Conquest Letters

PART I: CONQUEST
Having few prospects in Nicaragua, we came to
this district, where there's more gold and silver
than iron in Biscay, and more sheepthan in Soria,
and great supplies of all kinds of provisions, and
fine clothing and the best people that have been
seenin the whole Indies.
Gasparde Marquina, Cajamarca,Peru, 1533
tBogoti
Map: The SpanishIndies,SixteenthCentury
Sinceconquestand settlementwere one singleongoingprocess
in SpanishAmerica, we are a little reluctantto emphasizethe
distinctionbetweenthem by devotinga separatesectionro conquest alone. Yet only in this way can we iilustrate to what an
extent the conquerorswereactinglike immigrants,businessmen
and settlers.Then too, the creation of Spanishcities,governmentaljurisdictionsand encomiendastook placeat rhe time of
the conquests,as a direct reflectionand integralpart of them.
Spaniardstended to take their new cities - the framework of
their world - for granted,but rhe encomiendas
and governorships, being the great rewards of the enterprise,engendered
strife and comment; whole genresof conquestcorrespondence
grew up to brag, complain or petition about thesematters.
We also wish to give some notion of the often down-toearth
first reports on new areas,whether private(Letters1,6), official (Letter 2), or mer cantile(Letters4,5).It is enlightening
to
comparethesewith texts written some yearsafter the occupation, such as Letter 3, or the last pagesof Letter 36, both good
examplesof incipientlegendformation.Finally,in the accounts
of the conquestone gets an impressionof the vast geographicai
spreadof the movement,the differencesbetweenregions,and
the varying successof the conquerors,who achievedquick victory and large rewardsin the most denselysettled areasof the
Andes and Mexico, but experiencedlong strugglesand relative
poverty elsewhere.
l
2
Conguest
Conquest in the personal view
l . C o nq u e st i n th e p e rso n al view
Gasparde Marquina,in Cajamarca,Peru,to his
father Martin de Girate in Mendaro, Biscay,
15331
. . . When he arrived where we were. the Governor
rushed out with all his men and we attacked them
and seizedthe lord and killed many of his people . . .
To match
the hundreds of extant
reports to the crown
that
governorsand captainswrote about their conquesrs,there remain very few of the many letters the conquerorssent from the
sceneto family and friends. Most of these- and it is a characteristic worth noting - stick close to personal matters (the
writer's fortunes, his prospectsof conring home, his plans for
relativesand for himself),hardly mentioningthe progressof the
conquestor the natureof the country. So the presenrletter is
doubly rare, sincethe impressionableyoung man who wrote ir
did devote some spaceto the land of the Inca empire and the
climactic event of the caprureof its emperor, Atahuallpa,in
which he took part. What he says is as fresh and direct as
conversation,and with the complete honesty of a person who
has no need to extol or excuse.Most accountsof the episodeat
Cajamarcagive prominence to the dramatic parley in which a
Dominican friar rold Atahuallpaof Christianity and the Spanish
king, with the fighting beginningonly when the emperorbroke
off the talk. Gasparskips over this as though it had neverhappened- not that it did not, but in his eyesit wasan unimportant detail. What really happenedwas a great display of lndian
wealth and numbers,followed by a sudden,total reversalwhen
the Spaniardsattacked.Gasparbearsthe Indians no ill will and
appreciatestheir accomplishments,indeed more than many
other Spaniards
of his time, but no needto justify rhe conquesr
ever occurs to him, nor is he concerned about the Indians'
conversion(though he takes permanentSpanishgovernmentfor
granted).
An aspect that Gaspar lays bare more fully rhan do many
3
reports by leaders,who enlargeon their own bravery and skill,
or keep silent,is the overwhelmingSpanishmilitary superiority.
When fighting nomads,the Spaniardsfaced military near<quals.
Even in the more settled areas,confined situationscould cause
them difficulty (like Mexico City, with its island situation, its
mazeof canalsand stonebuildings);but on flat land and against
sedentary peoples, European steel and horses regularly produced results like those seen here.'We killed 8,000 men in
about two hours and a half.' Gaspar tends to attribute it to a
miracle,while we may prefer the advantagesof EurasianweaPonry and animalsas an explanation.In any caseit is a fact of
capital importance, allowing the Spaniardsto forget about the
to their own
Indians much of the time and devotethemselves
internal affairs and rivalries to a degree that never ceasesto
surprise.
Even in this letter, after all, the Indiansand the fighting are
mentioned almost in passing.They are relevant becausethey
were instrumentalin Gaspar'sattainingwealth. That is what the
letter is about: how Gasparhas gainedwealth and successand
can start doing somethingfor his family, boch past and future
generations.
Note that Gaspardoes not use the word 'soldier'for himself
and his fellows; nor does it appear in our Letter 2, an official
conquestreport,nor in any of the ochercontemporarylettersin
this section. Only in the posterior,already myth-creatingaccount of a lady in Paraguay(Letter 3) is the word to be found.
The conquerorswere free agents,emigrants,settlers,unsalaried
and sharesof treasure,
and ununiformedearnersof encorniendas
and a great many other things that do not fit well with today's
concept'soldier.'
We will presenta few details about Gasparbeyond those he
givesin the letter.The useof a differentsurnamein the Indiesin this caseMarquinaratherthan Gaspar'sfather'sname,Girate
- was a quite common phenomenon,particuiarlywith the
Basques,who were hrppy enough to let themselvesbe called
anything the other Spaniardscould pronounce.Gasparwas born
out of wedlock, but recognizedby his father and brought up
Conquest in the personal uieu
4
Conquest
carefuliy,so that he had strongfamily roots,asindeedthe letter
itself shows. In his early twenties at the time of the letter,
apparentlyacting as GovernorPizarro'spage,he was still one of
the expedition'sleast influential members.After this, he soon
bougirt a horseand beganto acqui-re
somebusiness
connections,
but iater in 1533 the Spanishvanguardimprudently went single
file up a long steepslope not far from Cuzco,losingmore men
than in all the fightingup to that time, and Gasparde Marquina
amongthem.
