Bernal Diaz del Castillo
The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 2 (of 2)
CHAPTER CXCV
How Cortes receives letters from the Cardinal de Siguenza, then president of the council of the Indies, and from several other cavaliers, advising him to repair to Spain without delay; the death of his father Martin Cortes; and of other matters.
Cortes was about taking his departure for Spain, when letters arrived for him from Don Garcia de Loaysa, cardinal of Siguenza, president of the council of the Indies and subsequently archbishop of Seville, and from the duke of Bejar, and other cavaliers in Spain, all of whom assured him that his enemies drew the greatest advantage from the continued postponement of his arrival in Spain, and daily brought fresh accusations against him. He was openly accused, they said, of the foulest of crimes, and of having poisoned the different governors whom his majesty had sent to New Spain. It was necessary, therefore, that he should repair immediately to the imperial court, which could not fail to produce a good effect, and all the calumnies which had been heaped upon him would recoil upon his enemies, and prove the very means of raising him to the highest honours. They at the same time announced to him the death of his father Martin Cortes; and as he was still in mourning52 for his wife Doña Catalina Suarez, he put on additional mourning for his father, to whose memory he in every way paid the highest honours. The different accounts which he had received caused him altogether considerable grief, and if he had previously felt a great desire to return to Spain, he felt now the more so; and as he was informed that the two vessels which had arrived in Vera Cruz were newly built, and fast sailers, he despatched his mayor-domo Pedro Ruiz de Esquival thither to purchase them. Various kinds of provisions were then collected in great abundance, of the most expensive kinds, and everything was regulated for his voyage in a manner due to so distinguished and wealthy a person. The two vessels were so plentifully provisioned, that they had sufficient victuals for a voyage of two years, although the number of people on board was much greater than ordinary.
The mayor-domo, who was to repair to Vera Cruz, had, in order to take the shortest route thither, embarked in a canoe on the lake of Mexico, for the township of Ayotzinco. This canoe, of considerable size, was manned with six Mexican rowers, and Ruiz had with him a number of gold bars, for the purchase of the vessels, and a negro slave to attend upon him. Whether he was waylaid by any one in the midst of the lake, and murdered, could never be discovered, but certain it is that neither the canoe, the rowers, nor the negro were ever seen again; only the body of Ruiz was found, four days after, on a small island of the lake, half devoured by the birds of prey. Various conjectures were made respecting the death of this man, and many persons said he had bragged too openly of the great favours which were bestowed upon him by the ladies, and that he had most likely boasted of things which never happened. Others maintained that something much worse had taken place, which, however, I will not go into here; in short, it was never known, nor was there ever much trouble taken to investigate, how this man came to his end, and we can only wish that his poor soul may rest in peace.
Cortes, on learning the untimely end of this man, despatched other officers of his household to Vera Cruz, to make the necessary preparations there for his departure, and he made it publicly known that all those who were desirous of leaving for Spain, and could obtain the governor's permission thereto, should have a free passage with him. He then departed, in company of Sandoval, Andreas de Tapia, and of several other cavaliers, for Vera Cruz, where the whole of them, after having confessed, and made the holy communion, set sail for Spain.
Cortes had so very favorable a passage, that, without touching at the Havannah or any other port, he arrived safe in forty-one days off the coast of Spain, and cast anchor near the town of Palos, opposite the church of our dear lady of Rabida. At the first sight of land every one on board fell down on his knees, and with uplighted hands offered up fervent thanks to God for this prosperous voyage. Cortes' arrival in Spain took place in the month of December of the year 1527.
During this voyage Sandoval fell dangerously ill, and Cortes' joy at his safe arrival in his native land was soon changed into excessive grief, for a few days after it pleased the Almighty to take away this our general's faithful companion in arms. Sandoval was still at Palos, and lodged in the house of a rope-maker; and here, while lying on his death-bed, he was forced patiently to behold the master of the house open one of his trunks, and take out thirteen bars of gold. This fellow had watched the favorable opportunity when Sandoval's servants had all hastened to the Rabida, to call Cortes to his dying friend, so that he was left quite alone; besides which, he was so helpless and weak, that he durst not even cry out, lest the rope-maker, who had the very countenance of a villain, should have smothered him with the cushions. The thief immediately fled with the gold bars, and escaped to Portugal, nor was he ever heard of again.
