Arrival of Christoval de Tapia. 15 they went out of these courses, they nevertheless B. XII. returned to their original state, and that so it Ch. 1. would have to be with the ambition of Cortes. Others said that the soldiers should not call themselves the Conquistadores of New Spain, but the conquered of Cortes (conquistados de Hernando Cortés). Others wrote "Alas! how sad a soul I bear, Until I see what is my share." Cortes, who could use his pen as well as his sword, was not backward in replying to his maligners; and he wittily wrote up "A white wall, the paper of fools" (Pared blanca, papel de necios). Finally, however, the practice of scribbling these things on the walls rose to such a height, that Cortes was obliged to exercise his authority in forbidding it altogether. Tapia to 1522. Another disagreeable episode in the affairs of Cortes was the arrival of an obscure man, named Arrival of Christoval de Tapia, as Governor of New Spain. supersede This appointment was the work of the Bishop of Cortes. Burgos, who, whether he thwarted Las Casas, or, with much less injustice, condemned the proceedings of Cortes, was always in the wrong. Cortes himself made some show of obeying Tapia, but the friends of Cortes would not listen to this man's taking upon him so important a charge, and he was obliged to quit New Spain. This transaction is worth mentioning only as showing amidst what interruptions and vexations Cortes worked pointed 16 Memorial of the "Conquistadores" B. XII. out his great achievements. It was not until Ch. I. three years and four months after Cortes had been Cortes ap- elected Captain-General by his followers, in the Governor council held at Vera Cruz,* that he was appointed Captain by the Court of Spain Governor and CaptainGeneral, in a despatch dated at Valladolid the 15th of October, 1522. and General, Oct. 15, 1522. A further trouble to the administration of Cortes, which also is worth mentioning only as showing the nature of the difficulties he had to Revolt of contend with, was the revolt of Panuco, a province to the north-east of Mexico. Cortes went to Panuco himself, and succeeded, after several encounters with the Indians, in subduing them and pacificating the province. Panuco. 1522. sent by his men Emperor, Dec. 20, Soon after his return from this expedition Cortes despatched messengers to Spain to urge his own claims and those of the Conquistadores; who also on their own account sent a memorial to the Emperor. These messengers did not go empty-handed. Messengers They were commissioned to take the Emperor Cortes and eighty-eight thousand pesos, in gold bars, and the to the wardrobe of the late monarch of Mexico, Montezuma, which was rich with jewels, amongst 1522. them some pearls the size of hazel-nuts. These treasures never reached the Court of Spain, for they were captured by a French corsair, named Jean Florin. They probably, however, did as much good to the Emperor as if they had been spent upon his armies, for they served to give *See vol. 2, book 10, p. 279. the King of France some intimation of the wealth B. XII. which the King of Spain was likely to draw from Ch. I. the Indies. The despatches had been intrusted to a man of the name of Alonso de Avila, who, though taken prisoner, contrived to have these valuable documents conveyed to some friends of Cortes in Spain, whence they were forwarded to his Majesty the Emperor, in Flanders. exact time of Alonso de Avila's departure from Vera Cruz was the 20th of December, 1522. The of the The petition from the Conquistadores gave an account of the siege, besought his Majesty to Memorial send to New Spain a bishop, and monks of all the Conquistareligious Orders, explained their own conduct in dores. not receiving Tapia, prayed that the government of New Spain might be conferred upon Cortes (the news of his appointment as Governor had not yet reached them), and asked, on their own account, that all the royal offices in the new colony might be given to them. The above, however, are not the points in the memorial which are most curious, and which most require to be dwelt upon. upon which The world is so torn by differences of opinion, that it is always very interesting, and somewhat delightful, to find any one subject upon which there is singular unanimity. Now there was One thing something wherein the Spanish conquerors and the Spanish colonists universally agreed. Biscayan, Estrema- agreed. duran, Andalucian, Castillian-men who had various points of difference, and numberless provincial jealousies, concurred in one request. As soon as any colony was in the least degree esta colonists Ch. I. 18 Memorial of the "Conquistadores" B. XII. blished in the New World, the colonists, almost in their first communication with their sovereign, were sure to entreat him to prohibit lawyers from coming out to them. The following brief notices will serve to indicate this remarkable unanimity. In 1516 the commissioners from Cuba to the Court succeeded in obtaining an order that lawyers should not be allowed to go there, because, since some had gone thither, lawsuits had arisen amongst the inhabitants.* Cuba. firma. Vasco to King Jan. 20, The words of VASCO NUÑEZ from the TerraThe Terra- firma, in 1513, are so remarkable, that they must be repeated here. "One thing I supplicate your Highness, for it is much to your service, and that is, that you would give orders, under a great Ferdinand, penalty, that no bachelor of law, or of anything 1513. else, except medicine, should be allowed to come to these parts of the Terra-firma, for no bachelor comes here who is not a devil, and who does not lead the life of a devil; and not only are they bad themselves, but they also make and contrive a thousand lawsuits, and iniquities. This regulation would be greatly for your Highness's service, for the land is new."t The prejudice against lawyers was probably communicated by the early Spanish conquerors to the inhabitants of the conquered nations. In a Hispaniola. memorable rebellion that took place in the Island *"Cuios Procuradores Anto- entre los Vecinos, que no pasasen nio Velazquez, í Panfilo de Nar-mas, í que los que en ella estaban vaez, haviendo pedido muchas no abogasen."-HERRERA, Hist. cosas, al cabo alcançaron, que de las Indias, dec. 2, lib. 2, porque de haver pasado Letrados cap. 8. á Cuba, havian nacido Pleitos + NAVARRETE, Col.,t.3, p. 374. Ch. 1. of Hispaniola, which began in the year 1519, and B. XII. was not finally quelled until the year 1533, predatory bands of fugitive Indians roamed about the island and harassed the Spaniards, who, from warriors, had become peaceful colonists and industrious growers of sugar. On one occasion, a young Spaniard, who had been captured by some of these revolters, and had been sentenced by them to lose his right hand, besought his captors to cut off the left hand instead, whereupon the Indian in charge of the execution replied with these convincing words:-"You are a lawyer. Be thankful that they do not slay you, and have patience." This anecdote was related by the sufferer himself to the historian Oviedo.* In the agreement made by the Emperor with Pizarro, in 1529, respecting the discovery of Peru, Peru. it was determined that there should not be any lawyers in that country.† Plata. In 1541 the agreement made between the Emperor and Cabeça de Vaca contained a stipu- Rio de la lation that there should be no lawyers or proctors in the province of La Plata, for experience had shown that, in lands newly-peopled, many quarrels and lawsuits were promoted by them.‡ |