Dear Sir:
It must be about three yearsago that I got a letter from you,
in which you asked me to send some money. God knows how
sorry I was not to have anything to sendyouthen,becauseifI
had anything then there wouldn't havebeen any need for you
to wrire;l've alwaystried to do the right thing,but therewasn'r
any possibility till now. You also told me to remembermy
homeland;God knows if I remembermy homelandor not,but
as t said. till now there hasn't been time to think of it. I give
you my word that I never had a penny the whole time sinceI
cameto theseparts until six months ago,when God was pleased
to give me more than I deserved,and now I have over 3,000
ducats;pleaseGod that it will be for his holy service.
Sir, I'm sendingyou 213 pesosof good gold in a bar with an
honorable man from San Sebastiin; in Seville he'll have it
turned into coin and then bring it to you. I'd sendyou more
except he's taking money for other people too and couldn't
take more. His name is Pedro de Anadel. I know him. and he's
the kind of person who will get the money to you, so that's
why I askedhim to do me a favor and take you the money.
Sir, I would like to be the messengermyself, but it couldn't
be, becausewe're in new country and haven'tbeen here long,
and they aren't giving license to leave except to married men
who have been in these parts for a long time. I expect to be
there with you in two yearswith the aid of our Lord; I swearto
God that I have a greaterdesireto be there than you have to see
me, so that I can give you a good old age.
5
Sir, I'll tell you somethingof my life sinceI camero these
parts; you must know how I went to Nicaraguawith Governor
Pedrariasas his page,and I was with him till God was pleasedto
take him from this world. He died very poor and so all of his
servantswere left poor too, as the carrierof this letter can very
well tell you when he seesyou. Then a few days after he died
we got news of how Governor FranciscoPizarrowas coming to
be governor of this kingdom of New Castileand so, hearingthis
news and having few prospectsin Nicaragua,we came to this
district,where there'smore gold and silverthan iron in Biscay,
and more sheepthan in Soria, and great suppliesof all kinds of
provisions,and fine clothing and the best peoplethat havebeen
seenin the whole Indies,and many greatlordsamongrhem;one
of them rules over 500 leagues.We have him prisonerin our
power, and with him prisoner,a man can go by himself 500
leagueswithout getting killed, instead they give you whatever
you needand carry you on their shouldersin a litter.
We took this lord by a miracle of God, becauseour forces
wouldn't be enough to take him nor to do what we did, but
God gave us the victory miraculouslyover him and his forces.
You must know that we came here with Governor Francisco
Ptzarroto the land of this lord where he had 60,000 warriors,
and there were 160 Spaniardswith the governor, and we
thought our lives were finished becauserhere was such a horde
of them, and eventhe women were makingfun of us and saying
they were sorry for us becausewe were goingto get killed;but
afterwardstheir bad thoughtsturned out the opposite.The lord
came with all his armed men within two shots of a crossb<rw
from where we were campedand pitched his camp rhere,and
then from there he came to seethe governorand what kind of
peoplewe were,with about 5,000 men all dressedin his livery,
and him in a litter covered with gold, with a hundred nobies
carrying him and sweepingthe ground in front of his litter, and
all of them singing in unison, and when he arrived where qe
were, the governor rushed out with all his men and we attacked
them and seizedthe lord and killed many of his people,most of
the ones that came with him. and then we went out where all
6
Conquest
the rest of the warriors were, all armedwith lances15 feet long,
and we routed them all. In the rout we killed 8,000 men in
about two hours and a half, and we took much gold and
clothing and many people. It would be too long to tell if it all
were told; the bearer of the presentletter can inform you, and I
won't say more becauseas I say, it would be too long to tell.
Give rny greetingsto Catalinaand my brothersand sistersand
my uncle Mattin de Altamira and his daughters,especiallythe
older one, becauseI am much in her debt, and also to my
cousins Martin de Altamira and Marina de Garateand my uncle
San Juan de Gdrate and my uncle Pedro Sirnchezde Arizmendi
and all the rest of my relatives,becauseI've already forgotten
many of their names.I really want you to greet them-all from
me and tell them that I greatly desireto seethem, and pleasing
God t'll be there soon. Sir, the only thing I want to askyou is
to do good for the souls of my mother and all my relatives'-and
if GoJlets me get there, I'll do it very thoroughly myself.There
is nothing more to write at PresentexcePtthat I'm prayingto
our Lord Jesus Christ to let me see you before I die. From
Cajamarca,in the kingdom of New Castile,20th of July, 1533.
Your son who would rather seethan write you'
Gasparde Gdrate
[On the outside is a memorandum to Anadel, bearer of the
letter:]
Sir, I implore you to write me with the first peopie who
come, and if by chance God our Lord has been pleasedto take
my father from this world, give the 2L3 pesos to my uncle
Martin de Altamira and to San Juan de Gdrate,jointly to both,
and if one of them is dead, to either of them, so that with 100
pesosthey can do good for the souls of my ParentsMartin de
Gdrate and Maria Ramirez de Altamira, and divide the other
113 pesosamong my brother and sisters,and in caseboth my
uncles are dead, to my brother Jorge de Girate with a guardian,
who as I say should do good for my Parentswith the hundred
Conquest in the personal view
7
and divide all the rest betweenhimself and his and my brothers
and sisters,all equally.
Gasparde Marquina
I
P,tblirh.d in Spanish
Englishin Appendix I of Lockhart , The Men of
.and
cajamarca, which also includes further biographical material on
Gaspar.
2. A standar d c onquer or 's r epor t
Pedrariasde Avila, governor of Tierra Firme, in
Panamd,ro rhe emperor,15251
We h e a r n e w s o [g r e a t w e a l th .
It is a shame, in a way, that the best_knownearly official
reports from the Indies are Columbus' hand-wavinsiralianate
pictures of an island.paradise,and Cortds' uniue.-rityprose,
elegantly magnifying himself and his conquesr. as iine and
informative as thesewritings are, they are not representative
of
the scoresof reports that Spanishleaders,"nt th" crown every
year from new areasrich and poor, important and unimportant.
