado, who appeared before the audiencia sking leave to challenge Salazar, but the permission was refused, and Guzman issued a decree declaring that Alvarado "lied like the foul traitor that he was," for Salazar had never uttered such a word.

Meanwhile the plundering schemes of Guzman and his confederates widened like a dread disease, till Spaniards and natives groaned under the infliction. Their first step had been to extort gold from those prominent chiefs whom as yet they dared not seize. In this they were well served by a certain native interpreter, at whose suggestion all caciques were ordered to present themselves in Mexico for the consideration of matters of importance. In accordance with custom the chiefs brought with them rich gifts, which served but to whet the unappeasable appetite of the recipients, and the most generous of the givers were summoned again and again. Among these was Francisco Caltzontzin, king of Michoacan, who succumbed to his generosity, for at length Guzman caused him to be lodged in his own house, where he was constantly subjected to exactions of treasure, which the president retained for himself. Repartimientos were seized in every direction, and the natives forced to labor without reward. The complaint of an individual thrall was punished with stripes and torture; at the least sign of discontent whole towns were declared in rebellion, subdued by force of arms, and sold into captivity in provinces remote from those of their birth. By their victims this tyranny was contrasted with the treatment they were wont to receive from Cortés, whereat they all the more revered his name. These wrongs they dared commit in the very neighborhood of the capital, though more especially in the outlying provinces.^[27]

One of the principal causes of complaint against the audiencia was a too free permission to brand natives, and it was alleged that the privilege was paid for by associations formed for the purpose. So many were branded and exported that some districts were well nigh depopulated, partly also owing to the retirement toward the interior of large numbers. The clergy, headed by Bishop Zumárraga, who had been invested with the title and duties of protector of Indians, were powerless to stay these outrages, for to men who held in contempt the commands of their earthly sovereign, and in whose natures there was no instinct of piety, the thunder of the church was indeed an empty sound. On one occasion Guzman and his colleagues were present at mass when an over-zealous friar took occasion to upbraid them from the pulpit. He was forcibly removed by order of the president, and ordered into exile; the bishop himself being threatened with violence for daring to remonstrate.^[28]

The persecution of Spaniards was directed against nearly every conqueror and wealthy man not of the clique favored by Salazar, particularly the friends of Cortés. With the power given the audiencia to reform the distribution of repartimientos, there was little difficulty in finding the needful pretence to dispossess holders from their estates, and bestow them on favorites, after appropriating to themselves the richest.^[29] Those against whom this process of summary eviction did not avail were attacked with judicial arraignment for having infringed the laws concerning gambling, payment of tithes, and the like, and as false witnesses could always be found where true evidence failed, fines were levied to an enormous extent, and collected by hasty sale of property at ruinous prices, when the money was not forthcoming. A. large part of these fines found their way to the pockets of the audiencia, by virtue of a decree which assigned certain classes of tribunal revenue to the settlements for constructing roads and other public works.^[30] Against other victims of their greed or hatred private snits were promoted, by which means both passions were appeased. For instance, the wife of Pánfilo de Narvaez, apprehensive on his account, sent from Cuba an agent, Zavalos, with authority to collect what belonged to her husband. The reason of his coming was not known in Mexico, and the oidores easily persuaded him to complain before them for the ill treatment of Narvaez, and loss of his property, against all those soldiers of Cortés who had accompanied him in the expedition to Zempoala, and who were at this time in Mexico. In consequence two hundred and fifty of them were arrested, muleted in different amounts, and banished to the distance of five leagues from the capital.^[31]

The members of the audiencia were always prepared to remit the sentence of fine, imprisonment, or exile, on receiving a substantial bribe. Indeed, a large proportion of the suits were brought to intimidate the defendant into such a course, so that the plaintiff was often the creature of the judge; or, if not, he might be mulcted for defamation or other offence, if the opposite party bribed the judges. Appeals only evoked bitter persecution.^[32]

