It is copied literally from Gavarrete, Copias de Doc., MS., 53. Gonzalez Dávila, in 1649, makes this extraordinary statement: 'Murio en Mexico, y yaze en el Convento de Santo Domingo.' He also says that Ivan Diaz de la Calle, 'Oficial Mayor de la Secretaria de Nueua-España,' dedicated to Alvarado the following epitaph, which was to serve until one was written such as the memory of his feats and actions deserved:

Monument 'Yaze En Este Angosto Monumento, el que merecia mas Augusto, que fue para la Nobilissima Ciudad de Guatimala, lo que para Roma Romulo; El famoso por la virtud de su valor, y vitorias, Don Pedro de Alvarado, del Abito de Santiago, Adelantado, Gouernador, Capitan General, Conquistador, Fundador, y Poblador desta Ilustrissima Ciudad de Guatimala. Que la dio Templos, Leyes, Costumbres, y Ritos. Despues de auer deshecho en muchas batallas el engaño de la Idolotria, poniendo para siempre cessacion en sus Altares, y Aras. Passó a la inmortalidad de que ya goza en el Año 1541.' Teatro Ecles., i. 140.

[XII‑30] Juarros, Guat., i. 347.

[XII‑31] Doña Leonor married Pedro Puertocarrero and afterward Francisco de la Cueva, brother of Alvarado's wife. Pedro was legitimized by the emperor. This was, according to Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 237, the natural son, mentioned also by Saavedra, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 247-50, who went to the court of Spain to claim moneys due to his father, and whom Saavedra recommended urgently to Las Casas the councillor of state. Diego was slain in 1554 by Indians at the defeat at Chuquinga. Marroquin informs the emperor that Alvarado left six sons and daughters 'desnudos syn abrigo alguno.' Cartas de Indias, 429, 432-3, 709-10; Gomara, Hist. Ind., 269. Another son named Gomez, by an Indian girl in Guatemala, is mentioned in the will afterward framed by Bishop Marroquin. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 185. For an account of the presentation of Xicotencatl's daughter to Alvarado, see Hist. Mex., i. 227-30, this series.

[XIII‑1] Originally written Giapa, as appears from several original cédulas and other documents bearing dates as late as 1579. Guat., Col. de Cédulas Reales, passim. The meaning of the word is differently explained, Chiapan signifying 'locality of the chia' (oil-seed), also 'sweet water.' Native Races, ii. 126. According to Mazariegos it is derived from 'Tepetchia,' 'Battle hill,' the name of the stronghold where the Chiapanecs fortified themselves against the Mexicans. Mem. Chiapa, 12.

[XIII‑2] See Native Races, v. 231, this series.

[XIII‑3] Id., i. 681-2; v. 603-4.

[XIII‑4] For the aboriginal history of these people I would refer the reader to my Native Races of the Pacific States, vol. v., passim.

[XIII‑5] Mazariegos, Mem. Chiapa, 5, 6; Cortés, Diario, xix. 390; Juarros, Guat., i. 10; Id. (ed. London, 1823), 210; Larrainzar, Soconusco, 16; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 264.

[XIII‑6] Mazariegos states that harsh treatment drove the Indians to revolt, citing as instances that youths of 20 years and under were sold as slaves at the rate of no more than three pesos fuertes; that fugitives were hunted down with bloodhounds, and that any one found warming himself at a fire after eight o'clock at night was hanged. Mem. Chiapa, 6, 7. In these statements he is guilty of anachronism. The law regarding the extinguishing of fires was passed on the 15th of August 1528, and that arranging the price of slaves in October of the same year, the former being almost immediately annulled with regard to the punishment of hanging; but both were enacted after the subjugation of the Indians. Consult Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 276, 278-9.

[XIII‑7] Called also Chiapan. This river takes its rise in the Chuchumatan mountains. Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 574. It and its affluents form the head-waters of the Tabasco or Grijalva. The Spaniards were moving up the left bank, the town of Chiapas being on the opposite side somewhat higher.

[XIII‑8] This force is less than that given by Gomara and others. Bernal Diaz states that there were five other horsemen, who, however, could not be counted as fighting men. The artilleryman he describes as 'muy cobarde,' and informs us that the natives of Cachula, 'Ibã tẽblando de miedo, y por halagos los llevamos q̃ nos ayudassen á abrir Camino, y llevar el fardaje.' He also asserts that the levy was held in lent, 1524, adding 'Esto de los años no me acuerdo bien.' His memory was correct, however, as is proved by Godoy's despatch to Cortés, which will be frequently quoted later.

[XIII‑9] The Indians of Chiapas and its district were the terror of surrounding towns, and were incessantly at war with those of Cinacantlan and of the towns about Lake Quilenayas, robbing, killing, reducing to slavery, and sacrificing captives. They even waylaid merchant trains on the roads between Tehuantepec and other provinces. Bernal Diaz states that without exception they were the greatest warriors of all New Spain, superior even to the Tlascaltecs and Mexicans.

[XIII‑10] The number of natives killed as related by Bernal Diaz is so disproportionately small that some error must have crept into his text. He says, 'Hallamos quinze dellos muertos, y otros muchos heridos q̃ no se pudierõ ir.' Hist. Verdad., 178.

[XIII‑11] Bernal Diaz remarks that Chiapas could in truth be called a city, for its streets were well laid out, and its houses strongly built, containing more than 4,000 heads of families.

[XIII‑12] Id., Godoy, Rel., in Barcia, i. 167; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 233. Brasseur de Bourbourg suggests that these aprons were made of india-rubber. Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 574; but Bernal Diaz, 178, says, 'Cõ buenas armas de algodõ,' and Gomara, 'vnos paneses rodados de algodon hilado.'

[XIII‑13] Bernal Diaz' contempt of this man is expressed by an epithet particularly offensive to a Spaniard, 'nuestro negro Artillero que llevavavamos'(sic) '(q̃ bien negro se podra llamar).' Hist. Verdad., 179.