Cortes, on learning the dangerous state in which Sandoval lay, hastened to his bedside, where he learnt what I have just stated, from the latter's own mouth. Persons were immediately sent in pursuit of the thief, but it was too late, the fellow got clear away.
Sandoval's health was daily growing worse, so that at length the physicians gave up all hopes of his life, and told him his end was drawing nigh. Saudoval then confessed, and received the last sacraments with the greatest devotion. He made his last will, to which he appointed Cortes executor, set apart large sums for the poor and the cloisters, and left his sister or sisters heir to his property. I am not sure whether he had more than one sister, but I know that subsequently a sister of his married a natural son of the earl of Medellin. A short time after he had made his will Sandoval rendered up his soul into the hands of his Maker, and his death caused universal and heartfelt grief. He was buried with every imaginable pomp in the monastery of our dear lady of Rabida, and Cortes, with the whole of his suite, put on mourning for him. May God have mercy upon his soul! Amen!
The next thing Cortes did was to announce his arrival to his majesty, to the cardinal de Siguenza, the duke of Bejar, the earl of Aguilar, and to many other cavaliers of distinction. He also mentioned Sandoval's death, and was unbounded in the praise of his excellent character, of the important services he had rendered to the crown, of his great talents as a commander, and of his personal courage. Though the monarch was greatly rejoiced at the arrival of Cortes in Spain, yet the death of Sandoval caused him much grief, as he had been duly informed of the many excellent qualities of this officer. The cardinal de Siguenza and the whole of the council of the Indies were no less grieved at his death. The duke of Bejar, the earl of Aguilar, and several other cavaliers certainly evinced no less sorrow at the death of this brave officer, yet it was soon lost in the joy they experienced at the arrival of Cortes.
The duke of Bejar and the earl of Aguilar now called upon his majesty, who had already received Cortes' letter. During this audience the former told his majesty that he himself had always been convinced of Cortes' loyalty, and that a man who had rendered the greatest services to his monarch could not fail to be equally faithful to that sovereign in all other matters; and this was sufficiently evident in the conduct of Cortes, who, placing all his reliance on a clear conscience, had fearlessly come to Spain. The duke had every reason for thus expressing himself, for during the time when various heavy accusations had been brought against Cortes, he had become responsible for him and his companions in arms with both his life and property; nor had he omitted on any occasion to extol our loyalty and our services to the skies; which at that time seemed the more meritorious, as Peru was not yet discovered. The emperor, indeed, changed his sentiments with regard to Cortes in so wonderful a degree as to issue orders that he was to be received with the highest honours in every town he passed through. The first person who gave Cortes a splendid reception was the duke of Medina Sidonia, in Seville, who supplied him with beautiful horses. Having rested in this town for a few days, Cortes hastened by long days' journeys to the convent of our dear lady of Guadaloupe, there to make his devotions. It happened fortunately for him that the distinguished lady Doña Maria de Mendoza, wife of the comendador-mayor of Leon, should arrive there at the same time. She had a number of ladies of quality in her suite; among others her sister, who was two years afterwards married to the governor of the Canary islands. Cortes was highly delighted at this circumstance, and after making his devotions to our dear lady of Guadaloupe, bestowing rich alms on the poor, and having ordered a number of masses to be said, he repaired, though in deep mourning, with the whole of his suite, and several other cavaliers, who had come to offer their services to him, to pay his respects to Doña Maria de Mendoza, her exceedingly beautiful sister, and to the other ladies: and as Cortes was a man of excellent good breeding, of a frank and cheerful disposition, and eloquent in address, he the more easily gained the good wishes of these ladies, and the fame of his great exploits was re-echoed from one end of Spain to the other. He was possessed of sufficient wealth to bestow with an unsparing hand; and to the whole of these ladies he presented the most valuable presents in gold, trinkets of beautiful workmanship, penaches of green feathers, decorated with gold, silver, and pearls; of course, the most splendid of these presents fell to the share of the distinguished lady Maria de Mendoza and her charming sister. This latter lady he even presented with several bars of gold, to be worked into all manner of fine ornaments. Among these presents to the ladies he did not forget the most delicious perfumes and balsams: he also made his Indian buffoons and rope dancers perform in their presence; and on learning that the last-mentioned lady had lost one of her mules, he secretly purchased two others for her, and gave them in charge of her major-domo.
