The Despatches of Hernando Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, addressed to the Emperor Charles V, written during the conquest, and containing a narrative of its events. Now first translated ... from the original Spanish [i.e. from F. A. Lorenzana y Buitron's edition of the Second to Fourth...

Introduction

AND NOTES, BY GEORGE fOLSOM, ONE OF THE SECRETARIES OP THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MEMBER or THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, OF THE ARCHAIOLOG1CAL SOCIETY OF ATHENS, &C, _-C. NEW-YORK: WILEY AND PUTNAM, 161 BROADWAY, LONDON: STATIONERS' HALL COURT 1843. Entered according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by Charles J. Foi.som, in tbe Clerk's office of the District Court of the Southern District of New-York. WM. OSBORN, FRINTEK, 88 William-street,

Preface

.- This stirring narrative of toil and adventure, addressed by the celebrated conqueror of Mexico to his sovereign, although replete with the most romantic interest, has hitherto escaped an English translator. Written amidst the very scenes described, in a tone of honest sincerity, and with a scrupulous attention to the truth, which none has ever attempted to gainsay, these Letters or Despatches, after being published separately as they were received in Spain, seem to have been overlooked and forgotten when in the lapse of time the original editions had disappeared from the public eye. Even Antonio de Solis, historiographer to his Catholic Majesty, whose classical and popular work on the Conquest of Mexico appeared in 1684, confesses that he was beholden to an Italian translation for his knowledge of one of them.* Indeed, they seem not to have been republished in Spain until 1749, when they were inserted in Barcia's collection of Hislo riadores Primilivos, or Early Historians.

Afterwards, in 1770, ano ther edition appeared at the city of Mexico, superintended by Arch bishop, since Cardinal Lorenzana, who enriched it with copious notes; and this, together with a biographical sketch of Cortes originally writ ten in English by the late R. C. Sands, was re-printed in 1828, at New-York, for the Mexican market. The present translation has been made from the Archbishop's Mexican edition, many of whose notes have been retained, which are marked with the initial of his name. The First Letter appears not to have been printed ; at least, no trace of it has been found, either in print, or manuscript, in Spain, or in Germany ; and we are therefore compelled to begin with the Second, and to give the previous events in an Introduction. * Mr. Rich, of London, in his Catalogue of books relating to America, men tions a copy of the original edition of the Third Letter of Cortes as being in his possession, the price of which is marked at the high price of 10.. 10. . or about fifty-two Spanish dollars, on account of its very great rarity.

PREFACE.

. The Second Letter was printed at Seville, in 1522 ; of which a Latin translation appeared at Nuremberg in March, 1524 ; this again was turned into Italian, and published at Venice in August of the same year.* The Third Letter was printed at Seville, in 1523 ; translated into Latin by the same hand, and published at Nuremberg the following year.f The Fourth Letter was printed at Toledo in 1525 ; and together with the two former appeared in the third volume of Ramusio's collection of Voyages and Travels, (in Italian,) at Venice, 1556. This was the edition consulted by Solis, as mentioned above. A German translation of them was printed at Augsburg, in 1550, and another at Heidelberg, in 1779. A French translation, by M. Le Vicomte de Flavigny, appeared at Paris in 1776. This was made from the edition of Archbishop Lo renzana, as appears from the preface of the noble translator, in which he says — " I present to the public a precious morceau of literature and history, edited in 1770, with the utmost care, by the present Archbishop of Toledo, formerly Archbishop of Mexico.

From the time of Cæsar to the sixteenth century, Cortes is the only great captain who has related his own exploits. Although the conqueror of the Gauls had the advantage both in regard to the character of his ene mies, and in point of style, Cortes will nevertheless appear worthy of his high reputation. His prudence, his courage, his enlarged views, his resources, and even his prejudices, and those of the age, which he treated with respect, will ever illustrate the period in which he lived, and the astonishing revolution effected by his arms. At the same time, as long as the simple and frank tone of a modest but undoubted hero affords pleasure, so long will these letters be read with delight by posterity, and afford instructive lessons to mankind." The translation of Flavigny has no other fault than its freedom, or in other words, its abridgement of the original ; sometimes almost an * A copy of this Italian edition was presented a few years since to the New- York Historical Society, by Samuel Ward, Esq. ; it purports to have been made from the Latin of " II Dottore Pietro Savorgnano," secretary to the bishop of Vienna ; the name of the Italian translator was Nicolo Liburnio. t A copy of the Latin translation of the second and third Letters by Dr. Sav orgnano, printed at Cologne in 1532, belongs to the Philadelphia Library ; for the use of which the writer is indebted to the courtesy of the Librarian of that institution.

PREFACE.

V entire page being condensed int« three or four lines. This is shown by the following comparison :-*■ Flavigny's Translation. The original literally translated : L'eau douce parvient a Mexico par deux tuyaux de deux pieds de circon ference chacun, et qui sont places le long de l'une des chaussees, par les quelles on aborde en cette ville ; cette •au se distribue le long des rues dans differens canots, pour etre ensuite vendue au public. — p. 100. Along one of the causeways that lead into the city are laid two pipes, constructed of masonry, each of which is two paces in width, and about five feet in height. An abundant supply of excellent water, forming a volume equal in bulk to the human body, is conveyed by one of these pipes, and distributed about the city, where it is _sed by the inhabitants for drinking and other purposes.

