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History of Mexico (Bancroft)/Volume 2/Chapter 1

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History of Mexico (Bancroft) (1883)
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2821737History of Mexico (Bancroft) — Chapter 11883Hubert Howe Bancroft
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HISTORY OF MEXICO.

CHAPTER I.

REBUILDING OF MEXICO.

1521-1523.

Quarelling over the Booty — Poor Results — Torture of Quauhtemotzin — Treasure-hunting — A Disappointment — Pasquinades — Financial Measures — A Sabine Capture — Looking for a Capital — Mexico Selected — Municipality Formed — Planning the City — Architectural Features — Cortes' Palaces — Building Material — Fort and Aqueduct — Attracting Serfs and Settlers — Merry Toilers — Arms of Tenochtitlan.

Famed Tenochtitlan had fallen, its splendor buried with the blood-stained altars that had so long been a terror to Anáhuac. And the proud Aztecs lay trodden under foot, beaten back into their original abasement, as serfs and refugees, to form with their emblazoned prestige a pedestal for the victor's fame. The promise of Cortés to the king, made two years before, was fulfilled, and his prospects were very bright. Little fear now of dungeons, of a traitor's fate; he could boldly face his arch-enemy and rival, and point to all justifying success as an advocate for the attainment even of the coveted governorship of this empire, the largest and richest so far acquired for his sovereign. Proudly exultant, he hugged himself as his mind dwelt upon the foremost conqueror in the Indies.

But his cup was not wholly free from bitterness even now; whose is? His soldiers and companions expected also their reward, and that quickly and in ​tangible form; for this they had risked life, and had acquired for him wealth and immortality. A demand was made for an exhibition before royal officials of the booty captured by the troops during the pillage, and the captives were ordered to reveal and surrender whatever treasures they knew of. But those who had secured valuable articles were by no means prepared to give them up, particularly since the leaders were justly suspected of wrongful appropriation. The brigantine crews were supposed to have had the best chance of securing spoils. Of course they denied the insinuations made, and sought to divert the outcry in another direction. The allies were the culprits, who with their immense numbers and knowledge of language and locality had penetrated into every corner and carried off the great prizes while the soldiers were fighting, leaving them the gleanings. There might still be large treasures which the Aztecs had hidden to spite their foes, as intimated more than once during the siege. When threatened, the captives revealed a certain amount, declaring that they possessed no more. As for the spoils lost during the retreat of the Spaniards, they had been swallowed by the lakes or scattered among the thousands of pursuers.[1]

When finally the royal officials gave their report, it appeared that the total gold collected from the captives and sacking parties, and smelted into bars, amounted to one hundred and thirty thousand castellanos. Besides this there were a number of pieces of too fine a workmanship to be broken up, and many jewels and pearls, besides feather-work and fabrics,[2] but ​altogether far below the expectation of even the most moderate among the fortune-hunters. Talk of fraud was heard, and many threatened to complain to the king of the manner in which their services were rewarded.

None would believe the statement of the captive princes that they knew of no more treasures, and it was demanded that torture should be applied to extort the secret from them. To the credit of Cortés be it said that he remonstrated against this suggestion, though chiefly because his word had been given to respect the prisoners. Or, indeed, his opposition may have been for effect. At all events this effort to shield the princes directed the outburst of the soldiers against himself. "He is conniving with Quauhtemotzin," they said, "in order to secure possession of the treasures."[3] Thus pressed, the general yielded a perhaps not unwilling assent, and to his never ending shame he surrendered the emperor and the king of Tlacopan[4] to the executioners. Their method was simple and effective: the roasting of the feet before a slow fire, oil being applied to prevent a too rapid charring of the flesh, for this might lessen the pain and defeat the purpose.[5]

Quauhtemotzin is said to have borne his suffering with the usual stoicism of an Indian, and when his ​fellow-victim turned in anguish as if appealing for compassion, he exclaimed rebukingly: "Think youthat I enjoy it?"[6] Nevertheless Quauhtemotzin cudgelled his brain to bethink himself how to escape torment, and pointed out a number of places where treasures might be found. Thereupon Cortés stepped forward, thinking if possible to recover his name from foul dishonor, and said: "Such behavior to a king is cruel, inhuman; I will have none of it." Nevertheless Quauhtemotzin went on to tell how the canoe of some rich fugitives was upset by a brigantine, indicating that and other spots were treasures might be found. Search was made and divers employed, but with insignificant results.

The king of Tlacopan offered himself to point out the places where gold had been hidden some distance from the city. Alvarado went with him and at their heels a crowd of Spaniards. Arrived at the spot the captive declared that his statement was but an invention to save himself from further torture. He had hoped to die on the way. But Alvarado permitted the king to live, though in truth he was reserved for fate worse than immediate death.[7] The search continued: houses were again ransacked, gardens upturned, cellars and passages examined, and graves were opened and the lake was dragged.[8] ​A trifling amount was thus obtained, which was gradually increased by presents and tributes from neighboring provinces; but this proved little among so many, reduced as it was by the royal fifth and the assignment secured by the opportune manœuvre on Cortés' part of offering the choicest pieces of jewelry as a present to the emperor.[9] The share of the horsemen was about one hundred pesos de oro,[10] and that of others proportionately less. Indignation now burst forth anew, and many scorned to accept their share. The treasurer Alderete was included among those suspected of fraud, and to exonerate himself, cast the blame on Cortés. [11]

​It was readily believed that he had secured for himself, besides the fifth granted to him by the agreement at Villa Rica, and a sum to repay him for certain losses, the richest treasures revealed by the tortured captives. The exaggerated estimate of Aztec wealth, based on native testimony, and impressed by the bombast of the adherents of Cortés, was too deeply rooted in the minds of the soldiers to be eradicated by argument, although a little reflection convinced a few of the more thoughtful how unreasonable their expectations had been.

