Our agents further continued to say, that they were quite surprised accusations should be preferred against Cortes and his troops for having marched against Narvaez, defeated his army, taken his officers prisoners, and burnt his quarters to the ground! They had sufficiently explained above what Narvaez's conduct had been in New Spain, and no person could deny that he had compelled Cortes to take up arms against him: and it appeared like a judgment from heaven that Cortes, with only 266 men, without cavalry, or cannon, or muskets, should have overthrown Narvaez, with a body of 1300 men, who were fully equipped for war, besides having a fine park of artillery. New Spain would undoubtedly have been lost again to the Spanish crown, if Narvaez had entered upon the government of that vast territory. It would have been the same case if Christobal de Tapia had been allowed to assume that dignity, who, however, had had sufficient common sense to see the difficulty of his position, and had considered himself very fortunate in selling off to Cortes the horses and negroes which he brought over with him for a good price, and to return from whence he came. However, if he had repaired to Mexico, and had shown his appointment to Cortes, the latter would certainly have obeyed him; but the cavaliers and the authorities of the different towns would never have consented to the chief command of New Spain passing from the hands of Cortes into those of an individual, whom every one at the first sight could see had not the requisite talents to fill an office of so much importance. Those cavaliers and distinguished personages had even drawn up petitions to his majesty, in which they humbly supplicated him to withdraw the appointment of Tapia.
Here our agents closed the defence; and as the complainants had nothing further to say, and the pleadings of both parties had lasted five days, the commission closed the court, and retired to deliberate on their verdict, which ran as follows:
The commissioners were of opinion that Cortes and the other true and only Conquistadores of New Spain had on every occasion proved themselves loyal and faithful servants of his majesty. Great good fortune had certainly attended all their undertakings, but the courage and intrepidity which they had displayed in the terrible and bloody battles with the Indians, the victory which they gained over the large body of troops under Narvaez with a handful of men, fully merited this good fortune. The commissioners declared that Velasquez was not justified in commencing his suit respecting the government of New Spain; but that he was at liberty to sue Cortes in the proper law courts for the monies he had expended in fitting out the armament.
They confirmed the pope's appointment of Cortes as governor of New Spain; every division of land which he had made should stand good, and further power should be granted to him to distribute the lands in future, according to the best of his judgment; as it was quite evident that in everything he had done up to the present moment he had strove to promote the service of God, and the best interests of his majesty; and it was therefore to be supposed he would continue to do so in future.
With respect to the accusations brought against Cortes concerning Garay's death, the commissioners could not pronounce judgment at present, but would thoroughly investigate this matter on some future occasion: neither could they at present come to any decision with regard to Narvaez's charge that his papers had been taken away from him, as the defendant Alonso de Avila was then a prisoner in France; but they would apply to the French king for his release in order to examine him. With respect to the pilot Umbria and the soldier Cardenas, the commissioners would petition his majesty to grant them each a commendary in New Spain that would produce them an annual rent of 1000 pesos.
With regard to the Conquistadores themselves, they would propose that lucrative commendaries should be bestowed upon them all, and that they should take precedence in the churches and in all other places.
These several decisions were then drawn up in proper form, and despatched to the royal court at Valladolid to receive his majesty's confirmation.
His majesty not only confirmed the decision to which the commissioners had come, but issued other royal letters by which Cortes was empowered to banish from New Spain all deserters and those Spaniards who strolled about the country like vagabonds, as they obstructed the conversion of the Indians to Christianity. Further, all lawyers were forbidden to settle in New Spain for a certain number of years to come, for they only created lawsuits, quarrels, and dissensions among the inhabitants.
These royal letters were given at the court of Valladolid on the 17th of May, in the year one thousand five hundred and so many years,[40] countersigned by the above commissioners, by Don Garcia de Padilla, and by the royal secretary Don Francisco de los Cobos, who subsequently became comendador-mayor of Leon. Besides all this, his majesty wrote letters to Cortes and all of us the veteran Conquistadores, in which he expressed his unqualified satisfaction with the great and excellent services we had rendered the crown.
About this time also, Ferdinand king of Hungary and king of the Romans wrote a letter to Cortes, in which he thanked him for the beautiful present of gold ornaments and jewels which he had sent him, adding, that he had heard, with much pleasure, of the great services he had above all things rendered to God, and then to his master and brother the emperor, and to the whole of Christendom, and that he should feel happy at all times to promote his interests with the emperor. Thus much he thought himself indebted to a man who possessed so many noble qualities, and who had rendered himself so meritorious; in like manner he wished to express his high esteem for his brave companions in arms.