Cortés was, after all, the chief object of attack, for his wealth, and for his hostile attitude against Guzman as the aggressive governor of Pánuco. Fines innumerable were levied upon his estates where seizures could not be made, and his agents suffered not a little in seeking to protect the interests intrusted to them.^[33] This vindictiveness was carried out chiefly under cover of the residencia to which the audiencia had been ordered to submit Cortés and other royal officers.^[34] Immediately on arriving, they took steps to call witnesses and frame questions for indictments. These embraced the usual points concerning malfeasance by the executive; maleadministration of justice; disobedience of royal orders; neglect or perversion in connection with revenue; favoritism and other abuses in bestowal of offices, and in supervision of municipal affairs; oppression or neglect of the natives, and social misdemeanor, relating to immorality, gambling, and blasphemy. Besides these there were the special charges sent in since the first year of the conquest by the royal officers and other enemies, embracing the disloyal intent to revolt from the allegiance to Spain, with the aid of Spanish and native confederates, supported by artillery and forts; the use of regal ceremonies; the embezzlement of several millions in treasures and rental; the acceptance of a special fifth, like that of the sovereign, and the withholding of revenue due to the crown; the appropriation of provinces assigned to the crown, and of a million and a half of vassals, with some two hundred rent-rolls; abuse and outrages against private and official persons, including the murder of his wife and of the two royal commissioners, Ponce de Leon and his successor.

The preparations made, the residencia was proclaimed February 11, 1529. All persons were couraged to come forward and enter complaints, no matter how trivial or ill founded, or even if devoid of an y foundation. Envy and discontent during a series of years had gathered in some quarters and concentrated against Cortés as head of the faction which had caused their real or fancied injuries. The charges sometimes assumed the form of pure calumnies instigated by blind hatred. Few witnesses dared testify in favor of the accused, save in a negative manner, and this feature tended to stamp the entire testimony as of little or no value. Nevertheless the audiencia declared as proven that Cortés had in 1519 usurped the supreme authority by wrongful means, and was consequently guilty of illegal and disloyal conduct in punishing those who had opposed his authority, such as Narvaez, Villafañe, and Tapia, and in the enactment of many measures which might have been justifiable in a legally appointed officer. These charges were followed by various indictments for injury committed against the person and property of opponents. Treasonable utterances and acts were enumerated, also embezzlements and seizures. The torture of Quauhtemotzin, the execution of caciques and vassals by the thousands, and the desolation of provinces for gold and slaves, were prominently noted among his crimes by Guzman, from whom they came with appropriate grace. The operations against Garay and Olid were not omitted, and his conduct in relation to Ponce de Leon and Aguilar gave rise to several disloyal charges, although their death was not openly laid upon him.^[35]

The agents of Cortés, Diego de Ocampo and Licentiate Altamirano, filed their refutation of the charges through García de Llerena, accompanied by countercharges for malicious attacks on their principal, and for spoliation of his estates, and this in so fearless a manner as to bring upon them the wrath of this most just audiencia. Altamirano was exiled, after losing his property, and Llerena was forced to seek refuge inasanctuary. Their successful defiance of the church so far had made the audiencia wholly regardless of its protests, and Delgadillo proceeded to forcibly take forth Llerena for exemplary dealing, driving back at lance-point the body of friars led by the bishop elect in defence of the victim and of the sacred rights of the temple. After this extreme outrage nothing remained but to launch the ban of excommunication against the desecrators. As this ban affected only the two oidores, no popular demonstration occurred, as with Salazar in 1525 to compel submission, and the hardened oidores took no notice of it, but proceeded severely against their prisoner, whereupon the ban was reissued.^[36] When Cortés returned from Spain, fresh replies were made to the indictment against him, and it remained pending for several years before the Council of the Indies, receiving little more attention than it deserved. A few fines were about all the penalty inflicted.^[37]

The proceedings in the residencias of the royal officials went on according to the feelings of the members of the audiencia in each particular case. Estrada wisely reminded the emperor of the old quarrel with Guzman, and requested that the president should not sit in judgment upon him. The request was granted and the rectitude of his rule was established, but the turn affairs had taken so weighed upon him that vexation of spirit soon brought about his death.^[38] Salazar and Peralmindez were also held blameless, and Guzman praised them highly to the emperor. Shortly after arriving, the audiencia sought to interfere also in Guatemala, and sent Francisco de Orduña to take the residencia of Jorge de Alvarado, as is related elsewhere.^[39]

