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

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…
and by several other pious men mentioned in former chapters. The general of this order
again selected for Cortes virtuous and excellent men, at the headof whom he placed father
Juan de Leguizamo, of Biscay, a man ofgreat learning and piety, and who was the confessor
both of Cortes andhis wife.
Cortes this time again had a very favorable passage; but, unfortunately,one of the monks
died a few days after his arrival in Vera Cruz.In this town Cortes was received with every
mark of respect, but notwith the former splendour. From Vera Cruz he travelled to some of
the townships belonging to his marquisate, and thence to Mexico, inorder to have himself
proclaimed captain-general of New Spain and ofthe South Sea, and to desire the viceroy
and the royal auditors to countout to him the number of his subjects according to his own
views.The emperor, when granting him the marquisate, had stated how manyinhabitants it
was to contain, but I cannot remember the exact number. However, I know it came to a
lawsuit; for when Cortes begged of hismajesty to bestow these Indians on him, he counted
one whole household,including the sons, sons-in-law, and servants, as one person.But the
royal court of audience explained this in a very different manner;for doctor Quesada, one of
the auditors, being commissioned to make the enumeration, counted all the full-grown
members of a familyseparately, reckoning the slaves and servants in a similar manner. In
this way one house often contained from ten to fifteen subjects; insteadof which, Cortes
said that each house must only be considered as one individual, and maintained that his
majesty fully intended, when hepresented him with the several townships, that the number
of inhabitantsshould be the number of houses. This matter involved him inlawsuits, and he
became at variance both with the viceroy and theauditors, who then laid the matter before
his majesty, but no decisionwas come to for several years, during which time the marquis
continuedto levy his tribute according to his own views.
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Cortes, on his arrival in New Spain, staid but very few days at Mexico, and took up his
permanent abode with his wife in the town of Quauhnahuac, which also belonged to his
marquisate. He now occupied himself in fitting out the armament according to his
agreement with the empress Isabella, of glorious memory, and with the council of the
Indies, for discoveries in the South Sea. This armament he fitted out in the town of
Teguantepec, which at that time formed part of his marquisate, and in the harbours of
Zacatula and Acapulco.
How this expedition terminated I will relate in the following chapter,from which will be
seen that Cortes' undertakings were no longerattended with success.
CHAPTER CC.
Of the vast expenses to which the marquis Hernando Cortes put himself in
fitting out the expeditions to the South Sea, and of their unfortunate
termination.
The marquis Del Valle had, previous to his departure for Spain,during the government of
Marcos de Aguilar, built two vessels,on board of which he put 250 men, all well-armed,
and a number of excellent sailors. The command of these vessels he gave to a cavalier
named Alvarado de Saavedra, and they were abundantly victualled for one year, besides
carrying a large quantity of goods for barter.
Saavedra was instructed to shape his course to the Moluccas, or towards China, and the
main object was to discover some direct routefrom the Spanish possessions to the Spice
islands. This expeditionwas undertaken at his majesty's express desire in a letter to Cortes,
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