Vicente de la Cruz Cortés

“ The first care of Cortes was to fortify himself in one of the beautiful palaces of the prince, and he was planning how to possess himself of the riches of so opulent an empire, when intelligence reached him that a general of the emperor, who had received secret orders, had just attacked the garrison of Vera Cruz and killed several of his soldiers. The head of one of the Spaniards was sent to the capital. This event undeceived the Mexicans, who had hitherto believed the Spaniards to be immortal, and necessarily altered the whole policy of Cortes. ”

“ For this purpose, he now, with great solemnity, commenced a settlement in the country, giving to the new colony the name of Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz. [5] The men were all assembled next, to choose officers for the new colony; and, as Cortes expected, the authority was given to Portocarrero, Alvarado, and Olid, three of his principal friends. As soon as these officers met in council, he came before them. He began by telling them that they were intrusted with great powers for the good of the settlement, and that he should be always ready to support them ”

“ 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. ”

“ A perpetual coming and going of Aztec ambassadors accompanied the march from Vera Cruz. These unfortunate messengers, burdened with conflicting and impossible instructions, must have felt themselves sent upon a fool's errand, pulled hither and thither according as Montezuma's hopes or fears happened to be in the ascendant. The task of turning back the obnoxious strangers, but without offending them, lest, being gods, they might wreak vengeance on the Empire, was laid upon them. ”

“ Assuming a dress and bearing more fitting a military commander, Cortés threw open his doors, and by judiciously combining the frank joviality of a soldier with the liberal hospitality of a man of wealth, he rapidly drew to his adventure, all the available men of the island. ”

“ Even in relation to Cortés, while he endeavors to adjust the true balance between his pretensions and those of his followers, and while he freely exposes his cunning or cupidity, and sometimes his cruelty, he does ample justice to his great and heroic qualities. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Strong and prompt was the action of Cortés. Little as he could spare the men, he resolved to send a ship to Spain with all the treasure he could amass and a letter to the emperor Charles V. himself, justifying his actions, describing his discoveries, his battles, and the glorious possibilities of the great empire he was about to conquer. To show their devotion to their commander the newly elected magistrates and citizen soldiers of Villa Rica wrote also to his imperial majesty telling of the foundation of their colony and begging him to confirm Cortés in his authority. ”

“ Volunteers flocked in daily, including many young men of noble family, who were attracted by the fame of Cortés. Among them were Pedro de Alvarado, Cristóval de Olid, Alonso de Avila, Juan Velasquez de Leon, Alonso Hernandez de Puertocarrero, and Gonzalo de Sandoval, of all of whom [232] you will hear again before the story is finished. Finally, in February 1519, when all the reinforcements were assembled, Cortés found he had eleven vessels, one hundred and ten mariners, five hundred and fifty-three soldiers, and two hundred Indians. ”

“ We have seen Cortés as a brave soldier, an able general, and astute diplomat; we have beheld him deluding his patron, manipulating to his own purpose the conflicting elements of a horde of adventurers, pitting one people against another to fight his battles or neutralize dangers, and leading his soldiers through strife and hardships to the overthrow of a great empire. Glimpses even of statesmanship we have had in his creation of municipalities, his acts of king-making, and his regulations for the army, which tend in no wise to diminish our admiration for the man. ”

“ At this happy consummation, though the rite is not yet performed, serious meditation takes possession of the mind of Cortés, who bethinks himself that he is doing little of late for his God, who is doing so much for him. Success everywhere attends his strategies. And these female slaves and princesses! While trying to quiet his conscience for accepting this princess, he was exceedingly careful in regard to taking unto himself real wives, as we have seen in Cuba. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Not for a moment was Cortés moved by remonstrance or grumble. He was resolved, as he wrote to Charles V., "not to descend to the coast, but at all hazards to retrace his steps and beard the enemy again in his capital."
Calling his men together, he made a stirring appeal to their honour and their courage. "Will you leave your conquest, half-achieved, for others more daring and adventurous to finish?" he asked. "How can you, with any honour, desert your allies and leave them unprotected to the vengeance of the Aztecs? To retreat but a single step towards Villa Rica will proclaim our weakness. ”