Among the three members of the audiencia Matienzo was the least culpable, for Delgadillo vied with Guzman in arbitrary acts. All three, moreover, in everything save the paramount matter of moneygetting, were greatly influenced by favorites, and these of both sexes, for all were given to gallantry, Delgadillo excessively so.^[40] In this connection they were not ungenerous, but then their liberality cost nothing save bitter denunciation and lament on the part of those from whom the gifts, in treasure and estates, had been wrung.^[41]

Even their few aids to progress and beneficent acts were but the means of further extortions. Delgadillo, for instance, fostered sericulture, but his operations were conducted in such a manner as finally to bring upon him a fine. Antequera, the capital of Oajaca, was founded by this audiencia, but upon land wrested from Cortés; and with a view to injure him.

Where oppression had not produced the hatred of all save their own creatures, and those whose interest lay in courting their favor, the estrangement increased rapidly. In less than a twelvemonth the general discontent had reached a point which bordered on disloyalty.^[42]

Guzman was too sagacious long to be blind to the signs of storm fast coming from across the sea. And now letters from Spain plainly warned him of his approaching downfall. The brilliant scheme of further conquest planned by Cortés had been made apparent to the crafty lawyer who had just presided at his trial. It was no mere after-math for the gleaner's hand which awaited him first afield, but an abundant harvest, and to Guzman's ignoble nature, that Cortés was absent was no reason why another might not forestall him.^[43] Hoping, therefore, to regain by an offer of subjugated provinces the favor he had forfeited, and moved by a desire to take advantage of the errors into which his colleagues were sure to fall, he now proposed an expedition to Jalisco. On their part the oidores for the furtherance of their own ends desired his absence, and consented readily that the president should become its leader.

By generous gifts to captains in his confidence, chief among whom were Cristóbal de Oñate, Rodrigo de Albornoz, and Peralmindez Chirinos, of pueblos which of right belonged to Cortés and others, by means of liberal bounties and seductive promises to some, while the unwilling were forced to enlist or to send substitutes, Guzman succeeded in recruiting a sufficient number of men in Guatemala, Oajaca, and elsewhere. He filled his military chest by seizure of funds belonging to the crown, an act involving a constructive arrest of the treasury officials who opposed him,^[44] and the extortion of forced loans from the wealthy of the city, though this was forbidden by law. Preparations for the campaign though hasty were thorough, and greatly facilitated because of the almost omnipotent power enjoyed by the president, and just before Christmas^[45] he hastened to his usual pleasant pastime in fresh fields at the head of the largest and best equipped army that as yet had marched under the royal banner in the New World, consisting as it did of two hundred horse, three hundred foot soldiers, and some artillerymen with twelve guns, together with at least ten thousand Tlascaltecs and Mexicans.^[46] Two chaplains, joined afterward by two others, accompanied the force, and Guzman took with him the unfortunate Caltzontzin, who, after having been forced to minister to the avarice of his Jailer, was so soon to become his victim.^[47]

Nevertheless, though rogues fell out honest men did not receive their dues; the oidores, freed of Guzman's rivalry, kept the shameless tenor of their course, reckless of the reckoning-day. The Spanish government had received the petition instigated b the audiencia and praying that Cortés should not be allowed to return to New Spain, but with it was the representation forwarded by Pedro de Alvarado, as well as letters from many of those who had signed the first of these documents, making it evident that they had done so under compulsion. Then came the letter of Zumárraga and the clergy, which the bishop managed to smuggle into Spain concealed within a hollow wooden image sent by a faithful retainer with the pretence that he wished to show them at home the advancement made by the natives in sculpture.^[48] This letter Zumárraga had read to other prominent clergymen who signed it jointly with him. In it were given details of the audiencia's misrule, and the statement was made that, to secure the prosperity of the people and the propagation of the faith, there was needed an upright man both able and willing to comprehend the condition of the country and shape aright its destinies. It was shown that New Spain was given over to disorder; that the hatred of the president and oidores, displayed on all occasions toward Cortés and those who sustained him, resulted from envy and avarice alone; that the clergy were not only unable to aid Spaniard or Indian, but were powerless to save even themselves from persecution. In conclusion, the writers disclaimed all motive for their complaint other than the greater glory of God and the desire of loyal subjects to serve the crown.^[49]

 

 