[XIII‑14] 'Y traian en vn brasero sahumerio, y vnos idolos de piedra.' Id.

[XIII‑15] 'Y diximos al Fraile q̃ nos encomendase á Dios.' Id.

[XIII‑16] 'Nos hirierõ cesique á todos los mas, y a algunos á dos, y á tres heridas.' Id., 180.

[XIII‑17] Three prisons of latticed timbers were discovered in the city. These were filled with captives who had been seized on the roads. Among them some were from Tehuantepec, others were Zapotecs and Soconuscans. Many Indians also were found sacrificed, and in the temples were hideous idols, 'y hallamos muchas cosas malas de sodomias que vsavan.' Id., 180.

[XIII‑18] Called by Bernal Diaz Gueyhuiztlan, also Guequiztlan, Gueguistitlan, and Guegustitlan, which are probably misprints. Hist. Verdad., 180-1. Godoy spells it Huegueyztean. Rel., in Barcia, i. 168. The first author writes for Cinacantlan, Cinacatan; Godoy, Cenacantean; and Herrera, Canacantean. dec. iii. lib. v. cap. ix.

[XIII‑19] Godoy in his despatch to Cortés states that Medina was released on bail, but that on their return to Espíritu Santo he had imprisoned him, and that justice would be dealt him. Bernal Diaz, however, states that Marin ordered him to be sent under guard to Cortés: 'y luego manda que por la posta le lleuassen a Mexico, para que Cortés le castigasse.' Hist. Verdad., 180. Herrera, followed by Brasseur de Bourbourg, asserts that Godoy sent him to Cortés. dec. iii. lib. v. cap. ix. Oviedo makes no mention of the circumstance. Bernal Diaz informs us that the offender was a soldier of high standing, and refrains from giving his name for the sake of his honor, but with amusing inconsistency states that he will mention it later, which he does on page 198. Medina's fate was tragic, but merited; he was killed by Indians at Xicalanco, for particulars of which event see Hist. Cent. Am., i. 543-4, this series. Remesal and Beaumont give a version of his death somewhat different from that of Bernal Diaz, who is the more reliable authority. They state that Medina had been sent after Cortés to inform him of the disturbances which had arisen in Mexico during his absence on the Honduras expedition, and that he was captured by the Indians of Xicalanco, who, sticking splinters of pitch-pine into his body and setting fire to them, made him walk round a hole in the ground till he expired. Hist. Chyapa, 164; Crón. Mich., MS., 322.

[XIII‑20] It was here that Ciudad Real, or Chiapas de los Españoles, was founded later. Id., 181; Godoy, Rel., in Barcia, i. 167.

[XIII‑21] Cinacantlan lay between Chiapas and Chamula about three leagues from the latter. Hist. Verdad., 180.

[XIII‑22] Called Chamolla by Herrera, and also by Gomara. Conq. Mex., 233; Chamolán by Ixtlilxochitl. Horribles Crueldades, 71.

[XIII‑23] Godoy states that the horsemen were divided into three troops, which were stationed so as to form a cordon round the hill; Bernal Diaz that the cavalry attempted the steep, but were found to be useless, and that Marin therefore ordered them to retire, as he feared an attack from the towns of Quiahuitlan (Huehueiztlan?).

[XIII‑24] 'Yno les podiamos hazer daño ninguno con los grandes mamparos que tenian, y ellos à nosotros si, que siempre herian muchos de los nuestros.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 181. Godoy on the contrary says that the Chamulans sustained heavy loss from the cannon and cross-bows. Rel., in Barcia, i. 167-8.

[XIII‑25] Godoy makes no mention of the building of these sheds.

[XIII‑26] 'Y agua y sangre toda rebuelta, y mui caliente,' was also showered down upon the Spaniards according to Bernal Diaz. Godoy says 'nos echaban mucha agua caliente, embuelta en ceniça, i cal.'

[XIII‑27] Bernal Diaz gives a glowing account of the shower of golden ornaments: 'Y nos echaron desde las almenas siete diademas de oro fino, y muchas cuentas vaziadizas, é otras joyas como caracoles y anades todo de oro.' Hist. Verdad., 181. Godoy on the contrary says: 'echaron vn poco de Oro desde dentro, diciendo, que dos Petacas tenian de aquello.' Rel., in Barcia, i. 168. Herrera and Gomara follow Godoy.

[XIII‑28] Three o'clock in the afternoon. Bernal Diaz is frequently at variance with Godoy in minor points, and from his account this would be either the third day of the siege, or the assault with the sheds was commenced on the first day; neither of these statements agreeing with Godoy. I consider the latter more reliable in many matters of detail, as he wrote almost immediately after the occurrences.

[XIII‑29] Bernal Diaz was slightly wounded by a spear-thrust in the contest which occurred before the rain-storm, and was only saved by the thickness of his cotton corslet. He claims to have discovered the ruse of the Chamulans in planting their spears in position, but on this point his narrative is doubtful. Godoy says, 'I hallamonos burlados ... i subiendo el Albarrada, no havia Hombre dentro.' Rel., in Barcia, i. 168.

[XIII‑30] 'Hallamos harto de comer, que bien lo haviamos menester, à causa que los dos Dias no haviamos comido, ni teniamos que ni aun los Caballos.' Id. Ixtlilxochitl, contrary to Bernal Diaz, Godoy, Gomara, and Herrera, states that they obtained much booty but few provisions. Horribles Crueldades, 71.

[XIII‑31] Godoy states that 200 Indians had been killed on the first day of the siege; while on the second so many fell that they were not counted. The town was assigned by Luis Marin to Bernal Diaz, as a reward for having first entered it, and Cortés ratified the grant for a period of eight years. When Ciudad Real was founded the population of Chamula was transferred thither. Hist. Verdad., 181.