Cortes remained in the town of Guadaloupe until these ladies returned to the imperial court, which, at that time, was in Toledo. He accompanied them on their journey, and gave them banquets and feasts everywhere along their route; and he so completely gained the good wishes of Doña Maria de Mendoza by his graceful behaviour, his great splendour, and the attentions he paid her, that she began seriously to think of making a match between her sister and Cortes. If the latter had not promised his hand to Doña Juana de Guzman, niece to the duke of Bejar, a match would certainly have been brought about between them; and by this alliance with the comendador-mayor of Leon he would have increased his good fortune, and have obtained from his majesty the appointment of governor of New Spain. However, I will say no more on this subject, for everything is guided and directed by the hand of God.
Doña Maria de Mendoza, in her letters to her husband, could scarcely say sufficient in praise of Cortes. All the fame of his deeds of arms, said she, were really nothing when compared to his own personal qualities: in order to appreciate his whole worth, it was necessary to listen to the charm of his conversation, learn the noble frankness of his disposition, and the grace with which his every action was accompanied. It was impossible, she continued, that his majesty could have a more devoted servant among his subjects, and she hoped her husband would fully acquaint his majesty with the great merits of this man, that he might receive the rewards which he so richly deserved.
The comendador-mayor was vastly pleased with the excellent opinion which his wife entertained of Cortes, and the attentions the latter had shown her, so that he was quite prepossessed in his favour; and as at that time no one stood on a more confidential footing with the emperor than the comendador himself, he laid his own wife's letter before the emperor, and strongly recommended Cortes to his majesty's favour. But it appears that the emperor was already most favorably inclined towards him, and had, as the duke of Bejar afterwards assured Cortes, on the first news of his arrival in Spain, expressed a great desire to make the acquaintance of the man who had rendered him so many important services, and of whose dangerous and deceitful character so much had been told him.
When Cortes arrived at the imperial court, his majesty ordered apartments to be given him in the palace. When he had approached near to the town, the duke of Bejar, the earl of Aguilar, and several other gentlemen of distinction went out to meet him, and gave him a most honorable reception. On the following day, he was allowed to throw himself at his majesty's feet; and to show him every possible distinction on the occasion, he was accompanied by the admiral of Castile, the duke of Bejar, and the comendador-mayor of Leon. After Cortes had obtained leave from his majesty to speak, he knelt down, but his majesty immediately desired him to rise; upon which Cortes addressed the emperor, and enumerated the many important services he had rendered the crown, the various conquests he had made down to the perilous expedition to the Honduras, and then recounted the disturbances and conspiracies which the veedor and factor had caused in Mexico during his absence. Though this address was of considerable length, yet he spoke everything with great fluency and ease, concluding with these words: "In order, however, not to tire your majesty's patience any longer by listening to me, and as it ill becomes a subject like myself to address the first monarch of the world to any greater length, as I am unaccustomed to speak with your majesty, and as the mental pain which I suffer from the many injustices which have been done me might force unbecoming expressions from my lips, I have drawn up in this memorial a statement of everything I wished to say, from which your majesty may learn the full particulars of every circumstance that has transpired." With these words Cortes knelt down, and handed over to his majesty the memorial, and was going to kiss his feet for having granted him so lengthened an audience, but the emperor again desired him to rise; upon which the admiral of Castile and the duke of Bejar addressed his majesty in praise of Cortes, and said how richly he had merited reward.
The emperor then upon the spot created him marquis del Valle Oaxaca, bestowed a number of townships upon him, and presented him with the cross of the order of Santiago. The income that he was to have was not mentioned at the time, and I am unable to say how it came to be overlooked. The emperor also appointed him captain-general of New Spain and of the South Sea; after which Cortes had a second audience of his majesty to thank him for the many favours he had bestowed upon him, and his majesty, as on the previous occasion, received him with every mark of distinction.