There, sobriety and woodenniss r,rled. yes, there *"r. to",, ,o
the king, and sometalk of spreadingChristianity,far more rhan
in private letters, and even some mention of marversof nature
and divine intervention, but all in few words, one item after the
next, in matter-of-fact,u.nexcitedlanguagecorrespondingwell
to the conquerors'generallySpartant*pir"-.nt.
The
usually went to the basicsof whether o. not the climate
-!rr"g,
was
tolerable for Europeans;whether the Indians were settled and
agricultural,
.capable_of sustaining encomiendasand Spanish
cities; and whether fhere was gold, silveror someother p.od,-r.t
that could subsidizeimports lrom Europe and p"y th" crown
the revenuesit desired.
we have chosenthe presentletter becauseit has a little of
everything;it illustratesthe points above, and more. In the
secondand third decadesof the sixteenth century, Tierra Firrne
and its capital Panamdwere the clearinqhouse for exploration
and conquestin both directionsalong-the South Sea
lthe t"_
cific, with the North Sea in this contJxt being the caritbean).
Thus two major conquestsappear underway ii this letter. thar
8
Conquest
of Nicaragua led by Francisco Hernindez de Cordoba and
others, and that of the 'east' or Peru led by Pizarroand Almagro. The relay system of conquest,with each new area conqueredby peopleand resourcesfrom the immediatelypreceding
one, is seen very clearly here, as well as the tensionsthat grew
out of it. The governor would aid some important citizensin
outfitring expeditionswhich he sent out in his name to add new
territories to his own jurisdiction. But the subordinates'who
usually took much of the initiative and bore most of the exand often attainedit. In
pense,invariablysought independence,
of
thi. l.tt"t Gil Gonzdltezde Avila, a former quasi-subordinate
the
only
was
but
that
in
Nicaragua,
trouble
is
causing
Pedrarias,
beginning, for Pedrarias would later have to come there in
person to quell a rebellion; before many years both Nicaragua
and Peru would be independent of Tierra Firme. Thus it is by
no means atypical that this rePort speaks more of conflicts
among Spaniardsthan of flghting with Indians,or that notaries
should be spilling ink, taking and authenticating evidence
againstfellow Spaniards,at the endsof the earth.
Famous names abound in the letter. Two, Benalcazarand
Soto, evoke careerswhich illustratethe continuity of personnel
and the repeating cycle of tension in the Spanish conquests.
Both men came to prominence under Pedrariasin Tierra Firme,
then moved to Nicaragua,as the most imPortant new areathen
being opened up. From Nicaragua they later went as quite
major leadersto the far wealthier Peru, where their very influ.nie rn"d. them unacceptableto the Pizarros,so with riches
ga^inedin Peru they undertook further conquests,Benalcizarin
Quito and New Granada, Soto in North America.The person
de Oviedo,the
referred to as 'an Oviedo' is Gonzalo Fernd:ndez
voluble and sharp-tonguedchronicler. Fray Franciscode Bobadilla, who is here being gently nominaced for bishop (conquerorswould try to have the most prominent of their ecclesiastical companions named bishop of their area), did not attain
that dignity, but did later appear in Peru. He figuresagain in
Letter 25.
We have left geographicalnames as they are in the original
A standard conqueror's report
9
text and will not attempt to identify them further, since the
important thing here is the genericaspecr,the sheervariety of
strangenew nameswritten down with as little explanationas if
they were Sevilleand Toledo.
SacredCatholic Caesarean
Majesty;
On the tenrh of this month of April of '25 there arrivedhere
in this city of Panami a messenger
from the wesr,named Sebastiin de Benalcazar,who has taken part in everythingthat has
been done there, and was sent by my lieutenantFranciscoHernindez with a letter in which he reports the fo]lowing things:
At the Doubtful Strait a town called Bruselaswas founded, at
the site of Urutina, which has plains on one hand, and the sea
on the other, and good fisheries.The land is fertile, with good
orchards,and the Indiansare peaceful.the town is in the midst
of all the people of those provinces.It is a very good region
with good waters and air and hunting and fishing in quantity
and rich land with good orchards,well suired for the narive
grain,which it bearsin abundance.
From this settlemenrto rhe provinceof Nequecheriis thirtyfive leagues.The iand up to there is very populated and abundant. In this province there is a populated area of more than
three leagues,and in the middle of it they foundedand settled
the new city of Granada. In the surroundingregion are up ro
8,000 native households;it hasgood rivers,gardens,fishingand
hunting.The city is on the banksof the fresh-water
sea.In this
they
city
made a very sumpruouschurch, which is well served
and adorned.No town was founded in the province of Nicaragua becausethough it is very large in itself, it is only the beginning of the land, and there was no necessityto settlethere.
From this New Granadathey went down to rhe province of
Ymabite, in the midst of the greatand very populatedprovince
of Masaya;and in the province of Endevi and Managuanext to
this province of Masayathere is a great fiery crater that never
ceasesto burn; at night the great fire seemsro touch rhe skies
and lights up everythingas clear as daytime for fifteen leagues
around. In this provinceof Ymabite, in rhe middle of it, the
10
Conquest
new city of Leon was founded; in the surroundingsare 15,000
native families. They built the best church there that has been
erected in these parts. Near this city of Leon is another high
mountain, with fire coming out above its peak from five
mouths, clearly visible day and night; around the mountain
there is a greatquantity of sulfur. All this land is very level,and
there are very large rivers in it, though in some parts there is a
lack of water. Some of the rivers are very hot, so that they can
hardly be crossedfor the heat of the warer; there is a fountain
so constantly boiling that if they put in a fowl or somethingelse
raw it is immediately cooked, and if they want to roast something it can be roasted quickly by the heat of the water. This
city is also not far from the fresh-watersea,and has many large
orchardsand groves.