“ But in every emergency, whatsoever the monarch said or did, whether he granted lands and honors or withheld them, Cortés was bound to believe all as right. He might sometimes sacrifice wealth and power to religion; more frequently he would sacrifice religion to wealth and power, but never would he abate one jot of his devoted obedience to the king, unless it was clearly to the king's interest that he should be slightly disobeyed.
From the time of the Honduras expedition, and his separation from the faithful Marina, the star of the conqueror declined. ”

“ Surely now, thought Cortés, he had proved himself master, and broken the spirit of the enemy. Requesting a parley, he mounted the roof of the Old Palace with Marina by his side.
"You have seen your gods trampled in the dust, and your warriors falling on all sides," he called to the listening Aztecs. "If you will lay down your arms and return once more to your obedience, I will yet stay my hand. But if you do not, I will make your city a heap of ruins, and leave not a soul alive!" ”

“ 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. ”

“ You will deal with me, Malinche, as you list.” Then, laying his hand on the hilt of a poniard stuck in the general’s belt, he added, with vehemence, “Better despatch me with this, and rid me of life at once.” [123] Cortés was filled with admiration at the proud bearing of the young barbarian, showing in his reverses a spirit worthy of an ancient Roman. “Fear not,” he replied: “you shall be treated with all honor. You have defended your capital like a brave warrior. A Spaniard knows how to respect valor even in an{104} enemy.” ”

“ Cortés was so much changed by disease that his person was not easily recognized. But no sooner was it known that the general had returned than crowds of people, white men and natives, thronged from all the neighboring country to welcome him. The tidings spread far and wide on the wings of the wind, and his progress to the capital was a triumphal procession. The inhabitants came from the distance of eighty leagues to have a sight of him; and they congratulated one another on the presence of the only man who could rescue the country from its state of anarchy. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ Moreover, he was the heir presumptive to the crown, and was welcomed by the people as a substitute for the captive Montezuma. So being an experienced warrior, he set himself to arrange a more efficient plan of operations against the Spaniards, and the effect was soon visible. Cortés, meanwhile, had so little doubt of his ability to quench the insurrection that he said as much in the letter that he wrote to the garrison of Villa Rica informing them of his safe arrival in the capital. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Rather kill us at once that we may go to our god Huitzilopochtli, who waits to give us rest from our sufferings!'
Cortés, moved by the piteous sight, replied that he desired not their death but their submission. 'Why does your master refuse to treat with me,' he said, 'when in a single hour I can crush him and all his people?' Then once more he sent to demand an interview with Guatemozin. This time the emperor hesitated, and agreed that next day he would meet the Spanish general. ”

“ During this interval the great question in respect to Cortés and the colony had been brought to a decisive issue. The general must have succumbed under the insidious and implacable attacks of his enemies, but for the sturdy opposition of a few powerful friends zealously devoted to his interests. Among them may be mentioned his own father, Don Martin Cortés, a discreet and efficient person, [150] and the duke de Bejar, a powerful nobleman, who from an early period had warmly espoused the cause of Cortés. ”

“ Attended by a number of friends and Martin Cortés, this grandee appeared before the king to protest against the intended injustice to a man who had gained such vast domain and treasures for the crown, and whose loyalty was impugned solely by greedy and jealous intriguers. He showed the letters of Cortés to his father and agents, breathing the most devoted sentiments for the king, and revealing the cunning artifices and hostility on the part of the royal officials. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In the breast of Cortés beat an affectionate heart, stern though it was, and he seldom failed to win the true regard of his followers. The conqueror of Guatemala was void of affection even for women, and his choice of wife or mistress was inspired by ambition or lust. To govern by fear was his delight. Cortés was cautious and far-sighted; Alvarado impetuous, never anticipating other than favorable results. In versatility, as well as in mental and moral qualities, Cortés was far superior to the adelantado—instance the mutiny at Patinamit. ”