Cortes had been but a few days at Toledo when he fell so dangerously ill that every person despaired of his life. The duke of Bejar and the comendador of Leon fearing his end was drawing nigh, requested his majesty to visit the sick man at his bedside before his death, as a mark of distinction to him for the many services he had rendered to the crown. His majesty was pleased to comply with this request, and he repaired to Cortes' lodgings, accompanied by several dukes, marquisses, and other distinguished personages. This, at court, was considered the highest honour and mark of respect that could be paid to a subject. When Cortes, therefore, was restored to good health, envy strove to do its worst to poison the favour in which he stood with his majesty, under the protection of the earl of Nassau, the duke of Bejar, and the admiral of Castile.
It happened one Sunday that Cortes came rather late to mass in the cathedral church. His majesty had already taken his seat, and the noblemen of his suite, each according to his respective rank and station. Cortes, clothed in his deep mourning cloak, passed by all these illustrious noblemen, and seated himself next to the earl of Nassau, who sat very near to his majesty. This self-assumed precedence of so many illustrious personages, as it was termed, appeared so presumptuous, and showed so great a want of propriety, that those persons who considered themselves slighted thereby, immediately began to murmur forth their disapprobation of such conduct. However, the duke of Bejar, the admiral of Castile, and the earl of Aguilar, who were present, took Cortes' side, and observed that no reproach could be made to the latter on this score, as his majesty, to do him honour, had ordered that he should take his seat next to the earl of Nassau. It should also be taken into consideration, these noblemen further said, what vast territories Cortes had added to the crown, how greatly indebted the whole of Christendom was to him; that their titles had merely descended to them from their forefathers, whereas the marks of distinction which his majesty was pleased to confer upon Cortes were the immediate consequences of the latter's own merits.
However, it is certainly true that the great favour in which Cortes stood with the emperor, the admiral of Castile, the earl of Nassau, and with the duke of Bejar, added to the title of marquis which had been conferred upon him, had turned his head a little; for he now began to neglect his other patrons, the cardinal de Siguenza, the comendador-mayor of Leon, the latter's wife Doña Maria de Mendoza, and the members of the council of the Indies, all of whom had interested themselves so greatly for him; and he exclusively courted the three noblemen above mentioned, with whose protection he imagined he could obtain anything. The first thing he did was to storm his majesty with petitions to appoint him governor of New Spain, each time enumerating the many important services he had rendered the crown, promising, should his majesty be pleased to grant his prayer, to equip an armament for a voyage of discovery to the islands and rich countries of the South seas. His distinguished patrons likewise used all their influence with his majesty to obtain this appointment for him. The emperor, however, replied, that Cortes must be satisfied with the rich marquisate he had conferred upon him, for he had now also to think of those with whose assistance Cortes had accomplished his undertakings, and who certainly deserved a reward for their exertions.
From this moment Cortes began gradually to fall in his majesty's favour. Some ascribed this to the president of the council of the Indies, cardinal de Siguenza, who had, in a consultation with his majesty, declared himself against conferring the appointment of governor on Cortes. Others ascribed it to the comendador-mayor of Leon and his wife Doña Maria de Mendoza, who felt piqued at the manner in which Cortes had latterly neglected them. However this may have been, I cannot say; but his majesty adhered to his first determination, and refused to grant Cortes his request. The emperor at this time was about to embark at Barcelona for Flanders, being accompanied by a great number of distinguished personages, and the three patrons of Cortes persevered in their endeavours to obtain the appointment in question for him, until at length his majesty forbade the earl of Nassau to speak another word about it, remarking to him at the same time that the marquisate he had conferred upon Cortes produced a larger annual income than he (the earl) obtained from his whole territory of Nassau.
We will now wish his majesty a good voyage, and say a few words respecting Cortes' marriage with Doña Juana de Zunniga. The banquets which took place on this occasion were of the most sumptuous nature, and the presents which Cortes made his bride, as I have been informed by persons who saw them, were so expensive and magnificent, that nothing in Spain had ever before been seen like them. Even the empress Isabella, it is said, expressed a wish, from the descriptions which had been given her of these presents by the jewellers, to possess similar ones, and that she had accepted with indifference several precious stones which Cortes had presented to her, because they were not equal in beauty and value to those he had given to his wife.