The general occupied at this time a palace at Coyuhuacan, and on its white coating the soldiers found an outlet for their feelings which they dared not openly express. Inscribed upon the wall, for several mornings, in prose and verse, appeared honest complaints and malicious attacks. Most of them were from the men of Narvaez, to judge from the allusions to Cortés as an upstart and usurper, who had come to reap what Velazquez had sown, and who would soon descend to his proper low level. Priding himself both on his wit and poetry, Cortés stooped to add his couplets of retort, only to encourage the libellers to more outrageous utterances. Finally, at Father Olmedo's suggestion, a notice was posted forbidding such pasquinades under heavy penalty.[12]

The discontent was partly due to the inability of ​the soldiers to pay for the clothes. arms, and other supplies obtained on credit in Cuba and from supply vessels, or to satisfy doctors and other persons clamoring for money. The remedy applied by Cortés was to appoint two able and esteemed appraisers, who determined upon the validity and amount of every claim, and on finding the debtor unable to pay granted him a respite of two years. Another measure to relieve the financial strait was to lower the standard of gold by three carats, so as to counteract the rapacity of the traders; but the latter raised their prices even more than enough to cover the difference, and the soldiers remained the losers. This gold, known as tepuzque, the native name for copper, fell more and more into discredit as unprincipled persons added to the alloy, and some years later it was withdrawn from circulation in payment of certain dues and fines. The name of tepuzque lingered in the vocabulary, however, and was applied also to persons and things having a false gloss.[13]

Further discontent was caused by an order for the surrender of the wives and daughters of prominent Aztecs seized by the soldiers. The demand had been made by Quauhtemotzin and other leading captives, In accordance with the promises extended at the capitulation, and could hardly be ignored, though the efforts to carry out the order were reluctant enough. Many of the fair captives were hidden; others had already been reconciled to a change of lords with the aid of baubles and blandishments, and the rest were nearly all induced to declare their unwillingness to ​return, chiefly under the shielding excuse that idolatry had become unendurable after the revelations of Christian doctrines and practices.[14]

The question of paramount interest now was, what to do with the captured city, and in order to settle it a conference was held at Coyuhuacan. A stronghold was certainly needed in the valley to assure its possession, and since this must evidently become the capital of the new empire, the site required careful consideration. The majority at once inclined toward Mexico, endeared to their mind by the recollection of her architectural beauties and by her striking situation, all enhanced by the difficulties and cost of life connected with the capture. This bias was supported by the undeniable strategic value of the position in being protected on all sides by water, the primary inducement, indeed, which had led the Aztecs to choose the site. This also afforded free play to the movements of the imposing fleet, both for defence and for controlling the lake districts. There were several persons, however, who objected to the site. In case of revolt the natives might cut the causeways, and by aid of the besieging manœuvres taught by the Spaniards render their situation on the island most precarious. Even if the fleet prevented this danger to a certain extent, it would be difficult to obtain supplies, and, above all, the cavalry, the most effective instrument for intimidation and control, would be rendered useless, while allies would be less able to cooperate. A minor objection was the prospect of inundations, which afterward became the most serious danger of the city. This party preferred Coyuhuacan, or rather Tezcuco, which, strengthened with a wall on the land side, and open to the lake, offered equal facilities to fleet and cavalry movements, and to intercourse with allies, ​while supplies would be cheaper and of ready access.[15] Cortés decided in favor of the majority, however, and maintained that the prestige of the city throughout the country was also a matter of consequence.[16]

Mexico being accordingly chosen for the capital, municipal officers were appointed by Cortés from among the leading men, with Pedro de Alvarado as leading alcalde.[17] Prompt measures were taken to open the streets and remove the ruins. Before this a host of natives had been sent in to take away the dead and clean the houses, while large fires throughout the infected quarters assisted to purify the atmosphere. These sanitary measures were the more necessary in view of the prospective diseases to follow in the wake of dispersing denizens of the capital, and to arise from ​a scarcity of provisions in the valley, where the fields had been ravaged to some extent before the siege, and since despoiled by army foragers.[18]

A plan was drawn for a Spanish quarter, centring round the square already preëminent with imperial palaces and the leading temple in Anáhuac, once consecrated to Christian worship. This was the aristocratic Tenochtitlan, a name long preserved even in official records under the corrupt form of Temixtitan. It was separated by a wide canal from the Indian quarter, which centred chiefly round Tlatelulco, regarded as plebeian long before the conquest. Only a small part was covered by the plan,[19] beyond which the houses afterward extended in striking irregularity as compared with those in the older quarters. In addition to the three regular causeways two more were added, the support along the aqueduct from Chapultepec being enlarged to a road.[20] The Tlacopan road, or rather Tacuba, as it was henceforth termed, soon became a sort of elongated suburb, owing to the numerous vegetable gardens which sprang up on either side of it. The famous levee which protected the southern front of the city from the waters of Xochimilco Lake, and had served as a resort for traders and promenaders, was strengthened and named San Lázaro.[21]