[XIII‑32] Godoy states that this opinion was unanimous. In this portion of the narrative he and Bernal Diaz are thoroughly at variance, the latter evidently having wished to remain. Considerable dissension occurred. Alonso de Grado, whom Bernal Diaz describes as a turbulent rather than a fighting man, produced a cédula signed by Cortés assigning to him half the town of Chiapas as an encomienda. On the strength of it he demanded of Marin half the gold collected at that city, which was refused him on the ground that it was needed to pay for the horses that had been killed. An angry dispute followed, in which Godoy became involved, and it was terminated by the lieutenant putting both him and Grado in irons and keeping them prisoners six or seven days. Then Grado was sent under guard to Mexico, where he was severely reprimanded by Cortés, and Godoy released by the intercession of friends. Hist. Verdad., 182. Now Godoy mentions nothing of this affair, but states that Grado went to Chiapas, and other Spaniards to towns 'que alli el Teniente les havia depositado,' and were well received. Rel., in Barcia, i. 169.

[XIII‑33] Both Herrera and Remesal state that this first expedition of Mazariegos was undertaken in 1524, and in this statement only, and in the number of the forces, do they agree. Herrera's account of the campaign of 1524 is copied almost word for word by Remesal in his narration of the one in 1526; and the former author as lightly mentions Mazariegos' second expedition as Remesal does his first. The latter may, however, in this instance, be relied upon, as he quotes from the archives of Mexico. The entrance of Pedro Puertocarrero into Chiapas from Guatemala is mentioned by both authors, as an incident of the campaign which each describes, but it is impossible to believe that Alvarado could have spared that officer with a body of troops during the eventful year 1524, when fully occupied with the conquest of Guatemala. I have, therefore, adopted Remesal's chronology. It is strange that he does not seem to have had any knowledge of Marin's expedition, as related by Herrera. This somewhat perplexes Juarros, who remarks that Bernal Diaz' narration is 'circumstantially so different from the relation of Remesal as to induce a belief that the latter had been misled by false information.' Guat. (ed. London, 1823), 210-11.

[XIII‑34] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 221-2. Guzman was a near relative of the Duke of Medina Sidonia. Id.

[XIII‑35] Mazariegos was cousin to Alonso de Estrada, then governor of Mexico. Remesal gives the names of more than 80 officers and soldiers who accompanied the expedition. Noticeable among them is that of Juan Enriquez de Guzman, who appears to have returned to Mexico after the outbreak. In the same list appear the names of two priests, Pedro de Castellanos and Pedro Gonzalez. Hist. Chyapa, 265. From Bernal Diaz we learn that Mazariegos was instructed to take Guzman's residencia. Hist. Verdad., 222. It was the performance of this duty, perhaps, which, at a later date, made Guzman so bitter an enemy of Mazariegos.

[XIII‑36] 'Pelearon, hasta que pudieron leuantar los braços.' Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xiv.

[XIII‑37] 'Se despeñaron mas de quinze mil dellos en dos vezes que fueron conquistados.' Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 330.

[XIII‑38] It stands, though in a ruined state, to this day. Mazariegos, Mem. Chiapa, 13. The traveller Thomas Gage, who wrote in 1677, remarks that the country of Chiapas 'surpasseth all the rest of America in that one and famous and most populous town of Chiapa of the Indians,' which later he says 'is held to be one of the biggest Indian towns in all America, containing at least 4,000 families.' New Survey, 219, 233.

[XIII‑39] The object of Puertocarrero's presence is considered by Remesal to have been the extension of territory under the government of Alvarado. Hist. Chyapa, 265-6. Another author states that at the commencement of the revolt the Spaniards had hurriedly fled to Comitlan, where they sent word to Alvarado in Guatemala. Mazariegos, Mem. Chiapa, 10. The reader is aware that Alvarado was in Spain at this period.

[XIII‑40] Hist. Chyapa, 279. The colonists of Espíritu Santo also laid claim to the territories of Chiapas and Cachula, as is seen in a royal cédula of 1538, in Puga, Cedulario, 115. Juarros says that Puertocarrero being informed of the disturbances in Chiapas considered it his duty to repair thither and endeavor to restore tranquillity. Guat. (ed. London, 1823), 214.

[XIII‑41] These appointments had been extended by Alonso de Estrada in November 1527. On the 6th of March the municipality drew up a tariff of fines, ordered a pillory and scaffold to be erected, and transacted other business. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 268-9.

[XIII‑42] Guez Gueizacatlan as spelled by Juarros, Hist. Guat., 61.

[XIII‑43] A coat of arms was granted to the town in 1535. It was as follows: A shield with two mountain ranges with a river flowing between them; above on the right a castle, Or with a lion rampant against it; on the left a palm Vert in fruit, and another lion rampant, all on a field, Gules. A decree of the state congress of July 27, 1829, again changed the name of the place to Ciudad de San Cristóbal. Pineda, in Soc. Mex. Geog., iii. 371-2. Consult also Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 188-9, where will be found a wood-cut design of the arms; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 271, 272-3; Mazariegos, Mem. Chiapa, 18-19; Juarros, Guat., i. 12; Pineda, Descrip. Geog., 48. For meaning of viciosa see Hist. Mex., i. 145.

[XIII‑44] The office of alguacil mayor was at last sold for 4,687 pesos; those of the eight regidors for 400 pesos each; that of the public administrator for 4,200 tostones—the toston being half a peso—that of escribano publico for 627 pesos, and later for 1,110 pesos. Purida, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, iii. 370.

