Life of Hernan Cortes

Front matter

{dedicated, by permission, to the king.)

CONSTABLE'S MISCELLANY,

VOLS. L. & LI.

Chap. XXVI

Second Voyage of Cortes to Spain. His Death

and Character, .... 335

The discovery and conquest of America form one of the most splendid episodes in the history of the world. The importance of so gigantic an event, and the wild excitement which it awoke, naturally made the conquerors and first historians of those vast regions array their descriptions in the glittering dress of romance, rather than in the sober garb of strict veracity. Hence we find accounts of the civilisation of some districts in America, which it is difficult to reconcile with the rude state and barbarous deeds of the inhabitants. This anomaly is more particularly displayed in the country of Anahuac, known afterwards by the name of New Spain. Some historians have given such pompous narratives concerning the advancement of the natives of Anahuac, and more especially the Mexicans, in the career of civilized life, that they have altogether bestowed the honours of polished nations on a people which was immeasurably far from deserving the distinction. The Mexicans, indeed, when compared with the other inhabitants of the New World, exhibited a decided and even striking superiority ; yet this advantage over the rest of the Indians could not entitle the possessors to that praise which their conquerors have bestowed on them, some in their love for the marvellous and romantic, and others, no doubt, to enhance the glory and difficulty of their own achievements.

The history of the first inhabitants of Anahuac is involved in that dense obscurity which baffles the most plausible reasonings, and overturns the most ingenious theories. Tradition is a very imperfect source of information ; and the Mexican paintings, of which so much has been spoken, are neither sufficient in number, nor clear enough in their meaning, to lead to a philosophical elucidation of truth. Some writers? relying on the legends of the natives, and the discovery of prodigious bones and skulls in various parts of the country, have established the supposition that New Spain was originally inhabited by giants. But abandoning this fanciful theory to the speculations of the curious, it may perhaps be asserted with some probability of truth, that the Toltecas, a wandering tribe of savages, were the first who formed themselves into any thing resembling a regular state. The To3tecas established a kingdom about the year 667. This monarchy lasted four centuries, when it was succeeded by the reign of the Chichemecas and other tribes, until part of the country was occupied by the Aztecas or Mexicans, who5 proceeding from the borders of the Gulf of California, settled about the lake of Tezcuco, and founded the famous city of Mexico.

The new occupants of the land introduced a more polished order of things, and they had made some progress in the pursuits of life at the time of the Spanish invasion. Yet the duration of the Mexican empire was very short, according to the accounts afforded by the natives. Little more than three centuries do they reckon from the first migration of their ancestors, and about half of that time since the establishment of their monarchy. This period was filled up by the government of nine sovereigns, of which the unfortunate Montezuma was the last. As so short a space of time seems incompatible with the degree of civilisation ascribed to the Mexicans, a presumption may safely be admitted, that much exaggeration has been used in the descriptions of their manners, arts, and regulations, But however remote the natives of the land might be with reference to the civilisation of their conquerors, it is not less true that the Mexicans were greatly superior to all the other inhabitants of the New World. The right of private property, so ill understood, and so grossly violated, among rude and savage tribes, was respected and defined in the Mexican Empire. From the right of possession arose that of barter and exchange, and hence sprung various of the more simple operations of commerce.

But another striking feature in the country was the great number of its cities, and the vastness and beauty for which they were conspicuous. Some progress in the arts of social life must be made before men can found and organize such places as Cholula, Tacuba, and other great towns, are depicted to have been ; yet a considerable deduction must be made from the florid descriptions of the conquerors, who, accustomed till then to meet with rude hordes of savages in America, were naturally struck and amazed when, on entering New Spain, they perceived so decided an improvement in civilisation. They found men inhabiting large cities, subject to regular laws, and following pursuits indicative of social life. They, moreover, were pleasingly surprised at the riches of the country, and the fertility of its soil ; and their own vivid imaginations heightening the effect produced by external objects, it is perfectly natural that they should have conceived and represented things in a light above that to which they were really entitled. But a rapid account of the religion, government, and manners of the Mexicans, will more justly decide the degree of civilisation to which they may have had undoubted claims.