1. He brought 20,000 pesos.
2. See Hist. Cent. Am., i. 269-70, this series.
3. Herrera and other early authors, as well as modern writers who have followed them implicitly, are wrong in giving Matienzo's Christian name as Martin; he signed himself Juan, and it is so written in the records. Libro de Cabildo, MS., Jan. 1, 1529.
4. A comparatively easy matter since the town lies within a day's journey to the Portuguese frontier.
5. Landing in Portugal, for the purpose of evading compliance with the registry laws, was growing common. About this time two vessels from New Spain arrived at Lisbon. Mafra, the master of one, brought all his treasure to Seville. In the other vessel came Hernan Lopez Dávila, late administrator of decedents' estates; he and other passengers were allowed by the captain to land, and some of them took their gold home unregistered. Orders were issued to proceed against them. Herrera, dec. iv. lib. ii. cap. ii.
6. That envy was at the bottom of Narvaez' action is apparent from one of the many charges contained in the document; it was said that Cortés 'tenia tantas varras de oro y plata como Vizcaia de fierro.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 285.
7. 'Si le hallasse culpado, le cortasse la cabeça.' Cueva, a very severe man, was brother to the count of Siruela, and himself comendador mayor of Alcántara. At the time he was the emperor's majordomo, and later he became a general of artillery. He was to take with him 300 soldiers, and the whole cost of the commission was to be met by Cortés, whether guilty or not. These two afterward met at court and macle merry over the matter, agreeing that 'a lenguas vivas, lenguas mentiras.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 222; Herrera, dec. iv. lib. ii. cap. i
8. That of September 3, 1527.
9. Accepting the testimony of Gonzalo Mejía, the treasurer accused Alvarado of fraudulently retaining treasure belonging to the crown to the amount of 100,000 pesos, besides which several charges of malfeasance in office were brought against him. He was ordered, therefore, to give bonds to submit to a residencia and to pay any damages in which he might be mulcted, or to have his estate sequestered to the amount of 15,000 ducats. Herrera, dec. iv. lib. ii. cap. i. But, favored by Cobos, partly because of the marriage arranged between him and Francisca de la Cueva, he was given the government of Guatemala — which, in accordance with the policy that sought to limit the size of colonial dependencies, was made independent of New Spain. His sequestered property was released, his repartimiento confirmed, his residencia put aside, and, accompanied by his bride and a brilliant staff of officers, he sailed for America. Id., dec. iv. lib. ii. cap. ii. See Hist. Cent. Am., u., this series, for full account.
10. The oidores sailed from Seville in July 1528, Cartas de Indias, 748, with instructions to join their president at Pánuco. If from stress of weather, or from any other cause, they were obliged to land at Vera Cruz, or elsewhere, they were to advise him and to await his coming, that together they might enter Mexico. In view of the urgency of the case, however, and the perils of the sea, it was afterward determined that the president, or any of the oidores who might arrive first at the common destination, might proceed, in certain minor matters, as though all of the associates were present, seniority being determined by date of commission. For several years the audiencia of Mexico consisted of a president and four oidores. A year after the establishment of the audiencia the emperor appointed the grand chancellor of Castile, Dr Mercutino Gatinara, chancellor of the audiencia of Mexico, notwithstanding that he held already a similar position in that of Santo Domingo. He was allowed to exercise his functions by deputy, and to enjoy the derechos de sello during his life. 'The second audiencia began to petition for an increase of oidores and officials, and the number was increased to eight oidores, four alcaldes del crímen, two fiscales, for civil and criminal cases respectively, one alguacil mayor, one deputy of the grand chancellor, and other needful officers. Recop. de Indias, i. 325; Herrera, dec. iii. lib. ii. cap. 1.; Zamora, etc.
11. See Puga, Cedulario, 12, 22, etc.; Recop. de Indias, i. 324-6. These official authorities for the application of the name suffice to settle a much disputed question for which writers have hitherto been content to accept the unsupported statement of Herrera, 'Con parecer de don Hernando Cortes, a mayor declaracion se mando, que para adelante fuess visto llamarse Nueva España, todas las prouincias que al presente (1528) eran de la gouernacion de Mexico, Panuco, Yucatan, Cozumel, y la de Guatemala, y del rio de las Palmas, que estaua dada a Panfilo de Naruaez, con todo lo incluso en sus limites.' dec. iv. lib. iv. cap. ii. Yet New Spain 'proper' came some 20 years later to be understood as embracing only the districts confined by the audiencias of Guatemala and New Galicia, created in 1543 and 1548, from a line drawn between the gulfs of Tehuantepec and Honduras, and from the southern border of New Galicia to Florida. Recop. de Indias, i. 324; Calle, Mem. y Not., 44. In this sense it really meant the audiencia district, and New Spain as a political division extended properly from Guatemala into the undeveloped north, Guatemala and Honduras being nearly always spoken of as independent, so that the application of New Spain to their provinces had a merely nominal significance.
12. 'Traian los mayores poderes q nunca á la Nueua España despues truxeron Virreyes, ni Presidentes.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 227.
13. They must engage in no other business, nor hold a second office; a rule infringed by their predecessors.
14. They were not to appear as counsel nor to serve as referees; suits to which an oidor was a party must be heard and determined by the alcaldes ordinarios, with direct appeal to the India Council. Every Saturday the president was to appoint two of the oidors, who should serve by turns, to inspect the common jail and that reserved for prisoners of state.
15. The manner of taking testimony was prescribed, as well as the duties of all officials, and the audiencia was empowered to establish a free bill which should be posted in the audience chambers. The secretary might appoint his own deputies, and the porter of the audiencia was to act as court-crier. Puga, Cedulario, 9, 10, 18, 19, 22-33.
16. Silken clothing was forbidden.
17. Dice could on no account be used, and at cards none must exceed stakes to the amount of 10 pesos in one day.
18. In these ordinances there is some repetition of orders to be found in the several cédulas containing instructions given to the audiencia. In addition, the following rules were established for its guidance: A faithful record of all its proceedings was to be kept, as well as a calendar of causes, which should be considered in the order of their reception, and the mode of receiving and determining appeals was specified. The president and oidores were to occupy the same residence, if possible, but in no case were any of them to live with a lawyer or an official of their tribunal, nor could they receive gifts from any such persons or from suitors.