The quarter was laid out in rectangular blocks, the ​eastern extension being twice as long as the northern,[22] and distributed among the intended settlers, with the usual reservations for public buildings.[23] In the central part hardly any of the filled canals were reopened, but beyond the main channels were left intact, and spanned by stone bridges.[24] Of the two squares in the Spanish quarter, by far the largest was the former central temple court, serving now also for marketplace, round which were reserved sites for church, convent, gubernatorial palace, town-hall, prison, and other public buildings.[25] The town-hall was begun in 1528, only, and finished four years later, enlargements having speedily to be made.[26] Private houses were erected on a scale proportionate to the means and aspirations of the owner, both large in so far as an abundance of free labor and material was concerned. The main ​effort was to render the buildings strong in case of an uprising, and with this view stone and masonry work was the rule, and towers could be erected at each corner, which assisted to give them an imposing appearance. The pains bestowed on architectural embellishments, wherein churches and convents afterward took the lead, proved a salutary example to the community, to judge from Cortés' enthusiastic assurance to the emperor that within a few years the city would take the first rank in the world for population and fine edifices.[27]

The general himself built two fine houses on the sites of the old and new palaces of Montezuma, located respectively in the western and south-eastern parts of the ancient square.[28] They were constructed with great strength, particularly the south-eastern, which contained more than one interior court, and was protected by a projecting tower at each corner, and liberally provided with embrasures and loop-holes. Seven thousand beams are said to have been employed in the construction.[29] Strength was not the only object of these centrally located houses, but also profit, the lower story of one at least being divided into shops, ​which yielded a considerable revenue.[30] Very similar to the houses of Cortés was that of Pedro de Alvarado, situated in front of the arsenal. This proximity was objected to by the royal officers, who suspended the construction till potent reasons were produced to overrule the order.[31]

A great proportion of the material was obtained from the existing edifices and ruins, the incentive for tearing them down being increased by the hope of finding treasure. At this part of the work the Spaniards were foremost, and in their vandalistic strife monument after monument of Nahua art was razed, particularly the finer edifices. Even the huge pyramidal structures supporting the temples disappeared, for within them were graves of princes and nobles, known to contain treasure. Materials, especially for facades, were also obtained from the many quarries in the neighborhood, notably tetzontli, a red, porous, yet hard stone, and a kind of porphyry.[32] Oak, cedar, and cypress were abundant round the lake, and in the surrounding hills. Although there was no lack of carriers to fell and convey timber, the Spaniards, with a disregard fostered by the nude and arid soil of Castile, allowed the groves and forests near the lake-shores to be ruthlessly cut down, thus increasing the evaporation which soon left the lake ports high and dry, bordered by salt-marshes.

The first and most important structure in the city was the arsenal, with its fortified docks for sheltering the fleet. It was situated north-east of the main square, at the former terminus of the Calle de la Perpetua,[33] round a basin which had been used for ​a harbor by the Aztecs. Two battlemented towers protected the entrance to the dock, and formed the extremes of the strong walls leading to the arsenal, which faced the street. The main feature of this building was a large tower, known properly as the fort, the strongest in the city. Pedro de Alvarado appears to have been the first commandant; and Rodriguez de Villafuerte took charge of the fleet.[34]The

Mexico Rebuilt.

fort concluded, Cortés regarded the city as secure; and ​took formal possession with the army. No effort appears to have been made to erect a church, and for several years a hall in Cortés' house served for chapel.[35] This seems a strange neglect on the part of men who came in the guise of crusaders. They were more attentive to temporal comforts, as manifested in particular by the eagerness to introduce water. Indeed, one of the first measures had been the restoration of the aqueduct which in Aztec times brought water from Chapultepec, about two miles distant.[36]

"Raze and tear down, ye slaves, but all must be rebuilt with your own hands for the victor!" Such had been the taunting prophecy frequently thrown into the teeth of the allies as they paved a way for the Spaniards through the city of the Aztecs, and truly was it fulfilled, for the task of rebuilding was ruthlessly exacted from the lake allies, though the Aztecs had to share in it. It was also necessary to populate the city to obtain hewers of wood and drawers of water and other purveyors for the comfort of the victors. As the best means to promote ​the return of the inhabitants, and assure their good conduct, at one time by no means submissive, the cihuacoatl, or lieutenant, of Quauhtemotzin, whom Cortés had known in Montezuma's time, was given a similar position under Cortés, with instructions to bring back and settle the people, and rule them according to native laws, modified to some extent by Spanish regulations. Some of these involved privileges which tended greatly to reconcile the natives to the new rule. Special districts, with certain franchises, were also granted to different chiefs so as to encourage them to introduce their tribes.[37] Other natives were also allured by similar offers, while certain lords and towns were ordered to supply and maintain during the rebuilding a number of laborers and artisans, the largest force coming from Tezcuco, in accordance with an agreement made by Ixtlilxochitl on being raised to the long-desired throne of his ancestors.[38] One of the wards, called Tlascaltecapan in commemoration of its capture by Tlascaltecs, was granted to settlers of this people, who rendered good service in maintaining order among the Mexicans.[39] While the latter settled throughout the city, Tlateluco became the headquarters for the Aztecs.