The other pipe, in the mean time, is kept empty until the former requires to be cleansed, when the water is let into it and continues to be used till the cleansing is finished. As the water is necessarily carried over bridges on account of the salt water crossing its route, reservoirs resembling canals are constructed on the bridges, through which the fresh water is conveyed. These reseryoirs are of the breadth of the body of an ox, and of the same length as the bridges. The whole city is thus served with water, which they carry in canoes through all the streets for sale, taking it from the aqueduct in the following manner : the canoes pass under the bridges on which the reservoirs are placed, when men stationed above fill them with water, for which service they are paid. Re-translation of the French.

Fresh water is conveyed to Mexico by means of two pipes, each two feet in circumference, which extend along one of the causeways leading to the city. This water is carried through the streets io canoes and sold to the people. — Portfolio, vol. iv. p. 289. See below, pp. 118-9. This is a paraphrase rather than a translation, and leaves room for a new French version, which it is understood a distinguished author at Paris will (shortly publish. A- VI

PREFACE.

. In this connexion it is proper that we should notice a translation of the Second Letter, made with great fidelity from the French of Vicomte Flavigny, and published in the Portfolio, (a well known magazine, formerly printed at Philadelphia,) in 1817-18. The editor informs his readers that this paper was found amongst the manu scripts of the late Mr. Alsop, of Middletovvn, Conn., who seems not to have been in possession of a copy of the original work. This gentleman, besides numerous other contributions to the literature of the day, published an excellent translation of the Abbe Molina's His tory of Chili, from the Italian. The Vicomte Flavigny states in his preface, that he had not only taken no pains to acquire new information respecting the conquest of Mexico, but, on the contrary, had endeavored to forget the little knowledge he had on that subject ; " for," he adds, " it was not Solis, Herrera, Diaz, or Gomara, that I designed to translate, nor did I propose to imitate the Abbe Prevost, the Abbe Raynal, or even Rob ertson."

We have ventured, however, to adopt a different course, and although determined to give a faithful version ofthe conqueror's own language, have at the same time consulted every writer within our reach who throws any light on the events of the conquest. Amongst these should be distinguished as surpassing all others, being contem porary with Cortes, Bernal Diaz del Castillo and Francisco Lopez de Gomara ; the former himself a soldier in the expedition, who resided in his old age at the city of Guatemala, where, nearly fifty years after the conquest, he composed his history, which was discovered in manu script after his death, and printed for the first time in 1632. This work is tinged with the personal prejudices of the writer, but in the main deserves great credit for its frank and impartial character.

Having been early translated into English, it has passed through many editions, both in England and America.* Gomara, whose Chronicle of New Spain was published a few years after the death of Cortes, had been the chaplain of the conqueror, and enjoyed the best opportunities for collecting the materials of his work. It was well written, and for many years ranked as the ablest and most authentic book on the history of New Spain. But the sub sequent appearance of the "True History" of Bernal Diaz, (who *Gen. Thompson, the present U. S. Minister at Mexico, is understood to have in hand a new translation of Bernal Diaz, the present one being quite incom plete.

PREFACE.

. VII charged him with neglecting the achievements of the companions of Cortes in order to exalt the merits of their commander,) together with the imputations of Herrera, the royal historiographer, and finally, the publication of the popular volumes of Antonio de Solis, threw Gomara into the shade, and caused his labors to be neglected. But whoever consults his pages will find them well stored with facts, carefully arranged and clearly stated. In short, it is an able and substantial work, and possesses as strong claims to be deemed impar tial in its tone as any other, not excepting Herrera himself.* It would be unpardonable to omit to mention in this connexion the admirable modern work of Clavigero, a Jesuit father, who on the abo lition of his order in the Spanish dominions, after passing more than forty years of his life in Mexico, took refuge in Italy, where he de voted his leisure to literary pursuits.

Being familiar with the native language of Meiico, he carefully studied its antiquities and history, and composed the best and most authentic book on these subjects that had appeared. It was written in the Italian language, and has been ably translated into English by Charles Cullen, Esq. The Despatches of Cortes were written under circumstances the most unfavorable to precision of style, and at a period when the lan guages of modern Europe were far from being what they now are ; for these reasons it is not to be disguised, that they have presented occasional difficulties in the translation, which, with all our helps, it has required a considerable degree of labor to surmount. This at tempt is, therefore, commended to the indulgence of the public, as a well-meant effort to contribute to the amusement and edification of those English and American readers who have not the leisure or in clination to consult the original.