The fresh-watersea has two arms,one of them thirty leagues
wide; going from one to the other is a srrait through which the
water flows, and between the two arms is a small lake in which
there are many populated islands.On this searhey launchedfor
my lieutenant a brigantine that can be carried in pieces,and
using it they explored and circumnavigatedthe enrire sea.They
found an outlet or river through which it is drained, but the
brigantine was not able to navigateit becauseit is very rocky
and has a strong current besidestwo very large rapids, so they
explored it in a canoe, but could not find its mouth. It is
thought to flow into the North Sea.
In the interior of this land another captain went with some
men eighty leaguesfarther and found the country very populated, with large groves of sandalwood,citrine, cedar and pine,
oaks of different kinds, and cork trees in great quanrities;they
havebeen making agreat deal of pitch from the pines.
From this city of Leon they went ahead discoveringand
pacifying as far as the geat city of Nequepio, which they said
was the sameas Melaca where Alvarado had arrivedwith Cortes'
men; they saw where he had had his camp, and they saw some
of the things he left rhere, especiallya cannon and some footwear. From there the men turned back, and while they were
quartered in a city called Toreva, Gil Gonzdiez arrived with
A standard
conqueror's
report
l1
somehorsemen,musketeersand crossbowmenin the middle of
the night, shouting'St Gil, death,death to traitors,'and at the
noise the captain ran out with the men he had and fought
without knowing againstwhom, and some cavaliersand horses
were killed, and then Gil Gonzilez, after the men and horses
were dead, called out loudly saying 'Peace,sir Captain,peace
in the name of the king,' and CaptainSoto answered'peace,
in
the name of the emperor.' Believingthe peacewas real and not
feigned, Captain Soto withdrew his men; although his companionstold him that Gil Gonzilez was acting deceitfully in the
expectation of more men, he still turned aside with his men.
Then when Gil Gonzilez was stronger,more of his men having
arrived, and the other side trusting in peace,seeinghis advantage he started the fighting again and took from them 130,000
pesosof local low<arat gold and some other spoils,as though
they were his enemies.When Gil Gonzilez saw the error he had
made, and that he could not maintain his position, he abandoned his men, leaving behind the banner and some halberds
and a folding chair and some other stores,and went away with
ten horsemenand twentv foot, Mv lieutenant sent me sealed
and authenticatedevidenie of all this; I am sendingyour majesty
a signedcopy and keepingthe original,thinking that becauseof
the bad ink with which it is written, after such a long journey it
might be illegiblewhen it arrivesthere.
He also says that more than 400,000 souls have been converted to our holy Catholic faith of their own free will, and
more continually come to requestbaptism,becausethe Indians
in one town where a wooden crosshad been set up tried to burn
it and neversucceeded.
and then all the peopleof the town died
of pestilencewithout an Indian remaining,and seeingthis miracle and other miracles that have occurred, the Indians of the
region around came to be baptized and requestcrosses,which
are given to them with the greatest ceremony possible.Also
certain mosquesthat had not yet receivedimagesof Our Lady
were struck by lightning and burned, and seeingthis the people
of those towns come to requestimagesand crossesand baptism,
and as there are few priests,the Indians themselves,seeingthe
t2
Conquest
acts the priests perform, crossthemselvesand sprinklewater on
eachother.
He also says that he has sent people in the direction of the
North Sea to look for gold mines,feelingsure they exist;and
they have written asking for permissionto melt down and distribute the gold they have taken and what they should take or
get from the mines in the future;I willwrite grantingit as soon
as possible.
Royal treasurer Alonso de la Puente wi,ll leave,with the aid
of God, at the end of May, or by the end of June at latest,with
all the gold he has and whatever more shouid come or could be
obtained; he is not going now becausethis ship goesunescorted'
When he goes he will take everythingthat should be here,as
well as a full accounting of the royal treasurywhich has been
and is under his care.
This then is what has been done toward the west along the
South Sea by the expedition that went under my lieutenant
It was done without touchingyour majesFranciscoHernd,ndez.
ty's royal treasury;some individualsin this your majesty'skingdom gave me their aid, becausemy own estateis not sufficient
for the great expensesthat presentthemselvesevery day.
Toward the eastalong the South Sea,as I havewritten your
majesty, I sent another expedition under CaptainPizarro,my
lieutenant in the east, with very good peopleand good equipment. We daily expect good news from them which will please
we
God and your majestyand ennoblethesekingdoms,because
it
thar
it
all
so
May
our
Lord
wealth.
guide
hear news of great
can in some way serveyour majesty.For this expeditionto the
don Fernandode Luque
eastthe reverendfather Maestrescuela
and Captain Pizarro and Diego de Almagro have aidedme with
of your
their own means,showing the good will that true vassals
majestyshould.
I am busying myself with building ships and doing what is
necessaryto bring back spicesfrom the islands,as piiots assure
here are
nle can be done. I implore your majesty,sinceexPenses
so great and for this enterprise of the spice islandsyour majesty's aid is necessary,that you order me given favor and aid for
A standardconqueror's
report
13
it, and also that you have friars and learned persons sent to
instruct the Indians in the things of our holy Catholic faith,
becausethey are much needed here. The reverendfather fray
Francisco de Bobadilla, provincial superior of the order of St
Mary of Mercy in this kingdom, is going to inform your majesry
of this matter, and I humbly beg you to give him audience,
becausehe is a personwhose example and teachinghaveborne
much fruit in the conversion of the Indians, and he has given
much consolation to the Christians with his preaching;he has
founded some houses of his holy order here, and knows of
matters here as an eyewitness.Order him to return forthwith,
because his teaching is greatly needed by both Indians and
Christians, and order him favored so that he can bring back
friars with whom to augment the holy faith of Jesus Christ,
since that is rhe principal thing your majesty has charged me
with in your service.