The rebuilding progressed rapidly, the natives swarming in and relieving their work with songs and witticisms, almost frivolous in their oblivion of past troubles, and regardless of the fetters they were still continuing to forge for themselves. Their great number made the task-master's whip less needful, and the only apprehension seemed to be about food, which became so scarce as to give rise to diseases under ​which quite a number succumbed.[40] The superintendence of the different branches of the work was intrusted to Spanish artisans and officers, who instructed the natives in the use of iron tools, in transporting and lifting material, and in building, the native Americans everywhere proving apt learners.

So rapid was the growth of the city[41] that, from representations made in 1522, the sovereign was pleased to award it official recognition by conferring a coat of arms, representing a water-blue field, in allusion to the lake of Mexico, having in the centre a gilt castle to which three paved causeways led. At the end of the two lateral, not connected with the castle, stand two lions rampant, each grasping the castle with its paws, in token of Spanish victory. A gilt border surrounds the field, containing ten maguey leaves, and a crown surmounts the shield.[42]

The native arms represented a maguey plant in the middle of a lake, and thereon an eagle with a snake in its bill. This was also permitted to be used in certain connections,[43] though with some changes, in accordance with the more or less bigoted ideas of the authorities in Mexico. At times all allusion to the native eagle and maguey was forbidden as of demoniacal influence.[44] Seven years later the city was ​accorded the same preëminence in New Spain as that enjoyed by Búrgos in old Spain,[45] and in 1548, the title of "very noble, great, and very loyal city."[46]