In examining the religion of the Mexicans, we are struck with horror and amazement. Nothing can be conceived more barbarous and sanguinary than the ceremonies by which their gloomy superstition hoped to propitiate a bloodthirsty mythology. But the atrocity of human sacrifices, so prevalent in the Mexican empire, was doubly enhanced by the regular system into which religious rites were conducted. They had magnificent temples and other places con= secrated to the service of the deities. The number of priests was very great, and they enjoyed high distinction in the state, as well as extraordinary weight in its councils. Yet a considerable difference existed between them, both with respect to their rank, and the various offices to which they were dedicated. There were several orders among the ministers of religion, at the head of which were two high priests, — a dignity which, as it was the most honourable and important in the state, was only conferred on those whose birth, integrity, and knowledge; rendered them worthy of such a a 2 charge. The high priests were the first personages in the empire ; the monarch invariably consulted them in all matters of moment, and no war was ever undertaken without their approbation. After the first two principal religious dignitaries, the other priests enjoyed certain degrees and gradations, strictly defined and understood. Some were sacrificers, others diviners; some had the care of the sanctuaries committed to them, while others were to compose the hymns and pious songs, and order every thing relating to the festivals.

Indeed, a considerable portion of their time was devoted by the Mexicans to the practice of religious ceremonies, and celebration of their festivals. Nor is this strange. Their mythological rites were strictly connected with those occupations which were most congenial to their character. The Mexicans were naturally warlike and ferocious, and accordingly the first of their gods was the god of war, called Huitzilopoclitli. To this divinity they paid special worship ; and nothing could exceed the disgusting atrocity of the sacrifices continually made to this terrific idol. The most rigid and frightful courses of penance were undergone by the fanatic Mexicans, in order to propitiate this cruel deity ; severe fasts and corporeal macerations, and every torment which superstition can suggest, were cheerfully undertaken in honour of HuitzilopochtlL Yet, lamentable as this ignorance might be, it was lenient in its effects when compared to the inhuman butcheries that dailystained the altars and the temples. The precise number of victims that were annually sacrificed cannot be ascertained, but, according to the most moderate computation, they amounted to noless than twenty thousand. The manner in which the sacrifices were conducted was, if possible, more atrocious than their extent. The mode of inflicting death varied according to the occasion of the festival, or the quality of the victim. In some cases the sufferers were drowned ; in others, they were left to perish with hunger, shut up in dismal caverns on the mountains. The gladiatorial sacrifice, which was considered the most honourable, and in which the victim had a chance of escape by vanquishing his antagonist, was in many instances resorted to ; but the most ordinary manner of performing the cruel ceremony was by opening the breast of the victim.

For the performance of this horrid function six priests were appointed, the principal of which, the Tqpilizin, clothed himself in a red habit, fringed with cotton, and wearing a crown of green and yellow feathers on his head. The other five attendant priests were dressed in white embroidered with black. These ministers dragged the victim, in a state of complete nudity, to the upper area of the temple, and extended him on the altar ; four priests held the legs and arms, whilst the fifth kept the headtight with a wooden instrument resembling a serpent. The Topiltzin then came forward,, and. with a knife made of flint, laid the breast open, and tearing out the heart, offered it. whilst yet palpitating, to the god. and then threw it at his feet. THien the idol was of gigantic dimensions, it was customary to introduce the bleeding heart into its mouth with a large golden spoon. In most eases, also, the lips of the idol and cornices of the entrance of the sanctuary, were anointed Vith the blood of the victim ; and when he happened to be a prisoner of war. as soon as the sacrifice was consummated, the head was severed/ to preserve the skull, and the rest of the body cast down to the lower area of the temple, where it was claimed by the warrior to whom it belonged by right of capture ; and who then carried off his prize to be boiled and dressed; in order to entertain his family and friends. The Otomies used to cut the bodies in pieces, and sold them in the market,

