Bernal Diaz del Castillo
The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 2 (of 2)
CHAPTER CXCVI
How the royal court of audience arrive in Mexico during Cortes' stay in Spain, and what their first occupations were.
While Cortes was staying in Spain, and had already been created a marquis, the royal court of audience appointed by his majesty arrived in Mexico. This court consisted of a president, Nuño de Guzman, who was previously governor of Panuco, and of four licentiates as auditors, whose names were Matienzo of Biscay or Navarra, Delgadillo of Granada, Maldonado of Salamanca, (not the licentiate Alonso Maldonado the Good, who was governor of Guatimala,) and the licentiate Parada, who, up to this moment, had lived at Cuba.
These gentlemen met with a most splendid reception in Mexico, and commenced their operations about sixteen days after their arrival. None of the subsequent viceroys or presidents possessed the extensive powers granted to these men by his majesty. They had full power to distribute the commendaries in perpetuity, and they were particularly desired to reward the Conquistadores handsomely, and to give them the preference in all matters.
These gentlemen made known their arrival in every town throughout New Spain, and ordered the citizens to send their procuradores to them, each provided with a list of the Indians in his province. Many days had not elapsed before these procuradores and the Conquistadores made their appearance in Mexico from all parts of New Spain. I myself repaired thither as procurador syndic of the town of Guacasualco, but when I found in what manner the auditors intended to treat the matter, I hastened back to Guacasualco in order to elect the procuradores who were to represent the interests of the latter place at the royal court of audience, during the distribution of the commendaries in perpetuity. Various disputes arose respecting this election, for every one was desirous of choosing his particular friend; however, at length their choice fell upon Luis Marin and myself; but when we arrived in Mexico and the whole of us procuradores insisted upon a distribution in perpetuity as his majesty had commanded, we found that a great change had taken place. Nuño de Guzman, Matienzo, and Delgadillo were now quite against this measure; and the two other auditors, Maldonado and Parada, died of pleurisy shortly after their arrival in Mexico, and no doubt if Cortes had been at that time in New Spain calumny would have accused him of their death also. With respect to the distribution in perpetuity, I have been assured by many credible persons that the factor was the only man who stopped it from being carried into effect, for he had so far gained the confidence of Guzman and Delgadillo, that they never did anything without consulting him, and allowed themselves to be led blindly by him in all matters. These gentlemen now opposed the distribution in perpetuity, because they saw that the Conquistadores by such a measure would become independent of them, and trouble themselves no more about them. They consequently considered it more to their interest to leave matters as they were, for then they could bestow and take away Indians whenever they liked, by which they would always have us at their mercy, and they themselves derive great power and riches. The factor, Delgadillo, and Guzman likewise came to a secret understanding with each other, that the first-mentioned gentleman should repair to Spain in order to procure for Guzman the appointment of governor of New Spain; for they had already learnt that Cortes did not stand so high in his majesty's favour as at first, and that, notwithstanding all his great interest at court, he had not been able to obtain this appointment for himself. The factor accordingly embarked for Spain, but he had not been many days at sea before he was overtaken by a violent storm, and his vessel was wrecked off the coast of Guacasualco; the factor narrowly escaped on shore in the boat, and here this project ended.
The first thing which Nuño de Guzman and his colleagues did was to institute an inquiry into the government of the treasurer Estrada, to which he very patiently submitted. If this man had shown the determined character we had expected of him, he would certainly have continued governor of New Spain, for it was only a few months previously that his majesty had conferred this appointment on him, with every approbation of the conduct he had pursued in the government of the country; besides which, Guzman had no further powers than those conferred upon him as president of the royal court of audience, and even then he could not make any distribution of lands or of Indians, unless it met with the approbation of his colleagues. Every inhabitant of Mexico, and the whole of the Conquistadores would have the more zealously supported Estrada if he had shown any determination to maintain his authority, as he had evinced the utmost impartiality in his government, and had scrupulously acted up to the commands of his majesty; but the inquiry had scarcely lasted a few days when he grew weary of offering any further resistance to the court of audience, and he died shortly after of downright vexation.