  1. ↑ Sahagun's native record describes the conference with the captives to have taken place on the day after the fall, in the quarter last captured. Cortés was seated in great state under a canopy, with the kings and princes on either side. Hist. Conq., 57-9. 'Huuo fama que lo (gold) mandó echar Guatemaz en la laguna quatro dias antes.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 158. 'Diez dias,' corrects Herrera, dec. iii. lib. ii. cap. viii. According to Duran, it was cast into a deep sacred well, and never discovered, Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 513-14, the devil assisting to shield it, so that no Christian should enjoy the treasure. Peralta, Not. Hist., 118.
  2. ↑ Cortés, Cartas, 257-8. Oviedo, Gomara, and Herrera follow, and Fonseca and Urrutia, Real. Hac., i. 5. The bar gold was equivalent to '19.200 oncie.' Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 232. Bernal Diaz appears to estimate the bars alone at 380,000 pesos de oro, yet subsequent lines indicate this to represent all the treasure, loc. cit. 'los mexicanos el sacaron todas las joyas que tenian escondidas en una canoa llena.' Sahagun, ubi sup.
  3. ↑ The chief accuser, says Herrera, was the treasurer Alderete, a creature of the bishop of Burgos, the enemy of Cortés, dec. iii. lib. ii. cap. viii.
  4. ↑ Chimalpain enumerates Cohuancoch, the ex-king of Tezcuco, the Cihuacoatl, Aquici the prince of Azcapuzalco, the city of goldsmiths, and several others. Hist. Cong., ii. 76. Oviedo, iii. 549, mentions the tripartite sovereigns, while Gomara, followed by Herrera, allows merely the emperor and his favorite courtier to be tortured, Bernal Diaz calling the latter king of Tlacopan.
  5. ↑ 'The feet and hands were burned.' Testimony of Doctor Ojeda, who cared for the wounds. Cortés, Residencia, i. 106, 126. 'Bruciargli a pocoa poca i piedi dopo avergli unti d'olio.' Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 233. 'Por O que quedó casi impossibilitado de andar.' Bustamante, in Sahagun, Hist. Conq. (ed. 1840), 237. 'Un violente ecsamen,' is the mild term used by Panes, in Monumentos Domin. Esp., MS., 58. Robertson condemns the torture as a deed which stained the glory of all his great actions.' Hist. Am.,ii. 126. 'An indelible stain' on his honor. Prescott's Mex., iii. 234-5. Alaman expresses himself in a similar manner, while Bustamante charges the deed fiercely to Cortés' extreme greed, ubi sup.
  6. ↑ This utterance has become famous in Robertson's free rendering: 'Am I now reposing on a bed of flowers?' Hist. Am., ii. 127. Others substitute 'roses' for flowers. Herrera writes simply: 'Nor am I in delight.' Herrera also says that the companion of Quauhtemotzin died during the torture.
  7. ↑ See Hist. Cent. Am., i. 551-5, this series. Testimony in Cortés, Residencia, i. 167, declares that the prisoners revealed several rich deposits which Cortés quietly appropriated; and Alvarado may have been suspected of a similar act.
  8. ↑ In the reservoir of Quanhtemotzin's residence was found a sun disk of gold, and a number of jewels. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 158. A noble indicated an idol in the same place as probably containing gold, but a long search revealing nothing, Cortés ordered him to be roasted alive and then cast halfdead into the lake. Seeing this and other outrages the emperor in his fear and despair attempted to hang himself. Sworn testimony of Zamora and Orduña, in Cortés, Residencia, ii. 203-4, nevertheless to be taken with allowance. Ixtlilxochitl claims to have secured the release of a tortured courtier by expostulating with Cortés, and representing that the Mexicans might revolt if such measures continued. He also sought to procure the release of his brother Cohuanacoch from prison. To this end he ransacked all Tezcuco for treasures, and borrowed from his relatives, and then alone did he succeed. Shackles and confinement had reduced the prince to a pitiable condition. Hor. Crueldades, 54-5. He was afterward baptized as Pedro Alvarado. Cédula, 1551; Dicc. Univ., iv. 165. The desecration of graves by treasure-hunters had been practised before the fall, and when the central temple was captured a discovery of a grave therein with 1,500 castellanos served to direct cupidity in this direction. Cortés, Cartas, 243.
  9. ↑ 'Que valia dos vezes mas que la que auia sacado para repartir el Real quinto.' Bernal Diaz, loc. cit. Oviedo, iii. 424, estimates the total royal fifth at over 50,000 pesos de oro, others at less; while a witness in Cortés, Residencia, i. 124, 206, states that Cortés defrauded the crown of the fifth due on some 200,000 castellanos of valuables which came in from the provinces. In the account of the royal officials of June, 1522, the total gold melted between September 1521 and May 16, 1522, is given at 164,404 pesos (evidently de oro) including all obtained since the flight from Mexico. e royal fifth on this, on slaves, etc., but not on unbroken jewels, amounted to 48,000 and odd. Pacheco" and "Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xii. 260-8.
  10. ↑ 'Cabian los de a cauallo a cien pesos.' Bernal Diaz, ubi sup. Judging from former statements this should read pesos de oro. A horse at this time cost from 450 to 500 pesos, a firelock 100 pesos, etc. Probanza de Lejalde, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 417; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 243.
  11. ↑ Among the secret charges brought out at the later residencia was that Cortés had the custody of the official dies for marking gold, and by this means defrauded the crown of some 70,000 castellanos. Cortés, Residencia, i. 165, 267. See also note 9. A little consideration would have shown the credulous soldiers that their estimate of treasures was inordinate. During Montezuma's time, when the treasury was fullest, the surrender of its entire contents, together with contributions from provincial towns and rulers, brought about 600,000 pesos de oro to the expedition coffers. A considerable part of this was carried away by the fleeing army, and a larger portion of it lost in the lake. The present spoil must be assumed to have come from what the Aztecs recovered of the lost portion, and from the contributions since received from the provinces. These must have been meagre, since the towns and rulers had been plundered of most valuables, and since but few would contribute to the now humbled and isolated capital city. From these existing treasures the marauding allies must have secured a portion, and the fortunate white sackers another. Hence the amount secured for the expedition cannot be considered much below what should have been expected. Little could have been cast into the lake, or purposely hidden by the Aztecs, although a contrary opinion is still widely cherished even by staid historians. As for the amounts supposed to have been privately secured by Cortés, chiefly from the treasures taken away during the Sorrowful Night, no proof was ever brought to substantiate them. He no doubt took care to obtain a certain share, but he also expended it freely, in sending to the Islands for war stores, horses, and provisions, in supplying agents in bribery, and what not. It is not likely that he could have secured any large amounts for himself from the present spoils.