It would be unseasonable here to detail the various other modes of performing sacrifice- j enough has been said to demonstrate, that a mythology so barbarous and abominable could not but be accompanied with every outward form of terror and gloom. Most of the Mexican deities were of a malignant nature, and only to be propitiated by blood. Hence we find them represented under forms and emblems the most fearful and repugnant. Gigantic monsters, and images in which ingenuity had exhausted its stores of horror, were the objects to which the Mexicans addressed their adoration, whilst their temples were always decorated with the figures of serpents, tigers, and other destructive animals. The gods being cruel and vindictive, the genius of the Mexican religion was necessarily dark and horrible. Fear became the principle of action; and by calling the most ungenerous feelings of human nature into play,, sympathy was destroyed, and all the nicer touches of social life entirely annihilated. Thus by a strange anomaly, we find that the Mexicans, the people of the New World who had made the greatest progress in civilisation, were, in many cases, the most ferocious of the Indians, whilst their cruelty? in many of their ceremonies and manners, surpassed even that of the rude savage.

In the science of government, the Mexicans had made some progress at the time of their conquest by the Spaniards. However rude and imperfect they might be in this respect in more remote periods, it is no less certain, that when Cortes subjected those vast territories to the Spanish crown, he found such rules and regulations in them as to excite his surprise and admiration. After making due allowances for the florid descriptions of the early historians, we shall still find much to approve in their system of administration. They had a regular police, established in so skilful a manner, as to have betokened an order of things superior to the then state of the Mexican empire. The institution of couriers, who transmitted intelligence with astonishing rapidity, and the number of civil offices appointed to inspect the public market, to collect the taxes, and to preserve order and justice among the buyers and sellers, afford decided evidence of great improvement from savage life. A sense of equity was evident in the manner of collecting taxes. These were laid on landed property, on the productions of industry, and on the various articles exposed to sale. But the exacting of these duties was not arbitrary : there were certain rules to be observed, and the quota assessed on each proprietor, merchant, or otherwise, was in strict proportion to the extent of his possessions, or the value of his acquisitions. Each one knew how much he had to contribute to the public revenue? and might resist any undue extortion. As the Mexicans were not acquainted with the use of money, the taxes were paid in land, and by this means the large public magazines or storehouses were filled, not only with the natural produce of all the provinces, but with every specimen in works of art and industry. From these magazines the Emperor supplied his numerous attendants in peace, and his armies in war, with the various necessaries of life, as well as the requisite arms and accoutrements.

The government of the Mexicans was a monarchy, but the degree of power and authority of their kings had been different in the various stages of their existence. In the infancy of their nation, great limits were put to the royal authority, and the power which the sovereign exercised at that period resembled more a patriarchal government, than a despotic rule. But with the increase of territory, the accumulation of riches, and the advancement in the refinements of life, the power of the kings was also augmented. Their pride induced them gradually to trespass the limits assigned to their authority, until, during the reign of Montezuma, and at the time of the Spanish invasion, the sovereign was absolute and despotic. The conquests and abilities of the last Mexican monarch, at the same time that they extended the dominions of the empire, gave a mortal Wow to the independence of those various sovereign princes who had their territories contiguous to his own. Such were the kings or lords of Tezcuco, Iztapalapan, and Tacuba, who, though exercisingunlimited power over their own subjects, had nevertheless in the end been rendered feudatory to Montezuma, The crown of the Mexican empire was elective : to effect a competent choice, four lords of the highest rank, courage, and merit, were appointed in the beginning of the monarchy to this important function ; but the electors themselves were removed, and others chosen to fill their places at every new election. In the election of a king, no attention whatever was paid to primogeniture ; and this was exemplified at the death of Montezuma the First, when Axajacatl, his third son? was preferred to the elder brothers.

