§4 7hc Expedition of H 
ttziima ma^e them iineafy, they could have wifhcd, that 
for their greater Security, the Spaniards had never de- 
parted from their Town ^ for which Reafon they faid 
that fmce they were now all one Nation, they Ihould 
take their Women, and carried them eight beautiful 
Damfels, Daughters of principal Perfons, with Gold 
Necklaces and Pendants in their Ears, with Women Ser- 
vants, the Cazique faying that feven of them were for the 
Captains* and the other, being his own Niece, for Cortes. 
T hat General, before he would receive the Ladies, in- 
fifled that Idolatry fhould be abolifhed, to which the In- 
dians were very loth to confent, alledging that they had no 
Occafion to quarrel with the Gods of their Fore-fathers, 
fmce they had given them Succefs in War and good 
Harvefts •, but what ftruck them moft, was their Fear 
that if they deftroyed thefe Gods, that is to fay, the Idols 
they worfhipped, they would punifh them feverely •, but 
Cortes put them out of their Terror, by taking that upon 
himfelf; and when the Idols were once deftroyed, the 
People fubmitted readily enough, in fpite of all the Pains 
their Priefts took to prevent it ; and this great Point of 
Religion once fettled, Cortes and his Commanders made 
no Sort of Difficulty of accepting the Ladies, which was 
very agreeable to the Indians.^ who looked upon them 
thenceforward, not only as their Allies, but as their 
Countrymen. 
9. Cortes having thus concluded a League with the 
Zempoallans.) marched away to his new Colony of Villa 
Ricay and the fame Day he came to it a Ship arrived 
from Cuha, commanded by Francifeo de Salcedo. The 
Ship brought Captain Lewis Martin, with a Mare and 
ten Soldiers, and Salcedo had a good Horfe. Thefe Per- 
fons brought Advice that James Velafquez had received 
the Title of Adelantado, and the King’s Commifllon to 
trade and make Settlements, in the new difeovered Coun- 
tries that had been granted him. The Forces having 
been now three Months in New Spain, and the Fort al- 
moft made defenfibie, it was propofed to go up the 
Country t But it was refolved, in the firft Place, to fend 
fome Perfons to the King, to give an Account of what 
had been done in his Service, and carry him a fifth of 
the Gold, and all the reft that had been given. 
Alonfo Puerto Carrero and Captain de Montejo^txt pitch- 
ed upon to go on this Errand, and Cortes thinking that 
what he had was very little, when every Officer and Sol- 
dier had his Share, and that the King’s Fifth being accord- 
ingly very inconfiderable, it would not anfwer the Account 
they were to give of. the Wealth of that Country ; he 
ordered Francis de Montejo and James de Ordaz, that they, 
as Men in Authority, fhould fpeak to the Soldiers Man 
by Man, to refign their Shares to be fent to the King 
as a Prefent ^ many of the Gent^men to whom the fame 
was propofed, freely offering to do the like. They rea- 
dily confented, and all that had been got was convert- 
ed into a Prefent, for Cortes would not dedufl his own 
fifth Part, nor any Salary, only taking fo much out 
of the whole Sum, as was neceffary for the Expence of 
the Voyage, and to maintain the Meffengers going and 
coming, befides fomething Cortes fent to his Father 
Martin Cortes. He gave thofe Deputies ample Inftruili- 
ons, with a particular Relation of what he had done 
both at Cuba and in New Spain \ he likewife wrote a very 
long Letter to the King, taking Notice in it of the vaft 
Extent and Wealth of the Country, the Hopes he had 
of reducing it under his Obedience, and begging he 
would not forget him when any Commiffions were given 
out for that Country. The Magiftrates of Vera Cruz 
wrote another Letter, reprefenting the ' Service they 
had done his Majefty, the Reafons they had for mak- 
ing the Settlement, and their Sufferings. The Captains 
wrote another to the fame Effedl, as did the Soldiers 
of moft Note j promifing to defend that Town at the 
Expence of their Lives, unlefs otherwife commanded 
by his Majefty j and all of them moft humbly intreat- 
ing the King to beftow the Government of that Coun- 
try, and others that fiiould be by them difeovered and 
fubdiied, upon Ferdinand Cortes, whom- they had chofen 
for: their Commander, to prevent Difputes ; and becaufe 
|io Man was more capable of ferving his Majefty ; 
and that, in Cafe another had been appointed, his Com- 
ERNAN Cortes, Book I. 
miffion might be called in Queftion, and that his Majefty 
would be pleafed fpeedily to anfwer and difpatch their 
Deputies. 
