GENEEAL SURVEY. 5 



at first comprised within the Spanish domain. But the political unity of these lands 

 was purely ofiBcial, and often little more than nominal; in many places the Conquis- 

 tadores never even set foot, and down to the present time certain territories supposed 

 to be within their jurisdiction have scarcely even been visited by the explorer. 



Nor were the Spaniards strong enough to retain political possession of all the 

 regions discovered by their forefathers. The treasures which were brought to 



Fig:. 2. CiTLALTEPETEL.- — VlEW TAKEN FEOSI NEAE OeIZABA. 



Europe by the first conquerors and which were multiplied a hundredfold in the 

 popular imagination, could not fail to excite the cupidity of adventurers from other 

 nations. Thus it happened that, either with the consent of their respective sove- 

 reigns, w^ho furnished them with letters of marque, or else as roving pirates recognis- 

 ing no authority, daring mariners swarmed on all the seas of the Spanish Main, 

 capturing their vessels, wasting their plantations, or even seizing the islands them- 

 selves after massacring the first settlers. Some of the famous navigators of the 



