Chapter CCI

_Of the great festivities which took place in Mexico on account of
the peace which was concluded between our emperor and the king of
France; and of Cortes' second journey to Spain._

In the year 1538 intelligence arrived from Spain that our emperor, of glorious memory, had repaired to France, and was most splendidly received by the French monarch in the harbour of Aigues-Mortes. Here the two monarchs met, embraced each other most affectionately, and concluded a treaty of peace.[53] At this interview, which was celebrated by various festivities, there was also present queen Eleanor, the mother of the French king, and sister to our emperor.

In order to celebrate this happy event, the viceroy of New Spain, Mendoza, the marquis del Valle, the royal auditors, and several of the most distinguished Conquistadores gave splendid feasts. By this time Cortes and the viceroy had become good friends again, after having been for a length of time at variance with each other respecting the number of Indians belonging to his marquisate, and on account of the favour which the viceroy showed Nuno de Guzman. As far as I am able to judge, such splendid tournaments, sham fights, masquerades, bull fights, and public rejoicings, were never seen in Spain as took place in Mexico on this occasion. Similar festivities were celebrated as in ancient Rome, when a consul or a victorious general made a triumphal entry into the city; and all these rejoicings were superintended by a Roman cavalier, named Luis de Leon, who was said to be a descendant of some ancient patrician family of Rome.

When all these festivities were ended, Cortes ordered the necessary preparations to be made for his departure, and he invited me to accompany him, promising to obtain for me from the council of the Indies a grant of more lucrative townships than would be conferred upon me by the royal court of audience in Mexico. I accordingly embarked for Spain, and arrived there a couple of months before Cortes, who said he had been detained by a bad leg, and because he had not so soon been able to collect the quantity of gold he was desirous of taking with him on this voyage. It was in the year 1540 that Cortes thus, for the second time, arrived in Spain; and as the empress Isabella, of glorious memory, died in the month of May of the preceding year, the whole of Spain was still in deep mourning for her; and I, in my capacity of regidor of the town of Guacasualco, and as the oldest of the Conquistadores, had likewise put on deep mourning on arriving at the imperial court.

At this same time Hernando Pizarro, with his suite, consisting of above forty persons, all in deep mourning, likewise arrived in Madrid, where the court was then staying. Cortes and his suite arrived in the city almost at the same moment, was splendidly received by order of the council of the Indies, and took up his abode with the comendador Juan de Castilla. Upon the whole he was treated with the utmost respect, for whenever he went to attend the sittings of the council of the Indies, one of the auditors was sent to meet him at the door, and a seat was given him on the same bench with the president and the auditors.

Cortes never afterwards visited New Spain, for notwithstanding the admiral of Castile, the duke of Bejar, the comendador-mayor of Leon, and Dona Maria de Mendoza used all their influence with his majesty, he never could obtain leave to repair thither again. Each time these distinguished personages solicited the emperor, his majesty answered, "That all the investigations against Cortes must first be brought to an issue before he could grant him permission to return." Yet no one seemed to stir in the matter, and the council of the Indies would not say anything until his majesty should have returned from Flanders, whither he was gone to punish the town of Ghent. Neither was Nuno de Guzman allowed to return to New Spain, and though he was condemned in a heavy fine, he was allowed to retain possession of his commendaries in the province of Xalisco; and he likewise, with his suite, went about the town of Madrid clad in deep mourning. And as Cortes, Pizarro, Guzman, and several other personages of New Spain and Peru, were continually before the eyes of the public, we were derisively dubbed the mourning Indians of Peru. It was no joke, however, for Pizarro, for he was shortly after imprisoned in the Mota of Medina.

I myself returned to New Spain, and the first thing I heard on my arrival there was, that an insurrection had broken out among the mountain tribes of Cochitlan, in the province of Xalisco, to quell which the viceroy had despatched thither several officers, among whom was a certain Christobal Onate. The Indians, however, defended themselves so courageously that the civic authorities of Mexico applied for assistance to Alvarado, who was at that time busily occupied in fitting out an extensive armament in Guatimala, destined for China; yet Alvarado readily consented to render the assistance required, and set out by forced marches for Cochitlan with a large body of troops. In this campaign he met with a fatal accident, which I will relate in a following chapter. I have now to speak of two armaments which left New Spain, one fitted out by the viceroy, the other by Alvarado.