I have been informed that Captain Gil Gonzilez, forgetting
the benefits he received from me in this kingdom and how
much I, trying to serveyour majesty,helped him with the expedition under his command, has departed from the truth and
told falsehoods to your majesty and those of your very high
council. And also they say that an Oviedo who was here filling
certain offices for Secretary Lope Conchillos and fled secretly
in fear of the punishment his crimes merited has presented
certain charges against me, and since any guilt on my part
shouldbe punishedmore severelythan in another,I humbly beg
your sacred majesty, in remuneration for the servicesI have
performed since my childhood and that I did for the blessed
Catholic Monarchs of glorious memory, for your grandfather
and your father and for your majesry,rhar you appoint a judge
above suspicion to come and review my performance,becauseI
feel sure that then your majesty will be informed of my services, and I wiil be freed from the iniquitous accusarionsrhe
above two have made against me. Also I beg your majesty to
give me license to come and kiss your royal hands and feet,
becausein respectto your majesty no one should dare tell you
an untruth, and whoever does not do right by his own good
14
Conquest
name will not do right in the service of God andyour majesty.2
lPnblish.d in Spanishin Rar1lPorrasBarrenechea,ed., Las relaciones
primitiuas de Ia conquistadel Peri, pp. 59-62.
2The concludingformulasand signature missing.
are
3" T h e w o ma n a s co nquer or
Dofra Isabel de Guevara,in Asuncion, Paraguay,
to Princessdofra Juana,regentin Spain, 15561
. . . The men became so weak that all the tasks
feli on the poor women . . .
The heroic woman in the style of early North American history is not really a central figure of the Spanish conquests.
Mainly Indian servant women accompanied the conquerors.
Most expeditionsset out with no Spanishwomen at all;at most
one or two camp followers or mistressesof leaders,like the
well-known Inds Sud,rezin Chile. But in the relay system of
conquest, at the more establishedbase from which the expedition left there would always be wives and femalerelativesof the
conquerors, who would begin to appear in the new country
almost before the fighting was over. And legendsformed around
them. In the rich central regionsthe first women becameknown
as grain goddessesand bearers of European civilization, each
reputed to have introduced wheat and other European foods
and amenities.On the periphery,tales were told of the hardships and battle prowess of the once humble women who came
with the conquerors,Inds Sud"rezagainbeing a good example.
The presentletter pertainsmore to the secondphenomenon,
though with some differences.The Plata region was indeedthe
periphery of the periphery, one of the most difficult and, in
sixteenth-century terms, economicaliy hopeiess regions into
which Spaniards ventured. However, this was not known in
Spain when don Pedro de Mendoza,expectinganother Peru,
bypassedthe step-by-stepseriesof conquestsand brought a
great expedition directly from Seville,including no small number of women who were not camp followers;somewere ladies
with the title of doha and noble surnameslike Guevara.As to
therest,
dofra
Isabel
tellsit, ,"r!r*?1i,";::::?;'il^r, ::
heighten^ed
form, twenry
years after the fact and with
the urgencyof a disappoinred.laimant.
Very high and powerful lady:
Severalwomen cameto this province
of the Rio de la plata
along with its first governor don p.d.o
de Mendoza,and it was
my fortune to be o-neof them. On
,"".nir,g,frrp"r, ;;;r*
Aires, our. expedition conrained 1,500
men, but food was
scarce,and the hungerwas such that
within ,hr;";;"ril*1,000
of them died; it was su.h a famine
fh"t th" one of
Jerusalem
cannot equal it, ngr anl other
be compared
,o i,.itr.-rn.r,
-f.U
became so weak that all th. t"rk,
on the poor
washingthe clothesas well as nursing;i";";,;.t;J;;._ women,
the li*le food there
k."yi., i,i.l clean,standingguard,
,*"1:
".ro.rbows
patrolling the fires,.loading
tir.
when the Indians
camesometimesto,do battle, even firing
the cannon,
ing the soldiers who were capable
""J;;;",
figlr;;,1fr"r*,g'rlr.
alarm rhroueh the camp, acting
"f
as sergeantsand putting the
soldiersin oider, becauseat that-time,
as we women can make
do with little nourishmenr,*" h"i
not fallen inro such weak_
ness as rhe men. your highness
will readiy belierre;t";;r,
contributionswere such thJt if ir had
not b."n fo, ur,
haveperished;and were it not for
"ii'*."ra
the men,sreputation,I
could
giu'
,t *,,r,.*i-.i,.,.
;HH*'.;::;fii.::,:n.il:1"-::-l
thls story to your"highnessat greater
length,so I will .."r.ltt'"
When this so oerilous turbulence
was over, the few who were
still alive decidei to ascendth" ,iu.r,
*eak as they were and
with winter coming on, in two
brigantines,and the weary
women nursed them and rooked
aftel them
.ook"d'rhlo
meals,calying firewood on rheir
bJr-frorn "nd
;iir-f* ,frr.'""a
ercouragingthem with manly,words
not ro r., ,r,"...i;;J ;;.,
that soon they would reacha fertile
land, and .".rylng;i,._*;n
our shouldersto the brigantines
much tendernessas if
they were our own ,orrrl And when
".
-ith we
came upon a kind of
IndianscalledTimbueswho are
g.e"t firh.rmen, againwe served
24
The merchant and the co/tquest of Mexico
Conquest
28th of September1,526.
Your very faithful servant,
Martin
to
And gentlemen,don'! forget to send-that money of mine
ask
I
yo.r-know, shehas need of it' And
milady iife be."us",
", to take charge of supplying my houseyou ,, a favor always
and theie is no one elsewho could
hold, since I am so i^,
^*uy
do it for her.
vascos en
in Spanish, with comment',in Otte' 'Metcaderes
nos'
Peruano,
Mercurio
Perri,'
del
,"ir d.l descubrimiento
Tierra Firme
^
lPrrblirh.d
443-4(1964),81-9.