[XIII‑45] For the incidents that occurred before the capture of the town of Chiapas the account of Bernal Diaz has been accepted as the base of this narrative, but the version of Diego de Godoy, an 'escribano del rey,' who accompanied the expedition, is also worthy of credit. The latter furnished Cortés with two reports of the proceedings, though his first one, which was written from Cinacantlan, has not yet appeared in print, and is perhaps no longer extant. The second despatch was written from Espíritu Santo, and was first published at Toledo by Caspa de Ávila on the 20th of October 1525, together with the fourth letter of Cortés to the king of Spain, and again in Valencia by George Costilla on the 12th of July 1526. In 1749 Andrés Gonzalez de Barcia reproduced it in Madrid, in his collection of the works of the chroniclers. Godoy's account and that of Bernal Diaz, though agreeing in the main features of the campaign, are strangely contradictory in many particulars. In weighing the credibility of their statements it should be borne in mind that the former wrote his despatch immediately after the conclusion of the campaign, while the latter wrote from memory many years afterward. It is beyond dispute that Marin commanded this expedition, as appears from his own despatch and the statements of Bernal Diaz; yet in Gomara, Hist. Mex., 233; Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. viii., and Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 573, it is stated that Godoy was in charge, Marin being second in command.

[XIV‑1] Benzoni spells the word Achla and states that the town was situated at a distance of about two bow-shots from the shore. Mondo Nuovo, 77. For a description of its site see Hist. Cent. Am., i. 418, this series. Girolamo Benzoni, in 1541, joined the Spaniards in their forays for gold and slaves, and traversed the Central American provinces. Regarded doubtless as an interloper he does not appear to have met with the success he expected, and in 1556 returned to Italy determined to vent his spite by an exposé of Spanish greed and cruelty. In 1565 he published the work entitled La Historia del Mondo Nuovo, dedicated to Pius IV., and containing 18 wood-cuts, with his own portrait on the frontispiece. The second edition, somewhat amplified, appeared in 1572, followed by quite a number of reprints and translations, particularly in German and Latin. The well known version by Chauveton, doctor and protestant preacher at Geneva, the Novæ Novi Orbis Historiæ, Geneva, 1578, was frequently reissued. The dedication praises Benzoni for exactitude and impartiality, and notes by other writers are added to confirm and explain the text. De Bry gave further value to this version by means of maps and fancy plates. Purchas, among others, treated it with less respect in offering merely 'Briefe extracts translated out of Ierom Benzo.' Amends were made for this slight in 1857, when the only full English version was issued by Admiral Smyth, under the auspices of the Hakluyt Society. The rendering is somewhat faulty, however, and the corrections of Benzoni's uncultured style and misspelled names not always an improvement.

Benzoni had evidently the intention of writing a more imposing general history of the New World, though it dwindled into a short narrative. There is an apparent effort at moderation, particularly with regard to himself, yet the disposition to exaggerate, or to lie, as Thevet intimates, crops out even in his sarcasms, and yielding to credulity he allows a great part of the narrative, on events or phenomena, to become merely the record of jangling and weird rumors current among gossips. This he partly admits by saying: 'In molte cose ho trouato che vna parte non conforma con l'altra, à causa che ogn'uno fauorisce il suo capitano, et più dico, che in questi paesi si trattano poche verità.' lib. iii. fol. 128. 'Lo mas de su narracion sacó de los autores precedentes con bastante fidelidad, pero comunmente sin juicio ni examen. En los principios está lleno de errores.' Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, tom. i. xxi.-ii. Robertson refers to him as a discontented detractor. He does not feel well affected toward Las Casas, despite their common aim, but calls him a vain man, incapable of carrying out his reform promises. Whatever may be said against the work, much of the material is valuable, as it embraces facts glossed over by the chroniclers, and gives the personal observations of a man not imbued with Castilian partiality. Indeed, Pinelo calls him an 'Autor poco afecto à los Españoles,' Epitome, tom. ii. 589, and they very naturally have returned the compliment by neglecting him.

A contemporary of Benzoni as traveller and author is the Frenchman André Thevet, who claims to have travelled for 17 years round the world, to acquire a proper knowledge of men and things, and who is credited with having mastered 28 languages. The result of his observations was issued at Paris in 1558 as, Les singularitez de la France Antarctique, autrement nommée Amerique, containing philosophic dissertations on natural and moral history in the Levant, Africa, and America, and remarkable chiefly for credulity and want of critique. It attained several editions which are now sought for their rarity, among them, Historia dell'India America, di Andrea Tevet. Venice, 1561. He also wrote the Cosmographie universelle, Paris, 1575, 2 vols. folio, which is even more valueless, and admired only for its wood-cuts; the Cosmographie du Levant. Lyon, 1556; and the Cosmographie moscovite, published only in Paris 1858; and he left several other pieces in manuscript. De Thou refers to him rather severely as follows: 'Fuit patriâ engolimensis, professione primó Franciscanus, dein, cum vix litteras scìret, abjecto cucullo ex monacho celeberrimus planus religiosis et aliis peregrinationibus primam ætatem contrivit, ex quibus famâ contractâ, animum ad libros seribendos ineptâ ambitione applicavit, quos alieno calamo plerumque exacatos et ex itinerariis vulgaribus atque hujusmodi de plebe Scripturis consarcinatos miseris librariis pro suis venditabat: nam alioqui litterarum, antiquitatis atque omnis temporum rationis supra omnem fidem fuit imperitus, ut fere incerta pro certis, falsa pro veris et absurda semper sciberet.' Hist., lib. xi.

[XIV‑2] This epithet they applied to all Christians.

[XIV‑3] For the condition of the native settlements in Honduras, see Montejo, Cartas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ii. 223-4, 228, 240-1; and Squier's MSS., xxii. 24-6.

[XIV‑4] By cédula, dated July 20, 1532, they were exempted from other than a nominal tribute of two reals, Juarros, Guat., i. 74; ii. 343; but this order was unheeded. In 1547 the survivors drew up a memorial to the emperor representing their past services and sufferings, and petitioning for their rights. The document was written by a friar and referred to the licentiate Cerrato, who was instructed to see that justice was done to them. Memorial, 1547, MS., in Centro América, Extractos Sueltos, 41-2. An attempt was made at a later date to impose tribute upon their descendants; but the Mexican government confirmed them in their rights in 1564: 'Fueron amparados en posesion de su libertad, y se libró en Tenuctitlan á 6 de noviembre de 1564 real provision, que conservan los naturales de Almolonga en fólios de pergamino encuadernados en forma de libro, empastado con tablas finas, y forrado en terciopelo carmesi,' etc. Pelaez, Mem. Guat., i. 167.

