The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. 2

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1/25/22, 8:50 PM The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo written by himself, containing a true an… despatches, that all the endeavoursof our agents were only exerted in behalf of Cortes and of themselves,and that we others, who had undergone all the fatigues andperils to place Cortes in that high and meritorious position, would haveto toil to the last day of our lives. However, we must pray to Godmercifully to remember us, and to instil the thoughts into our emperor'smind likewise of rewarding us according to our merits, which we mayfully hope for from his majesty, who is so good a catholic. CHAPTER CLXIX. Of Cortes' plans after he had obtained the appointment of governor ofNew Spain; the way in which he distributes the Indians; and ofother matters. I and other of the most experienced and deserving of the veteranConquistadores had always made sure that, as soon as Cortes shouldreceive the appointment of governor of New Spain, he would rememberthe day when he set sail from Cuba, and that he would bring back tohis mind the great troubles by which he was immediately after surrounded,and that he would have remembered all those of the men who,soon after he had landed with his troops in New Spain, had procuredhim the appointment of captain-general and chief justice of thecountry, and have borne in mind that we never for a moment lefthis side in all the subsequent battles and dangers. By heavens! heought never to have forgotten any one of us,—we who always took hispart, who exerted ourselves to the utmost for him on the occasion whena portion of the troops clamoured to return to Vera Cruz, and strovehard to persuade him to abandon all thoughts of the campaign againstMexico, on account of the vast power of this state and the greatstrength of its metropolis. We were the same men who marched withhim into Mexico, who assisted him in taking the powerful Motecusumaprisoner in the midst of his warriors, who lent him such efficient aidagainst Narvaez, and then instantly marched back with him to Mexicoto the assistance of Alvarado; the same men who fought the terrificbattles on the disastrous retreat from this city, and who had to mournthe loss of so many of their brave companions on that night of sorrows;the men by whose valour the memorable battle was gained on the plainsof Otumpan; who again put down the insurrections in the provinces, conquered all the large townships which lay around the lake, and subduedthe country; who rallied round his person when a conspiracy wasset on foot by Villafaña and others to put him to death; who patientlyendured the indescribable fatigues and hardships of the ninetythree days' siege of Mexico, during which time we had night and day encountered the attacks of an infuriated enemy until at length we placed himin possession of that strong city. We remained faithful to him whenChristobal de Tapia arrived in New Spain with the appointment ofgovernor. We wrote three several times to his majesty in praise of thegreat services he had rendered to the crown, extolling his loyalty to theskies, and begging of his majesty to confer upon him the appointmentof governor. I will not even mention the many other great serviceswhich we rendered to our general; but certainly, after he had obtained the government of New Spain, he ought to have remembered the braveand courageous men who also, subsequent to the conquest of Mexico,made those severe campaigns to Colima, Zacatula, and Panuco, andthose of the troops who from extreme poverty were obliged to relinquishthe settlement founded by Alvarado at Tutepec. [Pg 211] We had altogether shared badly in the division of the Indians, andmiserable districts of the country had been allotted to us, although hismajesty had so often desired Cortes to reward our meritorious conduct,and to give us the preference in all matters. In all his letters which he wrote to his agents in Spain he ought never to have omitted mentioningour names with unbounded praise, and ought to have made it a point of obtaining from his majesty, for ourselves and children, the preference in all official appointments in New Spain: but he https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 142/282
1/25/22, 8:50 PM The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo written by himself, containing a true an… never gavethis a thought; and on both occasions, the one when he obtained theappointment of governor, and the other when he went to Spain himselfand became Marquis of Oaxaca, he only strove to further his ownends, and he forgot his brave companions in arms. Indeed, the mostsensible and intelligent of the Conquistadores were quite of opinionthat nothing would have been juster on the part of Cortes, and nothingmore practicable at that time, than to have divided the whole of NewSpain into five equal parts: one fifth, containing the best townships,to have been set apart for the crown; a second fifth for the churches,hospitals, and cloisters, and for gifts which his majesty might thinkproper of bestowing on those men who had distinguished themselves in the Italian campaigns or elsewhere; the three remaining fifths to have been divided among the whole of the true Conquistadores, according to their respective stations and merits, and this in perpetuity.At that time his majesty would have consented to such a division, as the whole of the conquest of New Spain never cost the crown anything, and his majesty himself had altogether a very imperfect notionof the country. Besides which, his majesty was then still in Flanders,and would have been pleased to know the country was in the hands of such faithful and courageous subjects. But nothing of all this ever entered Cortes' mind, while our conditionwas daily growing worse; and at present there are even many ofus veteran Conquistadores who have not the common necessaries of life! What will become of our children which we shall leave behind?But enough of all this; let us now see to whom Cortes distributed thetownships. The first persons who were rewarded by the governor were Francisco de las Casas and Rodrigo de Paz, with the royal factor, the inspector, and treasurer, who had come from Spain with those gentlemen. Thencame a certain Avalos, and one Saavedra, both relatives of Cortes.Next follow Barrios, who was married to his sister-in-law Doña Xuarez;a certain Alonso Lucas, Juan and Luis de la Torre, Alonso Valiente, and the squinting Ribera. But these are only a few instances; for aperson had only to come from Medellin, [41] or to stand in favour withsome great personage, and flatter Cortes a little, and he was presentedwith some of the best lands in New Spain. I am not going to reproach Cortes for having remembered all these people, for there was plenty todo all this with, but certainly he should have given the preference tohis soldiers, as he had been recommended to do by his majesty; tothose men through whose assistance he was elevated to that high station.Whenever any campaign was in contemplation, or any battles to befought, he never for an instant forgot where every individual man ofus was to be found, and his commands to march to the field of battle never failed to reach us. But I will put an end to my complaints of the neglect which we suffered, for now it cannot be remedied. [Pg 212] Though I must not forget to mention how conscious Cortes was ofthe injustice which he had done us, and that he even acknowledgedit. After the death of Luis Ponce de Leon and of Marcos de Aguilar soon after, whom the former, as will be seen in the proper place, appointedhis successor in the government, myself, with several officersand cavaliers of the veteran Conquistadores called upon Cortes, and begged of him, conformably to his majesty's commands, to give ussome of the numerous Indians which fell to his share on that occasion.To this he replied, that we fared no worse than he himself did. "But,"added he, "if his majesty should again be pleased to appoint me governorof New Spain, upon my conscience, I will repair the neglect you havesuffered at my hands, and will bestow the best commendaries on those for whom his majesty intended them. You may depend upon it I willmake good the great errors I have committed." [Pg 213] With these fine words and flattering promises he thought to satisfy the old and tried Conquistadores. A little before Cortes received the appointment of governor, the newofficers of the crown arrived in Mexico: these were Alonso de Estrada, of Ciudad Real, as royal treasurer; as https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 143/282
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The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. 2

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