    In all cases not provided for in the instructions given to Ponce or those now given to the audiencia, the laws of Spain were to be binding. The instructions may be found in the opening pages of Puga, Cedulario, and in Herrera, dec. iii. lib. x. cap. vii., and adjoining chapters. They are partly incorporated in the general laws of Recop. de Indias, Zamora, and Montemayor.

    The broad and firm foundation of the laws of Spain is the Siete Partidas of Alfonso X., called 'The Wise,' who ascended the throne of Leon and Castile in 1252. The designation was well bestowed. Although the costly tables bearing his name are based upon the erroneous hypothesis of epicycles, his knowledge of astronomy, of which his observatory in the palace at Segovia is still a witness, was such as to gain for him among his subjects the reputation of a warlock (by some of them he was also deemed a heretic because of the remark not the least pregnant of his wise sayings, that had he been present at the creation he could have given some useful hints touching the better ordering of the universe); by his order the first chronicles of Spanish history were compiled; he increased the efficiency of the university of Salamanca by endowing it with new chairs, especially in the department of law; he aided in the development of the language by ordering that all legal documents should be couched in Latin; and some of his poems are still preserved in the Escurial. His enduring monument, however, is the great national code; and his name has come down to us for transmission to future generations as the peer of Theodosius and Justinian. This work was begun four years after he came to the throne and finished seven years later, was the result of a dual inspiration drawn from the canon and the Roman laws, and was the most complete system of laws yet given to western Europe. Nevertheless it was not adopted even by Castile until the reign of Alfonso XI., who, at the celebrated córtes of Alcalá, held in 1348, recognized the Siete Partidas as the complementary code of the kingdom, and ordered that they should supply what was lacking in the Gothic fueros and the ordenamiento of the córtes referred to. The code takes its name from its division into seven parts, which treat, respectively, of the Catholic faith; the rights and duties of earthly sovereigns; justice and judges; matrimony; contracts; wills and inheritances; and crimes. 'The earliest edition is that of Venice, printed in 1483, and very rare; the best and latest, that of 1847, published at Paris, which follows the correct text of a former edition issued under the auspices of the Spanish academy, in which the forcible diction of the royal author is preserved verbatim, and adds thereto the Latin foot-notes of the learned Gregoria Lopez.