New- York, August 1st, 1843. * There is an imperfect English translation of Gomara under the title of " The Pleasante Historic of the Conquest of the West India," __c, of which two editions were published in black letter, viz. 1578 and 1596. Many entire chap ters of the original are, however, omitted, and numerous alterations made ad libitum by the translator. CONTENTS Introduction -------- Page 1

Letter II. Chapter

I. Commencement of march to Mexico — Muteczuma — conspiracy — stranding of ships — F. de Garay— city of Cempoal — populous valley — wall of Tlascala, - 37 CHAPTER H. Battle with the Tlascallans— continued fighting— interview between Cortes and the rulers of Tlascala — ■ description of the city of Tlascala — government of this republic — deputation from Muteczuma — city 'of Churultecal (Cholula) — narrow escape of the army, - - 51

CHAPTER IV.

* Treachery of Muteczuma— description of two lofty mountains— the Spaniards descry the city and valley of Mexico — province of Chalco — envoys of Muteczuma — slaves — lakes of Mexico — city of Iztapalapa — gardens — causeway — Cortes is met by large numbers of citizens, followed by Muteczuma — interview between Cortes and Muteczuma — address ofthe latter — entrance into the city — letters from Vera Cruz — treachery of Qualpopoca — imprisonment of Muteczuma — execution of Qualpopoca and others — exploring parties — lord of Culhuacan — Cacamacin — inquiries for gold, - - 73

CHAPTER V.

Description of the city of Mexico — the lakes — markets — aqueduct — temples — palaces — houses — mode of living — state assumed by Muteczuma, - - - 110

CHAPTER VI.

Expedition of Panfilo de Narvaez against Cortes— proceedings of Diego Velasquez at Cuba — Cortes leaves the city to meet Narvaez — enters Cempoal — battle between the forces of Cortes and Narvaez in that city — defeat of the latter — detachment sent to build a town at Guasacalco, ------ 126 * The head *f the third chapter was accidentally omitted in the printing. CONTENTS. X 145 170

CHAPTER VII.

Return of Cortes to Mexico— news of rebellion in that city— he enters Mexico— hostilities against the Spa niards—attacks on their quarters— destruction of parts of the city— death of Muteczuma— assault upon the great temple— Cortes at the head of a detachment — ascends a lofty tower— battle on the terraces of the tower or temple — a parley with the enemy — their resolution and spirit— the Spaniards abandon the city — la noche triste — disastrous retreat — Tacuba — route to Tlascala— battle of Otumba— the army enters the territory of Tlascala— met by the nobles — kind reception — news from Vera Cruz,

CHAPTER VIII.

Hostilities against Tepeaca— settlement of the town of Segura de la Frontera— attack on Mexican garrison at Guacachula— description of that city — capture of the city of Izucan — description of that city — news from Mexico — building of brigantines for the lakes of Mexico — successor of Muteczuma — New Spain — note,

Letter III. Chapter

I. Recapitulation of former letter— F. de Garay — Cortes leaves Segura de la Frontera — arrives at city of Tlascaltecal or Tlascala — death of Magiscacin — review of the army — address of Cortes to the troops — march for Mexico — city of Tesaico (Tezcuco)— deputation from that city — expedition to Iztapalapa— circumstances at Tezcuco — Sandoval sent for the brigantines — Chalco — transportation of the brigantines from Tlascala to Tezcuco, 195

Chapter II

Expedition from Tezcuco to Tacuba — engagements with the Mexicans— battle between the people of Chalco and the Mexicans— succors received from Vera Cruz — expedition to the mountainous country — city of Suchimilco — battle with the Mexicans at that city — city of Cuyoacan — Tacuba— return to Tezcuco — plantations at Chinantla — letter from thatplace — launch of thebrigantines — their removal to the great lake, ... 226

Chapter III

Review of the army — disposition of the troops for the siege of Mexico — destruction of the aqueduct — positions of the divisions of the army — Cortes embarks in a brigantine — battle between the brigantines and the canoes — commencement of operations against Mexico — Don Fernando, lord of Tezcuco — arrival of the Otomites, - 257

Chapter IV

Destruction ofthe palaces— burning ofthe houses ofthe city — continued hostilities — part' al defeat of Alvarado' s division — attempt to reach the market place — narrow escape of Cortes — defeat of the Spaniards — rejoicings CONTENTS. XI os the Mexicans — expedition to Marinalco — gallant ex ploit of a Tlascallan chief, .... 278

Chapter V

Sandoval sent to the aid of the Otomites — Alvarado's camp attacked by the Mexicans in the night — obstinacy of the Mexicans — successive attacks on the city — Alvarado penetrates to the market place— the divisions of Cortes and Alvarado meet at the market-place — description ofthe square and temples — a battering engine— the Mexicans reduced to great extremities — Cortes seeks an interview with Gautimotzin — conferences with the Mexican leaders — great havoc amongst the citizens — their necessitous condition — capture of Guatimotzin — fall of the city — Plan of the city and lakes, - - 330

Chapter VI

Cortes removes his quarters to Cuyoacan — deputation from the lord of Mechuacan— expeditions to the South Sea — to Oaxaca — rebuilding of Mexico — Tecoantepeque — the river Panuco— arrival of Cristobal de Tapia to supersede Cortes — measures taken in regard to him — his departure — exhibition to Guaxaca — treachery and punishment of Antonio de Villafana — ascent of the volcano Popocatepetl — suggestions in respect to the Indians, - ____.. 335