Several conditions were to be fulfilled, and many ceremonies performed, at each new coronation of a king. But the most characteristic, perhaps, was the obligation under which the new-elected sovereign lay, of going to war, that he might procure the victims to be sacrificed on so important an occasion. The Mexican court was formed upon a scale so systematic and magnificent, as to argue much civilisation in this respect, however deficient that nation might appear in others. The officers of the household were numerous, and trained to all the etiquette of ceremonial. No less than three supreme councils, composed of persons of the highest rank, were appointed to discuss every point of moment— such as the conduct of war, the collecting of the revenue, and other affairs connected with the safety or prosperity of the state. Indeed, in the following history of the conquest of the Mexican empire, we shall find Montezuma frequently appealing for advice to his councils, on account of the dilemma under which he was placed hy the Spanish invasion. There were several ministers or principal officers of the court,, whose peculiar department was to administer the public revenue, when it had been collected by the subordinate functionaries : amongst these the HiieicalpriquifOr treasurer-general, was held in special consideration ; nor was less honour paid do those ministers who had under their care the animals, gems, gold, and other treasures of the crown.

The office of ambassador was esteemed by the Mexicans one of particular importance, and to fill so elevated a station, the principal personages in the empire, both with regard to birth, prudence, and merit, were consequently chosen. To invest the character with more respect, much pomp and ceremony was attached to it : but

B though they were received with profound respect at every place where they touched, they were compelled not to deviate a step from the road traced out for their march.

The division of ranks is another argument in favour of Mexican refinement. In savage life, physical advantages alone decide the merit or fortune of man ; but in proportion as society attains a more artificial form, other and more noble qualifications are fostered and venerated. Mental improvement and advancement in the arts of civilized life are invariably attended with a struggle for distinction, which are unknown in the infancy of rude tribes. In the Mexican empire the distinction of ranks was strictly defined ; the nobility were divided into different classes, though the Spaniards have mixed them together under the general appellation of Caziques. The higher ranks of nobility was that of Tenctli, and to obtain this honourable distinction, the candidate was obliged not only to prove illustrious birth, but to give proofs of great merit, and undergo a course of severe penance for a year, in order to exemplify the virtues of patience and fortitude. But the titles of nobility were m general hereditary. Even at the time of the conquest of Mexico, many families existed in the empire who claimed direct descent from the Aztecas, and carried themselves with great pride and splendour.

The division of lands was curious, and not without ingenuity. They were divided amongst the crown and the altar, the nobility and the communities ; and in order to preserve the property of each class free from litigation, certain paintings were kept in the temples. In these maps, the lands of the crown were painted in purple, those of the nobles displayed a scarlet, and those of the communities a yellow colour. After the conquest, these charts served frequently as a just reference to the Spanish magistrate to decide litigious contention among the Indians. Priority of birth was observed in the inheritance of states ; but in case of imbecility, or any other disqualifying cause, the father was at liberty to transfer the property to any of his other children, with the restriction, however, of making a suitable provision for the rest.

Great simplicity was observable in the Mexican code of laws ; but these were severe in the extreme. Indeed, death was in most cases the punishment awarded to guilt, even for offences which, to us, would appear far from deserving it : for example, the practice of hanging a man or woman for dressing themselves in each other's attire. A traitor to the king was torn in pieces, and those who maltreated an ambassador, or any other public officer of note, forfeited also their lives. Sedition, bribery, and corruption, were subject to capital punishment, as was also a breach of discipline in war. The same rigour which was displayed against political offences, appeared conspicuous in punishing crimes against morality, Murder, even when perpetrated on the person of a vile slave, was visited with death ; nor could a husband inflict that retribution on his adulterous wife without incurring the same punishment, though the latter, as well as her paramour, were either stoned to death, or had their heads bruised and smashed between two stones. The crime of adultery was punished with death almost throughout the empire, but the penalty was inflicted with more severity in some districts than others. It was the practice in Inchoatlan to tear the guilty wife in pieces, and di . vide her limbs amongst the witnesses that brought to light her offence. But the rigour of the law did not extend to the faithless husband, if he committed his offence with an unmarried female. Death >vas also the penalty attendant on thefts of importance ; and, indeed, there was scarcely any offence against the state, religion, or morality, that did not immediately meet with that rigorous retribution. Tins excessive and indiscriminate severity speaks greatly against the civilisation of the Mexicans. But ferocity was a striking characteristic of those Indians and that quality is too plainly displayed both in their wars, religious ceremonies, and legislature. In this respect they present a great contrast with the Peruvians, who were remarkable for the softness of their manners, and the benignity of their minds.