This new court of audience was altogether opposed to Cortes and his adherents, in which partisan-like spirit they instituted an inquiry into the conduct of Jorge de Alvarado, in his government of Guatimala, and for this purpose a certain Orduña, the elder, of Tordesillas, was despatched thither; but I am totally ignorant of the result of his investigation. In the same way they attacked the government of Cortes, and specially appointed for this purpose the fiscal and the factor Salazar. During this investigation, Cortes was accused in open court of so many base actions, and was altogether so grossly calumniated, that the licentiate Altamirano, to whom Cortes had intrusted the sole care of his possessions in New Spain, with cap in hand, stepped up in front of the president and the auditors, and respectfully begged of them to bridle the slanderous tongue of the factor, and to forbid him henceforth to utter his low abuse of the marquis, a cavalier of unblemished character, and the faithful servant of his monarch. He then demanded justice of the factor, but very little notice was taken of his remonstrances, for the next day the factor produced even more infamous accusations, and the auditors countenanced this in so far that very high words arose between the licentiate Altamirano on one side, and the factor and the auditors on the other. At length Altamirano lost all patience, drew his dagger, and would certainly have killed the factor on the spot if he had not flown for protection behind the auditors. The whole city broke out into open insurrection at this circumstance. Altamirano was thrown into prison, and the factor was confined in his own house. The whole of us Conquistadores, however, went in a body to the president and interceded for Altamirano, so effectually, indeed, that three days after, he was set at liberty again, and a reconciliation was brought about between him and the auditors.
After this affair had blown over, another of a more serious nature took place; namely, there arrived about this time in Mexico a relation of Pamfilo Narvaez, named Zavallos, who had been despatched from Cuba by Maria de Valenzuela, Narvaez's wife, to gain some information respecting her husband, who had been appointed governor of the country on the river Palmas; but, as was currently reported, had perished on the expedition thither. Maria de Valenzuela had also given Zavallos full authority to take possession of her husband's property wherever he might find it, for she imagined he had taken considerable property with him to New Spain. This man was secretly advised by the auditors to bring actions against all those of the Conquistadores who had accompanied Cortes on the expedition against Narvaez, injured his person, burnt his property, and killed so many of his men. Zavallos immediately lent a willing ear to this, and forthwith commenced an action of indemnification against the Conquistadores, who all happened at that time to be staying in the metropolis. There were altogether 250 of us, and the whole were condemned in the sum of a certain number of pesos, and banished to the distance of twenty miles from Mexico. But this sentence of banishment was instantly withdrawn, and several of us were not even asked for the fine in which we had been condemned, for it was very small. But this was not all, for now other enemies of Cortes began to show themselves, and accused him of having kept to himself a quantity of the gold, silver and jewels taken at the conquest of the city of Mexico; that he had even concealed the treasure of Quauhtemoctzin, and merely given the Conquistadores eighty pesos a piece; that he had only sent a very small portion of this treasure to his majesty, and that in such a manner as if the present had come from him alone. Though these complainants very well knew that the present which Cortes sent on that occasion to Spain fell into the hands of the French freebooter, Jean Florin, yet they not only demanded that Cortes should repay the money captured by this corsair, but also the other treasures which he had secretly kept to himself.
Various other accusations were brought against Cortes, and in every case judgment was given in favour of the complainants, so that his possessions were sold in payment of all demands. The auditors even went so far as to contrive that Cortes' own brother-in-law, Juan Suarez, should accuse Cortes, in open court, of the murder of his late wife, Doña Catalina Suarez, which he sought to prove by witnesses.