Cortes, upon the whole, experienced a great deal of vexation during his stay in Spain. Above all, it is said, the empress changed her previous favorable sentiments with regard to Cortes, when she learnt his ungrateful conduct towards the comendador-mayor of Leon, his wife Doña Maria, and the cardinal de Siguenza; and that he had kept back jewels of much greater value than he had presented to her. Yet she commanded the council of the Indies to promote his interests in every possible manner. An agreement was also signed between him and the crown, namely, that he should equip a couple of vessels, at his own expense for a certain number of years, for the discovery of new islands and countries in the South Sea, with the condition, however, that he should have a certain share of the profits arising therefrom.
About this time also the comendador-mayor of the order of Alcantara, Don Pedro de la Cueva, was staying at the imperial court. This was the same gentleman who was some time previously commanded by his majesty to repair with a considerable body of troops to New Spain, there to make an inquiry into the conduct of Cortes, with full power, if he found him guilty, to cut off his head. At present, however, he gave every proof of sincere joy at the distinguished title and the many favours which had been conferred upon him by the emperor, and he now daily courted the company of the marquis Don Hernando Cortes. He likewise told Cortes that he might congratulate himself on having come to Spain; for he assured him that if even he had not found him guilty of any offence, he would still have had to pay all the expenses of the armament, which would have amounted to above 300,000 pesos.
Besides all I have above related, many other things were written to us by persons who were present in Spain at the time, and by Cortes himself, but I will not go into them here; and though the latter expatiated a good deal on the many favours which had been bestowed upon him at court, yet he never mentioned a word why he was not appointed governor of New Spain.
A few days after he had been created marquis, Cortes despatched the cavalier Juan de Herrada to Rome in his name to kiss the feet of his holiness pope Clement, and beg his acceptance of a valuable present in jewels and gold trinkets. He ordered Herrada to take along with him two Indian buffoons, and likewise wrote a lengthened epistle to his holiness, in which he gave him a full account of the countries he had discovered and subdued; of the great services he had above all rendered to God, and then to his majesty; of the idol worship practised among the Indians, and what a great number of the latter had already been converted to Christianity. What he further told his holiness I cannot say; but we learnt from Herrada, when he afterwards returned to New Spain, that Cortes had begged his holiness to remit a certain portion of the tithes.
I ought also to mention that this Juan de Herrada was an excellent soldier, and that he had accompanied us on our expedition to the Honduras. After his return from Rome he went to Peru, where Don Diego de Almagro appointed him governor to his younger son Don Diego, and otherwise placed implicit confidence in him. He likewise commanded the small but determined body of men who put the elder Pizarro to death, and afterwards became a chief officer under Almagro the younger.
At Rome, Herrada, with his fine presents and Indian buffoons, met with the best reception; and his holiness declared, during the audience which he granted him, that he could not sufficiently thank the Almighty that he lived in an age when so many extensive countries were discovered, and so many heathens converted to our holy religion. He said that Cortes and his troops had rendered the greatest services to God, to our master the emperor Don Carlos, and to the whole of Christendom, and we were deserving of the highest rewards. His holiness even ordered a solemn procession and a day of thanksgiving, and sent especial bulls, by which he granted us absolution of our sins, and gave other indulgences to the cloisters and churches. He likewise confirmed and approved of everything Cortes had done in New Spain, only he refused to grant the latter's request with respect to the tithes.
This is all I know of the contents of the letter which his holiness wrote to Cortes; but everything I have above related of this mission to Rome I learnt from Herrada himself and from another soldier who had accompanied him named Campo. They staid altogether eight days at Rome, and his holiness, with the cardinals, were highly delighted with the performances of the Indian buffoons. His holiness even created Herrada a count palatine, presented him with a large sum of money for his journey back, and gave him a letter to our emperor, in which he requested his majesty to bestow upon him some lucrative commendary; but as Cortes, on his return to New Spain, had no longer the power to distribute lands or Indians, Herrada never derived any benefit from the pope's letter, and he repaired to Peru, where he made a brilliant career.