[XIV‑5] In the time of Alvarado the tribute of cacao was 1,400 xiquipiles, and this was paid until 1542. Requête d'Atitlan, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i. tom. x. 420-2. A xiquipil was 8,000, and the number of chocolate-beans contributed was therefore 11,200,000.

[XIV‑6] Regio, Ind. Devastat., 38-40. How populous the country was may be imagined from the fact that Alvarado represented it as exceeding Mexico in the number of its inhabitants. 'Et ipsemet tyrannus scripsit majorem esse in hac provincia populi frequentiam, quám in Regno Mexico, quod & verum est.' Id. Las Casas also states that, when the Spaniards first entered the country, the towns and villages were so many and large and so densely populated that those who marched in advance not infrequently returned to the captain demanding a reward for having discovered another city equal in size to Mexico. Hist. Apolog., MS., 28.

[XIV‑7] It will be remembered, however, that Alvarado procured relays of Indians from Guatemala to pack his material and supplies from Trujillo to Iztapa. Enough were left, remarks Remesal, upon whom to wreak his vengeance, and the Cakchiquel and Quiché princes, who appeared before him to do him homage, became the first victims. They were reproached with the reforms brought about in their favor, during his absence, as of crimes worthy of capital punishment; for daring to complain to the governor they were accused of rebellion. Nameless adventurers, who had been unable to extort enough gold from them, or take from them their vassals to work in their fields and houses, pretended that the ill-will of these chiefs had caused their ruin, and loudly demanded that the adelantado should grant new repartimientos according to their services. Alvarado, who was wounded to the quick by the appointment of Maldonado, listened to all these complaints, and now displayed his usual brutality. Prince Cook, Ahtzib of the Cakchiquel crown, he ran through with a sword. Tepepul, king of Gumarcaah, or Utatlan, and the Ahpozotzil Cahi Imox, together with a large number of lords, were cast into a prison on some frivolous pretext. When on the point of sailing from Iztapa, Alvarado being requested by the municipal council to determine their fate, settled the matter by hanging the latter and putting the former together with a number of the leading caciques on board his fleet. All of them perished miserably on the coast of Jalisco. Among his other victims was a lord called Chuwi-Tziquinu and 17 other Cakchiquel princes, whom he took with him from Santiago under pretence of conducting them to Mexico. When a short distance from the city he caused them all to be strangled. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, lib. iv. cap. iv. v. xx.; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 797-801; Pelaez, Mem. Guat., i. 77.

[XIV‑8] Real Cédula de 17 de Novre 1526, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, v. 326-31. In the preamble to this decree the emperor states that it is notorious that excessive toil in mines and at other labor and the want of food and proper clothing had caused the death of such numbers that some parts of the country had become depopulated, while whole districts were abandoned by the natives, who had fled to the mountains and forests to escape ill-treatment. This cédula, designed to apply to the king's dominions in the west from Panamá to Florida, ordered diligent inquiry to be made relative to the killing, robbery, and illegal branding of Indians, and that the perpetrators should be delivered over to the council of the Indies. Other provisos were that slaves should be restored to their native country, and if this were not possible they were to be placed in reasonable liberty, nor were they to be too heavily worked or made to labor in the mines or elsewhere against their will. In future expeditions of discovery and colonization the leader was to take with him two ecclesiastics at least, who were to use greatest diligence in obtaining kindly treatment for the Indians. Natives who were peaceably inclined were not to be made slaves; at the same time the promotion of morality and good customs was not left out of sight, and in cases where it might be deemed beneficial by the priest they might be assigned to Christian Europeans as free servitors; and lastly no discoverer was to take with him out of their native land on any of his expeditions more than one or two Indians to act as interpreters. Ximenez, lib. iii. cap. lii., states that natives were branded as slaves through having been merely assigned to an encomendero, and that young boys and tender girls were taken from the towns by hundreds to wash for gold in the gulches, where they perished from hunger and hardship. Pelaez, Mem. Guat., i. 67. A notable case of branding Indians who had peaceably submitted, was that of the natives of Cuzcatlan by Alvarado in 1524, described by witnesses in Cortés, Residencia, 96, 155.

[XIV‑9] This order repeated the mandates of the previous cédula, and in addition abolished the system of encomiendas, as well as the branding of Indians as slaves. His majesty refused to grant them as vassals to any one. No Spaniard was to be allowed to use them as pack-animals. The caciques were not to be deprived entirely of governing power, but allowed certain jurisdiction, under the advice and instruction of the governors of provinces. Natives were to be encouraged in gold-mining; but, on payment of the royal dues, the gold they extracted was to belong to themselves; nor were they to be deprived of the lands they had acquired by inheritance, if they wished to cultivate them.

[XIV‑10] In 1533 it was enacted that an Indian's load should not exceed two arrobas in weight. In 1536 it was ordered that natives who had been accustomed to move from place to place were not to be prevented from doing so. Other laws passed the same year were to the effect that no Spaniard of any rank could be carried about by Indians in hammock or palanquin. Negroes ill-treating Indians were to receive 100 lashes, or if blood were shed, a punishment adequate to the severity of the wound. Native villages and settlements were not to be inhabited by Spaniards, negroes, or mulattoes. A Spaniard when travelling could only remain one night, and Spanish traders three days, in an Indian village. In 1538 laws were made ordering that caciques were not to sell or barter their subjects. This year also a modification of previous enactments limited the use of natives as pack-animals to those under 18 years of age. The Indians were, by all possible means other than coercion, to be induced to live in communities. In 1541 viceroys, audiencias, and governors were ordered to ascertain whether encomenderos sold their slaves, and if any such were discovered they were to be exemplarily punished and the bondsmen thus sold restored to liberty. Recop. de Indias, ii. 192, 194, 201-2, 212, 277-8, 288-9. These laws were general and applied to all Spanish America. Vazquez states that, in the year 1714, there existed in the city archives of Guatemala royal cédulas, issued in 1531, 1533, and 1534, authorizing the branding of slaves taken in war or obtained by rescate. Chronica de Gvat., 37-8.