With regard to the demands against Cortes respecting the prize-money of Mexico and the treasure of Quauhtemoctzin, we, the friends of Cortes, after obtaining leave of the alcaldes, assembled in the house of Garcia Holguin, and signed our names to a paper, in which we declared that we would not accept of any share of the fines in which Cortes had been condemned, and that we had altogether no demand whatever of that nature against him, as we were perfectly satisfied that the gold, with the other valuable matters in question, had been duly forwarded to his majesty, and that this was done with unanimous consent to prove our fidelity and loyalty to the emperor. When the auditors were informed of what we had done, they were going to have us all seized, on the ground that we were not authorized to call any meeting or sign any document of such a nature without their sanction; but we showed them the permission we had received from the alcaldes, yet the auditors again sentenced us to be banished twenty miles from Mexico. This sentence was soon after indeed withdrawn as on the former occasion, but it nevertheless caused us a great deal of vexation and sorrow.
The next thing the auditors did was to announce to the public that all those persons who either descended from the Moors or the Indians, whose relations or forefathers in the fourth degree had been burnt by the holy inquisition, or had even been dismissed with the San Benito, should leave New Spain within the space of six months, or forfeit the half of their property. Many persons were accordingly called up to vindicate themselves on this point, and several found their respectability sadly impugned; yet there were only two persons who were obliged to leave New Spain on this account.
With regard to the distribution of commendaries, the auditors fully acted up to his majesty's commands, and they richly remunerated the true Conquistadores; but the real cause of their downfall was the immoderateness with which they allowed the Spaniards to mark slaves. This was carried to so great a length in the province of Panuco, that the whole of this territory became at length quite depopulated. Nuño de Guzman had, altogether, something noble and frank about him, and when he gave, it was with an unsparing hand. For instance, by way of a new-year's gift he presented the accountant Albornoz with the township of Guazpaltepec. Albornoz had just returned from Spain, with his wife Doña Catalina de Loaisa, whom he had recently married, having also obtained permission from his majesty to erect a sugar refinery at Sempoalla, which a few years after was completely destroyed. If the president Guzman pursued a ruthless course in the marking of slaves, and tried all he could to injure Cortes, the auditor Delgadillo was certainly no better. It was even said of him that he made grants of commendaries in consideration of a certain per centage on their annual produce. Besides this, he appointed his own brother Berrio alcalde-mayor of the town of Guaxaca, where he oppressed and ill-used the inhabitants in every possible manner to obtain gold. This auditor likewise despatched a person of his own name as commandant to the township of the Zapotecs, whose conduct was equally infamous there as that of Berrio in Guaxaca. The other auditor, Matienzo, was a man far advanced in years, and the only one who had not abused his power; but against the others so many bitter complaints were made, and these so well confirmed by letters from the monks and prelates, that the emperor ordered the council of the Indies immediately to recall all the members of the royal audience, to severely punish them, and to appoint other men of integrity and intelligence. His majesty also desired that an inquiry should be made as to the number of slaves which had been marked in the province of Panuco. Matienzo was commissioned to make the inquiry, as this aged auditor had shown greater love of justice than his colleagues.
From this moment all the permits which had been given to mark slaves were considered as invalid, and the marking-irons were destroyed wherever they were found, and henceforth it was forbidden ever again to mark slaves. It was even ordered that a census should be taken of all the slaves in New Spain, in order to prevent their being sold out of the country, or even from being sent from one province into another. In the same way it was declared that every distribution of commendaries made by Guzman and his colleagues to their friends, relations, and other persons of no worth, should be considered as invalid, and the property these persons had obtained in this manner was immediately to be delivered up again.
These commands produced endless lawsuits, for those in possession employed every artifice to retain what they had once got. Some maintained they belonged to the body of the Conquistadores, though there was not a word of truth in it; others asserted that they had been settled in the country for many years. Some, who could offer no good excuse, asserted, at least, that they never belonged to the household, or to the table companions of the auditors; declaring that they had only called upon these gentlemen from time to time, and appeared in their suite, to pay them the respect which was due to them in their capacity of royal auditors. In short, each person defended his property as well as he could, and, upon the whole, so successfully, that there were only a few persons who were obliged to relinquish their possessions. The accountant Albornoz was of this number, and he was again deprived of the township of Guazpaltepec, which Guzman had given him as a new-year's gift. In the same way a certain Villa Roël was obliged to deliver up possession of the township of Quauhnahuac. Villegas, Guzman's mayor-domo, and other officials and relatives of the auditors, had to quit their commendaries.