5. The
merchant
and the eonquest
of Mexico
Hernando de Castro, in Santiago' Cuba' to his
senior Partner Alonso de Nebreda in Seville'
1.520r
. . . This Cort6s is in that city, some sixty or seventy leagues from the sea ' ' '
Until all are at Peace, it is clearly no time to do
brrsiness. . '
Ftavingbeen introduced to some aspectsof mercantileorgani.o.r"rpondence in Letter 4, the reader will perhaps
zation
"id fo, thi, letter, written earlier but longer.and more
i" pr.p"r"d
seenbefore,we
.o*pl"*. Here, in addition to the characteristics
network with
commercial
gti-pse the operation of a large-scale
ln the
at
f,."rr.h., and representativesin severalplaces once'
exhausletter, names fly by bewilderingly' Without tryTg to be
were
tive, let ,r, d"t"il .o-. of the most important figures' All
the
in
merchants'
whose
irr- n"tgos, Old Castile' the town
dominance
shared
long
period b"ior" the discovery of America,
of Spanishinternational trade with the Genoese'
(1) Alonso de Nebreda, recipient of the Presentletter, based
in Seville, the head of interests trading towards both
Flandersand the Caribbean.
as well as long(2)
Juan de Rios, Nebreda's brother-inlaw
'
itanding factor and partner,basedin SantoDomingo'
25
(3) Hernando de Castro, writer of the presentletter, from a
prominent Burgos family, important investoralong with
Nebredaand Rios in a new ventureto sell goodsin Cuba
and 'Yucatin'; yet acting as factor and junior partner,
basedin Santiago,Cuba.
(a) The Herrera brothers: (a) Francisco, referred to here
sometimes as 'Herrera' and 'young Francisco,'Castro's
chief aide, who despite intentions to leave eventually
succeededCastro as the company's factor in Santiago.
(b) Juan, working for Juan de Rios, the Santo Domingo
representative;in Rios' name, he took merchandiseto
Mexico,sellingit to:
(5) Pedro de Maluenda, Hernando de Castro's cousin, not
part of the Nebreda{astro enterpriseat the moment, but
in Mexico as a representativeof Cuban governorDiego
Yelazquez.
(6) Fernando de Santa Cruz, nephew of Castro, killed in a
shipwreckon his way to Mexico, taking merchandisefor
his father,
(7) Juan Fernlndez, in Seville,who was Castro'scousin, as
well as his associatein sellingblack slaves.
All of these people maintainedclose personaland commercial
connections,investing in joint enterprisesor more individual
ones,working for each other or for themselvesas it best suired
them at the moment, but still somehow within the framework
of the larger group. Nebreda,Castro and Rios alsoinvestedin a
ship (in Cuba at the time of the letter), savingfreight cosrsbut
earningthernselvesmuch worry and trouble, as the readerwill
see.
Perhapstwo more nameswill bear a little explanation.'Villalon' is a referenceto the Fair of Villa[6n;Nebreda and Castro
had bought a large part of the goods for the new venture on
credit. and the debts fell due at the time of the fair. 'Baltasarejo' is the Spanish-speaking
black slaveCastro so praises
and considersindispensable;nevertheless,he ran away shortly
after the letter waswritten.
38
Conquest
what is in the book. I do not yet know who the passengers
will
be, so you will have to find out there who they were in irder to
take your parr. I think the ship will carry some from here to la
Yaguana, and also frorn la Yaguanato Seville.Don'r lct them
take more from us, it was enough with the thousand dam.ges
they have done; I am missing.I3% arrobasof olive oil, woith
1372 pesos, and 7 arrobas of vinegar.The master owes 3,635
maravedis,from which you should deducr, sir, 1,560 for the
candleshe bought for the ship.
Herrera here is also writing you abour the ship of Hernando
Gallego, and I refer you ro what he is writing. May God give it a
good voyage,amen. This is being sealedon the'fSth Lf September.
At your service,
Hernandode Castro
The ship has been kept here more rhan twenty daysbecause
Diego Yelizquez, who has been in Trinidad fo, ten months, has
left to come here and wants to use it to sencl messagesto
Castile.And for the samereasonthey will not let AmbroJiogo,
becausesuch is the custom in this land.They saythar gold will
be nrelted down by Christmas,and ac rhe sametime thJlndians
will be distributed and when that is done,Diego Veldzquezwill
go to his Yucati:n. If all rhis occurs,I think t will have r""ror,"
able saleof the merchandise.
May God grant it as I desire,
amen.
So far I thank God for having given us peace.The news could
not be worse from Yucatin, with this discord; while here we
havepeace,but not a penny.May God aid us, amen.
lPnblirh.d
in Spanish, with comment, in Otte, ,Mercaderesburgalesesen
los inicios del comercio con M6xico,' Histoia Mexicana, xvlil (196g).
t2 0-9 .
The non-hero
39
6. T he non- her o
MaestreBaltasar,on Gallo Island
off Ecuador,to
his brotherin panamd,I5Z7l
. . . Two years is long enough
ro go about begging
without servants.. .
Readersof prescottor the Spanish
chroniclersger no inkling
of what expeditions.of dis.ouiry
conquesrin the Indies
ilke. Hardships,high.mortaliiy,"r,o
and.
sometimesfi"...-iigt ,
::re
rng were indeed involved. Bur
w"hat the .hronicr"rr-i""i r.,
granted'and prescortdid nor know,
was thar the expeditions
werej<iint economicventuresshot
r
r
. ...
thr^;:::rr-i:i
com
merciali
sm.r heleade
rs*; ;" ;;
J,:5i::'i:lfii
and supplies,to which tley.gave
_ practically
their men.access
for a price;.but all ,f,? .", i*"rr.a.somerhing,
if only
li,:t:
the' person and clothing, and
the sharesth. .ongrr.?;;; ;.,
more than anything eise to the
size of their
ILl"-- ^dj".ted
rnvestments.
Owning a horse doubled one,s share.
The ships
may haveleft most,of rhe.import
merchanrsb;h*d, b;; ;,n
mercialismand lively trading contjnued
to bc parc of rhe pic_
ture' The wealthierexpeditiJn
memberstook stocksto be sord
to theu fellows larer,.whensupplies.*gyld
b",.";;.
;"f,",it
priced. The expeditions contiined
",
black;_;;;;,-;"il;:'trr.
geons,notaries and others-who charged
for their ,".ui."r. arra
trading back and forth of horses,*"'"fon..
clothing
went on constantly.