[XIV‑11] In December 1530 the cabildo of Santiago was compelled to pass a law ordering the burial of the dead. 'Los Indios que mueren en sus casas, no los entierran, è los dexan comer de perros, y aues, è podrir dentro de la dicha ciudad, de que suelen venir è recrecer muchas dolencias á los vezinos y habitãtes.' Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 30. Christianized Indians, whether servant or slave, were to be buried in consecrated ground at the depth of the waist-belt of a man of good stature. Others were to be buried an estado deep, out of reach of dogs, under penalty of 20 pesos de oro. Id.

[XIV‑12] In 1529 laws were passed prohibiting such acts under a penalty of 25 pesos de oro, the proprietor of the servant to forfeit his ownership. If the person offending were an hidalgo the fine was 100 pesos de oro; if not he was to receive 100 lashes. Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guat., 90-1, 114-15. The market called by the Indians tianguez was held daily at sunset. To provide against the outrages then committed a master of the market was appointed in 1532. In the following year another decree was found necessary, which was republished February 9, 1534. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 32.

[XIV‑13] Paul III. it will be remembered is noted as the pontiff who excommunicated Henry VIII. of England, and in the contest of Charles V. with the Protestant League despatched a large force to the emperor's aid.

[XIV‑14] It will be remembered that the inquisition, at that time in full blast, was founded by the Dominican order. In Prescott's Peru, ii. 253, it is stated that the arguments used by Las Casas before the junta were first published by a secretary of that institution.

[XIV‑15] The full text of them is given in Leyes y Ordenanzas, Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 204-27. There are extracts from them in Herrera, Remesal, Torquemada, and other chroniclers. For further mention of the new code and its workings see Hist. Mex., ii. 516, et seq. this series. Prescott says: 'The provisions of this celebrated code are to be found, with more or less—generally less—accuracy, in the various contemporary writers. Herrera gives them in extenso.' Peru, ii. 255. The historian is himself somewhat inaccurate on this and other points.

[XIV‑16] Before the new laws were passed Indians captured in war or guilty of certain crimes could be legally enslaved.

[XIV‑17] For a description of the repartimiento and encomienda system, see Hist. Cent. Am., i. 262-4, and Hist. Mex., ii. 145-52, this series.

[XIV‑18] For a description of the organization and jurisdiction of audiencias see Hist. Cent. Am., i. 270-3, this series, and of the supreme council of the Indies, 280-2 of the same vol.

[XIV‑19] The version given in Prescott's Peru, ii. 260-1, is that the viceroy found a ship, laden with silver from the Peruvian mines, ready to sail for Spain, and that he laid an embargo on the vessel as containing the proceeds of slave labor. There is, however, no absolute prohibition in the new code against the employment of Indians in working the mines, although, as mentioned in Herrera, dec. vi. lib. v. cap. iv., a cédula issued in 1538, forbade that natives be so engaged, and authorized the substitution of negro slave labor for such purposes.

[XIV‑20] The emperor was memorialized by the clergy and by the civil authorities, each party sending its petition without the other's knowledge, each slandering its adversary and using such falsehoods as would be most likely to injure the opposite cause. Abreo, in Cent. Am.; Extr. Sueltos, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 48.

[XV‑1] Gasca, Carta al Consejo, in Col. Doc. Inéd., l. 107; see also Herrera, dec. vi. lib. v. cap. iii.

[XV‑2] In Garella, Isthme de Panama, 4, it is stated that Andagoya made his survey in obedience to a cédula issued 20th February 1534. Some authorities state that Philip first suggested the idea of uniting the two oceans by means of a canal; but when the survey was ordered he was not over seven years of age. In Hist. Cent. Am., i. 360-1, this series, there is a description of the difficulties overcome in constructing the first road across the Isthmus about 1520, and an account of the obstacles encountered by surveying expeditions even in the middle of the nineteenth century.

[XV‑3] Almagro, Informacion, Col. Doc. Inéd., xxvi. 265, and Herrera, dec. iv. lib. x. cap. vii.

[XV‑4] Benzoni goes somewhat out of his way to make Panamá appear in a contemptible light. He says that it contained about 4,000 inhabitants and had about 120 houses built of reeds or wood and roofed with shingles, but he does not explain how such a population contrived to crowd themselves into that number of dwellings.

[XV‑5] In his description of a journey from Acla to Panamá by way of Nombre de Dios, Benzoni mentions that his party was accompanied by 20 negro slaves, whose business it was to cut away the undergrowth and branches of trees that barred their path. The same writer also alludes to the danger incurred by travellers during the rainy season through the frequent crossing of the Chagres en route across the Isthmus. He relates a story of a Spaniard, who while fording the last branch of the river, mounted on a mule, and with gold and jewels in his possession to the value of 4,000 ducats, was carried down stream, lost everything, and was saved only by tying himself to the branch of a tree, arriving at Nombre de Dios with only his waistcoat.

[XV‑6] In commenting on the statements then current as to the commerce of Panamá, Benzoni remarks: 'Senza dubio dieci Mercatanti Venetiani basteriano à comprare tutte le mercantie che vi entrano vna volta l'anno, con la istessa città.' Mondo Nvovo, lib. ii. 79.

[XV‑7] Pizarro sent 20,000 gold castellanos to Panamá and thus enlisted in his service a number of recruits which he could not otherwise have obtained. Naharro, Descubr. y Conq., MS.