As soon as the news arrived in Mexico that the auditors were to be cashiered, Guzman and his colleagues determined to despatch a procurador to Spain, to testify that they had faithfully fulfilled the duties of their office, and acted up to his majesty's commands. For this purpose, all the procuradores of the different towns of New Spain then staying at Mexico, and the most distinguished of the Conquistadores, were desired to assemble in the principal church, to elect the factor Salazar, when it would be made to appear as if this man was chosen by our unanimous consent to repair to Spain, and there to white-wash Guzman and his colleagues. The auditors had fully expected we should have elected Salazar, particularly as they had been so liberal in their grants of commendaries to the Conquistadores.
This meeting actually took place, but so many persons forced their way into the church who had no voice at all, creating so much disturbance and noise, that it was impossible to restore order. We therefore declared to the auditors that it was impossible to proceed with the business of the day, and that we would assemble in their private dwelling on the following morning. But as we plainly saw that their main object was that we should select some one entirely devoted to their interests, we determined also that a second agent should be chosen in Cortes' interest. We then proceeded to the election, and our choice fell upon Bernardino Vazquez de Tapia, in the latter's interest, and Antonio de Carvajal, who commanded a brigantine during the siege of Mexico, was chosen to represent the interest of the auditors; however, both these gentlemen were more inclined to favour the cause of Nuño de Guzman than that of Cortes: nor could we indeed blame them for this, the royal auditors having been more bountiful towards us than Cortes. They had, at least, in some measure acted up to his majesty's commands, by bestowing commendaries upon us; whereas Cortes, at the time when he had full power to reward us according to our deserts, totally neglected us. But as Spaniards are ever loyal, and we could not forget that he had been our captain, we still felt a great affection for him, more indeed than he had shown us when it was in his power to have remembered us, according to his majesty's express desire.
After we had thus selected our two procuradores, a lengthened discussion took place as to the particular points that were to be impressed on his majesty's mind. The president and his colleagues, on their part, maintained that it was imperative on all the procuradores to declare that it would be both injurious to the cause of religion and the true interests of the crown if Cortes returned to New Spain, for his presence would only create factions and disturbances among the inhabitants, and a good government would be totally impracticable; that moreover it was not unlikely he would seize the first opportunity of taking forcible possession of the country, and declare his independence of the Spanish crown. These assertions most of us Conquistadores positively denied, and we maintained that his majesty had not a more devoted and faithful servant than Cortes.
About this time also Alvarado returned from Spain, as governor and chief justice of Guatimala, and comendador of Santiago. He was accompanied by his newly-married wife, Doña Francisca de la Cueva, who, however, died soon after her arrival at Vera Cruz, so that Alvarado and his suite arrived in Mexico clad in the deepest mourning. As soon as he learnt the nature of the petition which the auditors were going to despatch to his majesty, he managed that we should draw up a joint address to the emperor, in which we fully explained to his majesty the real object the president and his colleagues had in view. When therefore the two above-mentioned procuradores laid their papers before the council of the Indies, the members of this body readily perceived that they contained nothing but a rancorous feeling against Cortes. Not the slightest notice therefore was taken of these representations, and the imperial decree for the cashiering of the auditors was confirmed. Cortes was at that time still in Spain, and it may naturally be supposed that all these attempts to injure him turned out to his advantage, and added to his honour.
Nuño de Guzman in the meantime sent out an expedition to Xalisco for the colonization of this province, in which, it will be seen, he was more fortunate than Cortes, who had previously made a similar attempt.