  12. ↑ Bernal Diaz names several Velazquez men who led in this word skirmish. Alvarado, Olmedo, and others proposed that the total treasure should be set apart for the wounded and disabled, and it was hoped that this would induce Cortés to surrender a goodly share; but nothing was done. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 158.
  13. ↑ In Guanajuato silver of inferior standard is still called plata de tepuzcos. Alaman, Disert., i. 158. The municipality of Mexico on April 6, 1526, ordered the coinage of tepuzque gold into pieces of 1, 2, and 4 tomines, and 1, 2, and 4 pesos. By August nearly 3,000 pesos had been issued. Libro de Cabildo, MS. The remedies were extended also to the soldiers at Villa Rica and other places, whose share in the spoils had been made equal to that of the active besiegers, in order to keep them content with garrison life. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xxvi. 5-10. In the following pages is given the text of the contract between Cortés and the expedition forces, wherein he is granted one fifth in consideration for his duties and extra expenses. It is dated August 6, 1519.
  14. ↑ 'Y desta, manera no lleuaron sino tres.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 158. Duran assumes that most of those taken during the last days of the siege were surrendered. Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 510.
  15. ↑ Cortés, Residencia, i. 97. These objections were renewed at intervals, ed in a letter to the king of Dec. 15, 1525, Contador Albornoz represented that a number of the citizens desired a removal to either Coyuhuacan or Tezcuco, using in the main the arguments given. The removal could be effected within six months, and the name of the city might be retained. Carta, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 506-8. Later projects for removal were based on the danger from inundations as will be seen, though the extent then acquired by the city made it more difficult. See Cepeda, rel., i. 4-6.
  16. ↑ This he adduces as a main reason in the letter to the king. Cartas, 262, 310. 'Por tener alli sugetos á los Yndios por queno se le rebelasen mudando sitio,' is the additional reason of Duran. Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 513.
  17. ↑ As such he figures already in Dec. 1521. Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xxvi. 30-1, so that the rebuilding must have begun in that year, and not later, as many suppose. Owing to the loss of the first year's record in the fire of 1692, the names of the first regidores are unknown. At first no regular book was kept, wherein to record their acts, 'sino papeles e memorias.' Libro de Cabildo, MS., Dec. 20, 1527. The first of the preserved records is dated March 8, 1524, and gives the attending members of the council as: Francisco de las Casas, alcalde mayor, Bachiller Ortega, alcalde ordinario, Bernaldino Vazquez de Tapia, Gonzalo de Ocampo, Rodrigo de Paz, Juan de Hinojosa, and Alonso Xaramillo, regidores, Francisco de Orduña acting as secretary. The sessions were for a long time held in Cortés' house. The most interesting are those from 1524 to 1529 inclusive, which take up the history of Mexico, so to speak, from the time Cortés leaves it in his celebrated letters, recording the acts of the eventful interregnum periods under Salazar, Ponce de Leon, Aguilar, and Estrada, and including the doings of the first audiencia. My copy, quoted as Libro de Cabildo, is a manuscript in 260 folio pages, taken from the volume rescued by the savant Sigüenza y Gongora from the fire of June 8, 1692, started by a hungry rabble. Besides the notes from his hand, it contains autograph annotations by the learned Pichardo, and forms a gem in the collection obtained by me from the Maximilian Library. By royal decree of October 22, 1523, Mexico was allowed 12 regidores, as a token of favor, and two years later the sovereign himself appointed one in the person of Alonso Perez. Méz., Extractos de Cédulas, MS. 2, 3, all of which relates to the decrees touching the city. Later, all leading cities were allowed 12 regidores. Recop. de Indias, ii. 33.
  18. ↑ 'La tercera plaga fué una muy gran hambre luego como fué tomada la ciudad,' is Motolinia's strong description of it, and even the Spaniards were pressed for want of maize. Hist. Ind., i. 17.
  19. ↑ The limits appear to have been nearly, Calle de la Santísima on the east, San Gerónimo or San Miguel on the south, Santo Domingo on the north, Santa Isabel on the west. Alaman, Disert., ii. 198.
  20. ↑ Vetancurt writes toward the close of the 17th century: 'Entrase en la Ciudad por seis calsadas, las tres antiguas de Guadalupe á el Norte, de Tacuba al Poniente, y la de S. Anton al Medio dia, y por otras tres q hizieron los Españoles, por la de la Piedad, por la de la Chapultepec, y la de Santiago asia el Poniente.' Trat. Mex. Cepeda, Rel. Mex., i. 3, 4, half a century earlier, gives the Santiago road a length of 5,500 varas and a width of 10 j the San Anton, 7,000 by 10; its Iztapalapan extension 5,200 by 11; the Chapultepec 3.000 by 7; the Tacuba 2,500 by 14. The latter is now known as San Cosme.
  21. ↑ It was 9,000 varas long, and 6 wide, and had 7 openings, corresponding to so many canals which passed through to the lake. These canals were from 1,000 to 3,800 varas long. Id. See Native Races, ii. 560, et seq., for description of old Mexico. Orozco y Berra incorrectly places the central temple between the main southern and northern avenues instead of facing both. This and some other minor errors are probably due to a misreading of Libro de Cabildo. I must express my admiration for the researches of this scholar.