^"J-r,"".,
Another aspectnot much spoken
of, and which for lack of
sourcesscholarsstil know too little
about, is the large,ru-b".
of Indian and black helpers
ip"_"rds always took with
.th"
them_onexpeditions,outnr-b"ring'rh"_r.lves
at leasttwo ro
one. Their direct roJe,in the fighrilng
was nor grear,but rhey
freed
conquerorsby.carrying the baggage,
.the
searchingfor
provisions,bringine *ood
*""r"r,
"ni
tasks;the *o-""n #ong.th"m
""a"n"ipi"f;;;;":,;..
*.r"
mistresses,
com"iro-.ooks,
panions.Blacks, as higlily expensive
slaves,were the minority.
The bulk were Indianr,-*ho n-,ight
.ith". b"'infor,''"i;;;;;;",
dependents,simpiy .o--"nd!"red
somewhere,or slaveslixe
The conqueror in jail
u"1*",r"r"r"#""r""
hadl" :"Ply
havethosein the past;I have The
judge
i k;"* whaii' beingdone'
th"'n,.#';"
of
trom
*ny
or
frJ*
no warnins from you
is at the door and ii"*"
anvone else, and i'^'""?'
man given uP f""' d":d:';
had
me as a
tt" th"t 'oi are leaving
you leave
'o
ii" ui' himself' and
i;"';'
jlT;;:T:uii,*'o1;il'i
open
ilI
-v+y" :"w,"k
comPlaint is not lrt
I must know'
.",'ri fo, mY PurPose
noble person as you
prosper yo-ul,verY
Our Lord guard and
15th of June' L541'
desire.From Lima'
At Your orders'sir'
The Marqu6s
402-3'An intercartas^delPeri' pp'
rPublishedin sp""i'li in Porras'.
pp' 135-7'
i"ttt' z*'The Menof Ciio^o"o'
pretationof Pi"""o'''llr""'L"
they
everything
agreement to share
2The two in later years formalized an
hadequallv'Pizarro;;;;;#i"'r'"r""tt*'l'i"i'pu"ti"glvinviewof
dead'
AlmagrowasalreadY
ilf;;;il;t
in jail
1 0 . T h e e o n q u e ro r
tn
the fortress of La Mota
Hernando Pizarto' in
rhe
Medinad"l d;;;"i*t''
': ll'.f"j"rdomo
Marcinin Peru' l5+:
Diego
Priest
this is the cause of
in prison like
' ' ' Being
dom did not
the matter was the resilienceof the apparently toppled great;
even in jail they were powerful figures, and if not they, then
generallytheir families long survivedwith wealth, influenceand
high title, r:houghsometimesin Europe rather than in the Indies
(aswith both the Cort6s and the Pizarrodescendants).
We have just seen much of the background of the present
situation in Letter 9. Hernando Pizarro, Francisco'shaughty
brother and right-hand man, led the forces that defeatedAlmagro, and it was Hernando who ordered Almagro's execution.
Hernandothen went off to Spain (sentby Francisco)to justify
the action, with the result that he was kept in jail under various
kinds of legal assault for over two decades.Here we see him
atter a reversal,but not humbled, still browbeating and mistrusting his employees, plotting to smuggle money from his
large Peruvian estatesinto Spain, asking for documentswhich
he hopes will throw the blame onto his now dead brother the
Marques.Worsewas yet coming for Hernando;just at this time
his younger brother Gonzalo was leading Peru's most serious
revolt to ultimate defeat.Nevertheless,
Hernandoeventuallygot
out of prison, kept his estatesin Peru and Spain, consolidated
the family titles and entails,and establisheda lastingprominent
position for the family in its ancestralTrujillo, Extremadura.
it
letter''"11*1:tt'
thepreceding
As we ,1lU," inrroducing h"td *iih the governors who
take ;;-;t;it"
il"J'!t'i,lill:i
**:."""'ffi
11:
lffi:lfil*1".:'""1"
sub'
o"t';ges on upstart
to--itti"g
querors murdering "nJ
jurisdictions' For
*tto threaiened th"eir
sentenced
ordinates or otherulu*"t'
*"'"' j"il"d "nJ u"'io"'ly
these politit"t t'i*"'l''""y
s"b'J;;ll ;;;r;'Xi:
ffi
ordepriued.
tor *;,JJ:.".:rutJ:
a-death sentence
ReverendFather:
ln many letters I havewritten you the stateof my affairsand
urgedyou to provide for me. What I have to report to you now
is that the sentencehas been handed down, as far as it refersto
Almagro'sdeath, and a very severeone too, for the little guilt
thereis. They condemnedme to perpetual exile, to servein an
African border area of his majesty'schoice for all the days of
my life and to be removed from this fortress,but that provrsionally, until the other matters of which I am accusedare
decided,I am to remain a prisoner here under heavy guard.
Sincethey have conducted themselvesso harshly in this trial
wherethere is no guilt, if in the other evidencethey should find
some,rhey would do us no honor, but I think that, with God's
aid, they will find no guilt if there are not false witnesses.