[XV‑8] Among other marauding expeditions planned by Almagro was a raid on Panamá and Nombre de Dios for the purpose of plundering both places, and making the former a base for future operations against Nicaragua and Guatemala. He intended moreover to destroy all ships on the Pacific side that could not be utilized. Vaca de Castro (Licenciado Cristóbal), Carta al Emperador Don Cárlos, dándole cuenta de la sublevacion y castigo de Don Diego de Almagro el mozo y de otros importantes asuntos (Cuzco, Nov. 24, 1542). Cartas de Indias, 478, 483-4.

[XV‑9] On the very spot where his father met a like fate. Herrera, dec. vi. lib. vi. cap. i.

[XV‑10] 'Españoles hai que crian perros carniceros y los avezan á matar Indios, lo qual procuran á las veces por pasatiempo, i ver si lo hacen bien los perros.' Morales, Relacion, MS.

[XV‑11] In Herrera, dec. vii. lib. vii. cap. xxii., it is stated that Gonzalo was elected captain, procurator general, and chief-justice.

[XV‑12] It was truly a triumphal entry. Pizarro himself was clad in a full suit of mail, with a richly embroidered surcoat, and before him was borne the royal standard of Castille. Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xii.

[XV‑13] He gathered great strength by the adhesion of Diego Centeno, a brave officer, who was exasperated by the cruelty and oppression of Pizarro's lieutenant-governor in Charcas, and therefore declared for the viceroy. Robertson's Hist. Am., ii. 240.

[XV‑14] Vasco Nuñez was decapitated by a negro on the battle-field, and his head borne on a pike. Some of the soldiers were brutal enough to pluck the grey hairs from the beard and wear them in their helmets as trophies of the victory. Herrera, dec. viii. lib. i. cap. iii. See, also, Fernandez, Hist. Peru, pt. i. lib. i. cap. liv.

[XV‑15] He ordered galleys to be built at Arequipa, which with the vessels already in his possession would make him master of the sea from Chile to Nicaragua. Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xv.

[XV‑16] Named by some authors Machicao, and in Benzoni, Mondo Nuovo, Machicano. When Gonzalo Pizarro made his entry into Lima, Bachicao caused the artillery, ammunition, and equipments to be carried on the backs of Indians, thus showing his contempt for the new code of laws. Benzoni, Mondo Nuovo, 210 (Hak. Soc. ed.) See, also, Gomara, Hist. Ind., 214, and Datos Biograficos, in Cartas de Indias, 718-20. Gomara says of him: 'Lo escojeran entre mil para qualquiera afrenta, pero couarde como liebre, y asi solia el dezir: ladrar, pese á tal, y no morder. Era hombre baxo mal acostumbrado, rufian, presumptuoso, renegador, q̃ se auia encomenado al Diablo, ... buen ladron ... asi de amigos como de enemigos.'

[XV‑17] On board the fleet were Maldonado and Doctor Trejada on their way to Spain to render to the emperor Gonzalo Pizarro's account of the matter and await his Majesty's further instructions. Pizarro, Carta al Rey, in Col. Doc. Inéd., l. 195 passim.

[XV‑18] Gomara, Hist. Ind., ii. 14. Benzoni states that the captain was hanged at the harbor of Vecchio in Taboga. 'Fece alcuni soldati in porto Vecchio, e vicino Taboga pigliò una naue, e perche il patrone non abassò le velle cosi presto, lo mandò à impicecare, e cosi giunto à Panama, e non volendo Giouanni di Gusman che intrasse nella città, ilquale faceua gente per lo Vicerè.' Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 143.

[XV‑19] Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 211. See also Oviedo, iv. 400. In Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xvi., it is stated that the order for an execution was given in the words 'Manda hacer el capitan Hernando Bachicao.'

[XV‑20] Of Bachicao's subsequent history we learn that he was captured while attempting to desert to the royalist party, and executed by Francisco Carbajal, one of Gonzalo's officers. Datos Biograficos, in Cartas de Indias, 718-20.

[XV‑21] In addition to other precautions, Pedro de Casaos, the corregidor, or mayor, of Panamá, crossed the Isthmus to Nombre de Dios, and exhorted all loyal citizens to rally for the defence of Panamá. Gathering all the arquebuses and other arms which he could find, he returned to the city and called upon the captains of the viceroy to place themselves under his banner. This they obstinately refused to do, thereby sowing discord which was to tell greatly in favor of the insurgents. Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xxx.

[XV‑22] Twenty thousand ducats according to Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 144.

[XV‑23] Eight ships and three brigantines. Benzoni, Mondo Nuovo.

[XV‑24] Juan de Illanes, as soon as he saw the ships, cried out with a loud voice to the citizens, 'Come out of your houses, ye traitors, come and defend the king's domain from these tyrants!' When Pedro de Casaos sent word to Hinojosa to inquire the cause of his coming he answered that 'he came to pay the debts of Machicano.' Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 144-5.

[XV‑25] Herrera, dec. vii. lib. x. cap. ix. Garcilaso de la Vega, in Hist. Peru, ii. 244, styles Hinojosa governor, and Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xxx., says: 'Y el governador de aquella Provincia llamado Pedro de Casaos, Natural de Sevilla, fue con gran diligencia à la Ciudad de Nombre de Dios, i mandò apercebir toda la Gente que en ella estaba, i juntando todas las Armas, i Arcabuces que pudo haver, los llevò consigo à Panamà.' The corregidor of a town was often styled 'governador' by courtesy. Hence perhaps the mistake.

[XV‑26] Herrera, dec. vii. lib. x. cap. ix.

[XV‑27] It is said that a battle now appearing inevitable, the officer in charge of Vela Nuñez was ordered to hang him and the other prisoners to the yard-arm. Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xxxi. This statement is very improbable.

[XV‑28] He informed the people of Panamá that if they had received a wretch like Machicao, they certainly ought to admit him. Herrera, dec. vii. lib. x. cap. ix.