  22. ↑ The streets were but 14 varas wide, sufficient for the traffic of early days, but uncomfortably narrow in later times, so much so that Revilla Gigedo, in the eighteenth century, proposed to widen them, though the scheme was not carried out. See Vetancurt, loc. cit.; Alaman, Disert., 1. 199.
  23. ↑ Every conqueror received two lots, other settlers one, Cortés, Cartas, 310, with the condition of building a house, and holding possession for 5 years. By cédula of 1523 two caballerías of land were granted to each conqueror near the town chosen for residence. The conditions were frequently evaded by paying an indemnity. See Libro de Cabildo, MS., March 15, April 1, 8, 15, June 10, November 4, 1524, and passim; Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. ii. The term of residence was afterward reduced to 4 years. Recop. de Indias, ii. 39; see Hist. Cent. Am., i. 496-9, for laws concerning the founding of settlements.
  24. ↑ One reason for filling the smaller channels was the fetid odors which rose from their shallow waters. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 235-6. Cedar piles were used in soft places.
  25. ↑ Torquemada's description in the beginning of the seventeenth century is interesting. The plazas are 3, all connected, the principal being in front of the cathedral. The northern extension is the Plazuela del Marqués, so named from Cortés' houses, while the south-eastern is the plazuela del virey, formerly known as el volador, and now also known as de las escuelas, from the schools, the first name coming from the viceregal palace with its officers. The western side of the main plaza was occupied by traders, the southern by the city-hall and prison.Monarg. Ind., i. 299.
  26. ↑ The first reservation for it covered 6 lots. The neglect to build caused the lots to be occupied by citizens, but a decree of December 16, 1527, restored them to the city. Building began April 17, 1528, and the council took possession May 10, 1532. Adjoining buildings were purchased at different times, 30 to 50 years later, so as to contain also public granary and slaughter-house. In 1692 the building was fired by a famine-stricken mob. See Libro de Cabildo, MS.; also Mexican supplement to Dicc. Univ., viii. 527.
  27. ↑ 'De hoy en cinco años será la mas noble y pupulosa ciudad que haya en lo poblado del mundo, y de mejores edificios.' Cartas, 310. 'Niuna città in Spagna per si gran tratto l'ha migliore ne piu gráde.' Anon. Conqueror, in Ramusio, Viaggi, 111. 309. He extols particularly the later Dominican convent.
  28. ↑ See vol. i. chap. xvi. In the royal cédula of July 1529, granting to Cortés these sites, the new palace is described as bounded by the square and the Iztapalapan road, and (south and east) by the streets of Gonzalez de Trujillo and Martin Lopez, the shipwright. The old palace is bounded by the new street of Tacuba, and that leading to San Francisco, and (westward) by the houses of Rangel, Farfán, Terrazas, and Zamudio. Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 28-9; Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 213-14. The new palace-site was sold by Cortés' son to the government on January 29, 1562, and the viceregal palace rose upon it. The old palace, bounded to the side and rear by the streets of Plateros and La Profesa, or San José el Real, served up to that time for government purposes. Ramirez, Noticias de Mex., in Monumentos Domin. Esp., MS., No. 6, 309 et seq.; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., ii. 221-2. The Iztapalapan road was afterward called del Reloj. Calle de la Celada, leading to the rear of the new palace, southward, was so called from an ambush during the siege. Alaman, Disert., ii. 203-12, 257-8. Humboldt, Essai Pol., i. 190, misleads Prescott and others about the location of the old palace, and places the new where the old really stood.
  29. ↑ 'Que vna viga de cedro tenga ciento y veynte pies de largo, y doze de gordo. quadrada.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 235.
  30. ↑ Fifteen thousand castellanos a year, says a witness during the later residencia. Another points to the strong construction, with towers, as a sign of disloyal intentions on Cortés' part. The two houses occupied 24 lots, and were erected with aid of crown slaves — both exaggerated statements, as will be shown afterward. Cortés, Residencia, i. 47, 90, 111-12.
  31. ↑ The marriage of Governor Estrada's daughter to Jorge de Alvarado. Id.
  32. ↑ Á feld-spath vitreux et dépourvu de quartz.' Humboldt, Essai Pol., i. 177. See also Native Races, ii. 557.
  33. ↑ This was at first called the street of the atarazanas (arsenal). The direction is pretty clear in Libro de Cabildo, MS., 30, 101, 210, 221, 226, in connection with grant of lots, yet Father Pichardo, one of the highest authorities on the history of Mexico city, places it at the terminus of Santa Teresa street, 3 blocks below, wherein he is followed by many writers. The eastern location was required to give the fleet free access to the lake, without hinderance from causeways.
  34. ↑ Oviedo, iii. 517. He went for a time to Zacatula as lieutenant. Herrera, dec. iii. lib. ii. cap. viii., intimates that Villafuerte was also made commandant, but not so Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 158, whose indication of Alvarado is supported by the fact that he erected his house in front of the fort. Pedro de Salazar de la Pedrada was sent out in 1526, by the emperor, to take charge of the fort, and secure it from the suspected partisans of Cortés. Samaniego was lieutenant. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 371; Cortés, Escritos Sueltos, 114-15. Cortés describes the reception place for the vessels as 'un cuerpo de casa de tres naves,. . . y tienen la puerta para salir y entrar entre estas dos torres.' Cartas, 310. The fleet was long preserved for service, to judge by Motolinia's statement, 'estan hoy dia en las atarazanos.' Hist. Ind., i. 16.
  35. ↑ Testimony of Tapia and Mejía and others, in Cortés, Residencia, i. 48, 91, 162, et seq. Vetancurt leaves the impression that this chapel was dedicated to St Joseph: 'Parroquia unica que era de Españoles.' Trat. Mex., 6.