l;{iitl11:
l{$ ;i li :l;li::l"i;:*
:'xl :d"ri
"}:
iunil"'"pp"aling
t heir enem le s w o u l
new power,*o"lalilJ t;.t," """"h"i';;J'
The othersideof
57
The conquerorin jail
58
Cortquest
the order that
Hasten greatly and send the proof, an-dsend me
the copy that
,fr" U"t:qtes, rest his soul, g"-u".1" in lca,because
it was
ai"f" zqvez brought- failed to mention the day
il.g"
be' and let a
oresented in council; liave it sent as it should
as there
copying
in
the
let there be no neglect
lr,
il;;;;;"
".,d
itwould
original'
was with the other on". tf yott iot'id get the
Marqudsgave
*y tiA. Also send me two otdeis that the
;;;"
to.arrest
me there in Ica: one to arrestAlmagro, and the-other
r,ir .^fi"i"s. Alsosendme"n ^utho']'edc1P{{:nt^ft"-ttlTthe
"f
included in that of
the iurisdictions, and how Cuzco was
*;.i;;,
;;d l;'';
depell:"1.,1''tf
n"gl"" it, because
3u1h
here.w^illbe
damage
o,ro'd"1"" from o^e diy to the next, the
a coPy with Castame
send
manageto
;;;r. YJ" did',', even
z4{h of Augu.stof
the
freda,who departed from Liria there on
without sendinga
last year, 1544' Don't let a boat leavethere
ietter in it'
wrote me that he
Bustillo, I mean Pedro GonzafezBustillo'
but he
jurisdictions'
of
to send a coPy of the division
*;;;;g
look
is
they-do
all
did.rit ,"id ir. Th" *o*"nt they arrive there'
puta
ready-to
after their own profit, while I'm here in despair'
ot hunger'
dying
and
myself'
hang
rope around *y neck and
there was
that
me
told
uif C"a give the remedy- DiegJMoreno
stili gold i-r,C.r".,r,.ttd tho'"
"'ogt"'.in my
1:"t"it: l"ldt,lii
Since I had wrttten
b".L"to fill their hands with it as in the past'
was no reason to keeP lt
that nothing was to be left there, there
house;lhavebeen
;;.L. ;t yJur life, leaveno wretchesin the
t
goingon' and.elen
i"fa ,ft* o gr"^, dl"l of rascality.is
tho,*h
ln the.house
remain
should not write about it, don't let anyone
as much.asif they
enemy
their
*tt" i, best not there' T"tiy I am
those who leavehere
;;J ktliJ my father, "nd tut" more so of
advantage'Castafleeine and later turn everything to their own
had just
;; f,o"' valladohjthat when he left' vou
;;;;'i;;;;
Ampuero'.that you
come frorn Cuzco, you and the regent and
and he wishedthat
had gone ,h"r. on Jtdt" f'o- the'viceroy',
"h"d
to me
brought back the gold that was there' to send
uorl
lin." yo., kneti I was in need'
Nombre de Dios
The silver that Juan de Zavalasent me from
II
I
59
when you went through there was taken and impoundedat the
House of Trade, which has done me great harm, becausethe
Councilof the Indieshas sentencedme ro pay Hernin Sinchez
de Badajoz 2,000 pesos,and I had to take the money on credit
to pay hirn, with the silver having been seized.For the love of
God I ask you to succor me; I need it more than you can
imagine.And if I must stand for my servantsstealingand spending everything while my life and honor suffer here, then it
would be better for you to sell what is there and take care of
me. Considerthat I have placedmy hopesin you and you must
help me, for now I am in greaterneed than ever,and require my
own resourcesand those of others; I want what I have now.
You can send me whatever you should want to by way of
merchant friends. Juan Sinchez de la Sao is going to be stationed at Nombre de Dios, becauseJuan de Zavalais coming
back;through one meansor another,be surethat nothingscays
behind there. Diego Yelazquezis rather lukewarm about going
back,I'm not sure he will return soon. I wish he would go, for
your sake,but I am confidentthat you with your good industry
will be sufficient to take careof everything.
I believethe originalsof the orders I mentionedaboveare in
the possession
of Salas;don't neglectto sendthem, and a certified copy of the division of jurisdictions. Also don't neglec ro
furnish the evidence,since they wiil overlook nothing in our
case,as I see.Again I implore you to send me my own wealth
and that of others, because it is more needed than one can
imagine.And realize that I am trusting in your good friendship
and expectingyou to perform better than those of the past,
who have consumed everything and left me ro suffer. Leave
noneof them in the house;they are my enernies
and makewar
on me, since whoever seesme suffering and doesn't help me
from my own property is abundantly mi enemy.And again,be
surethat you sendme what you can scratchtogether,confidentially,by way of merchantsand by way of Juan Sinchez dela
Sao,and let it not be hke the relief of Escalona,coming after
thetime of need.
Doctor Jara is suing me here for the property of his son. By
60
Conquest
your life, make his estate give strict account of my property,
and if it should result that I owe anything to him, I mean to his
executors, then pay it, and if he owes me, collect it, and if there
are no means,then send the order to pay to me, and later it will
be in my hand to do with it as I wish. Keep a lawyer to look
after the suits in Lima, where the viceroy and Audien cia are,
and let nothing be lost for lack of legaladvice.
I have had very good tools made to order for silver mines,
and am sending to Lisbon for black mining technicians.I will
send them all with Diego Yelazquez,if he riants to go, or with
someone else if he doesn't. I will also send donkevs. both stallions and females. Be very diligent with the *ines, and don't
wait till next year for anything that could be mined this year.
Complain to the viceroy of all the damageVaca de Castro has
done to me and my nephews, and how he has usedthe avenues
of justice to do injusticeto me.
Be sure that you pay immediately whateverI owe there, that
is, what I promised to pay Alonso de Toro and others,becauseI
don't want them coming here to ask it of me. When it is paid,
write me; Toro's brothers say that he gave me money for them
that was not delivered. And a brother of Pedro de Soria is also
complaining that his brother gave me money for him and I am
keeping it from him. Before long they will make me a thief;
patience doesn't suffice for such rogueries.Being in prison like
this is the cause of it all, and so again I tell you, pay off
everything still unpaid that I obliged myself for when I left.
Palomino has arrived here, and I havebeen told that he brings
money. Write if he is bringingme anything,and if they gavehim
anything there send me his statementof receipt so that we can
ask for it. Wheneveryou send anything,take acknowledgments
from those who bring ic, so account can be taken of them. I
urgeyou to do a thoroughjob on Armenta.
Send me the silver piecesand the gold alloy that I have asked
for in some rnemoranda.May our Lord guard your reverend
The sonqasT6rin jail
61
person as_,s,ir, you desire. From La
Mota in Medina
*- ^ Camp<_r,
- - - "- del
- *"'f
on rhe B th day of March of t he year
of 1545.
A t your orders, si r,
Hernando pizarro
lPublished
in Spanishwith commentin otte, ,Los
mercaderes
vascosv los
Pizarro,' I LAS (May-June
.T
1.9
66), 34_6.A bi"gr;;h;;fi
is in Lockhart,TheMen of Cajamarca,
pp. rii-ES.
.;;;;il ;liJ,"