The progress of the Mexicans in the arts of social life has been unquestionably overrated . Those ingenious paintings, which excited the admiration of the Spaniards, when beheld under the influence of excitement produced by a romantic expedition, would be far from producing the same eirect upon calm and reflective spectators. Nevertheless, their skill in this art, as well as the ingenuity with which they wrought in gold the figures of animals, and other objects, is deserving of attention. Perhaps one of the strongest arguments in favour of Mexican superiority, is to be found in the masterly care with which they provided for the defence of their capital. The stratagems, and various modes of fortification employed by the inhabitants during the memorable siege of that city, bespoke a profundity of thought, and a quickness of resolve, which are much above the power of the rude savage. But however considerable might have been the advancement which the Mexicans had made in social life, when compared with the other nations of the new world, it will be readily admitted that they had but little claim to the b2 distinction, if measured by the then existing standard of society in Europe. That the Spaniards, accustomed to treat with, and war against savages, should have been astonished and surprised at the aspect of men so far superior to their former antagonists, is easily conceived ; but when authors set in earnest to write about the public schools, civil institutions, and theatrical representations, of the Mexicans, — when, in fine, they attempt to exhibit that people in the manhood of civilisation, we must receive those accounts with a salutary distrust.

From this rapid sketch we may perhaps conclude, that the Mexicans, though they might sustain the cold rays of the dawn of knowledge, were yet immeasurably far from bearing the daz* zling brightness of its meridian sun. At the time of their conquest by the Spaniards they were a warlike, ferocious, and persevering race, possessing the ruder notions of commerce, agriculture, and legislation, and conversant with the first rudiments of art, but immersed in too gross an ignorance, and exhibiting too great a barbarity in their manners, to entitle them to be reckoned within the pale of civilized nations.

LIFE

OF

HERNAN CORTES.

Chapter I

Introductory Remarks. Birth, Education, and Youth of Her nan Cortes.

A spirit of discovery and adventure was the characteristic feature of the end of the fifteenth, and a great portion of the sixteenth century. No sooner had the daring genius of Columbus achieved the most extraordinary enterprise recorded in the history of man, than the sons of that nation which had assisted him in what was deemed a chimerical undertaking, became imbued with a portion of his heroic spirit, and appeared only intent on improving his glorious and successful career. The ardent imagination of the Spaniards already began to riot in the prospect of the acquisition of wealth, and the subjugation of empires. Every man, however humble his origin, slender his abilities, or inadequate his resources, considered himself fully qualified to join in the most hazardous and gigantic enterprise. A new species of chivalry appeared to animate the breasts of men, and the desire of independent military adventure succeeded the wars of the crusades and the dazzling era of knight-errantry.

The genius of martial romance found a theatre for display in a New World, when it ceased to be tolerated in the old, which was now absorbed with the great drama of religious reformation, and the many bloody as well as ludicrous scenes of which it was composed. A vast field was opened to courage and enterprise in the newly discovered land ; and a multitude of heroic achievements^ extraordinary adventures, and sanguinary crimes, followed the eventful opportunity which naturally called them forth.

Columbus, in discovering a new world, gave also to the pages of history a crowd of names which would otherwise have remained unborn to immortality. A striking illustration was transmitted to posterity, by the conquest of America. of the extent of the powers of man, as well as of the excesses to which he may be hurried by the violence of passions, or the peculiarity of circumstances. Among the numerous adventurers who flocked to the New World, to cull the laurels of victory and seize upon the golden reward held out to daring exploit, many have inscribed their names in the imperishable tablets of fame. But, in the illustrious list, none deserves a more prominent station — none has bequeathed to posterity a memory surrounded with such splendour — a life of greater glory, with a lesser proportion of evil— than the conqueror of the great Mexican empire.

