Puerto Vallarta - Mexico Magico

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TRIUMPHS and TRAGEDY... A history of the Mexican people (part 38th).

By Prof. German Estrada - August 2005

....But he had enemies at the royal court in Spain. On their advice, Charles, who needed no prodding, sent officials to New Spain to circumvent Cortés authority. In 1528, t ally royal suspicions and prove his loyalty, Cortés sailed for Spain bearing gifts for his monarch and accompanied by Indian nobles. A grateful Charles confirmed Cortés as captain general of New Spain and told him to select the villages and towns he coveted for his encomiendas. Since Cortés had already appropriated them, the crown's grants confirmed mainly what he owed. Given the title of marqués del Valle, Cortés became the master of Oaxaca. Charles, however, did not restore to Cortés the governorship of New Spain. From that time on, Cortés was free to enjoy his immense wealth but not political power.

In 1540, Cortés returned once more to Spain, this time to complain of ill treatment by the viceroy and fellow royal officials. Again, he went to see Charles. The monarch was not at home, and the bureaucrats at the royal court looked unfavorably to his complaints. In 1547, before his departure for New Spain, he died near Sevilla; he was sixty-three years of age. Buried in Spain, he was later reburied in Texcoco. All told, Cortés was buried at least nine times. The eight burial, in 1823, was done out of fear hat the people of Mexico City, inflamed with nationalist zeal and hatred for the Spaniard, might dig up his bones and destroyed them.

Even before Cortés's death, the crown had begun to organize a government for its New World Empire. The Casa de Contratación, a legacy of Isabel la Católica, dated from 1503. It handled Spanish trade, commerce, and colonization of the West Indies, while the bishop of Burgos, Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca, determined policy. With the acquisition of New Spain and, shortly thereafter, Central America, Spanish authorities set up the Council of the Indies, which advised the king and, in his name, watched over the empire. Earlier, to administer justice in the Indies, there was established in Santo Domingo a court of appeals, or audiencia, which could rule as well as legislate in the Indies. In 1527, a year before Cortés traveled to Spain for his initial visit, an audiencia of three judges was established in Mexico City.

The audiencia under Nuño de Guzmán, its chief justice, proved inept. Government in New Spain had gotten off on the wrong foot, as tax evasion and bureaucratic corruption sank their claws into society. Spanish authorities replaced Guzmán with another audiencia, this one staffed by able oidores, as its justices were called. One of them, Vasco de Quiroga, a Franciscan friar, went on to win renown for his work with the Indians. Under Sebastian Rodríguez de Fueleal, a man of integrity and ability and its chief justice, the audiencia handled wisely and effectively a host of knotty problems. One of them had to do with Cortés, ready always to multiply the Indians on his encomienda, to add to his property, and to defend his privileges.

Wishing to tighten its grip, the crown appointed a viceroy for New Spain as its personal representative. The viceregal system did not just appear of thin air, because Fernando el Católico had employed viceroys to govern Aragón, Cataluña, and Valencia. A viceroy was a man of noble lineage known for his loyalty to the king and held to be both competent and wise. The post fell to Antonio de Mendoza, a Castilian nobleman related to the royal family and Spain's ambassador to Rome. Appointed in 1530, Mendoza made a delayed entrance to Mexico City after five years of "negotiating salary" with the crown. His perquisites included a palace, a good salary, and an honor guard. An executive with legislative and judicial authority, Mendoza had to look out for the colony's welfare, defend it from foreign attack, and watch over the Indians. Enlarge the crown revenues, and, as a faithful catholic, be a patron of the church. The audiencia, over which the viceroy could preside, kept judicial affairs in its own hands.

Mexico City in 1528

In the next issue we'll continue with Chapter III of this fascinating book: A NEW SPAIN

Source: From the book Triumphs and Tragedy, a History of the Mexican People by his author Ramon Eduardo Ruiz, and with his authorization. (W.W. Norton & Company. New York-London).

Prof. Germán Estrada is the author of the best selling book, México Mágico: Everything You Wanted To Know About... But Nobody Told You..." available in Puerto Vallarta at The Net House, Mail Boxes, Etc., Books, Books as well as directly from his website.