  36. ↑ The original was constructed on a causeway of solid masonry 5 feet high and 5 feet broad, the water running through 2 pipes of masonry to different reservoirs and branch pipes, as described more fully in Native Races, ii. 563-6. The pipes were not wholly restored, so that the water flowed partly in open canals. This proving objectionable from dust and refuse, portions were ordered to be covered, and on August 26, 1524, Juan Garrido was employed at a salary of 50 pesos de oro to watch over it, additional men being appointed as the need became apparent. Part of the beautiful grove of Chapultepec was actually cut down to prevent leaves from falling into the spring. The aqueduct did not extend beyond the first houses on the Tacuba side of the city, and it was proposed in 1527 to repair the aqueducts of Coyuhuacan or Huichilobusco, and extend them to the southern suburb. This appeared too costly, and efforts were made to extend the Chapultepec aqueduct to the centre of the city, as appears from contracts with the municipality, one dated April 17, 1528. Libro de Cabildo, MS., 17, 23, 193, 221, etc. Nothing appears to have been done, however; for the procuradores in Spain demanded special legislation, and by order of September 22, 1530, the extension to the main plaza was decreed, the cost to be apportioned among Spanish and native settlers. 'De lo (water) que se perdiere, se podre hazer un molino para propios de la dicha ciudad.' Puga, Cedulario, 64; Alaman, Disert., ii. 287-91. This work was concluded only in 1537. The fine aqueduct Tlaspana was not in operation till the middle of the following century.
  37. ↑ Cortés, Cartas, 308-9. Gomara associates Pedro, the son of Montezuma, with the cihuacoatl, and gives each a ward to populate and rebuild. Hist. Mex., 235; Herrera, dec. iii. lib. iv. cap. viii.
  38. ↑ His namesake magnifies the number of men supplied by him to 400,000. Hor. Crueldades, 60. 'Haciendo á los Chalcos, Tezcucanos y Xuchimilcos y Tepanecas tragesen . . . materiales.' Duran, Hist. Ind., MS., i. 512.
  39. ↑ It is now called San Juan Bautista ward, says Panes. Monumentos Domin. Esp., MS., 61. Neither name appears on present maps.
  40. ↑ Herrera, dec. iii. lib. iv. cap. viii. 'Era tanta la gente que andabs en las obras que apenas podia hombre romper por algunas calles.' Motolinia, Hist. Ind., i. 18.
  41. ↑ In his letter of October 1524, Cortés indicates 30,000 settlers (vecinos), Cartas, 309, which must include many temporary dwellers, for about 80 years later Torquemada, i. 299, assumes as a high estimate 7,000 Spanish and 8,000 native settlers or families. Gomara, who wrote about 1550, mentions 2,000 Spanish settlers. Hist. Mex., 236. Some 20 years before this the anonymous conqueror speaks of 400 leading Spanish houses. Ramusto, Viaggi, iii. 309.
  42. ↑ This was granted July 4, 1523, in consideration of the city being 'tan insigne y Noble, y el mas principal Pueblo, que hasta ahora, en la dicha tierra, por Nos se ha hallado.' Órdenes de la Corona, MS., ii. 67-8; Mex., Extr. de Cédulas, MS., 3, 13.
  43. ↑ Calle, Mem. y Not., 43. In recognition of the city having been the capital of the country. Vetancurt describes this coat of arms with the addition of a castle with 3 towers, and 2 lions supporting the shield, which is surmounted by a crown. Trat. Mex., 5, 6.
  44. ↑ Archbishop and Viceroy Palafox caused the eagle to be replaced with a cross, The changes and mixtures thus introduced in the course of three centuries of colonial rule, as represented on coins, standard, and seals, are almost innumerable, and this accounts for the cut in Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 1, which accords with none of the above descriptions. In view of these changes the crown issued a decree in 1596, ordering preference to be given to arms granted by the sovereigns. Recop. de Indians, ii. 25.
  45. ↑ The first vote in national council, 'y el primer lugar, despues de la Justicia, en los Congresos.' Id. This decree was dated June 25, 1530. The regidores by this time numbered 12, in accordance with a decree of October 22, 1523, granting this number to 'Ciudades principales' in the Indies, other towns to have only six. Id., 33. By decree of 1539 the municipality was granted jurisdiction within a circuit of 15 leagues. Recop. de Indias, ii. 25.
  46. ↑ On July 4. Calle, Mem. y Not., 43; Beaumont, Crón. Mich., iii. 544. A much esteemed distinction. The city was fortunate enough to obtain a big bone of Saint Hippolytus, which enjoyed great veneration, adds Calle. In addition to the standard authorities quoted, the following works bear more or less fully upon the subject of the chapter: Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 17, 358-67, 389^97, 506-8; Siguenza y Góngora, Anotaciones Crit., MS., 1 et seq.; Sahagun, Hist. Conq., 233-47; Monumentos Domin. Esp., MS., 58-61, 73-5, 83-5; Chimalpain, Hist. Conq., ii. 76 et seq.; Cortés, Hist. N. España, 374-8; Archivo Mex., Doc.,i. 61 et seq.; ii. 218-21, 257-79, 303-4; Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i. tom. x. 49 et seq.; Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 76-80, 293-5; Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., ix. 391, 429; Motolinia, Hist. Ind., 17; Concilios Prov., 1555-65, p. vi.; Beaumont, Crón. Mich., ii. 375-81; iii. 166-7, 544; Id., MS., 86, 263; Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro, i. 1, 7; Cavo, Tres Siglos, i. 15, 16, 23-6, 60, 65, 73; Aa, Naaukeurige Versameling, x. 155 et seq.; Nueva España, Respuesta, MS.; Recop. de Indias, ii. 25; Órdenes de la Corona, MS., ii. 4, 67; Monumentos Hist, y Pol., MS., 1 et seq.; Mex., Estractoa de Cédulas, MS., 3, 13, 14; Leyes, Varias Anot., MS., 111-12; Salazar y Olarte, Conq. Mex., 6-9; Calle, Mem. y Not., 43; Fonseca, Hist. Hacienda, i. 5; Robertson's Hist. Am., ii. 125-7; Ramirez, Proceso contra Alvarado, 5, 6, 40, 71-2; Prescott's Mex., iii. 208-59; Id. (Mex. ed.), notes, passim; Helps' Cortés, ii. 118-22, 132-5; Bustamante, Necesidad, 41-4; Alaman, Disert., i. 149-98, ii. 197-322; Cepeda, Relacion, i. 3-6; Sammlung aller Reisebesch., xiii. 453 et seq.; Lacunza, Discursos, 453-4; Humboldt, Essai Pol., i. 193 et seq.; Holmes' Annals, i. 53; Armin, Alte Mex., 339-56; Liceo Mex., i. 68-72; Alm. Calend., 1839, 26; Zamacois, Hist. Méj., iv. 51-65, 93-101, 137-50, 472; Pimentel, Mem. Lit., 94-6; Solis, Hist. Mex. (Mad. 1843), 457-60, 492, 509-12; Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletín, ii. 121-2; Poinsett's Notes, i. 65; Pap. Var., v. no. ii. 8; xlvi. no. viii. 31-44; Mayer's Mex. Aztec, i. 80-5; Dicc. Univ., i. 300-5; Conder'a Mex. and Guat., 80; Album Mex., ii. 466; Abispa de Chil., 59-60; Zerecero, Rev, Mex., 4-8; Domenech, Hist. Mex., i. 241-2.
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