[XIV-19] Further references to this voyage, unimportant, however, are made in Galvano's Discov., 148-9, where it is stated that 'Nigno' reached 'Tecoantepec'; Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., i. 440; Ogilby's Am., 238; Crowe's Cent. Am., 58; Gordon's Anc. Mex., ii. 204-8; Peter Martyr, dec. vi. cap. ii.-v.; Conder's Mex. and Guat., ii. 301; Juarros, Guat., passim; Pim's Gate of Pacific, 34; Morelli, Fasti Novi Orbis, 18; Andagoya's Nar., 31-2.

[XV-1] In making settlements, as in all things relating to the New World, it was the aim of the Spanish government to reduce details to law. At p. 19, vol. ii. et seq., Recop. de Indias, we find the ordenanzas de la poblacion de ciudades y villas begun by Charles V., in 1523, and continued by Philip II., Felipe III., and Felipe IV., down to 1656. Therein it was ordered that in choosing a site for settlement, which always implied the building of a town or city, care must be taken that the place be suitable in every respect. It should be ascertained if it was a healthy locality, if the young natives were well and strong, if many of the people attained old age, if the country was favorable to agriculture or mining, and of easy access by land and sea; if by the sea, there should be a good harbor, and, if possible, the town must be placed by a river. Open pueblos must not be built on the seashore because of corsairs. The site being chosen, a plan of the place must be made, the squares formed, and the streets and lots laid out, and measured by cord and rule. The location of the plaza, or public and official square, was of primary import, since from it to the principal entrances ran the most important streets. After the land had been set apart for town lots and ejidos, or commons, the country adjacent was to be divided into four parts, one of them for the person making the settlement, and the remainder to be assigned by lot to the settlers. In inland settlements, the church should be located at a distance from the plaza, and on the street running from the plaza to the church were to be placed the casas reales, or offices and dwelling of the crown officials, the cabildo, consejo, or the city-hall, the aduana, or custom-house, and the atarazana, or arsenal. Or the church was placed on one side of the plaza; the royal houses and the municipal house on another; the custom-house on the third; while the remaining side might be devoted to business houses or dwellings. Thus a stranger entering any Spanish town could find without direction all the principal places. Marketing-stalls, usually with an awning, were admitted in the plaza. If a seaboard town, the church must be so placed that it could be seen on entering the harbor, and so constructed as to serve for purposes of defence. In this case the plaza must be at the landing; if inland, in the centre of the town. In form it must be a parallelogram, the length to be at least one and a half times the width, as the best shape for feats of horsemanship; its size should be, according to population, not less than 200 by 300 feet, nor more than 800 by 532 feet, a good size being 600 by 400 feet. From the plaza, whose corners stood toward the four cardinal points, issued four principal streets, one from the middle of each side, and two smaller streets from each corner. In cold countries the streets had to be wide; in hot countries, narrow. Houses not to be built within 300 pasos or 750 feet, of the walls or stockade. Town lots and lands not distributed to settlers belonged to the king, and were reserved for future settlers. Then the law states how first settlers must hasten with their house-building, after having planted and assured themselves of food for the season, building with economy and strength, and throwing round the town palisades and intrenchments. The houses must be uniform, and with good accommodations for horses.

[View larger image]

[View larger image]

Any ten or more married men might unite to form a new settlement, and might elect annually from among themselves alcaldes ordinarios and other municipal officers. When it was possible to establish a villa de Españoles with a council of alcaldes ordinarios and regidores, and there was a responsible person with whom to make an agreement for settlement, the agreement was to be as follows: Within a time specified there must be from ten to thirty settlers, each with one horse, ten milch cows, four oxen, one brood mare, one sow, twenty ewes of Castile, six hens, and a cock. A clergyman must be provided, the first incumbent to be named by the chief of the colony, and his successors in accordance with the royal right of patronage. A church must be built, which the founder of the settlement supplied with ornaments, and to which were granted lands. Any one agreeing to form a settlement, and conforming to the regulations, had given him land equivalent to four square leagues, distant at least five leagues from any other Spanish settlement; and he was himself to enter into agreement with each enrolled settler to give a town lot, lands for pasturage and cultivation, and as many peonías, or shares of foot-soldiers, and caballerías, or shares of cavalrymen, as each would obligate himself to work, provided that to no one was to be given more than five peonías or three caballerías. The principal with whom an agreement for settling was made, to hold civil and criminal jurisdiction in first instance, during life, and for that of one son or heir, and from him appeal might lie to the alcalde mayor or the audiencia of the district. He might appoint alcaldes ordinarios, regidores, and other municipal officers. Those going from Spain as first settlers were exempted from the payment of almojarifazgo, or export duty, or other crown dues, on what they took for their household and maintenance during the first voyage to the Indies. Bachelors should be persuaded to marry.

When a colony was about to leave a city to make a settlement, the justicia and regimiento should file with the escribano del consejo a list of the persons migrating; and lest the mother city should be depopulated, those only were eligible who had no town lots or agricultural lands. The number of colonists being complete, they were to elect officers, and each colonist to register the sum he intended to employ in the enterprise. And even after the settlement had been begun, whether as colonia, that is, colonists in voluntary association, or adelantamiento, alcaldía mayor, corregimiento, enterprises headed respectively by an adelantado, alcalde mayor, or corregidor, or villa, or lugar, the fathers of it were forbidden to wholly leave the people to themselves.