Hernan Cortes was born at Medellin, a small town in Estremadura, in the year I486. He was the son of Don Martin Cortes de Monroy and

Doiia Catalina Pizarro de Altamirano, both hidalgos of noble descent, but possessing a fortune in no manner adequate to their rank. This circumstance was perhaps the most conducive to the future exertions and extraordinary career of young Cortes. Had he been lavishly favoured with the gifts of fortune, satisfied with idle dissipation, and surrendered to enjoyment, it is probable that his genius would for ever have lain dormant, for want of an excitement sufficiently strong for its developement. In conjunction with other illustrious men, Cortes owed his future greatness to the necessity for an exertion of his powers. Don Martin, perceiving in his son the germ of talents, which, by proper cultivation, might arrive at a rich maturity, resolved to direct him towards some profession, which would at once open a field for his abilities, and improve his fortune. A natural quickness and sagacity, a certain degree of eloquence, and a prudent reserve superior to the years of youth, made the elder Cortes entertain the idea, that the pursuit of the law was the career his son might embrace with the greater chance of success. At the age of fourteen, young Cortes was accordingly sent to the University of Salamanca, — then one of the most renowned seats of learning, — in order to complete a course of studies necessary for his future avocation. But, though the youth had abilities for the acquirement of academical distinction, he was not endowed with the persevering industry indispensable to the pursuit of letters. His ardent temper revolted from the restraint which is the soul of scholastic discipline, and be felt impatient at the laborious tranquillity, the slothful toil, which appeared conspicuous in those who were eager for the attainment of erudition and science. At the end of two years, therefore, Cortes, though he had made some little progress in learning, found the career chosen for him in direct opposition to his taste and natural inclination. He became disgusted with his inactive life, and, to relieve the wearisomeness of his present occupations, he launched into irregularities which involved him in serious difficulties, and threatened him with expulsion.

The restless disposition of young Cortes now impelled him to abandon his academic labours and return to Medellin. Here he devoted himself wholly to those active sports and exercises which were more congenial with the ardour of his imagination and the impetuosity of his character. He became a proficient in the use of arms, and took great delight in horses and in every description of field sports.

But the violence of his passions did not permit him to restrain his actions within the limits of moderation. His temper was so ardent, and his conduct so dissipated, at this early period of his life, that he gave no indication of the profound policy, and greatness of soul, which were to mark his future career. Possessing all those attractions so irresistible in captivating the regard of females, it is not surprising that he should be involved in intrigues at once prejudicial to himself and distressing to his family. Nature had bestowed upon him great personal advantages. His manners were remarkably engaging, and his address easy and alluring. He was, besides, a complete master in the art of persuasive eloquence — an advantage which, though at that time attended with no laudable results, proved, in the sequel, one of the most powerful engines in the advancement of his great and glorious enterprise. He possessed a good stature and a graceful carriage, — a countenance full of animation, with eyes amorous and sparkling. A sound constitution, and a robust frame, rendered him capable of enduring any fatigue ; while his fertility of invention seemed sufficient to extricate him from any difficulty. But so many good qualities were now totally useless, if not perverted to purposes deserving only of reprobation ; and his father considered with sorrow that turbulent temper which he could not subdue, and that profligacy which he despaired to see overcome. To one creditable object alone was the warm imagination of young Cortes alive. The splendour of military glory filled his ardent mind, and he inwardly sighed for the moment when he might signalize his name by martial achievements. This inclination Don Martin made no attempt to combat. Having lost every hope that the restless and impetuous temper of his son would ever allow him to follow prosperously any civil employment, he was rather pleased than otherwise that he should embrace the profession of arms.