Cortes gave them the beft Ships, and appointed An- 
tony Alaminos their Pilot, who, in order to avoid coming 
tSe^x St.Jago deCuha, failed through the Channel of Bahama. 
They failed on the 26th of July, 1519, with fifteen Sailors, 
and touching at Marien, in Cuba, proceeded to the Ha- 
vanna, pafied the Channel of Bahama, and had a good 
Voyage to Spain-, being the firft that ever failed that 
Way, which he did to avoid falling into the Hands of 
V elafquez. Alaminos took this Refolurion, being well 
acquainted with the Lucayo Iflands, and the Coaft of Flo- 
rida, and concluding that thofe Currents muft end fome- 
where ; and accordingly he ftood Northwards, and it 
proved well, for being got fafe out of the Channel, he 
came into the open Sea, and arrived fafe at Sajtlucar, 
in OEloher. Benedict Martin was then at Seville, in or- 
der to carry over the King’s Difpatches to Jame^ Velaf- 
quez, at Cuba. He informing the Officers of the Indian 
Houfc, that thofe Deputies were out of the King’s Ser- 
vice, they feized all that was in the Ship, together with 
the 3000 Caftalanos they had for their Expences, and 
what Cortes fent his Father. The Prefent for the King 
was fent to him at Valladolid, and Advice given to the 
Biffiop of Burgos, who was fitting out the Fleet to car- 
ry his Majefty over to Flanders, with Complaints againft 
Cortes, for having revolted from James Velafquez. The 
Deputies, with the Pilot Antony de Alaminos, and Cortes's 
Father, went away to meet the King at F ordefillas. 
When the Deputies were gone from Vera Cruz, fome 
Servants and Friends of Velafquez, and among them F, 
John Diaz, being uneafy among themfelves, contrived to 
fteal a fmallVeffel, and fail to Cuba, to diCcyNmt James 
V elafquez with what was doing ; but when they had got the 
Ship ready, and were going to embark in the Night, Ber- 
nard de Coria repented, and gave Notice of it to Cortes, 
who immediately ordered the Sails to be taken from the 
Ships, and the Fugitives to be fecured, who owned the 
Truth of the Charge, impeaching alfo fome Perfons of 
more Note than themfelves, at whom, Cortes confidering 
his Circumftances, connived. However, he, with much 
feeming Sorrow, condemned James Efeudero the Algua- 
zil, who had formerly arrefted him in Cuba, to be hang- 
ed, and, with him, James Cermeno, a Man fo aftive, 
that with only a Spear in his Hand, he would leap Over 
another Spear held up at Arms-length by the talleft Men 
in the Army. Another had one Foot cut off, and two 
were whipped ; he would not punifh F. John Diaz, be- 
caufe he was a Clergyman ; and thus Cortes made himfelf 
feared and honoured. And as foon as he had figned 
the Warrant for Execution, to prevent its being obftruft- 
ed by Intreaties, he went away to Zempoalla, where he 
appointed Peter Alverado to meet him. 
He was now intent on his* Journey to Mexico, and his 
People defirous of undertaking it, Cortes putting them in 
Hopes that they would be there enriched, by which Means 
he gained their Affedlions, and kept them in awe. The 
order of this March being under Deliberation, at Zempo- 
alla, Cortes refolved to fink all his Ships, to deprive the 
Favourers of Velafquez of all Hopes of returning to Cuba 
becaufe there were fo many of them, that if they went 
away they would have, weakened his Forces, and, at the 
fame Time, to add Refolution to the reft-, who find- 
ing themfelves in that vaft populous Country, without 
any Poffibility of getting away, would be obliged to 
follow and obey him, and to truft only to their Va- 
lour. However, left this fhould occafion fome Dif- 
turbance among the Men, he contrived, that the Soldiers, 
who were his moft zealous Friends, fhould aflc it of 
him, perfuading him to it, with feveral Arguments, 
and among the reft, that the Mariners, being an hundred 
Men, they would be a great Help to the Soldiers, and 
bear Part of all their Fatigues. The Soldiers, accord- 
ingly, afieed it, and a public Inftrument was made of the 
fame by a Notary, though it was thought that there was 
another piece of Subtilty in this extraordinary Manage- 
ment, which was, his not being left alone under the Ob- 
ligation of paying for* the Ships, but that the whole Army 
fhould be equally bound to pay for them. 
2 
This 
