The second letter was by the ayuntamiento of Villa. Rica, dated July 10, 1519,[1] covering not only the same ground, but giving an account of the voyages of discovery by Córdoba and Grijalva, the reasons for founding a colony, and for Cortés' appointment. The features of the country, its resources and inhabitants, were touched upon, and the belief expressed that of gold, silver, and precious stones "there is in the land as much as in that where it is said Solomon took the gold for the temple." Velazquez was exposed as a cruel, dishonest, and incompetent governor, and as such most dangerous to be intrusted with the control of these vast and rich territories. They asked for an investigation to prove the charges, as well as the propriety of their own acts; and concluded by recommending that Cortés, whose character and conduct stamped him a loyal subject and an able leader, be confirmed in his offices, till the conquest of the country, at least, should have been achieved.[2]
The third letter, even longer than this, though of similar tenor, was signed by the representative men in the army,[3] and concluded by praying that their services and hardships be rewarded with grants, and that Cortés be confirmed in the government till the king might be pleased to appoint an infante or a grandee of the highest class, for so large and rich a country ought to be ruled by none else. Should the designing bishop of Búrgos of his accord "send us a
- ↑ El Cabildo escriuiò juntente con diez soldados . . . . ê iva yo firmado en ella.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36.
- ↑ Written by Cortés' most devoted friends, and undoubtedly under his supervision, we cannot expect to find it other than a labored effort to promote his views. Robertson, whose suggestion led to its discovery in the Vienna Imperial Library, offers a mere synopsis of the contents. Hist. Am., preface, p. xi. ii. 521-2. It is given at length in the Cortés, Cartas, by Gayangos, Paris, 1866, 1-34, with notes, and with the list of presents appended; and in Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 417-72, and in Alaman, Disert., i. 2d app., 41-104, preceded by an introductory sketch of the expedition by the collector of the papers, and containing the list of presents as checked by Muñoz in 1784 from the Manual del Tesorero de la Casa de la Contratacion de Sevilla.
- ↑ Todos los Capitanes, y soldados juntamente escriuimos otra carta.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36. 'El cabildo . . . . escriuio . . . . dos letras. Vna . . . . no firmaron sino alcaldes y regidores. La otra fue a cordada y firmada del cabildo y de todos los mas principales.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 63.
