Vicente Genaro de Cortés

“ Each for himself were Velazquez, Columbus, and Charles, and the rest of this world's great and little ones, and Cortés would be for himself. Henceforth, like Themistocles, though he would die for his country he would not trust her. Return to Cuba he well knew for him was death, or ignominy worse than death. His only way was toward Mexico. As well first as last. All the past life of Cortés, all his purposes for the future, concentred in these resolves to make them the pivot of his destiny. Cortés, master of kings, arbiter of men's lives! As for these traitors, they shall die ”

“ It is still more probable that Cortés invented the warning in order to be free before his followers, and before Narvaez, to carry out a more momentous project, which, with the increased knowledge of affairs in the enemy’s camp, and with the growth there of his party, had begun to unfold in his mind.
It was a grand conception; yet grander still the execution. It was a different matter with a small force to fall upon a well appointed army of countrymen; different from war on naked savages, to surprise them by night, or otherwise to vanquish them. Yet this was what Cortés now proposed to do. ”

“ His situation was desperate: he must conquer or be conquered. Cortés was no abstract theorist: he dealt mainly in concrete facts; not necessarily demonstrated facts, but facts reached often by intuition alone. With facts, intuitively or practically arrived at, he kept himself well stored. He possessed many noble qualities, but on the whole, as we have seen, his character was not cast in an immaculate mould. He was exceedingly religious; and while, as I have said, he would not let religion stand in the way of his ambition, yet he was more bigoted than any of his followers. ”

“ They could not forget that Cortés was a common man like themselves, their superior in name only, and placed over them for the accomplishment of this single purpose. They felt they had a right to say whether they would remain and take the desperate chance their leader seemed determined on, and to act on that right with or without his consent. And their position assuredly was sound; whether it was sensible depended greatly on their ability to sustain themselves in it. Cortés was exercising the arbitrary power of a majority to drive the minority as it appeared to their death. ”

“ Cortés also hears the warning, only too deeply impressed since that Sorrowful Night, and with anxious heart he hastens forward to see how matters stand. His anxiety is increased as the jubilant cries of his own men appear to change, while high above them rise the unmistakably triumphant shouts of the Aztecs. Just then he comes to one of the crossings formed by his party at a channel ten to twelve paces wide, and over ten feet deep. It seems insecure, and on looking he finds it constructed of some loosely thrown pieces of wood and reed, covered with a little earth. ”

“ All being over, Cortés reëntered the apartments of Montezuma with his captains, and kneeling down he himself took off the fetters, declaring that he felt deeply grieved at the infliction, for he loved him as a brother. The monarch became almost hysteric with joy at this deliverance, and with falling tears he expressed himself in abject terms of gratitude, like the dog licking the hand which has chastised it. Every fresh incident reveals some new trait in the character of this unhappy man which calls for pity or contempt. ”

“ Cortés escapes the guard round the church, and reaches the farm. ‘Halloh, señores!’ he shouts, ‘Cortés is at the door, and salutes Señor Velazquez, his excellent and gallant captain.’ Velazquez is astonished, yet pleased, at the arrival of one whom he always had regarded as a friend and beloved brother. He orders supper and bed to be prepared; but Cortés insists that none shall approach, or he will lance them. He demands to know what complaints there are against him. He abhors the suspicion of being a traitor, and will clear himself. ”

“ The thirst for wealth, the enthusiasm of religion, the love of glory, united with reckless daring and excessive loyalty, formed the most powerful incentives to action. Life to them without the attainment of their object was valueless; they would do or die; for to die in doing was life, whereas to live failing was worse than death. Cortés felt all this, though it scarcely lay on his mind in threads of tangible thought. ”

“ Cortés is profoundly moved. It is not so much the hot indignation that stirs his breast against the traitors as the light from afar that seems to float in upon his mind like an inspiration, showing him more vividly than he had ever seen it before, his situation. ”

“ To the banner of such a leader rallied all the men in Cuba who would fain carve their way to fortune. Cortés clearly saw that self-interest alone was their incentive, and so he kept ever before them the golden prize. Such men, who knew no duty to king or country, could be bound only by personal allegiance, and this their leader, by every art, sought to inspire.
Ships, provisions, arms, all were needed. Something indeed did Velasquez contribute, but for the most part Cortés had to draw upon his friends, while every peseta of his own was sunk in the venture. ”

“ It is Cortés here, and Cortés there, and Cortés everywhere. He put his seal on the whole country, and one walks quite intimately and enthusiastically with him. He was such a human sort of person, and with all his adventurous spirit very grand seigneur. Bernal Diaz tells how well and smartly he dressed, being very particular about his linen, under dark, rich garments, and inclining to a fine gem somewhere on his person, and how pleasantly he played cards, with little jokes running through it all. It reminds me of bridge evenings with the chers collègues. ”

“ With his fine soldierly qualities were financial and executive ability, and fair common sense, a rare combination in a Spanish cavalier. While loving adventure he did not altogether hate ideas. His world now spread itself before him, as divided into two unequal classes, those that use others, and those that are used by others, and he resolved himself forever into the former category. Like Diogenes, though enslaved at Crete, Cortés felt that if he could do one thing better than another it was to command men. ”

“ Cortés had now attained the object of his wishes,—the object for which his soul had panted, ever since he had set foot in the New World. He was no longer to be condemned to a life of mercenary drudgery; nor to be cooped up within the precincts of a petty island; but he was to be placed on a new and independent theatre of action, and a boundless perspective was opened to his view, which might satisfy not merely the wildest cravings of avarice, but, to a bold aspiring spirit like his, the far more important cravings of ambition. ”