[XV‑29] They had no faith in Hinojosa's promises. 'Aunque Gonzalo Pizarro governase juridicamente, como ellos decian; y que no tenian color ninguno para entremeterse en distrito ageno; y que las mismas promesas avia hecho Bachicao.' Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 244.

[XV‑30] Herrera, dec. vii. lib. x. cap. x., and Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 145. In Gomara, Hist. Ind., 218, it is stated that 40 men were allowed to land. Other authorities give 50 as the number of the guard and 30 days as the period.

[XV‑31] 'Con este concierto Hinojosa mandô recoger la gente a las naos, y los de Panamá le hablaron y trataron con mucha cortesia, y le aposentaron en la ciudad y diziendole, que se trataua de prenderle, ô matarle; aunque no lo creyô, todauia se hizo fuerte en la casa adõde posaua, y poco despues, como buen Capitan, por quitar ocasiones de tumultos se fue a sus naos, y presto se entendió q̃ aquel rumor no fue palabras.' Herrera, dec. vii. lib. x. cap. 10.

[XV‑32] It was during this year that the wealth of Potosí began to be known.

[XV‑33] In Herrera, dec. viii. lib. i. cap. ix., it is stated that Hinojosa's officers committed many robberies, taking care to hide them from their commander, who strictly forbade anything of the kind and gave orders that all such offenders should be handed over to the civil authorities. Gasca, in Carta al Consejo, 1. 108-9, says that Hinojosa forced the people of Panamá and Nombre de Dios to feed and quarter his men.

[XV‑34] A native of Álava, and a fellow-townsman of the viceroy. Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xxxiii. See also Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 244.

[XV‑35] 'Et non molto dopo Melchior Verdugo calato per lo Scolatio di Nicaragua con duecento soldati con animo di offendere la gente di Pizzarro.' Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 146. In Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xxxiii., the number is stated at 100.

[XV‑36] The darkness of the night favored them, but Verdugo's men might have effected their capture if they had not been too intent in plundering the house. Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 245.

[XV‑37] Herrera says that Hinojosa expecting to be attacked placed the city of Panamá in a thorough state of defence and told his officers that Verdugo held but the authority granted him by the audiencia de los Confines and knew not even whether the viceroy were alive. dec. viii. lib. ii. cap. iv.

[XV‑38] One hundred and fifty arquebusiers. Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 145-46, 140; Gomara, Hist. Ind., 219.

[XV‑39] 'Verdugo fu il primo à saltare in vn Brigantino, et solo vn soldato resto ferito, e questo fu el fine delle brauate di Verdugo.' Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 146.

[XV‑40] 'La dificultad de tanto aparato, ... Armas, y Cavallos, Municíon y Bastimento, y la Navegacion tan larga, yaver de pasar dos Mares les forçava á no tomar este Consejo.' Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 268.

[XV‑41] Gasca was born in 1494 in the Caballería de Navarregadilla, a small town near the Barca de Ávila. He received a liberal education, being placed by his uncle at the famous seminary of Alcalá de Henares, and subsequently transferred to the university of Salamanca. He was ordained a priest in 1531, and in 1541 was appointed counsellor of the inquisition. He acquired great renown by his gallant defence of the city of Valencia, at a time when its inhabitants were panic-stricken at the approach of a foreign foe. 'Vinieron á tierra de Avila la familia de Gasca mudándose ... las dos letras consonantes C y G el nombre de Casca en Gasca.' Hist. de Don Pedro Gasca, MS. Even when a student he showed the power of his will and decision of character in quelling political disturbances. Datos Biograficos, in Cartas de Indias, 763-7.

[XV‑42] 'El Titulo que llevó, fue de Presidente de la Audiencia Real del Perú.' Zárate, Hist. Peru, in Barcia, lib. vi. cap. vi.

[XV‑43] 'Llevó las Cédulas, y Recaudos necesarios, en caso, que convinese hacer Gente de Guerra, aunque estos fueron secretos, porque no publicaba, ni trataba, sino de los perdones, i de los otros medios pacificos.' Zárate, Hist. Peru, in Barcia, lib. vi. cap. vi. Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 269, says: 'Le diesen absoluto Poder en todo, y por todo, tan cumplido y bastante, como su Magestad lo tenia en las Indias.' See, also, Prescott's Peru, ii. 344.

[XV‑44] 'Alvarado habló á Hernan Mexia, i le dió noticia de la venida del Presidente, diciendole quien era, i á lo que venia, i despues de largas platicas se despidieron, sin haverse declarado el vno al otro sus animos, porque ambos estaban sospechosos.' Zárate, Hist. Peru, in Barcia, lib. vi. cap. vi.

[XV‑45] Fernandez, Hist. Peru, pt. i. lib. ii. cap. xxi. Gasca did not hear of the death of the viceroy until after his landing at Nombre de Dios, but smothered his resentment, and even declared that if Pizarro would not receive him he would return to the emperor. Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 170. See, also, Gomara, Hist. Ind., 228. Gasca's letter to Verdugo, then awaiting the emperor's orders at Cartagena, is also characteristic of the subtle churchman: 'Embió a decir á Melchor Verdugo, que venia con ciertos Compañeros á servirle, no viniese, sino que estuviese á la mira.' Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 269. See, also, Herrera, dec. viii. lib. ii. cap. v.

[XV‑46] 'Mexia le repondio, que la vandera que alli estaba, la tenia por el Rey, y no por Pizarro, y q̃ haria en su seruicio quanto le mãdasse.' Herrera, dec. viii. lib. ii. cap. v. 'I que si queria, que llanamente se alçase Vandera por su Magestad, lo haria, i podian ir à Panamà, i tomar la Armada, lo qual seria facil de hacer.' Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. iii. 133. See also, Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 270.

[XV‑47] Fernandez, Hist. Peru, pt. i. lib. ii. cap. xxviii. See also Herrera, dec. viii. lib. ii. cap. vi., and Gomara, Hist. Ind., 228.