19. Vetancurt, Tratado de Mex., 6, says that they did not advise the president of their coming until after their arrival at the capital.
20. At a meeting of the cabildo, held on the 4th of December, the majordomo of the city was authorized to pay all expenses incurred in the public reception of the oidores. Libro de Cabildo, MS.
21. 'Antes que viniese á esta ciudad,' Zumárraga, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 119.
22. 'Mirando mas a sus particulares afetos, que al cuplimiento de las ordenanças, á instruciones Reales, ni a la justicia.' Herrera, dec. iv. lib. iv. cap. xi. 'Despues, que se entroniçaron en el Govierno, no sola procedian como Ministros de el Rei; sino como el mismo Rei.' Torguemada, i. 600.
23. Despatches to the home government were forcibly taken from friars and couriers, as Zumárraga relates. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., Xiii. 153. This unjustifiable meddling with private correspondence could not continue long with impunity. The queen, then governing, by a letter dated July 31, 1529, forbade the practice, by them or by any one else, under penalty of perpetual exile from Spain and the Indies. Puga, Cedulario, 21-2.
24. The scheming factor had so ingratiated himself with the president, that soon afterward he was despatched to court in order to solicit for Guzman the government of New Spain. Salazar actually embarked, but stress of weather forced the ship ashore near the mouth of the Goazacoaleo, and he returned to Mexico. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 227.
25. Tapia had been factor for the army, and regidor of Mexico, which office was conferred upon him in perpetuity. He afterwards became procurador mayor, and alférez real, dying as a rich and prominent colonist some time after 1552. Libro de Cabildo, MS., passim; Beaumont, Crón. Mich., v. 2293 Dex. Arch., 1, 35.
26. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 227-8.
27. Among the outrages are instanced the crucifixion of a cacique to extort gold, besides the hanging of minor individuals, and the appropriation of Guzman, for his mills, of the Tacubaya aqueduct, to the prejudice of 2,000 natives who were dependent on its water. Zumárraga, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii, 126-7, 161; Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série ii, tom. v. 115-16.
28. Dijo el Presidente . . .  me echara del púlpito abajo. Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 132. The practice, nevertheless, continued, if not so openly, and finally led to the issuing of a royal letter prohibitory of excess in language used in the pulpit concerning lay authority. Puga, Cedulario, 21.
29. In Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 127-9, is a long list of the most prominent encomenderos thus dispossessed.
30. It was revoked in 1528, Puga, Cedulario, 51.
31. The latter part of the sentence was soon revoked, and in many cases the fine was remitted, but the offence rankled. The audiencia also caused proclamation to be made that all of Moorish lineage, any one of whose parents or grandparents had been burned or sentenced to wear the sanbenito by the Inquisition, should depart from New Spain. Condemnation to wear the sanbenito was the mildest form of punishment known to the holy tribunal, What the garment was, and what its uses, I shall treat in detail when I come to write of the Inquisition in Mexico.
32. In Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii, 136-44, are given long lists of bribes accepted by the audiencia, to stay persecution or grant favors.
33. To judge from Cortés' complaints on this score, one is led to suppose that hardly anything was left of his vast estates. 'Demás de haberme tomado toda cuanta hacienda, mueble y raíz yo dejé en esta Nueva España, me quitaron los dichos pueblos [all, he adds], é me han dejado sin tener de dónde haya una hanega de pan . . . se han muerto mas de cient personas de las que en mi compañia traje, por falta de refriserios y necesidad de provisiones.' Carta, October 10, 1530, in Escritos Sueltos, 181-2, and other letters.
34. For 90 days. Puga, Cedulario, 6, 7; Cortés, Residencia, i. 2, 6.
35. The indictment covers over 50 pages in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xxvii. 5-59. In pages 190-301 is given the reply of Cortés' agents, denying or refuting the charges. The charge of murdering his wife formed a special subject of inquiry.
36. It was proclaimed in March 1530, and remained in force even in the following year. Guzman had already left for Jalisco, so that he escaped. The document relating to the ban is given in the appendix to Alaman, Disert., 1. 215-17. Ángulo, the companion of Llerena, was executed, the latter managing to escape with a lighter sentence. The new audiencia caused the ban to be removed. Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série 1. tom. v. 140.