“ But after all Estrada may have overreached himself, for now Cortés would proceed to Spain and pray for justice against a man so ungrateful for the many favors conferred.
Great was the commotion when this measure became known, and many regarded a recourse to arms as inevitable; but Cortés silenced his angry adherents, and withdrew, though a motion of his finger would have sufficed to overthrow his opponents. "For thy king and thy law must thou die," was an oft-used saying of his which he evidently resolved to uphold. ”

“ If any would place Cortés, his genius, and his exploits, below those of the world’s greatest generals, because he warred on enemies weaker than their enemies, we have only to consider the means at his command, how much less was his force than theirs. ”

“ Other dormant elements would be brought out by the disappearance of those ships; union, fraternity, complete community, not only of interest but of life. Their leader with multiplied power would become their god. On him they would be dependent for all things; for food and raiment, for riches, glory, and every success; for life itself. Cortés saw all this, pondered it well, and thought it would be very pretty to play the god awhile. He would much prefer it to confinement in old Velazquez’ plaza-pen, or even in a Seville prison. ”

“ It was on the morning of Good Friday that Cortés landed on the site of Vera Cruz, which after the conquest of Mexico speedily grew into a flourishing seaport, becoming the commercial capital of New Spain. A friendly conference took place between Cortés and Teuhtlile, an Aztec chief, who asked from what country the strangers had come and why they had come.
"I am a servant," replied Cortés, "of a mighty monarch beyond the seas, who rules over an immense empire, having kings and princes for his vassals. ”

“ Throwing themselves with the compact force of one of their own cannon-balls against the heaving mass, they mow an instant path to the charmed centre. The wave of disorder strikes the sacred guard, while the unruly horse of Cortés, bearing him unresistingly onward, overturns the litter of the generalissimo, and hurls the bearers to the ground. “Victory!” shouts Cortés, when he recovers his breath ”

“ This passion for the romantic might have reduced the conqueror of Mexico to the part of a common adventurer, but Cortès was certainly a profound politician and a great captain, if one is justified in giving this name to a man who accomplished great actions by his own unassisted genius. There is no other example in history of so great an enterprise having been carried to a successful end with such inadequate means. It may be said with truth that Cortès conquered Mexico with his own resources alone. ”

“ Cortés, speaking through the soft, musical tones of his mistress, told his audience they{135} must now be convinced that they had nothing further to hope from opposition to the Spaniards. They had seen their gods trampled in the dust, their altars broken, their dwellings burned, their warriors falling on all sides. “All this,” continued he, “you have brought on yourselves by your rebellion. Yet, for the affection the sovereign whom you have so unworthily treated still bears you, I would willingly stay my hand, if you will lay down your arms and return once more to your obedience. ”

“ Greed constitutes no small part of grandeur.
Northward from the Mexican capital were limitless lands; Cortés could not tell how much there might be to the west; hence one would think he might well leave to his countrymen in the south something for their pains; that he might even give his captains independent governments without diminution of his manliness.
But insignificant to Cortés as was this Honduras country, and petty as were the bickerings of its occupants, they were nevertheless objects of solicitude to the great chief. ”

“ Gomara states that Velazquez sought to break with Cortés and send only Grijalva's vessels, with another commander; but to this Láres and Duero, whose advice was asked by the governor, made strong objection, saying that Cortés and his friends had spent too much money now to abandon the enterprise, which was very true; for like the appetite of Angaston which came with eating, the more Cortés tasted the sweets of popularity and power, the more stomach he had for the business. ”

“ Las Casas calls him a terrible fellow for those who served him, and Gomara says he had little stomach for expenditures. This much allowance, however, should be made in any statements of historians respecting the governor of Cuba: in their drama of the conquest Diego Velazquez plays the part of chief villain to the hero Hernan Cortés, when as a matter of fact Cortés was the greater villain of the two, principally because he was the stronger.
Even the priests praise Cortés, though many of his acts were treacherous; and timidity in a leader was accounted the most heinous of crimes. ”

“ The conduct of Cortés in this respect was most ungenerous. It shows the several sides of humanity: how odious in some respects are those who appear to the best advantage in other respects. This poor king had a superstitious sympathy, a maudlin affection for the captain, who, considering his own infamous conduct toward him, might at least have saved the captive unnecessary mental suffering. As Cortés entered the fort Montezuma stepped out of his apartment to welcome him. ”

“ It was then the community first realized its situation. The followers of Cortés, with unbounded faith in their leader, did not so much care, but the partisans of Velazquez, few of whom knew that the affair had been coolly predetermined, were somewhat agitated. And when on closer inquiry they were enlightened by certain of the mariners, the cry arose that they were betrayed; they were lambs led to the slaughter. Cortés promptly faced the now furious crowd. What did they want? Were their lives more precious than those of the rest? “For shame! Be men!” ”

“ When Velasquez heard that Cortés was still in Cuba, he hoped even yet to balk his rebellious subordinate. Orders were sent to the commandant of Trinidad to seize the captain-general as a traitor. But rumours of this raised the soldiery to such fury that they threatened to burn the town to ashes if a hair of their captain's head was touched.
Anxious to avoid all broils, Cortés, however, preferred to move his camp. He chose Havana, because there much cotton was grown, and he could add to the armour of his troops those quilted jackets so useful as a defence against the arrows of the Indians. ”

“ There was one thing above all, however, that Cortés longed for — a title. Wealth he possessed, and lands he could acquire, but the credential of nobility, to raise him above the rank of adventurer, give him a place in the select circle of the court, and even to admit him into the fellowship of grandees, this the sovereign alone could confer, and charily enough it was dispensed to the man of inferior connection, however great his merits. ”