37. By cédula of February 8, 1537, Cortés was ordered to appear in Spain, in person or by proxy, to hear sentence. The death of Ponce de Leon and other points were revived in later years. All the documents relating to the residencia and its results have not been preserved or published. A portion, relating to the inimical testimony and a few other poimts, was published at Mexico in 1852, in two volumes, under the supervision of Ignacio L. Rayon, with careful adherence to the original. This, together with a mass of documents bearing on the residencia of the other officials, and on the later suits of Cortés, has been reproduced in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xxvi. — xxix.
38. Had Estrada manifested a reasonable amount of spirit in asserting himself, it is not impossible that his appointment as governor might have been confirmed. His old comrades would have stood by him, for they approved of all that he had done. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 227.
39. See vol. ii. Hist. Cent. Am. The charges against the officials are to be found in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xxviii.-xxix., passim. Alcalde Mayor Ortega's case was pending as late as 1541.
40. In open day he forcibly took from the asylum founded by Cortés two beautiful native girls and carried them to his house. He sent another Indian woman, together with 3,000 pesos, to Spain; but the woman was set at liberty and the money seized by the crown. Zumárraga, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 134; Cartas de Ind., 748. In the most shameless manner this man admitted from the cabildo, in return for his favor, the gift of some land next to that belonging to his brother, Juan Perez Berrio, whom he protected in the tyranny and extortion of which he was guilty as the alcalde mayor of Oajaca.
41. When Albornoz returned from Spain with his bride he received from Guzman the town of Guazpaltepec, belonging to Sandoval. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 228-9. Even the menials of the oidores received valuable grants thus seized,
42. El afeto de los Oydores daua materia, para que sucediessen atreuimientos e libertades: i ansi andauan las cosas con mucha confusion, i desuerguença." Herrera, dec. iv. lib. iv. cap. xi.
43. The mineral wealth of Michoacan had roused general interest, and Guzman ig said to have secured possession of mines there before this time. Herrera, dec. iv. lib. iii. cap. vii. Some authorities even state that he had received special information concerning rich and populous towns in the northwestern region, from a native in his employ and whose father had visited them. Castañeda, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i. tom. 1x. 1-5. Repeated in Davis' El Gringo, 58-9; Schoolcraft's Arch., iv. 22; Domenech's Deserts, i. 167-8, and elsewhere. This seems to have been the beginning of the reports which gradually extended to the seven cities of Cibola, so famous, as we shall see, a little later.
44. This amount was 6,000 pesos de oro. The second audiencia was instructed (see Puga, Cedulario, 45) to collect this amount from Guzman, or failing this, from the property of the royal officials who had given it without authority.
45. Pilar, 248, writes 22d, while Mota Padilla makes the date early in November.
46. These figures are but approximate, hardly two authorities being in accord. Guzman's own estimate, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 294, 356-93, and in Ramusio, ii. 331, is the lowest, and gives 150 horsemen, as many footmen, and from 7,000 to 8,000 auxiliaries. According to Torquemada, i. 348, and Villa Señor, Theatro, i. 203-4, there were 250 of the former and twice that number of the latter. Viceroy Mendoza, in a letter to Charles V., speaks of 400 Spaniards and 14,000 natives. Herrera, dec. iv. lib. viii. cap. 1., estimates the natives at 8,000, excluding carriers and those obtained later in Michoacan. Frejes, Hist. Breve, 69, says there were 800 Spanish soldiers. Fuenleal complains of the loss to the settlements of this withdrawal of men, and urges more stringent laws against such operations. Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 215-16.
47. Garcia del Pilar, the conquistador and interpreter, who had suggested to Guzman the ingenious plan of inviting the caciques to Mexico that they might be robbed, says, Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 248, that Caltzontzin welcomed the president to his capital, that he complied with a requisition for 8,000 Indians, and that three days afterward he was seized by his treacherous guest. But the interpreter was a particeps criminis in the iniquities of his chief, and is unworthy of belief.
48. It was conveyed by a sailor, says Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 631. In a buoy, adds Vetancurt, Aparic. Guad., 7; Fernandez, Hist. Ecles., 59.
49. Zumárraga, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 104 et seq.